The Force of Confidence

To be called and to be sent are two distinct things. To have a vision is one thing and to materialize that vision is another thing. Only very few people actually make it to a successful end after having the valley experiences of life.

One of the most needed factors in making it to a successful end in your endeavors, be it in your ministry, business, career, marriage, Christian faith, etc., is confidence. Confidence in simple English, is complete trust in a person or thing. Confidence places you on the pedestal, gives you strength to stand in the face of any kind of opposition, empowers you to keep your peace even in the storm, enables you to do the impossible. The stronger your confidence, the farther you'll go in life and accomplish great exploit.

For Christians, the only way to live a successful and abundant life, as destined by God through Jesus Christ, is to put your confidence in the one that He sent - Jesus Christ. Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! The issue of confidence is often times not discussed amongst christians because many do not acknowledge its importance, as such, our adversary, the devil, prowls about stealing the confidence that God's children have in God that should lead them through the bumpy paths of life.

The first subtle device the devil used against man was geared towards confidence; the devil crept in by attacking the confidence of the first woman, by asking, "Did God really say"? Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” He knows that once he asks that question, the listener, who doesn't know his tactics or wiles, would become vulnerable and give in to his demands. This is one of the greatest weapons that the devil uses against the children of God, to move them away from their glorious inheritance in Christ Jesus, the inheriatnce that God prepared for His own even before they were born.

This is pathetic because many believers are ignorant of the devices of the enemy, for this reason, they fall cheaply for his manipulations and find themselves exactly where the devil wants them. When your confidence is withdrawn, whether your vision for ministry, church expansion, business expansion, career advancement, marital bliss, good health, financial breakthrough, spiritual growth, kingdom prosperity, etc., everything you've ever built or thought of building or owning will come crashing.

Christians especially, have a glorious inheritance which God prepared before time, to be delivered to us through His Word, but the inner voice that whispers negative questions, chokes out the confidence that positions us for breakthrough. Acts 20:32 And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. This inheritance is the fullness of life that Jesus came into the world to give to us, through his death on the cross - John 10:10b (NLT) My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Shamefully and ignorantly, many that should be ruling as kings and priests by the death of Jesus Christ (Revelation 5:9-10), have been misled by the agents of darkness to renounce their faith and divert their confidence to the adversary; our adversary never stops working through our most trusted friends, neighbors, family members, children, parents, relatives, colleagues, TV shows and movies, etc., to take our confidence and stop us from possessing our inheritance. If the enemy tries to lure you into ungodly habits or unholy conducts that will take the presence of God from you, and you do not succumb, the next thing he does is, attack your confidence in God. Isaiah 36:4 & 8 And Rabshakeh said unto them, say now to Hezekiah, Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this in which you trust? 8"I'll tell you what! Strike a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you can find that many men to ride on them!
 

It is expedient that you daily build your confidence in the Lord, and not allow the devil/enemy steal your confidence, thereby, robbing you of your throne and glorious destiny. There are three major ways to build a strong confidence that will not only light up your path to a glorious destiny, but will empower you to work through that path, however rough, until you get to your glorious destination.

1. Source: Your source of confidence determines the degree of exploit you'll command on earth. Daniel had his source in God alone and was empowered to stand on his faith, even unto death, Daniel 6. The three Hebrew boys, Shedrach , Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace (the highest degree), but their source of confidence kept them even in the fire, Daniel 3. The Word of God pronounces the end of those whose source is man or anything created by the God, they are indeed cursed and their end is failure and destruction. But the bible calls them blessed who trust completely in God and will prosper in uncommon places, in their time and season , Jeremiah 17:5-8; Isaiah 36:4-10.

2. Knowledge of God: To have confidence in anyone, you must first know him well enough to naturally trust him. If you have chosen God as your only source (the best decision you can ever make), the degree of exploit you will command depends on your level of knowledge about Him. Daniel 11:32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. If you know and believe His word concerning any situation in your life, it gives you confidence to command it into existence. If you know what God has said to you personally, through your dreams, visions, his prophets, audible voice of the Holy Spirit, etc., hold on to it and work with it. These are several ways through which God speaks to us and builds our confidence in Him.

3. Focus: You confidence is increased when you keep your eyes on God alone without wavering, you are set on a pedestal that will establish your generation. 1 Kings 18:21 Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, "How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!" But the people were completely silent. There are many today who claim to love God but are not confident enough to say it or stand with him, so the devil feasts on their destinies. They are looking to God for help and publicly "serving" him, but on the other hand, they're looking to man and the things created by human hands for help, just incase God fails......how terrible! For how long are you going to keep looking between two opinions? Jesus Christ said to His disciples, the light of the body is the eye: if therefore your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light, Matthew 6:22. If your focus is solely on God, you'll be filled with enough confidence that will get you to your place of rulership and dominion; your place of rest.

When people pf the world waver between two options, Christians are not permitted to do the same. I announce to you, according to the word of God (Acts 4:12), that Salvation comes from no one else, except Jesus Christ; only those who truly want to be blessed by the Lord and live successful lives put their trust in him.

Seeing the Invisible (Bedrock of faith)

It's ok to build on another's faith and beliefs, but how far can you go with it? it is possible to receive "thus says the Lord" from a prophet of God, but how strong can you stand and how patient can you be when the promises are yet to manifest, and everything around you says, "forget about that word from the prophet"? It's no big deal to build on another's faith, but the problem lies in the result. It takes a strong foundation to build a lasting house that will withstand the storms of life; it takes the one who has seen the invisible to manifest the impossible.

