The Word Works!: GOD IS NOT WICKED II

It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that. Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily” (Galatians 2:19-21, MSG). If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain!

A man’s spirit is put right with God when he’s born again. As such, he can go before God unashamed. The Psalmist declares: “Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!” (Psalm 32:1-2, NLT). It is God who makes us whole and puts us right; not our works. The Word says, “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Hebrews 2:11). We have the same Father with Jesus; we are God’s offspring. His nature is our nature; His life is our life, that’s why He’s unashamed to call us His brethren.

By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). The new creation in Christ Jesus is a big man. God so loves us that He always wants to have fellowship with us. Sadly, many people have rather turned their back to the free gift that God offers. God’s blessings were for the Jews only, but he found ways and means to make us partakers of the blessing. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13-14).

Take a look at the 7^th verse of this chapter: “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” Abraham’s blessings belong to us! What do we want God to do for us again? He always want to save and heal – spirit, soul and body. The life of some people are out of course; they don’t know where they are going, for they walk in darkness (John 12:35). The devil has blinded them! Come to the free light that Jesus gives; it’s priceless! Thank God, Jesus came to redeem us from the hand of Satan, sin, sickness, poverty because Jesus came to redeem us from the curse of the law.

Before Paul was converted, he hated the followers of Jesus. He was so violently opposed to them that he even hounded them in distant cities of foreign lands. One day he was on such a mission to Damascus. About noon, a light from heaven brighter than the sun shone down on him and his companions. They fell down, and he heard a voice saying to him in Aramaic, “…Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” (Acts 26:14). “Who are you, sir?” he asked. And the Lord replied, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest” (Acts 26:15). Oh my Lord, Jesus associates Himself with man. Paul persecuted the Christians, yet, Jesus said He was the victim. No wonder “…in him we live, and move, and have our being; …For we are also his offspring” (Acts 17:28). Hallelujah!

The Lord then said to Saul, “But now, up on your feet — I have a job for you. I've handpicked you to be a servant and witness to what's happened today, and to what I am going to show you. "'I'm sending you off to open the eyes of the outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light, see the difference between Satan and God, and choose God. I'm sending you off to present my offer of sins forgiven, and a place in the family, inviting them into the company of those who begin real living by believing in me '” (Acts 26:16-18, MSG). We are forgiven and sanctified by our faith in Christ, which qualifies us to partake of the divine life (Colossians 1:12). Oh, real life begins by believing in Christ. This therefore means that there are those living a fake life, that is, life without Christ!

God sends Paul to preach the Gospel for people to come to the light. This task is for all believers, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Jesus said, “…as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you” (John 20:21). We are custodians of the mysteries of Christ, for we’ve been sent (1 Corinthians 4:1). No wonder Jesus refers to us as the lights of the world (Matthew 5:14). We are children of light (Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5). Jesus was the light, but He accomplished His task and went back to the Father. For now, He’s committed the Gospel to our trust; it’s what we do with it that matters.

That’s why we’re spending everything we can, taking advantage of anything to make sure this glorious, light-giving Gospel dominates the nations of the earth. God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). This is what we’re to tell people; the “Gospel” means “Good News.” We’re telling the world: “Blessed be God! We've been born again, according to God's abundant mercy unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3), and the law of the Spirit of life at work in us. From the time Christ rose from the dead, God stopped counting men's sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:17-20). This didn't just apply to the Church, but to the whole world!

Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world! God is no longer angry at anyone; what He's saying now is "Come and enjoy the life in Christ!" Once you accept that invitation and receive Christ, automatically, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus starts functioning in you. You have eternal life and the very nature of God in your spirit. Now, you can serve the Lord truly, and live by the principle of eternal life.” Hallelujah! This is the true Gospel we preach; the life of God at work in man. The Word has the inherent ability to prevail anywhere it’s sent (Acts 19:20); that’s why the dark areas of the world reject it. But no, we’re not going to stop preaching it!

Christians are the lights; that’s why we don’t have to be yoked together with unbelievers, because light has nothing to do with darkness. That’s not partnership; that’s war (2 Corinthians 6:14). Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are (Ephesians 5:11). I love 1 Peter 2:9-10: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” Hallelujah!

The sinner is delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of the Son of God after confessing Christ as his Lord and personal Saviour (Colossians 1:13). “Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth” (1 John 2:8). The true light is shining, whether the devil likes it or not. Don’t let the devil hold you in bondage; he has no power over you and he knows it. The only way he rules over the believer is by making him ignorant. But the Bible says, “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). The Greek translation says we will live as kings in life.

