Reflecting the character of Christ

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:16-26

The kingdom of God starts here on earth. All who live in sin cannot enjoy the presence and grace of God. Witchcraft is not only about riding about on a broom, if you wish them evil, do people harm; it is witchcraft. When we do all those things to our neighbour and to our body that does not reflect the nature of Christ we will not inherit the kingdom of God.
If we can imbibe the fruits if the spirit, we are living above the laws of Moses.

A lot of people are afraid to correct people and ensure they have good Christ like character so we don't lose friends or lose church members. The essence of sound Christian character cannot be wished away, they cannot be overlooked. In the past when people become born again the changes from the old to the new is visible. Unlike what we have this days the old is not becoming new. Born again Christians live together sin.

A lot of us suffer or face problems today not because of what we do today but for the offense we committed yesterday.

People must become Christ-like by their character and not just by the words of their mouth. Our attitude and behaviour must change; our Christianity mist show. A nation cannot experience proper transformation without the character of a large part of its people changing.

As Christians, our character must be one the world must be willing to emulate. The society has turned upside down because the essence of character has been lost. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. Galatians 5:2 KJV. If in your life, you do not have the fruit of the spirit, you are not a Christian in truth and Spirit.

The bible says if you do not have love, joy, peace, not long suffering; then you are not a Christian.
Today who does your character remind people of? Does your character remind people of Christ?Today we have Christians who can no longer tell the truth. People themselves do not want to tell or hear the truth.

We must be ready to pay the price for our Christ-like nature and Christianity. A Christian must be a bringer of joy.

Things we must do to share joy

• Help others to overcome their fear
• An encourager of people
• Give hope to people
• Your life must give a reassurance of God
• Give without regret
• Strive to perfection

Those things we think we want are not really what we need. A lot of us seek encouragement in material things and neglect the place of character in our life as a Christian.

Check yourself and see if you truly have the character of Christ? Do you accept correction with a joyful heart? Does the love of Christ reflect in you? Do you live in sin and call it modern living?

If your life doesn't reflect Christ, then you need to change the direction of your life.

We come to you Father with a contrite heart and ask that our character begin to reflect Christ. In Jesus name, we pray.

The Principle of Aspiring PT 2

And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. 1 Samuel 17:23-24 KJV

The victory over Goliath required a counter challenge by the children of Israel. David had an understanding of what Elisha said to his servant. And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 2 King 6:16 KJV. 

Everybody has a Goliath that is speaking against our face saying we will see how you succeed. To counter this however, in every home, nation and place there is a David that has been looked down on. It is up to us to let go of our fear and let David overcome the uncircumcised philistine that is enslaving us  and trying hold us back that we may not succeed.

There is nothing wrong in aspiring in life, career, family. It is human nature to aspire to succeed. The challenge in life is that even as we aspire we are frightened by the Goliath in our life, We are afraid to come out of our comfort zone. We have become enslaved by the circumstances of our life, we listen to what people say. The slothful man saith, There is a lion in the way; a lion is in the streets. Proverbs 26:13 KJV. 

Too many people have very little aspiration and most people aspire to nothing. In 1 Samuel 17 the children of Israel saw the giant and ran away, their aspiration of victory in battle over the philistines were dashed by a goliath. They were gripped by fear. Life is for the bold and the brave, and the life we are not strong to protect will run away from us. Goliath means an exile, a wanderer from the wine press. Goliath was therefore not worthy of the fear because he was a nobody in the land, all he had was the noise he made. A lot of the Goliath in our life has no substance and is not worthy of the fear and attention we give to it.

For us, that challenge we face may seem like a big and insurmountable but the truth of the Word of God tells us that nothing can be too big for the God who is lord over all we can see or think. The mystery of challenges is anything that is big is only so in our imagination. It is like smoke in the wind, like chaff. Whatever is big in our eyes is very tiny before God, all we need to do is to give David a chance in our life to express himself and to try what he wants to try so he can bring the Goliath in your life down.

Today speak to God and ask that where ever your David is, the Lord should bring him forth and let him take on the Goliath and put an end to him. Stand today with the believe that every Goliath in your life is of no significance because Christ has already nailed them to the cross. He stripped all the spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets. Colosians 2:15 MSG. Therefore that Goliath in your life has already lost its power; all it has are barks with no bite. Move on and live the victorious life of Christ that lives in you.

As children of God we have the answer to the Goliath that is holding us back from overcoming.