The invisible things are things that defy the wisdom of men, things that defy science and the things that only God has the ability to take care of. To see the invisible, you need the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was given to all that believed in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 1:13 In whom you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. The same Holy Spirit teaches you all things and guides you into all truth, 1 John 2:20, 27 ²⁰ But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth. ²⁷ But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. The Holy Spirit points you to what God can do, He shows you things that are known to you alone that will launch you to greater heights, He shows you the way out of any crisis, he brings you the truth about any situation.

But to actually see results when the Holy Spirit reveals things to you, you have to activate your own faith- you need your own faith. Seeing the invisible and actually manifesting it requires an unshakable faith. You cannot activate that which you really do not understand.

Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

In a nutshell, faith is activated when you're confident that what you hope for, after you have seen into the supernatural (beyond the natural) will certainly become visible to the physical eyes (manifest). The other part of it says, even though you cannot see it with your physical eyes, it does not appear possible by any means, yet, i will believe in what i see in the supernatural. Faith is built ultimately by hearing directly from God, when one sees the invisible, and trust is developed when one believes the invisible and submits to the One who controls the invisible things; He alone knows how to make it happen.

Why should i believe in the things that i see in the spiritual realm (supernatural), and not trust in the things that i see in the physical realm (natural)? Isaiah 34:16.......none of God's Word shall fail......The spiritual realm controls everything happening in the physical. Before the physical eyes can behold the blessings of God, the possiblilty of it becoming, has to be seen in the spiritual - whatever doesn't exist in the spiritual has no possibilty of manifesting in the physical. That is why you hear people say, 'life is spiritual".

Romans 5:17

......even God who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. God brought into existence those things that existed within Him. How possible is it to create a box if you do not have the picture of what it should be like in your mind? That's impossible! Only things that pre-exist can really exist, only that which has already been created in your mind can really exist. The Holy Spirit ministers to you from within, even visions are seen not with the physical eyes.

To build your faith you need to be a committed student of the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing and understanding the Word of God. But your faith becomes even stronger and more active when you see into the spiritual (hearing directly from God). What you're told and never witnessed is likened to a gift without a name, it's easily snatched away from you, but, whatever you see with your eyes becomes very difficult to be snatched from you; your hope will not bring you disappointment (Romans 5:5A), rather, it will be made manifest. Great men of faith in the bible all saw the Lord and heard directly from Him, that is why the bible recorded their uncommon exploits.

1 John 1:1

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

It takes graduating from just hearing the Word of God to hearing directly from God and seeing into the Spiritual realm, believing what you see before you can actually manifest it. The Voice of God when heard and believed is turned into power for manifestation.

Dare to See

Having gone through the lives of some of the great men that made history, in the bible and secular world, i could only find one thing they all had in common - the proper use of their eyes. I tried hard to understand the difference between them and those that failed along the way (those who also used their eyes), especially in the bible, and i found that the difference lies between looking and seeing.

The act of looking is limited to what the physical eyes can see, while the act of seeing goes beyond what the physical eyes can see and believe. Notice that the former involves less activity of just seeing things as they are because you have an evidence or there is an actual form of what your eyes see, while the latter involves looking beyond the physical evidence, seeing the possibility of what will become and believing the existence of what you see. While looking focuses on the natural, seeing focuses on the supernatural. Through the eyes of faith, you see into the supernatural, through the physical eyes you see the natural.

 

2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV)

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

 

God never deals with men who have refused to see beyond the physical, he deals with men who have actually seen beyond their environment, beyond the traditions of men, beyond the limitation posed on people by the economy; God deals with men who actually look and see into the spiritual realm.

 

Jeremiah saw and was able to go for the Lord - Jeremiah 1:11 Then the LORD said to me, "Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?" And I replied, "I see a branch from an almond tree."

 

Moses saw the invisible and was able to embark on a mission that seemed impossible - Hebrews 11:27 It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king's anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.

 

Amos believed that the Lord was set to release judgment upon the wicked, after he saw - Amos 8:2 "What do you see, Amos?" he asked. I replied, "A basket full of ripe fruit." Then the LORD said, "Like this fruit, Israel is ripe for punishment! I will not delay their punishment again.

 

Abraham looked and saw beyond where he was standing, he received what he saw - Genesis 13:15 For all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed for ever.

 

   

Some years ago, I started working with a group of people that smiled home 10x richer than everyone in their team, but I never saw the gold involved in what they were doing, how much more see the possibility of being the first point of contact. However, I had been working with them and never really bothered to look beyond the papers and prints. One day, after a quiet moment with God, He opened my eyes to see beyond what I had been looking at for years and I discovered how much treasure I had been overlooking for years. I had a rush of adrenaline, that I almost screamed off my head in excitement.

Abraham was a man that saw the invisible and believed that what he saw (that is, beyond the physical realm) would be possible; possible for others who coudn't see what he was seeing at the time, to behold with their physical eyes. It was what Abraham saw that made it possible for him to do the impossible. At the age of 75 years, God called Abraham and made a promise to him, that he'll be the father of many nations (Genesis 12:2-4). At the age of 100, he was told about a child from his wife, Sarah, who was 90 years old (Read Genesis 17:1-19).

Genesis 17:16 & 17 (NLT)

¹⁶ And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.” ¹⁷ Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” That was the most unbelievable news of his lifetime. At 100? What? Sarah at 90?