Christians should accept the fact that we’ll face problems in one way or the other, but our reaction to them is what matters. What you’re going through now is a mirage; it’s not real. For instance, a man goes to the hospital, gets tested and is HIV positive. Formerly, he was living right until he goes for the test. He begins to cry home after testing positive. Now, what begins to kill this man is not the virus but fear! You’ll either give up or face whichever problem with your knowledge about the Word of God. Every problem has a solution! Everybody dying with the HIV/AIDS virus doesn’t mean you should die by it too.

The Lord showers compassion on all His creation (Psalm 145:9, NLT). God remains the same, no matter how many years fly by, and He’s disappointed no one. Those who think they got nothing from Him either couldn’t endure for long or gave up too soon. The Word of God confirms that we’ve been blessed with all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3), and all the promises of God in Christ are “Yea” and “Amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Other translations say we’ve been blessed with every spiritual blessing. The Holy Spirit through Paul reminds us that all the promises of God are “Yea” and “Amen”; not “sometimes” or “maybe”.

Everything takes place in the realm of the spirit before it materialises. Therefore when you’re spiritually blessed, then you’re blessed indeed! We need not to struggle for anything. God finished His work since the creation of the world and those who believe also enter that rest (Hebrews 4:3). Even for the new creation, He chose us in Christ from the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4). Everything has been accomplished by Jesus and sat down at the right hand of God (Hebrews 12:2). He’s there resting and making intercession for us (Romans 8:34).

So where is our stand as believers? We know that Jesus is the head of the church (Ephesians 4:15; 5:23; Colossians 1:18). If Jesus is the head and we’re the body, then together with Him we make up a complete being. Jesus’ seating at the right hand of God means we’re there with Him. Or is it not written that in Him we live, and move, and have our being? (Acts 17:28). Jesus is sitting, and not standing! I love these translations from the Amplified Bible: “[The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.

And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One)” (Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 2:6). We’re resting with Christ at the right hand of God! All we need do is to be conscious of our position in Christ and walk in the light of it. We need to study the Word of God voraciously; esteem the Word more than your necessary food (Job 23:12); eat it (Jeremiah 15:16). Get this: “It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth” (Matthew 4:4, MSG).

I love this statement from Rev Smith Wigglesworth: “Fill your head and your heart with the Scriptures... Believers are strong only as the Word of God abides in them.” Don’t let go of the Word. It’s very easy for a believer to give up on a matter when he’s not been taken over by the Word of God. The men and women of God in Bible days had to go through a lot of problems, but the Lord had a way in ensuring their safety. Some of them were killed but remember that this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven (Hebrews 13:14).

Fear is having faith in the works of the devil. I love the New Living Bible’s translation of Romans 8:36-39: “(Even the Scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.") No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Hallelujah!

Even when you’re on-board an aircraft and there’s a sudden change in weather or something bad transpires, God loves you. This reminds me of the testimony of a woman (Sister Chinyere). She had gone on an assignment in Abuja, Nigeria. They had a beautiful flight but when they got back to the port in Lagos they couldn't land. There was a queue so other aircrafts couldn't land as well. The pilot hovered over the airport for a while, and after 25 minutes he decided to head back to Abuja since they would run out of fuel. About 2 to 3 minutes on their way back to Abuja, they run into a very terrible storm.

There was awesome vibration and the lights went off; it was as if they hit a rock and the wind blew them both sides. People started screaming while others prayed. In that instance she knew God had her in the plane for a reason and she needed to take charge. She didn’t panic but for their sakes she had to raise her voice to drown all screams and get words across. She began to make declarations; speaking to the winds, the aircraft and the clouds. She declared peace. It seemed as though nothing happened so she began to speak in tongues.

As she did, confidence and boldness arose. She began to make declarations that she had a covenant of life, peace and partnership with God and for that reason, she could not be disadvantaged. Fear left her but she was more concerned about the people on-board. All the while the turbulence was on, but she went back to speak in tongues and make declarations. By the lead of the Holy Ghost she declared, “We have the victory; we have the victory already!” Suddenly, the turbulence stopped and the scream left the lisps of the people. Hallelujah!

Wow; glory to God! A man thanked her for the prayer and her colleague referred to her as a pastor. Everyone got excited and thanked her saying, “We would have perished if you were not on this flight.” Hear me: You do not need to be afraid in such times; you just need to remember who you are. Greater is He that lives in you; you hail from God. Christ in you is your victory. He makes you a champion in life. The divine life is given to every Christian to live. That's why you've got to be born again by confessing Christ as your Lord and Saviour before you can be a partaker of this divine life. Oh, nothing can separate us from God’s love even if we’re high above the sky.

Is what you’re going through like a mountain to you, speak to it. Jesus said “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith” (Mark 11:23). There’s nothing too big for you that you cannot overcome with your faith. The bigger the problem, the greater will be the fall of it. Stir up your faith by studying the Word of God and speak to that mountain before you; command it out of your way!