1. Having an understanding of who God is- God is all powerful, all encompassing and can do all things which includes overcoming trillions of Goliaths with just the move of a finger
2. Having an understanding of who we are - He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world 
3. Have the ability to aspire to greater things- aspire and take action, move in the trust in the God who holds you in the palm of His hands
4. We must get away from those things that is holding us down
5. You must know and differentiate the fact from the truth - fact was that Goliath was a giant who was a champion fighter but truth is that God is greater and mightier than every Goliath combined
6. All that we need to know is that God can do all things and he can make little things to solve dig problems - David was a small young man before a giant but Goliath was so big that a small stone could not miss.

The Principle of Aspiring PT 1

And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. 1 Samuel 17:23-24 KJV

Goliath was a champion, one who had won so many battles, who had been challenging the children of Israel for days on end. He would come out every day and challenge the Isrealites to chose a person to battle. He made fun of the children of Israel. He promised that his people shall be slaves to Israel if just one of the soldiers of Israel could beat him in battle. Every one of us has a Goliath shouting against our success and breakthrough, saying and making us believe we would not enjoy the promises of God.

Goliath stood out and kept the Isrealites in a state of fears and trembling. In Nigeria one of our Goliaths is called corruption, it is shouting that Nigeria would not progress. It is frightening the children of God and making it difficult for the Christians in Nigeria to progress.

David was a young man of 17 years and he heard the challenge of Goliath and asked about what is happening. To him Goliath may be a giant, he may be tall and a champion in battle; but in all of this achievements and victory reports all was is an uncircumcised philistine. And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. 1 Samuel 17:26-27 KJV.

The spirit of Goliath is a spirit of

1. Threatening
2. Fear 
3. Enslavement 
4. Shame 
5. Reproach 

David's aspiration was to face the giant who spoke against the chosen one of God. To him the battle was against the Holy one of Israel and therefore the battle was already won. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. 46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 1 Samuel 17:45-46 KJV. 

David looked the enemy in the face, stood before him with a complete trust in God and knew that the battle was already won. He saw Goliath and he saw a man of no significance and so he didn't even allow fear to have any place in his heart. David knew God was bigger than Goliath, God had won more victories than Goliath could ever fight in, God had all lives in his hands and so the goliath had already been defeated.

How great is your destiny?

Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Jeremiah 1:4-5 KJV

You have a great destiny! No matter how things look, your destiny prepared before you were born is a great one. Where you are is not where you are going. You have a great destiny. The business of life is a serious business. Even though our destiny is great, we must work to bring that greatness to the light. We as the owners of the destiny must not just sit down and wait for the destiny to fulfill itself.

We are to be ready to be aggressive and violence for “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12 KJV”. Basically, it means life is not a bed of roses, it is not easy, things won't come to us except we work for it. Sometimes we might have to fight to get to that point of success before it becomes ours. We must be ready to give it our all.

The brothers of Joseph hated him, not because he offended them or did something bad to them. Most times when people hate us, it sometimes does not have anything to do with what you have done, but more with what they perceive you will become. The bible says the 3 wise men saw the star of Christ. So because people have seen your star they begin to hate you.
The bible also says that a man’s enemy is in his household. The natural thing is for a parent to love their children or for siblings to love each other, However, we find that we find cases where the parent hates their child, or a brother hates his sister or brother.

People would see your star, they would look at you and they would do all their best to make sure you do not fulfill destiny. When the 3 wise men visited Herod to enquire about the birth of the messiah for whom they have seen his star. Herod inquired like he was interested, but his interest was so he would know where the child would be born and when.  As a result of the visit from the 3 wise men, thousands of babies where killed in the land of Israel.

It is important to note that as Christians, carrying the torch of the gospel, we must be mindful of where we go and who we share our visions with.

We are to know who we are and know who God is. When God came to Jeremiah, Jeremiah’s thought was that he was a child therefore he cannot speak to the children of Israel.  However, God wanted that child. Instead of God to go on and tell him, “you can do it and all that reassurance”, Jeremiah was told to not say he was a child. “But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.” Jeremiah 1:7 KJV. Instead God told him that he would speak that which He (God) says.

All of us have a great destiny from God. It has been per-ordained even before we were conceived in our mother’s womb. However, we grow up and begin to see ourselves in a different light from which God sees us. God sees a great man or woman, a great child. We see a man, woman, or child that cannot become great. We see a child with imitations.

Today like God says to Jeremiah, He is also saying to you, see yourself just the way I see you. Look at yourself through my eyes and see the destiny and purpose I have mapped out for you. Just like Jeremiah grew to be a great Prophet in Israel, you also shall be great in the world. Your name and your legacy shall be one which shall be read for generations to come.

All that you need is to let God in and let your thoughts align with his.

The power of positive thinking

And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: Genesis 37: 5-6

Joseph brothers hated him not because of anything, but because of the love his father had for him. When Joseph dreamed, and shared it to his brothers, they hated him the more. He was just a child of 17 yrs whom his father loved. Yet his brothers who were older than him hated him and envied him. They hated him for 2 reasons; they hated him because his father loved him, they hated him for his dreams.