 

Abraham must have screamed, "God are you kidding me?" But i'll tell you how he was able to manifest the impossible (hold it here for a second).

Genesis 18:10-14
10 Then one of them said, "About this time next year I will return, and your wife Sarah will have a son."Now Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent nearby. 11 And since Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and Sarah was long past the age of having children, 12 she laughed silently to herself. "How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?" she thought. "And when my master -- my husband -- is also so old?" 13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, 'Can an old woman like me have a baby?' 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? About a year from now, just as I told you, I will return, and Sarah will have a son."  

 

Sarah also heard (verse 10) the promise, she saw the invisible; Abraham did not need to tell her about what the Lord had promised for her to believe with him, in order for the promise to be manifested. They both saw the invisible having heard from the Lord. Now, lets go back to how they were able to manifest what they had seen, even though it seemed impossible and everything was against this promise.

 

Hebrews 11:11 (NIV)

By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.

 

Hebrews 11:11 (KJV)

Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

 

Through faith they were enabled, they both believe what they both heard, and received strength to wait for its fulfilment. The ability to manifest the glory of God came through empowerment that resulted from the act of believing wht they saw. It would have been impossible for them to be empowered to believe what another was seeing for them. Can you imagine someone else receiving a message for you and not sharing it with you, or someone having faith about what they see for you? No matter how well they do in convincing you encouraging you that what you hope for will come, you're bound to give up hoping and waiting. Moreso, if your neighbors mock you about age or every thing against your expectations, you will certainly throw in the towel and find another solution which will certainly back fire.

 

But Abraham saw the invisible and received strength to manifest the impossible. His age and everthing about him kept on screaming impossible, his neighbors might have mocked him and called him impotent, his in-laws must have called him a day-dreamer who as expecting the impossible; his wife must have thought to herself, how can this ever be when i have no desire for pleasure, everything about me rules out the possibility of this ever manifesting. She must have thought to herself, is there anything too hard for the Lord? I better believe this.

When a promise is made to you, be very careful to run with it and not look back. The devil will set traps and tempt you so hard to forget about the promise and lose your reward. Because the one who the promise is made to carries the promise on the inside, avoid any conversation or attempt from the outside that will corrupt it. What you the carrier sees is very different from what those on the outside can ever imagine. The eyes you see with are the eyes of faith, which sees in the suprnatural; the sources from outside see with their pysical eyes while their eyes of faith remain shut.

 

Dare to see with the eyes of faith, dare to see beyond the physical, dare to see the possibilty of the impossible, and you'll find yourself manifesting uncommon weight of glory.

I Lost my Faith, But I found it! (Written by Troy Nwosu)

At the age of one, there wasn’t much I could say about life.I didn’t even know what “life” was. Nothing held me down, but everything brought me up. I felt freer than the skies and swifter than the wind.

At the age of five, I was just starting school. My parents told me about this man that lives in the sky and watches me do everything. They also said he does magic. A magic man living in the sky? I thought they were playing a trick on me. They tried to convince me that he was real, like they did the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus. But I didn’t really believe them.

When I was in middle school, I went to church with them, and prayed to the man in the sky, they called God. We would go to church every Sunday hearing about what God does in our lives. I believed that everything the pastor said was true and God would do a lot of good things in my life. But he lied. After going to church, my entire life went down hill. My parents lost alot of their money from giving it to the church and never gained anything back from it. We were struggling, but that is more than an under statement, we were hopeless,but they still prayed and prayed that God will give us all our money back and help us back on our feet.

In high school, I completely lost faith in God. I went to church, but didn’t pay attention. I prayed, but didn’t speak. I didn’t confess anything to that God of theirs. I didn’t care about anything anymore, just about making the most out of life. I went to parties, drank, did drugs, had sex with so many people it even surprises me. I didn’t believe that one man, a man who isn’t even human, who I haven’t ever seen, touched, or heard can help me out in any way. God wasn’t even on my mind. I didn’t care about him or think about him, I didn’t want him in my life. Looking back on it, it made me wonder how people could worship a man they haven’t ever heard or seen. Some say they’ve seen him. Some say they’ve heard him, and some say they have felt his touch.But I think they’re lying. I think they say those things so people will believe them. I officially turned away from God and had no intention of turning back.

One summer, I was driving back to my house after a party and was hit by a drunk driver. Both our cars were totaled, the drunk driver was dead. I was lying in the street pretty sure I was going to die soon too. I was in so much pain and agony and couldn’t reach my phone to call the police for help. I was hopeless. Nothing or no one could help me. I didn’t know what else to do, so I began praying. I asked God to save me and help me from this. I pleaded for him to keep me alive to keep me healthy. I apologized for everything I have done over the years and how I scolded people for thinking you were real. I looked up and saw a man on the ground with me. His entire body was white, but I couldn’t see his face. He said he was Jesus Christ. His voice made me cry even harder than I was before. He touched my hand and said he will always be with me. Then he vanished.  A few seconds later I hear a police car. The police man stops at my car and calls the police.Within minutes I’m at the hospital. As I’m in my hospital bed, I see the man in white standing by my bed. As scared as I was, I couldn’t move. Prior to this the doctor had told me I’d be paralyzed from the waist down. The man in whitetold me he forgave me and he touched both my legs and disappeared. I could move my legs. Believe it or not, but I could move my legs. I was able to walk, and run, and jump again. The doctors were speechless; they had no explanation for how I was able to walk again. And I looked my doctor in the eyes and told him, it was God!

