RESURRECTION BLESSINGS (4)

“And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22 NKJV).

The importance of this simple act of our resurrected Saviour will be fully understood against the backdrop of the creation of the first man. “Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person” (Genesis 2:7 NLT). After God formed the first human being from the dust of the earth, he was no more than a mere work of heavenly art.  God had to breathe into his nostrils before he could become a living person.  Through this simple act of breathing, God imparted a divine essence in man, a life principle that made him a living person. The breath of God bequeathed on man nonmaterial values such the mind, the will, the emotions and all that distinguishes him from animals. More importantly, this breath from God imbued man with the propensity to desire God and want to be with Him.

When man sinned, in obedience to satan, he lost most of the essential parts of this impartation and whatever was left became corrupted with the nature of his new master satan. He could no longer desire God and cherish His company. When God came calling in the garden, Adam and Eve, his wife ran from His presence.  “When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” (Genesis 3:8-10 NLT).  The word naked came from the root word in Hebrew, which means, “to be made bare.” It means not only that they were without covering over their body, but also that they have been robbed of everything dear to them. Everything that distinguished them from mere animals, all the godly qualities and values that make them attractive in the sight of God were all either gone or unrecognisably corrupted.  This poverty of values they inherited from satan became the new nature of man and was made evident when their first child killed his brother.  Faced with the lifeless corpse of their son Abel, the real import of sin dawned on Adam and his wife. What regret that must have welled up in them!

Man remained in that state until Christ died on the Cross and rose from the dead.  Recall that Jesus came for the sole purpose of destroying the work of the devil and restoring life to people.  When He concluded the work of our redemption, He visited His disciples who represented the humanity of all race and time and restored that divine essence by breathing on the disciples as representatives of the rest of humanity who would trust Him for their salvation.  As He breathed to the dust-man at creation for him to become a living person, so He breathed on the redeemed man so he could become spiritually alive.

“...And said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” signifying that life in the New Covenant is going to be in the power of the Holy Spirit and not by the dictates of flesh and blood. By this declaration, our Lord accomplished a definite impartation of spiritual life in the disciples. This declaration remains in force until today. Any time someone repents and turns to Christ, this declaration is activated in the person and the Holy Spirit moves in to impart spiritual life into the person and graft the person into the Body of Christ. Paul explains, “Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13 NLT)

This means that as believers in Christ, you have this life of Christ imparted in you and by so doing you have become an integral part of the Body of Christ. You are one with Him and nothing can ever separate you from Him. You are saved and safe in Him who is the head of every principality and power. Rejoice in your redemption and celebrate your Redeemer “for in Him we live and move and have our being...” (Acts 17:28 NKJV). It shall be well with you.

RESURRECTION BLESSINGS (3)

“...As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” (John 20:21 NKJV)

The first impression that comes to mind upon reading this text is that our Lord desires us to see Him as our model. While on earth, He modelled how we ought to live and minister.  The way He related with the Father was the way He expects us to relate with Him. The way the Father treated Him is the way He wants us to expect the Father to treat us. Whatever the Father made possible with Christ, we should expect the Father to make possible with us in the name of Jesus. Following Jesus as our model with our human ability would have been an utter impossibility.  Therefore, He promised us – “as the Father sent me, I am sending you.”  The key question for us to consider should be this, how did the Father send Jesus? Let me share only four possibilities.

He Sent Him With Power – “And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” (Acts 10:38 NLT). The Father anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power, which enabled Him to proclaim the gospel with authority and to heal the sick and cast out demons from people. Our Lord is sending us with similar power and anointing to preach as He did, healing the sick and casting out demons.  The Holy Spirit is upon us to empower us to stand for Christ on earth with His authority and power.

He Sent Him With A Message – “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people” (Matthew 4:23 NKJV). The Father sent Jesus with a message known as the gospel of the kingdom. The gospel of the kingdom is the variety of the gospel that seeks to bring the governing influence of God over the earth in line with the Our Lord’s prayer, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In the gospel of the kingdom, God intends to impart His will and values on people creating a culture and value system that manifest His desires and nature on believers. Hence, the gospel becomes a vehicle through which heaven invades the earth.