In Genesis 37, the bible made us to understand that a man had 12 sons. And out of the twelve, only one has the capacity to think. We are what we are by the things we think. A lot of us have issues with our thoughts. We do not have the ability to control our thoughts and what we think about. We are blown whichever way by the power of our thoughts, or the inability of our thoughts

The power of the thinking in the mind of Joseph helped him to have a focus and purpose which he worked towards. It was the power of his thinking that gave him the wisdom to not be derailed when the wife of his boss sought him out. He knew who he was and where he was going, he had the understanding that succumbing to the pleasure she offered would derail his purpose. 

His thoughts and thinking manifested in the benefits of his thought. 

There are three categories of people in life. 

1. The people that think and make things happen
2. The people that watch things happen because they cannot think it through
3. The people that cannot make things happen because they cannot think at all

The bible tells us that Joseph started thinking at the age of 17. The earlier we start thinking about our future, the better. Children at particular age should be left to be adults. We baby ourselves almost to the last, hence, our children remain babies even in adulthood. At the age of 17 Joseph was taking responsibility, he was taking care of his father’s business. We must begin to think of who we are and who we want to become. We need to think, and think well in advance. 

Relating this to our children of this age, what they think about is nicoledeon, soccer, T.v shows. At 17 years you would rarely find a child thinking about his future. Their thoughts do no have a far reaching span. Those that does, do not carry the weight and leading of the spirit. 

Why do our children still remain babies even after they have reached adulthood?

The reason is because as parents, we think for them, and don`t let them do the thinking themselves. 

 Things to do to be able to think effectively

1. We need to know God for ourselves, and not through the eyes of others. 
2. Need to seek knowledge.  As wisdom and knowledge is a critical thing. Proverbs 
3. We need to be a positive thinker.  A lot of us been too negative, and it is really affecting us. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2 KJV
4. We need to enlarge our coast and expand our territories and we do away with negativity. The more Joseph was hated, the greater his dreams became 

                                     Change your thinking.....

The Christian Character Part 2

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Mathew 16:24 KJV

A lot of us Christians take the work of God and our walk with God for granted. We seek to do things in a way that is soothing to us as individuals. God is very finicky about the life that we lead as a Christian.

The bible says that Ruben slept with his father's wife and the father heard and pretended like he didn't hear. They were still doing things together but he didn't say anything. That is how God deals with us. He waits and watches to see what we would do. Everything we have done God has seen and heard, even to the thoughts of our heart (good or bad).

When something good comes somebody's way it is not luck, or a mistake but it is God giving reward to the works of our hands. God is a God of equity and fairness and he is concerned about the life of the people who call him their own. The price of Christianity is very high and most of us live purely by grace. There is a price to be paid for everyone of our actions either good or bad.

God examines our heart all the time to see what is inside our heart. A lot of Christians do not fear the Lord, we see God as a being who is far away; who is lenient and would look the other way when we do wrong. Everywhere you look the children of God are emulating the characters that is seen in the life of non-Christians. Christ said that anyone who wants to follow him has to forsake everything that would act as a distraction and take us away from the path of righteousness.

The life of a Christian is to be one that exemplifies the life of Christ, exhibiting the characters that Christ laid down for us while he walked the earth.

Remember that God is watching. He wants to see our life, would it reflect his nature? If we are going to be Christians let us be Christians. Let us examine ourselves and see if our actions are right. Before we take that action let us ask ourselves if it would bless God and shine a path to the people around us of the goodness of the Lord.

The Christian character Part 1

A christian's life is not one of convenience or ease but a life of determination and keeping your eyes on the goal.
The christian life must be tailored on the example of Jesus Christ. Our life must be seen to live by the following characters

1. humility
2. fear of God
3. passion

Humility is a human quality that brings us low before God and makes us to not see ourselves as better than other people around us. The word tells that the "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." For us to have the grace from God we must put ourselves in that place of humility. Bringing ourselves low before God so that He can lift us up. 

Humility comes hand in glove with reverence for God. It is almost impossible to be a humble Christian believer and not revere God. Therefore right their after humility is "fear of the Lord". Our God does great things and fearful things. 

Having a strong feeling about and for something or someone is a character that is needed to succeed in any area of life and relationships. This strong feeling is passion.  A passionate person brings everything he has and feels into what he does. He is not bothered by challenges or the pains that may result from walking the path he has chosen. A Christian's life must be one of passion; we must be passionate about what we do for God and our fellowship with Him. 

As we go about our daily living in the next month we must do so with a humble heart, a life that reveres God and a passion that brings people to Christ. Let us live by the example that Christ laid down for us.