What I want all of you to take from this is it doesn’t matter who you are, what you think, or where you come from. God will always be therefor you. He may not come when you call, but he’s just in time and loves us all the same.

Time and Chance

Two farmers planted their seed at the same time, same day and on the same ground. One of the farmers harvested his crops before the other farmer, while the other farmer waited a little longer for his seed to mature that he may harvest his crops.

One may wonder why it took one farmer longer to harvest his crops. They may have planted their crops at the same time, same day and on the same ground; but their seeds were not scheduled to take root on the same level; neither were their seeds programmed to bear fruits at the same time. Every seed will eventually produce fruits, but in its own season; and the kind of fruit that will be produced determines the wait period before maturation. Every seed that will produce lasting fruits depends on time to mature and uses every chance to take root for firm anchor.

Ecclesiastes 9:11

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happens to them all.

I’ve come to understand that God, throughout history works with time. Time is an important factor if you must ever bear fruits that will last – fruits could be the number of people you lead to Christ through the Ministry God has called you into; or your character which God takes time to build, through suffering, pain and difficulties to help you preserve the blessings He wants to hand over to you; fruits could be the manifestations of God’s glory in your life; but it takes a lot of time and patience for God to mature you. If you go ahead of God before your time you'll die and your fruits will be destroyed; if you decide to take care of things yourself, you'll face the challenges of life all by yourself because you do not have the backing of God. May I also point out, that the process of maturing you differs from another’s maturity process; this lies on the fact that you were created differently, for a different purpose.

At creation, God looked and saw that the earth was without form, and void; he could have created everything in one day, owing to the fact that He is the supreme God and has the power to create everything in one day. Rather, he took His time to ensure that everything that should be created was put in place in an orderly manner, to reveal His glory, and he saw that they were good.

 Genesis 1:4a

And God saw the light, that it was good…………….

The purpose of creating the heaven and all that is in earth was for order, peace and admiration. God took his time to create the world that the things created became a wonder to man and these things reveal the glory of God.

The race does not belong to the fastest, nor does the battle belong to the strong, nor does the wise always have bread to eat, nor does the learned always successful, nor does the one who knows how to do it with excellence stay wealthy; but two factors are responsible for any known success – Time and Chance.

When God predicted the coming of Jesus Christ through his prophets in the Old Testaments, Galatians 4:4 recorded that, but when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law. Between the time God revealed to his prophets about the Jesus Christ and Jesus’ arrival on earth, there were several events that played out, these events were ordained to take place that the Gospel will be spread, events like, building of good roads in Rome through which people could travel (Paul travelled this road for spread the Good News), giving citizenship to non- Romans (political contribution); the Greeks made some intellectual contributions that aided in the translation of the Gospel (bible translations in Greek give a clearer understanding of the scriptures); the Jews contributed through their religious acts and beliefs which made it clearer that salvation was not received by good deeds but grace, amongst many other events that played out before the manifestation of God’s promise. Why did I give a summary of these events that played themselves out before the time was full?

While you wait for the promise of God to be made manifest, there are certain things required of you to put in place through the help of the Holy Spirit, in preparation for your place in life. If you neglect these important events in your life, you'll become frustrated if you eventually make it to your place in life. Certain events must play out to complete the time God chooses to manifest his glory in your life. Between the time of the knowledge of God's plan for you and the manifestation/fulfillment, God has purposed that certain events must play out if you must experience His glory. For example, if I desire to be a medical doctor, the time between gaining admission into medical school and graduating from medical school consists of times of hard work, series of test, research, sleepless nights and intense study; until I commit to a studious life and deny myself the pleasures of the season, I may never realize my dream of becoming a doctor.

One of the key requirements to manifesting the glory of God in His time is living in total obedience (no negotiation, no compromise). A man that commits to an obedient life will not only walk into his glorious destiny in grand style but will be showered with the rewards of obedience.

John 2:3-5

3 The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.”4 “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” 5 But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

 Before Jesus manifested the glory of God at Cana in Galilee, he was conscious of time and chance. At first, Jesus told His mother that his time had not come because there were certain things that ought to be in place but were not in place. His mother knew the secret to manifesting the glory of God in the fullness of time. So, she reacted positively to Jesus’ turn down in order to get him to manifest the glory of God. After she had received that answer from Jesus, she turned to the disciples of Jesus Christ and said to them “do what he says", in other words, “obey him!” One would wonder why Jesus performed the miracle after saying his time had not come. I’ll tell you the reason. Because of obedience, the disciples obeyed the command to fill up the jars with water – that needed to be in place and it was going to take a lot of work. Now, everything was in place for the glory of God to be made manifest, Jesus then turned water into wine that the glory of God may be revealed and his disciples believed him.

Find out what the Lord wants you to do as he prepares you for your place in life and do it with all your might. Everyone has a place in life, it’s very important that you walk with God and be sensitive in your spirit to know what God wants you to do.

A woman's Worth

As I lay in my bed with deep thoughts on what a woman's worth really is, I could only pick up my pen and paper to put my thoughts down that future generation will live the original plan of God.
First, I wondered, does a woman's worth lie in her physical beauty? Her career? Her gender? Her achievements? I don't think so!
Then, I traced it back to the beginning and pondered on it for a long time..................

In the beginning, it appeared all peaceful with Adam and God.
God gave Adam a precious gift as a help meet and a companion –Eve
They lived happily together as they had both been with the Lord before their union
They maintained peace and sanity living according to the "original" plan of God

What was the original plan?