He Sent Him With His Presence – “You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. 16And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me” (John 8:15-16 NLT). The Father did not leave Jesus on His own while He lived and worked on earth.  A possible exception would probably be when He was on the Cross bearing our sins. Apart from that, the Presence of the Father constantly overshadowed Jesus from conception until He went back to heaven. “So Jesus explained, I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does” (John 5:19 NLT). This level of abiding intimacy with the Father is what Jesus wants us to experience in our relationship with Him. He promised to be with us always until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

He Sent Him To Love And Save The World – “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17 NLT). The Father sent Jesus into the world to serve as the means for its salvation. He planned to save the world through the life, sacrifice, death and resurrection of Christ.  In the same way, Jesus sent us into the world to serve as a means through which the world will experience the love of the Father. “We are Christ’s ambassadors. God is using us to speak to you: we beg you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, receive the love he offers you—be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20 LB).  

There can be no greater blessing than that Christ would trust us enough to send you as the Father sent Him. We are His ambassadors, His co-labourers, and His joint-heirs.  His blessing and glory will overshadow us as we represent and re-present Him to the world through the power of His Spirit. Amen!

RESURRECTION BLESSINGS (2)

“Again he said, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” (John 20:21 NKJV)

One of the most sought after, and yet the most elusive of all human experiences is peace.  The world wants peace and spends billions of dollars annually in search of it, without making any headway.  One of the big dreams of the United Nations is a peaceful world without wars. But since its founding in 1948, the world has become more acrimonious than ever.  Militant Islam has created several hotspots of violence across the world and the blood of innocent people is steadily being shed.   Our world today is replete with ethno-religiously motivated violence that has robbed us of our sense of peace.  The spat of armed robbery, kidnapping and other forms of violent crimes constitute steady breaches to peace and harmony in our society. This is hardly the world God set out to create!

 God envisioned and created a world where human beings can live in peace and harmony with Him and with one another. Sin was the spanner that undid our peace.  Through sin, man introduced disorder into God’s order and thereby rejected the peace God had meant for us.  We lost peace at four distinct levels: We lost peace with God, we lost peace with ourselves –internal peace, we lost peace with one another, and we lost peace with creation. Man’s embrace of sin means his forfeiture of peace. Our Lord came to free us from this deadly embrace of sin and make peace between God and us. Hence, Paul explained, “God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold the world guilty of its sins. And he gave us this message of peace.” (2 Corinthians 5:19 NCV). Christ died on the cross to make peace between God and sinful humans. He becomes the bridge through which we can all go back to our Father.

Before He went to the cross, He promised His disciples, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27 NKJV). I consider this a promise because the basis for peace had not yet been formalised by His death and resurrection. God could not make peace with humans on any other ground. The Scripture therefore testifies, “But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away from God are brought near through the blood of Christ’s death” (Ephesians 2:13 NCV).  The Blood of Christ is the vehicle of peace with God. When one comes to Christ by faith, that Blood wipes away all the tokens of enmity with God and unites him or her with the family of the Father.

When Jesus proclaimed peace to the disciples on the resurrection morning, it was more than mere words. It was a conferral of heavenly peace to them.  This peace implied that they are “set at one again” with God, with themselves, with one another and the creation at large.  From that moment on, anybody can enjoy peace with God simply by coming in simple faith to Christ and accepting Him as Saviour and Lord. Jesus is the author of our peace. True and lasting peace flows only from His Presence.  Wherever, He presences Himself, there you will find peace.  He is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Anywhere He reigns, there is peace. He is the Lord of peace who will always give one peace in every way (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

How do we enjoy the resurrection blessing of peace with God that our Lord provided for us?  The prophet Isaiah gives us a clear answer to this question. “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV). To enjoy the peace of God, you must intentionally “stay” your mind on God.  To stay one’s mind on God means to lean upon or to take hold of God, to keep Him constantly on the screen of your mind and cherish beautiful thoughts of God’s dealings with you.  It is to think about God and talk to him intermittently all through the days. It is to pull back from your occupations from time to time to reflect on His love for you and humanity at large. May the peace of God reign in your heart as you learn to lean on Him all through your life in Jesus’ name.   

