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| The Pulpit Mandate |
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By
Carl Umegboro
Commonsensically,
God should be rightfully tagged a liar by his actions, lifestyle and deeds.
Bible recorded that God described a dead man, buried and already stinking after
four days as sleeping, “Our friend
Lazarus sleepeth…..”. Incidentally, God attributively functions by
eternal life which is superior to human life and commonsense, and thereby
omniscient and omnipotent.
God is
omnipotent! God is the everlasting King! The bible describes lie as an
obsession that is absolutely impossible for God to embark on. “In hope of
eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world
began”(Titus 1:2) . Similarly, it goes further: “That by two immutable
things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong
consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us”
(Hebrews 6:18)...
God is omnipotent! God
is the everlasting King! The bible describes lie as an obsession that is absolutely
impossible for God to embark on. “In
hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the
world began”(Titus 1:2) .
Similarly,
it goes further: “That
by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we
might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the
hope set before us”
(Hebrews 6:18)Most times, people assume that God’s inability to lie is connected to His holy and righteous nature since lie is tantamount to transgression. Perhaps, in contradistinction, God is either conscientious or vigilant to avoid committing sin in accordance to the scripture: “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”(1 Peter 5:8).
No doubt, the
assumption is partially correct. The reason is simple; God’s nature is never in
sync with deceit and falsehood, and therefore He cannot walk crookedly because
He himself is the truth: “Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life …” (John 14:6). However, God is neither sober nor vigilant in
order not to lie because He is the supreme judge, and therefore can’t be
accountable to His inferior or subordinates, hence, needless of wariness.
Nevertheless, it goes beyond that.
Firstly, it’s simply
impossible for God to lie because His words take supremacy over all things, and
secondly, lies are apparently non-existent to God because all circumstances and
words are subject to the voice of God. This is because, when he speaks forth,
irrespective of what He says, it correspondingly comes into existence because
He is the Alpha and Omega. God’s word holistically disregards all
circumstances, situations and changes every status quo to be in harmony because
his words are supernatural (above or beyond nature): “… the words that I speak unto you,
they are spirit and they are life. (John 6:63). For example, when God changed Abram and
Sarai’s name to Abraham and Sarah respectively, the spirit inside His word
transformed their bodies to synchronize with the word and produced what it
talked about. He called Abram; Abraham (father
of many nations), a metamorphosis took place. He was transfigured
accordingly, and a supposedly ‘lie’ became truth. Ditto was Sarah.
Similarly, when Jesus
said that “Lazarus
sleepeth” (John 11:11), despite the fact that he was
deceased, buried and already stinking in the grave for four days, status quo
changed, and death that held him bound disappeared in conformity with a
superior order. Guess why? God’s word is power-packed: “For the word of God is quick, and
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of souls and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Essentially, God’s word isn’t mere words but
purpose-driven seeds: “So
shall my word be that goeth out of my mouth; it shall not return void, but it
shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto
I sent it” (Isaiah
55:11).
Consider also the
encounter of Jesus with the fig tree (Matthew
21:19). In other words, God doesn’t speak sporadically, He
operates both in season and out of season because He is the creator, and to Him
alone, every knee shall bow (Romans
14:11). When God declares that you’re healed, delivered and
blessed; the spirit in the spoken words has the capacity to perform it. What a
great privilege we have to be God’s spokespersons! What do you think?
It therefore implies
that God’s word concerning us is more than requests or petitions, rather acts
of God bequeathing His possessions to us by Will (legal directions for the disposal of one’s property after death).
And because Wills are ambulatory, Jesus died so that the will could become
active and effective, not subsequently, but now. Halleluia! Thank you, Lord!
Now, as God’s Will
(word) says you’re blessed; I have given you an open door; you’re the light of
the world; you’re a peculiar people; you’re powered by Zoe, among others; ain’t
you? Of course, there is no contest, that’s final. As God has spoken that all
things are yours, so they are:“Therefore,
let no one glory in men. For all things are yours”(1Corinthians 3:21). In addition, the Will says “According as his divine power hath
given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the
knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue ( 2 Peter 1:3). All
required of us is to accept it and take possession with our mouth disregarding
whatsoever circumstances or situations we might see around us at the moment,
for we walk by faith, and
not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Principally, our
duty is to accept and operate in absolute consciousness of what God has said
because beneficiaries of a legacy (Will) can only take advantage after taking
possession. Our Lord rules, and reigns over all things! Now, the breaking news!