That the woman would be a help meet to the man while the man remained the head of the family.
Eve failed God and humanity when she took over the home leaving the husband to be the help meet; when she brought in a fourth party, when she agreed to a second plan with the fourth party to eat the apple that was forbidden by God thereby bringing a curse upon men and women alike.

That’s not a woman’s worth!

A woman’s worth lies not in her ability to rule the man but in her ability to put her ruling power under control.
A woman’s worth lies in her ability to build and not to destroy.
A woman’s worth lies in her ability to encourage the man in his God- given assignment and not encourage him carry out her own vision; as the man is a helper to God, the woman is a helper to the man.
A woman’s worth lies in her ability to support her husband in raising God fearing children, keeping the home peaceful and livable; not teaching the children the way to ungodly lifestyles.
A woman’s worth lies in her ability to be a companion to the man and not make him feel even lonelier by constantly nagging and cussing him out; no man ever became better after constant criticism and nagging.
A woman’s worth lies in her ability to cooperate with the man when the world is against him and helping him see his wrongs in the most appropriate manner, not joining the world in calling him a monkey or a wretch when God sees him as a wealthy king.
A woman’s worth lies in her ability to kneel down before the Lord of her husband to table her concerns about her husband that are not favorable to her, not throwing his wrongs to his face like he was supposed to be perfect……no man was ever made to be perfect but is constantly worked in to be right for you!
A woman’s worth lies in her ability to make her husband proud and honored amongst men and not bring shame on God and her family by relentlessly seeking homes to destroy, minding another’s business, jumping from one party to the other, sometimes, uninvited; paying less attention to her children, influencing ungodliness in her home, sowing seeds of discord in her home.
A women’s worth lies in her ability to leave the crown on her husband’s head for a virtuous woman is a crown on her husband.

So much for a woman’s worth!

I dedicate this to all the women that will rather show their worth and not their worthlessness.

Get the Master Key (The Key and its Mystery - cont'd)

The ultimate key anyone should crave for is the key that gives you access to several other doors. Why did I say that? Jesus said, in my father’s house there are many mansions….. (John 14:2A), some translations say…..in my father’s house there are many “rooms” ….. Access to the Kingdom of God is paramount and necessary to gain access into the available rooms containing various blessings and gifts.That said, you’ll realize that there is so much to attain as long as you have the master key, which without it is impossible to gain access to these blessings. What then is the needed master key?

Salvation in another word is FREEDOM. Salvation came to man as a package and until you utilize all that came with salvation, you’ve not lived the abundant life that God intended for you; you cannot say you’re saved until you start living the life of the saved. What is the life of the saved?  A triumphant life; nothing short of the abundant life that Jesus Christ came to give (John 10:10). Most people associate abundance with only money and material things, no! You limit it when you attribute abundance to that alone. Abundance means rich spiritual life (remember the first man-Adam, He had a rich walk with God who kept him in good health, sound mind, free from oppression, provided more than enough food for him and Eve….he lacked nothing, above all he heard from God on daily basis- God always came down to relate with him as friends should ( Genesis 2:8-15, 3:8&9); that was the life that Jesus came to restore and until you locate that path, you’ll never enjoy the benefits of Salvation. Living the successful life that God predestined for you before you were born entails going through the main door to gain access to several other doors of wealth.

There are doors of good health, doors of spiritual growth, doors of marriage, doors of business expansion, doors of financial increase, doors of Kingdom prosperity, doors of peace, doors of mental exploits-where great ideas are locked, there are doors of babies, doors of careers, too many doors (Jesus said in my father’s house there are many mansions….(John 14:2A), now, do you think that these mansions are empty? Do you think you are only allowed to live life in abundance when you get to heaven? ….it gives your father great happiness to give you the Kingdom (Luke 12:32), but you can’t get the key if you do not accept the main key that permits you to go through it – Salvation. It is through working on that path that you’ll locate your destiny and become a success in the spiritual world and in the secular world. Until I make use of everything Christ has freely given to me through the work of salvation I will give myself no rest. Now, you ask, how can I start my journey to greatness?

ACCEPT Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior:

What you cannot accept will never deliver to you everything that it carries. You cannot say you have accepted Jesus on one part and keep dealing with the devil on the other side; I tell you what? You’ll be spat out like a rotten (Revelations 3:16)where Jesus talked about spitting out anything that is lukewarm….you’re either hot or cold…meaning, you’re either for me or you’re for the devil. Who are those for the devil? They are the workers of iniquity, those that enjoy the deeds of darkness, those that the bible calls the “dogs” – a dog literally means anyone that goes back to his vomit. They are outside -never involved in the things that please the Spirit (Revelations 22:15).

How will I get saved? If you can only CONFESS with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and BELIEVE in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9). Notice that the key words there are “confess” and “believe”. Your mouth and your heart will get you where you choose to be. It is conceived in the heart, desired in the heart, convinced in the heart and released through your mouth.

