an appointed time

Another message, another lesson learnt from an experience

My church and I were conducting a cute homeless drive, giving out care packages to the underprivileged in our community. Before distributing the packages, I had already pre-planned who was going to get a package because homeless people usually have a spot they settle in the town Centre.

There is one man who is always in front of a certain shop. This time around, when we had something to offer him that would have benefitted him immensely, he was not present. We went round and came back and he still wasn’t there.

Eventually, we left. The next day, I saw him at his spot but by that time it was too late.

---

This got me thinking, there is an appointed time for you to receive something from God. Life is full of seasons and each season requires a certain level of grace to ensure you get through it successfully and attain what needs to be attained. However, before a season, if one does not position oneself strategically to receive from God, you will find yourself in a whirlwind of confusion and dependency on the wrong source. God gives us grace to endure the season we are about to enter. A typical example of this is with our Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew 4, He had to enter an extended period of prayer and fasting to receive the grace needed for ministry.

Another great example is the story of Jacob at Penuel (Genesis 32: 22-32). Jacob essentially wrestled with God until God blessed him. He was not doing this just to have a wrestling match with God and be blessed for fun. But actually, he was about to meet his brother Esau, whom he had taken his birthright (Genesis 27:1-40). Therefore, he knew that he needed some form of grace to be favoured by his brother. He positioned himself adequately so that God would bless him and if we read on, we see that he and Esau had a lovely reunion.

Another thing I will point out is the importance of tarrying and waiting on God. He has His own timeline and it is our duty to conform. You cannot rush the hand of God neither you can delay it. Habakkuk 2:3 beautifully puts it that even though it may tarry, it shall come to pass. I honestly think tarrying itself is an entire message but another thing I will leave you with is, that the act of tarrying builds intimacy with the Lord and that is our original dwelling place.

The primary message of this is that we must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and always position ourselves correctly for the Lord to grace us. This is because life has too many seasons and we cannot afford to be disarmed or ‘dis-graced’. Otherwise, we will find ourselves living defeated lives and always blaming God when it is truly just our lack of grace and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.

stay awake and contend for grace

accessing your authority

Many people (not only Christians) are not oblivious to the power in the name of Jesus.

In any scary situation, everybody knows Jesus lol.

One thing we must understand is that the name 'Jesus' holds authority in the realm of the spirit. The name of Jesus is highly lifted above every other name (Philippians 2:9-11).

However, I always say that Christians tend to live somewhat defeated lives and I think one of the primary causes of this is because many people have not accessed the authority hidden in the name of Jesus. The name Jesus holds all power and authority but this revelation is having no effect in your life.

As I grow in the Lord, I have come to identify a few things that will allow one to access the authority found in Christ.

1. Living a holy life. Holy means holy, stop calling your sinful lifestyle your weakness, you’re only deceiving yourself. You are sinning and you must repent. To truly live the elevated lifestyle the Lord intends for you to live, you must be holy. Christ did not die for His people to be continuously defeated but that’s what sin will lead you to. Holiness is paramount and imperative. When you are holy, you carry the presence of God and there is potency in your prayers and declarations.

2. Reading the Word of God and using it as a template for your life. The Word of God is an outline of how your life must be. If the Lord says goodness and mercies shall follow you all the days of your life, then it is so. Many do not read the Word actively so they do not even know their inheritance in Christ. Now, reading the Word must not be done just to tick a box but we must actively consume the very words of the Most High God and pray that all His promises laid out will manifest in our lives.

One reason why we must access the authority Christ has given us is because we live in a dangerous world. The devil is not playing at all. Every day, he implements his wicked schemes and prevails. Therefore, we must rise as believers and dislodge all powers of darkness. We must lose their hold over our lives, families and nations so that Christ may be glorified and peace may be established.

Use the fire appropriately

Introduction: on a plane ride, I saw a man playing a game and I was as invested as he was even though I was just a spectator. The aim of the game was to get fire and break down walls that were in an obstacle course. Once you break down a few walls, you get to a final destination and move to the next round. I like excellence and efficiency but this man was just taking the fire and using it to break down the wrong walls. I almost got up to play the game for him lol. He was frustrating me. He was misusing the fire he had gotten and was just burning anything anyhow.

From this, the Lord spoke to me immediately. He said some of us know we have fire or anointing, but we are misusing it or not fueling it in the right direction. Here are 4 things I learnt from this experience that I want to share with you and I want you to ponder on.

1. In this game, the player did not initially know how to access this fire but it took persistence and continuous playing of the game until he identified the source. We can only access the true power of God when we are desperate and persistent (Mark 10:46-52, Hannah was desperate 1 Samuel 1:8-10).

2. The player knew the aim of the game. He knew why he was there. Do you know why you are here? You might not need to know the exact details but let me tell you for free that every man lives for one purpose, that God may be glorified. We exist to give Him glory, that is the very essence of our existence and that is why holiness is imperative because that is the only proper way we can fulfill our divine duty.

3. The player got distracted and fascinated by how the character was ablaze and what the fire could do. He forgot his mission. Sometimes, we get so caught up in the very thing the Lord led us to do that we forget the main reason why we are there. Stay focused on your mission, the extras are all fringe benefits (Samson was fascinated by what his strength could do but he forgot he was the judge of Israel and aborted his destiny)

4. Lastly, if the player had focused on his mission, he would have wasted less time and reached higher levels before the game ended. We are all on a time scale. One day, the ability to do all that we can in our youth will no longer be available. How effective are we using our time for the kingdom of God? How efficient are we being with the fire that is set ablaze in us? Have we reached heights and levels that attest to the efficiency of our fire usage?

May the Lord guide us on how to effectively and appropriately use this fire within us to  cause the kingdoms of this world to become the kingdoms of our God

Yours truly

Ama (the Holy Spirit is the real author)