Guess what? As
He is, so are we in this world! (1 John 4:7)
We have His identity
and likeness, and operate by same principles and rules. As pilots disregard
road-traffic lights and signs, but solely submit to superior directives, so are
we to ignore circumstances and situations we might see, but punctiliously
submit to the words of God which is able to give us a goodly inheritance.( Acts 20:32)Praise the Lord!
Another mind blowing
news; He speaks through us! When we speak in His name, He authenticates it, and
the anointing in His word performs it because everything under heaven and earth
are under mandate to obey him; “While
He yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out
of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased; hear
ye him” (Matthew
17:5).
Today, we’re His voices
in our respective world with full authority and audacity representing the Lord
of Hosts. It didn’t end there; we are both the administrators, executors and
beneficiaries of the glorious legacy. Halleluiah!
Hence, we ain’t going
to be intimidated by the devil because, we know who we are; we are powered by
Zoe! Greater is He in us than he that is in the world! We operate with the
authority from above, and we have overcome the world because whatsoever is born
of God overcomes the world (1
John 5:4). The prominent question is; are you born of God?
2. OUR DIVINE HERITAGE AND REALITIES IN CHRIST
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| Bro. Carl Umegboro |
By Carl Umegboro
In
human life, when a person is born, he belongs to the family of the parents, and
is spontaneously entitled to partake in the possessions of such parents except
where a legal instrument gives a contrary or specific directive. Note that ‘he’
afore-mentioned implies male and female. Similarly, when a person is
born-again, implying born into God’s family and fathered by God; having
received Christ as the Lord and Saviour, by confessing with the mouth and
believing in the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, he becomes the
offspring of God: “That if thou shalt
confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that
God raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved”. (Romans 10:9)
As
soon as this occurs, God releases His spirit on the person in order to operate
and live the God-kind of life, that is; eternal or supernatural life; “…And
this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in
His son”(1 John 5:11). In other
words, this eternal life comes immediately after your birth into God’s family
because that’s the God-kind of life. According to John 1:12, “...but as many as received Him, to them
gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name”.
Similarly, Romans 8:14, says “For as
many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God”.
Interestingly,
so simple. As God’s spirit is imparted on you, you become immune to sin and
essentially, empowered by the spirit of God: “But ye shall receive power, after that the holy Ghost is come upon
you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and
in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). You are therefore no longer an ordinary
person. Unfortunately, most times, we seem to evaluate ourselves based on
outward features and earthly backgrounds. It should sink deep into our spirit
that God who gave birth to you now is omnipotent, and cannot sin, and the
Bible clearly says that we are same like
him though on earth; “Herein is our
love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement; because
as He is, so are we in this world”. (1 John 4:17) Alleluia!
In the
light of this, the Bible explains “Whosoever
is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him; and he
cannot sin, because he is born of God”. 1
John 3:9(KJV)
In the Amplified version (Ibid.): “No one born (begotten) of God
(deliberately, knowingly, and habitually) practices sin, for God’s nature
abides in him (His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently
within him), and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of
God”. It therefore implies that once someone acquires divine nature as
prescribed above, he can no longer commit sin, simply because, God’s gene which
is transmitted into him doesn’t recognize sin.
Its pertinent to note that the nature of sin left us
immediately we are fathered by God, hence, in accordance with ‘Nemo dat quad non habet’ rule (You
cannot give what you do not have), we are disabled and immune to sin, but
bestowed with righteousness; the nature of God, our father. The book of Romans
6:14 further gives a summary: “For
sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law, but under
grace”. Hence, by virtue of God’s DNA (divine nature) which you acquired,
you have become an overcomer like Him, and can function accurately, sagaciously
and effectively as He does: “Wherein he
hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence”. (Ephesians 1:8)
In 1 John 5:4, the Bible says “ For whatsoever that is born of God
overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even
our faith”. Alleluia!
Isn’t it amazing of who we are in Christ, or what do you
think?