Work out your Salvation:

Is it possible for you receive anything from anyone you hardly know? It is one thing to accept someone and it’s a totally different thing to KNOW that person. You may accept anyone but you will only receive a little from that one you’ve accepted but when you know him, you’ll benefit more. For instance, a man sees a beautiful lady and accepts her as potential wife in his heart. From a distance, that man may never know what the lady will deliver to him if he doesn’t labor to know her, understand her personality, her purpose, etc until he draws closer to her; so also the woman.  The more you know Jesus, the more you receive from him, all that he came to deliver to you through his death on the cross. For the fact that you have accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior doesn’t mean that you will be given all the wealth and riches stored for you, just like that/overnight. No! There has to be some working out on your side. (Work out your Salvation with fear and trembling….(Philippians 2:12); the NLT version says, ……work hard to show the results of your Salvation, ….. You will build and battle (Like Nehemiah in Nehemiah Chapter 4), you’ll build your destiny with the help of the Holy Spirit which was released to you the moment your confessed Jesus (Ephesians 1:13). What do you do? Look on to Jesus who has the power to break sin, the author and finisher of your soul, look up to him to walk you through it all. Never rely on your ability to stay free from sin because it is impossible for you to save yourself, instead with holy fear and trembling (Philippians 2:2c), look up to Jesus as you work out your salvation to deliver to you all that it came with.

Stay repented:

How can you receive the fullness of the blessings when you confess Jesus with your mouth but in your heart you house every evil thought, from deception to idolatry? 2 Timothy 2:19 – God knows those who are His and Let those that name the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. Because you have been identified as God’s own, you have no business going back to the deeds of darkness which only limits you (lay aside every weight that so easily besets you….Hebrews 12:1); not only will you be limited, you will stop the angels of God that delivers to you whatsoever you want, from fulfilling their missions in your life.

That said, it is a genuine walk with God that sets you for the top where you’ll rule and reign; where you’ll labor and see the fruits. Because there are several doors that must be opened for these fruits to be delivered to you, by fruits I mean, spiritual wealth/fruits (Galatians 5:22), material wealth (money, shelter, clothing, food, wife, husband, career, advancement in the secular world, etc), good health, sound mind, etc. You’ll need several other keys for these doors to be opened.

Revelation knowledge:

In the early days of Peter's discipleship, he learned at the feet of Jesus and his mind began to open as Jesus had permitted. Luke 24:45.

Matthew 16:15-17 & 19

15Then he asked them, "But who do you say I am?" 16Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17Jesus replied, "You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 19And I will give you the “keys” of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Verse 19a, Jesus did not release the keys of the Kingdom to Simon Peter because Peter means rock; the keys were released to Him because he had the revelation knowledge of whom Jesus was. It is revelation knowledge that Jesus said he would build the church on and the gates of hell shall not prevail.

That said, you should acquire more knowledge and in all thy getting, get understanding. No one entrusts a valuable possession into the hands of a child that knows little or nothing, else, the one who knows more and understands better may take his possession from him. It is God’s desire to bless and prosper you, but you have to show Him that you are fit to preserve whatever he gives to you. Paul said to Timothy, study to show yourself approved by God - 2 Timothy 2:15. Until you acquire knowledge, your inheritance will never be delivered completely to you; until you acquire knowledge, the enemy is determined to take away even the little that you’ve been able to possess.

The one that lacks knowledge of his true identity never goes far in live and that one tends to be kicked around by every Tom, Dick and Harry. The storms of life are fiercely blowing throughout the earth and it takes the man with the knowledge of himself and his creator to prevail. The Holy Spirit once ministered to me one morning and it never left me, He said that with knowledge you are unstoppable, get it! I tell you what, from that moment, after I delved into the Word of God and started making relentless searches; it’s been a dramatic turn around for me. You too can experience the same turn around. Read books by anointed authors, search the scriptures, ask questions, look with your physical eyes but pay the price to “see” with your spiritual eyes.

The Davidic Key:

Most Christians have narrowed Revelations 3:7 to the prosperity of King David – that is to the best of their understanding. By divine revelation, I came to understand that the man David did not jump into wealth like most people think every child of God should; he did not wake up one morning and saw himself as a leader. Before he amounted to anything, he faced severe oppositions, terrible hatred from his brothers, life threatening situations; yet, he lived a life of complete trust in God, regardless of imminent dangers. Little wonder he said in Psalm 34:1 “I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.”

Psalm 119:164 “Seven times a day do I praise you because of your righteous judgments.”

David lived a life of constant praise. Praising God in the face of danger, he praised God in the face of opposition and death; he praised God even in dark times. He purposed in his heart that the praises of his father will never depart from his lips irrespective of the fact that he wasn’t a leader nor a king; he trusted God completely to bring His promises to past.

Paul and Silas had this key which kept them above every situation, hence, freed from prison - Acts 16:25 & 26.

Those that have and use the key of praise and intense worship do not only command men and angels to favor them, they move God from His throne to act in their favor. Those that God seeks are those that will worship Him when all else fails, those that are sold out to him and those that completely trust Him to prevail in the end.

The Davidic key (praise) is the key that opens doors to greater heights and keeps the doors of failure and reproach closed forever. In all thy getting, get, use and preserve this key.

Next Topic – A woman's worth

The Key and its mystery (1)

Ever wondered what happens when you stand before a door you'd thought would open, but never opened, however hard you tried? You get Frustrated! What could be the cause? You probably had the wrong key - meant to open another door; or you had no key at all which resulted into struggling with the door to force it open, yet, the door remains locked.

This experience is likened to most Christians today; some have the key but use it wrongly, so they live struggling; while some do not have the key but they keep pushing, fighting, crying, pleading and trying with all their might to push the door open, all to no avail. It's that time when you have to search for that key that you need to give you access to your place of rest and how to apply it to the right door in order to open. But how? You ask.