RESURRECTION BLESSINGS (1)

“That evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors, in fear of the Jewish leaders, when suddenly Jesus was standing there among them! After greeting them, He showed them his hands and side. And how wonderful was their joy as they saw their Lord!” (John 20:19-20 KNJV)

The death of Christ dealt a devastating blow on the apostles. They were so stricken with fear that they had to lock themselves in a house in fear of the Jewish leaders –who having killed their Master could easily swoop on them like birds of prey.  Why were they afraid? Because they did not believe the word of Jesus that He would rise again.  When Mary Magdalene brought the good news to the apostles that Jesus was risen and had appeared to her, “they did not believe” (Mark 16:11 NKJV). Our Lord rebuked two other disciples on their way to Emmaus for their unbelief. “Then Jesus said to them, “You are such foolish, foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures! Wasn’t it clearly predicted by the prophets that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his time of glory?”(Luke 24:25-26 NKJV). He later revealed Himself to them at the breaking of bread and upon realising He was alive, all fear left them and they returned to Jerusalem.

The awareness of the Presence of Christ is the antidote to our fears in life. Jesus is alive and He is with us always until the end of the world. Knowing and believing this will free you from the prison of fear that has been the most reason we have not been living as we are meant to live. What are those fears that has held you captive over the years? Fear of death? Fear of failure?  Fear of your enemies?  Fear that things may not work out the way you planned them?  Name your fear and bring them face to face with the resurrected and ever-living Saviour. Realise that Jesus is present with you in the midst of your fear.

He appeared to the disciples in the midst of their fear! “That evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors, in fear of the Jewish leaders, when suddenly Jesus was standing there among them! ...” Being able to locate Jesus in the midst of your fear is one giant step to overcoming it.  Knowing He is there dispels the shadow of fear and replaces it with the cloud of glory.

Often people think that God  has abandoned them when beclouded with fear.  On the contrary, He is always there at such moments of great weakness.  When the disciples became aware of the Presence of Jesus, they lost the consciousness of fear and became filled with joy –“And how wonderful was their joy as they saw their Lord!” Notice that nothing else changed in their situation except the awareness of the Presence of Jesus. The angry Jewish leaders were still there plotting against them.  They were still behind closed doors. But rather than fear, they were now filled with joy all because of the sudden awareness that Jesus is alive after all.

In the resurrection of Jesus, heaven declared victory for you over all your fears. Anything that forced you to hide behind closed doors cannot stand the conscious awareness that Jesus is risen from dead and is alive in the midst of your circumstances. The awareness of His abiding Presence creates an atmosphere of victorious joy for you at all times.  It does not matter where fear had driven you to, Jesus will meet you there. He cannot give up on you because He paid a great price for your life.  The scare on His hands, His feet, and on His side are constant reminders to Him of how valuable you are to the Father.  When He met with the disciples in their hideout, “He showed them his hands and side.” He did that to proof that He was the same Jesus that they saw crucified on the cross.   Secondly, to remind them that He paid so great a price to let the enemy torment them endlessly with fear.

Our Lord is alive! All fear is gone! We can now face our fears and overcome them. The victory has been won and it is not in contention at all. Our Jesus is the Lord!

PURSUING GOD’S GLORY (7)

“I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer” (Psalm 63:4 NLT).

Pursuit of God is a lifelong commitment to cultivate an increasingly intimate relationship with Him. Building a strong and deep relationship with any person is usually a tasking job that demands earnestness, exertion and endurance. The feebleminded cannot seek God. They would lack the patience and fortitude to study the ways of God and understand His operational models.  God does not work with our time frame but with His. He is neither slow nor fast in the ways we understand those terms, but is always on time and in time for what He plans to do. Seeking God demands unflinching dedication to the lifestyle of praise –a habit of praising God at all times, when situations are praise-worthy and when they are not. This is not the way human beings naturally respond to situations but it’s God’s chosen way.  