Thus,
having been born again, the person becomes entitled to a full inheritance of
God’s great possessions, to wit: Kingdom, Righteousness, Blessings, Glory,
Wisdom, Honour, Thanksgiving, Power and Dominion. Perhaps, such tradition of
inheritance from a father to his children was copied from God by man. No wonder,
the Psalmist declared with full audacity, “The
lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places, yea, I have a goodly heritage!
(Psalms
16:6) What a birthright in
Christ!
However,
these possessions of God are neither fixed nor real assets, but spiritual, nevertheless,
can be acquired and converted to fixed and real assets. Interestingly, by the
spirit of God in us, as far as your spirit can see and accommodate. For
example, the Lord said to Joshua, “See,
I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men
of valour…” (Joshua 6:2). From the Bible, we can see that things which
are seen (fixed and real assets) were made from things which are not seen
(spiritual): “Through faith, we
understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which
are seen were not made of things which do appear”. (Hebrews 11:3)
What
will therefore be our fate in the real world vis-à-vis my divine heritage in Christ? First and foremost, recognize and be fully
conscious that the real world is subject to the spiritual world as the
scripture says above.
Secondly,
note that things which are seen are temporal, hence subject to change; “While we look not at the things which are
seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are
temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal”.(2 Corinthians 4:18)
Thirdly,
realize that when a person receives eternal life, his life-span and status as a
human being terminates, he acquires the nature of God and becomes a human-God;
all principles applicable to God become evident in him too; he talks powerfully
like God, sees spiritually like God and acts fearfully like God, above all, he
automatically acquires the gift of righteousness: For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which
receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life
by one, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17).
What a gracious God!
With
this consciousness, all you need to do is to continually dig deep into the word
of God to discover the treasures of our inheritance in Christ Jesus. As soon as
you discover your birthrights, download them and take possession in the spirit
by faith with your mouth, and appropriate them to your life, and in due season,
circumstances around you will align because it’s yours already, and not about
to be yours. To borrow the phrase of
famous man of God, Pastor Chris “...keep saying it, don’t stop talking it, …if you keep to the word, you will come back
with a testimony, because, “So
mightily grew the word of God and prevailed” (Acts 19:20).
As the seeds planted by a farmer grow forth in due season
and bear fruits, so shall those words spoken with the authority in the name of
Jesus because of His fullness in us: “And of His fullness have all we received,
and grace for grace” (1 John 1:16). This therefore gives a critical picture and
description of a man in Christ. It unequivocally shows that we’re undauntedly
graced, hence, fortified with a glorious mandate to function exactly like God:
“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do
all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the father by him”.(Colossians 3:17).
Reiterating
further, the Lord made a solemn declaration to us; “If you ask anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14). Our confessions
must always be consistent with who and what we’re as well as all we have in
Christ despite prevailing circumstances.
For example, I know I’m blessed because God’s word says so: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ” Ephesians 1:3. I can therefore look at dicey circumstances
and boldly declare;
I am an overcomer!; I am blessed and a
blessing in my world!
It
is therefore immaterial that the realities (facts on ground) or circumstances
around at the moment are inconsistent with the above truth. It’s also important
to note that God’s word remains the absolute truth, and it implies that people
that arrive at conclusions based on facts are under gross error. No wonder the
bible says that “…but the people that do
know their God shall be strong and do exploits”(Daniel 11:32). Our expectations therefore should always be
determined by our divine heritage in Christ. If not, it will amount to
receiving God’s grace in vain: “We then,
as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of
God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1).
Sadly,
we often forget who we are and what we have as co-heirs of God with Christ.
Most times, you hear inconsistent responses when a superior requests for
someone, “What have I done”, “Am I safe?”, Hope no problem, among others. In
other words, the thoughts in the mind and expectations are rarely in harmony
with our present status. Preferably, or otherwise, inadvertently, we often
elect to operate from the arms of the flesh. In Romans 8:6, the bible
says “For to be carnally minded is death;
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace”. Hence, our thoughts and
expectations shall always be in agreement with what God says concerning me.
Splendid, we have acquired eternal life! But what does it
mean? Simply, God’s distinct nature that is peculiar to man. Apparently, it has
little or nothing to do with endless life or hundreds of years on earth,
rather, a life of power and dominion; a Christ-like life on earth; a triumphant
life that knows no barrier or impossibilities, but endless possibilities in
conformity with God’s perfect vision and purpose; a life of glory and virtue
with positive tendencies towards God’s
kingdom and pleasure: “Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father
which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). No wonder, our great
ministry’s slogan: “Giving your life a
meaning!