I'll tell you one thing I've realized about keys and doors and it has always worked for me. When I use the appropriate key to open my room door, I gain access into my room, not because I opened my door but the key actually did the opening, while I initiated the opening by applying the key into the key hole; so also gaining access to your place of rest (destiny). Trying to figure out how it will be done shouldn’t zap you of the energy needed to apply the basic principles.

.......and immediately, all the doors were open. Acts 16:26.

Paul and Silas knew so much about this mystery, that closed doors began to open of their "own accord". They had the key and they knew how to apply the key even when the door did not seem like one that could open.

Peter enjoyed the result of the rightful application of the key in the face of hopelessness.

They came to the iron gate that leads to the city; which opened to them of his own accord......Acts 12:10.

The battle of the throne has never been an easy one but only a few get to ascend their throne and reign on it, because they have the secret, they know the mystery behind the key! The reason why those that have the key fail in using it or fail in proper application of the key is because they spend more time trying to figure out how it will work. In the Kingdom, between a principle and the one who abides by the principle, lies the freedom to any form of captivity; if you play by the rules, you’re bound to win.

The secret behind the key lies in the POWER at work in the one who has the key; the manifestation of glory lies in the rightful APPLICATION of the key (total obedience). When the key is released to you, all you need do is apply it where necessary, how the change will be effected isn't your business. Why worry about another party's responsibility when you're yet to carry out yours?

The disciples returned with rejoicing after applying the key....

And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject to us through your name. And he said to them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.Luke 10:17-20;

How it happened? They couldn't tell, all they knew was to apply the key given to them (the name of Jesus) and they saw results - demons bowing out! If you’ll apply the right key from this day, you’ll not only see positive results but you’ll rule and reign.

Next topic - The Key and its mystery (2)

Stick with the donut (Ignore the hole)

There’s a popular saying that “the pessimist sees the hole, while the optimist sees the donut”. Life in itself is mixed with the good and the bad, right and wrong, success and failure, ups and downs; but the one who truly sticks with the right in the midst of wrongs; stays above when down; thinks only success after several failures; smiles in the midst of the storm; etc, definitely comes out as gold.

Through the year, there were shocking news of the loss of loved ones, painful! I know, (think about the new ones that were born, maybe not into your family); there were alerts of failed deals that almost sent you to an early grave, disappointing! I know, too; (maybe so much money was involved, but think about your life that was spared – there’s hope to make even more gains from many more deals); I also know that there were situations that went out of control and properties were lost, marriages failed, children left their homes to “God knows where”, jobs were lost, you weren’t favored at that appointment you thought would change your life for good; failed relationship, quite weakening (tell me about it); hard as you try nothing seems to be going through for you, etc. All these and many more makes it even more difficult for you to see light anywhere (if at all there's light).

Most of the greatest lessons I learnt in life weren’t learnt on my bed, nor in the midst of plenty, nor on a platter of gold, nor within my comfort zone; they were learnt through my pain, I matured through my failures, through my tests, through my disobedience, through my imperfections, through the difficulties, through the loss of loved ones, through my disappointments, through my pursuit of vanity, through well packaged lies and deceit that comes with friendships that never really existed from the beginning, but guess what? I’m glad they all happened to me, I’m glad I went through them in tears and pain;  birthing joy and maturity.

The message I’ve come with is that of hope, fruitfulness and contentment. I hear you ask, but how can I keep hope alive when I’ve been through these mess? How can I be fruitful when I do not even have a seed (plan) to birth fruits as all other plans have failed? How can I be contented when there’s nothing to show, nor even hold on to? Just so you know, because the donut is made with a hole doesn’t make it less of a donut; it’s all part of the bakers plan to make it stand out from other snacks; So also, whatever you’re going through or have gone through was part of the plan to make you into that man or woman God intended you to be. 

The problem is never God, the reason you are not seeing the results that you should be producing isn't because God is slow, nor unable to provide for you, nor unable to prevent these calamities from befalling you; this is where the problem lies; you have followed and pursued the desires of your heart, so God gave you what you requested at the detriment of his will for your life which will automatically come to play when you finally realize yourself. Remember that the people of Israel asked God for a king forgetting that God was already king over their lives (1 Samuel 12:12-13), He granted their requests, but at the time His will was to come to play, their chosen King was replaced with God's chosen King, the man after His own heart who will do His will (1 Samuel 13:14), (Acts 15:20-22). How many are willing to return to their maker and have Him remold and redirect them on a better course? (Jeremiah 18:1-6).

Isaiah 30:18 
So the Lord must wait for you to come to Him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord os a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.

I know a Father that stays faithful and takes our faults; a father who is ever ready to redirect us should we miss our paths in life; a father filled with unconditional love and mercy, waiting for us to run into His open arms when we realize that we've made mistakes that seem impossible to be corrected - like the prodigal son. God is waiting for you to quit looking at all the holes and emptiness you've been struggling with, He's waiting for you to finish with all the lies and deceit you've been feeding on through the worldly wisdom from the devil; God awaits your return that He may launch you into His great riches and the abundant life that was predestined for you before time began. This life is a life filled with His presence - the Holy Spirit directed life. Stop asking God for the things you need and start asking Him for the things He has for you because your needs and wants are wrapped in His will for you. 

As you step into the New Year, take some time apart and ask God to come into your life, take away your will and give you His will; When you will aligns with God's will, you'll find perfect peace, the kind of peace that money cannot buy, the kind of peace that places you above any situation.