Praise attracts God and confers on humans the privilege of hosting His Presence.  David underscores this unique power of praise when he declared, “But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3 NKJV). The Hebrew word interpreted “enthroned” means “to sit down, to dwell, to remain or to settle.” God does not just come when you praise Him; He comes to sit down with you and to settle as He enjoys the sweet aroma of your praise and worship.  Praising God draws Him to us and causes Him to remain with us affording us a unique opportunity to develop intimate relationship with Him. In a nutshell, praise occasions a habitation of God among His worshiping community.

The mystery of praise is demonstrated in the manifold ways God blessed Judah, the son of Jacob.  Judah means praise. “Once again Leah became pregnant and gave birth to another son. She named him Judah, for she said, “Now I will praise the LORD!...” (Genesis 29:35 NLT). Judah was the most favoured son of Jacob by divine election. Left to Jacob, Joseph would have gotten everything but God chose Judah.  Jacob prophesied over Judah with these words:

“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you.  Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down; he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, or a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people. (Genesis 49:8-10 NKJV)

The mantle for leadership was upon Judah. He was the one his brothers shall praise. Accordingly, the greatest kings of the ancient Israel were descendants of Judah.  David, a grandson of Judah was outstanding as a worshiper of God. He wrote the majority of the psalms and elevated the worship of God to a national status in Israel. Our Lord Jesus was a descendant of Judah, therefore the sceptre did not depart from him or the lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh (Jesus) came. Praise was perfected in Christ. Another descendant of Judah, Solomon had the awesome privilege of building for God a place of habitation (2 Chronicles 6:2), where praises were offered continually to Him.

God’s attraction to praise has not changed. Until today, He still communicates Himself to those who praise Him in every circumstance. God shows up anywhere He is praised.  When Jehoshaphat praised Him in the battlefield, He showed up and granted Him victory without a fight.

And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.” Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. (2 Chronicles 20:21-22 NKJV)

If you are hungry for the manifest Presence of God, praise will bring Him. He enjoys hanging out with people who praise Him. When you lift Him up in praise, He comes in glory to honour you and to bless you. Praise magnifies God and unleashes our faith to trust Him more. Praise emboldens us to pray more effectively. Praise draws His power to meet our need. Stay on your track in pursuit of God but remember that a lifestyle of praise will get you there faster than any other means.   

PURSUING GOD’S GLORY (6)

“So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory” (Psalm 63:2 NKJV).

One of the places people expect to find God is in His sanctuary.  The sanctuary is a place of worship –a place where people gather routinely to worship God. The tabernacles of Moses and David, the temple of Solomon, as well as the Jewish Synagogues are examples of sanctuaries mentioned in the Bible.  In those days, people who were hungry for fellowship with God usually go to the sanctuary to do so. “Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp” (Exodus 33:7 NKJV). Thus, it was a biblical tradition for people to go to the sanctuary to seek God.  God honoured those who came to look for Him with His manifest Presence. Here was the testimony of Moses: “And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. Therefore, the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle” (Exodus 33:9, 11 NKJV). What glorious encounters Moses and Joshua must have enjoyed as they sought God in the sanctuary!

 Did you realise that while Moses and Joshua enjoyed a face-to-face encounter with God, the rest of the people were satisfied worshiping at a distance from the comfort of their tent doors. “All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door” (Exodus 33:10 NKJV).Here was God, available to all the people, but only two could step out of their comfort zones to seek God in the sanctuary. The mere fact of leaving your shop, office, or house to go to church to spend some personal time with God is a strong enough a signal to yourself  as well as to God that you mean business. While it is okay to pray at your tent doors, it will help greatly to go to church when there is no service going on just to hang out with God in His house.

I recall how I used to go to the church as a small boy to pray.  What motivated me then was the understanding that God was present in the Blessed Sacrament and would readily hear me when I pray.  Granted that I was not born again then, but most of the prayers I prayed then were answered.  Anytime someone takes time out of a busy day to seek God in His sanctuary, great blessings always accrues to such a person. When I came into Owerri newly, I used to go to the Holiness Evangelistic Church auditorium to pray in the afternoons when the noise would be at its peak at my office then at 197 Wetheral Road. Such personal times in the Presence of God in His sanctuary were most invaluable in my spiritual development.  The Psalmist therefore modelled a habit worthy of our emulation –making time to go to the sanctuary for a personal encounter with God’s Presence.