To
conclude therefore, our birthright as co-heirs of God with Christ, and in
Christ should be the sole determinant to our personalities cum lifestyle in the real world. That is to say, we are actually
what God says we are, and can do what God says we can (despite dicey
circumstances). This is because, as you discover and see yourself from the
viewpoint of God’s word, and continue to meditate on it, the things which are
seen will begin to align with the things which are not seen.
In 2
Corinthians 3:18, the Bible says; “But
we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are
changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the same Spirit of
the Lord”. It therefore points to the fact that as we continually locate
ourselves in God’s word, and meditate and hold on strongly to it, those
inconsistent facts which also constitute darkness will have no choice than to
give way to light(God’s word): “And the
light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not” (John
1:5); or those facts will be swallowed by the truth because God is
almighty as clearly shown in Moses encounter with Pharaoh: “For they cast down every man his rod, and
they became serpents; but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods”.(Exodus 7:12) Alleluia!!
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| Bro. Carl Umegboro |
3.LIVING BY THE WORD
By Carl Umegboro
Believers are men with supernatural
capabilities on earth and essentially live by the word of God independent of
circumstances. No wonder, the bible says that we work not by sight but by
faith. In another place, Jesus addressing the devil says that man shall not
live by bread alone but God’s word.
As we know, God’s word is infallible and guarantees total
transformation where and when adequately put to work with faith. If God has
spoken concerning anything, consider it done because God exercises jurisdiction
over all things and creatures. All that is required is to assiduously search
the scripture with a heart of meditation. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word
of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow,
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”.
That’s to say that whatever
positive changes you desire in life is possible. Mark 9:23 “Jesus
said, … If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth”. Hence, no need
to opt to a life of hopelessness or
anxiety. Our duty is to determinedly meditate upon God’s Word as if our lives
end in it, because it actually does. We
are products of God’s Word, and therefore must take His Word as our life
manual, and not keep a bible for the sake of keeping it or glamour. In 1
Timothy 4:15, believers are charged to “Meditate
upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear
to all”.
Can anyone meditate without knowing, absolutely NO.
Meditation is to practically advance on knowledge, and invariably superior to
knowledge. Unfortunately, many in the world today have subjected their lives to
fear and incessant murmurings following some predicaments that showed up along
the line, simply because the life is not anchored on the Word.
No doubt, Christian life offers all the goodies anyone can
think of and even the ones beyond imagination. Nevertheless, Christianity also
offers a dynamic way of live; ability to be full and to be in want. To suffer
in lack is optional and doesn’t disqualify a believer from making heaven,
though will likely make it stressful. Philippians
4:12 captioned it well, “I know both how
to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am
instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need”.
Similarly, Apostle Paul audaciously asserted this in the book
of Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things
through Christ which strengtheneth me”. When a believer is wholly connected
to God’s Word, nothing can move you. You live your life independent of
circumstances. This is not because of carelessness or irresponsibility but
succinctly, your mindset has been reprogrammed the moment you give your life to
Christ.
Expectedly, your life is anchored on God if you yield to the
Word and the Spirit rather than live by the senses which produce only common
sense. Common sense on its own produces a common result which ends in
hopelessness, stagnancy and unproductiveness.
Job 22:29 says “When
men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save
the humble person”. This implies that there is no dull moment for a
believer who truly understands the life he is called to live irrespective of
the economic situations around the world.
What a privilege we have in Christ as believers, that even mistakes
produce positive results. That’s true. See the book of Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose”.
What else do you need to live a fulfilled life in this wicked
world, simply God’s Word. It is ever dependable. As you hook to the Word, you
will notice that you’re no longer an ordinary person because God’s seed is in
you. Even when the worst of heat or storms of life comes your way, you will
always be the last man standing because you’re like a tree planted by the living
waters. (John 7:38 He that believeth on
me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water.)
if you desire extra-ordinary life of excellence, prosperity,
glory, victory, greatness and success, allow God to plant a seed in you. How,
simply begin today to study and meditate on God’s Word always. It will not be
long you find yourself doing exploits, spreading to all corners both in season
and out of season. God bless you.
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