Unwrapping my peace (Hidden in His time)

My alarm went off at 5.30 am that Wednesday and I’d tiredly hit the snooze button (perhaps, turned the alarm off); for all I could remember, I was awake at 7.43 am. Unbelievable! I’d whispered few words to God, dashed into the bathroom, gotten dressed for work and hit the road. To my greatest surprise, all the traffic lights that would usually take about 15 minutes to get through before getting on the highway took less than five minutes that morning. “I had to make it to work by 8.30am so I could settle in before 9am”, I’d thought to myself. Getting on the highway, I was a nervous wreck on sighting from a distance what looked like traffic, as I approached the scene it was only a vehicle that had a flat tyre and the driver waved other cars to drive with caution so he could move to the end of the road. Getting to the parking garage, it was 8.29am and I’d walked into the office at 8.30am. I made it to work at the right time! Usually, I would get up at 5.30 am and get out of the house at 7am to avoid traffic but sometimes I would be in traffic for more than 40 minutes while I struggled to keep awake and make it to work at 8.30 am. What mystery!

As everyone has a special purpose and a well designed destination to reach, one thing is paramount, God’s perfect timing. Just as it was possible for me to make it to work at just the same time I would usually get to work if I left the house early, so it is with God’s perfect timing. Whenever you seek to attain a particular thing before God’s ordained time, you find it very difficult to achieve it; whenever you embark on a journey before God’s time, you cannot escape difficulties along the journey. That is why there are too many people locked up in the mess of their quick decisions. I know that we are in a free world where anyone can choose to do what they want to do and when they’ll do it, but for anyone that wants to escape the pain and destruction that comes with self purposed lifestyle, it is expedient that you wait for God’s timing.

Ecclesiastes 3:11A - He has made everything beautiful in his time……

Waiting for God’s time may not be the sweetest thing anyone can do, but the results will certainly prove to you that the wait was worth it. Several times, you might have found yourself asking why you are not getting what others are getting even if you know that you’re perfect to have the same thing or even more qualified to have it, but it isn’t coming through for you when you really want it; that’s simply because your time to have it isn’t fully ripe. You may want to ask; can I meander my way around and still get it? Sure. Why not? But I promise you that you’ll struggle to keep that which was never meant to get to you at the time you received it because God was not in the plan, you were!

Some of the horrible results you get when you’re not following God’s leading or guidance are disappointments, failures, shame, betrayals, deceits, road blocks, depression, missed targets and the ilk. One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is patience (Galatians 5:22), but most Christians lack this virtue and that’s why you find them living frustrated lives. Having taken time to look into this perfect timing with God, I realized one thing; SECURITY.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

Walking in God’s time will give you more success than anyone around you ever achieved because God will equip you to attain that level of success that you may sustain it with His wisdom. For example, some people couldn’t go to school when their mates were attending college or some sort of school, not because they didn’t have the money nor weren't smart but because they were waiting for God’s time to have things work out for them and at the time they gained admission to attend college, they came out with the best grades and landed good jobs faster than those that graduated before them. That’s what God’s time can do for you. One could have been married just because she felt at 25 any lady who isn’t married may never find a good husband, but guess what? So many people end up pushing it through with their husbands after they pick a life partner according to their biological clock, or husbands pushing it through with their wives because they did not allow God mature them before taking that huge step, instead, they created it themselves and now they wished they waited a little longer to either be with the right person or mature intellectually, morally, materially, etc to manage their homes. What about those that had the privilege to make some money to start up a business that would have opened other businesses had they allowed God to direct them according to His plan? Some ended up with fraudsters; some squandered the money while some invested their money in wrong places.

It takes a spirit led man or woman to walk in God’s perfect time and the results are quite distinct. The Psalmist said; my times are in your hand: deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from them that persecute me. (Psalm 31:15). Because the one who created you has the master plan of your life, it is important that you yield yourself to His leading, however painful and lowly it may appear that you may not be trapped in the pit of frustration, rejection and defeat. Friends and family may mock and look down on you, colleagues will call you insane, neighbor may call you abnormal, it’s part of God’s plan to reveal His glory through you, just wait on God.

Some of the ways to wait without panicking is to have God tell you what to do while you wait; stay focused doing His will and allow Him work out His good pleasure in you while you wait on Him to fulfill His promises in your life. Trust me, there will be distracting events that may appear to push you out of God’s will, just be still before God, just call Him Abba father for he hears you. I’ve never seen anyone that missed parts waiting on God for their time, instead they bore fruits (bountiful harvests) at the right time, they stayed green in winter and prospered in ALL they did, (Psalm 1:3). Men’s calendar says you’re late but God’s calendar says you’re right on time because you have things work out for you while others are struggling with it. Lamentation 3:25-26 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Struggling becomes history in your life when you locate God's will for your life, start walking in it and remain in it with all your heart. Just because you started it wrongly doesn't mean God cannot intervene when you go to Him, He always has a plan "B". I love God so much that whenever I miss my steps with Him, He waits for me to return to Him that he may redirect me and give me an expected end. (Isaiah 30:18) And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him. Everything the Lord does, He does for His name sake, not because of anything you have done. So return to Him for direction.

Dear Lord, I accept that I've missed my steps and fallen out of your will for my life, I ask that you forgive me and bring me back into your perfect will for my life. I've brought upon myself struggles that i could have avoided, but i believe in your unfailing love, I run into your open arms that you may give me peace through divine guidance, In Jesus Name.