What was the dominant desire of David as he sought God in His sanctuary?  “So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory” (Psalm 63:2 NKJV). He desired to experience the power and the glory of God. He did not only want to have a right concept of God, but also to experience an encounter with His Person.  He did not want to be counted among those whom Paul described to Timothy as “having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof” (2 Timothy 3:5 KJV).  To experience the power and glory of God in our lives as individuals in our time together in church for corporate worship would demand the manifest Presence of God. Power and glory flows from His Presence and not merely from having accurate principles about God.  Whenever God shows up, power explodes and glory is revealed.  Don’t come to church just for a rehearsal of the principles of God but to experience His manifest Presence. It is only as we encounter His Presence that we will see His power and glory. O God we need more of Your Presence at any cost in Jesus Name. 

PURSUING GOD’S GLORY (5)

“My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me” (Psalm 63:8 KJV).

As the prophet Elijah began his last journey on earth, his servant Elisha resolved to inherit his legacy. He determined to cling to Elijah with undivided attention and unclouded focus. On three different occasions, Elijah tried to discourage Elisha from following him, but on those three occasions, his suggestions hit a stone wall in Elisha –“As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you...”(2 Kings 2:4,6,9 NKJV). The younger prophet was resolute in his determination to inherit the legacy of his master.

Finally, the day came when Elijah was to be translated to heaven by a fiery chariot. He called Elisha to make one final request from him before he was taken up. Elisha, who had been amazed at the intensity of the power of God upon Elijah, asked for a double portion of the anointing on Elijah. By asking for a “double portion” of Elijah’s spirit, Elisha was simply asking to become the heir of Elijah and therefore be favoured to step into his prophetic office and gifts. This request was beyond the powers of Elijah to grant because only God determines who serves as His prophet. Elijah responded that Elisha’s request would be granted on one condition –“if you see me when I am taken up from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so” (2 Kings 2:10 NKJV). On hearing the condition for his request to be met, Elisha clung to Elijah with even firmer determination so as not to miss what God is about to do with him. He followed hard after Elijah! 

To follow hard after a thing is to pursue it with such a resolve as if your whole life depends on getting that thing. In our context, to follow hard after God means to seek and yearn after His intimacy with an ever-increasing intensity. It is to do everything within your power once you find God, to keep Him with you at all cost. For many of us, our quest for God ends with our conversion.  The new birth experience signals the beginning of spiritual relationship with God, which is nurtured for as long as the person has the breath of life. There is so much growing in God that will last forever. Several years ago, I was much troubled by the insatiable desire to know more of God that I asked God about it. He gave me an answer that settles it for me forever. He said, “Maturity in Christ is always a goal for those who are not fools.”  In our relationship with God, the moment you begin to feel that you have arrived, you know you are only beginning. Anytime you feel you are on top, it indicates you are right at the bottom.

Following hard after God means, to pursue Him closely through the thick and thin of life with all the energy at our disposal.  It is being full and being hungry at the same time. In the physical world, the more food we eat, the less hungry we feel. It is the opposite in the spiritual. The more of God we have, the hungrier for Him we become.  God is an infinite mystery, which will forever remain unexplored by our finite mind. Genuine hunger for God drives us to His Presence resulting in increasing waves of encounter as we yearn for more and more of Him. God invites us to dive deeper and deeper into the knowledge of His glory. His invitation is also His assurance that we will never be disappointed.

Our souls follow hard after God simply because He upholds us with His right hand.  None can pursue God unless He bids him to come.  As A.W. Tozer observed in his ever-refreshing classic, The Pursuit of God, “The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him. All the time we are pursuing Him, we are already in His hand: “Thy right hand upholdeth me.” What a truth! The desire to follow hard after God is a proof that we are already firmly secure in His hand. At no other time is following hard after God more needful than now. Many are following after mere mirage, which will end in avoidable heart aches. Only God is worthy of our pursuits because only Him truly satisfies. Resolve with the Psalmist to follow hard after Him even as He upholds you in His right hand in Jesus Name.