Tag: Christian stuffs

Though Jesus is completely God, He was born completely human. He went through temptation after temptation and conquered every one of them (see Hebrews 4:15). And all that overcoming power is found in His life. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you!

During Jesus’ ministry on earth, He conquered sickness, the winds and waves, the powers of darkness and death. It is His life that brings victory over the devil and all his works. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you!

Finally, Jesus went to the cross. And that life in Him put an end to everything that was natural of the Adamic race—sickness, poverty, failures, pains, curses and death. All that was natural ceased to be in that life of His. But all that was supernatural remained in Him. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you!

Then, Jesus rose from the dead. And in that life of His was added the power of resurrection. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you!

After His resurrection, Jesus went back to heaven to His Father. Today, He is seated at the right hand of God, resting in His finished work, occupying a place of the highest authority. And He put that life in you—the life of Christ is in you!

And because Jesus went back to the Father, the Holy Spirit came to indwell you (see John 16:7), so that you will live life with His anointing in you and walk in His overcoming power.

All that Jesus is, God meant for you to be. All that He has, God meant for you to have. All the exciting things that you read in the Bible about Jesus, all the treasures of Him hidden in the Old Testament and the unsearchable riches in Him that you find in the New Testament, all of that life of His, is not out there somewhere. God has deposited all of it in you, so that you can live the abundant life that Jesus came to give you!

When we see something moldy, we throw it away. But when Alexander Fleming saw his culture dishes contaminated with mold, he discovered penicillin. You see, he had a gift which prospered him.

Joseph, a Hebrew slave in Egypt, had nothing except his gift of interpreting dreams. But look at what that gift did for him. It prospered him. He interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and became the most powerful man in Egypt after Pharaoh (see Genesis 41).

“But Pastor Prince, what if I don’t have any gift?”

My friend, don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t have any gift. God has given each person a gift which can open doors of opportunities and bring in great blessings.

Maybe you are just not aware of that gift you have inside you, or perhaps it has profited you nothing thus far as you have not found out how best to use it. You need to take your gift and ask God for wisdom to cultivate it until it becomes such a powerful tool or “precious stone” that wherever you turn, you prosper.

This was the case with a church brother who was tremendously gifted in the creative arts. For a long time, he lacked the confidence and boldness to leave the security of his police job and step out on his own. But when he began to seek God’s wisdom for his situation, God gave him boldness to leave his job and go back to school to pursue the creative arts. In school, he prospered, becoming one of its top students and impressing the principal so much with his creative gift that he was offered a teaching position in the school even before he graduated.

Now, please don’t go and quit your job after reading this. What you should do is ask God for wisdom regarding your gift. For when the wisdom of God is added to your gift, that gift becomes “a precious stone in the eyes of its possessor; wherever he turns, he prospers.”

Then I was a teenager, I heard preachers saying this: “Jesus is the light of the world. So don’t think for one moment that you can do things behind His back. His light will expose all the bad things that you have done!” So I was afraid to come near God, fearing that His glorious light would show up my faults, weaknesses and shame.

But is this what “the light of the world” does?

The truth is found in the context of the verse. Jesus declared that He was the light of the world right after He had told the woman caught in the act of adultery, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

When she said, “No one, Lord,” He said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” Then, the Bible tells us that “Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world…’” (John 8:10–12).

How wonderful it is to know that when Jesus said, “I am the light of the world,” His light was not to show up the woman’s sin because He had just told her that He did not condemn her.

This tells us that we don’t have to be fearful when we come into God’s presence. He is not there waiting to punish us for our mistakes and failures. His light is not for exposing our sins and shame, or for condemning us. No, His glorious light is for showing us how perfectly His Son’s blood has washed away our sins! That is why Jesus could tell the woman that He did not condemn her—because He would be condemned for her sin as well as ours at the cross.

Beloved, Jesus’ light unveils the truth that our sins have been completely removed. It reveals how perfect and spotless we are because of Christ’s perfect work at the cross. When you know this, you can go boldly into God’s presence, knowing that you have the light of life that gives you grace and hope!

God wants us to walk as wise men and women, and not as fools (see Ephesians 5:15). Now, He will not tell us to walk in wisdom without showing us how. That is why His Word goes on to say, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

So what is the will of God? The next two verses tell us how to identify it: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord ” (Ephesians 5:18–19).

As you allow yourself to be filled with the Spirit by lifting songs of praise to the Lord, singing or speaking (God knows some of us can’t sing!) psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and making melody in your heart to the Lord, God promises that you will know what His will is for your situation. You will then have the wisdom to decide wisely what to do next.

I have found this to be true in my own life. Whenever I face a difficult situation, the more I think about it, the more confused I get. The more I try my best to come up with a smart solution, the further the answer seems to get from me. But when I turn away from my problem and turn to God, singing in the Spirit and praising Him, I get a clearer perspective of the problem when I come back to it later. I also find an inner prompting to make certain decisions which in the end, turn out to be better than anything I could have come up with on my own.

So my friend, lift up songs of praise to the Lord, whether times are good or bad. For when you fill your mouth with praises to God, He will lead you and guide you in all the affairs of your life. Even if you are stuck with a problem, He will show you the way to go or make a way out for you. Either way, you will get the wisdom and help that you need!

Our minds tend to see our problems as big or small. Even when we pray for the sick, we say things like, “You have a headache? No problem. Let’s pray for your healing.” But when it is cancer, we say, “Oh, let’s tell the senior pastor about it. It would be better if he prayed for you.” We think of headaches as small problems and cancers as big ones.

But that is not the way God thinks. There is nothing too hard for Him who made the heavens and the earth! With God, there is no such thing as a “big” problem. In fact, the “bigger” the problem, the “easier” it is for Him! In the feeding of the 5,000, it took only five loaves to feed the multitude (see Matthew 14:15–21). But in the feeding of the smaller multitude of 4,000, it took seven loaves (see Matthew 15:32–38).

In man’s scheme of things, it should take more loaves to feed more people. But this is not so with God. It took fewer loaves to feed more people. This is God’s way of telling us that the “bigger” the problem, the “easier” it is for Him. I am not saying that small problems are hard for God. But it is so encouraging to think that it is “easier” for God to heal cancers than headaches!

Imagine coming to God with a big problem. “So, what is your problem, son?” God asks. You say, “Father, it is a huge financial debt—not thousands but millions!” He says, “Easy. It is already cancelled.”

In another scenario, God asks, “So, what is your problem, son?” You say, “Father, I have lost my job and I can’t find a new one. I am already in my fifties and I don’t have the necessary qualifications.” He says, “No problem. Consider yourself employed. And in this new job, you won’t just have a job, you will have a position.”

Beloved, with God, it is never a problem because there is nothing too hard for Him!

If we are supposed to seek first the kingdom of God every day (see Matthew 6:33), then we should know what the kingdom of God is in the first place. I used to think that the kingdom of God was the mission fields and that to seek it meant doing missionary work.

Then, I realized that the kingdom of God was not something outside you flowing in—“the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking,” but something inside you flowing out—“righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

So to seek first God’s kingdom means to make it a priority every day to have your inner man flowing with righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Righteousness is not your own righteousness based on what you do. It is not good works. It is a gift from Jesus who is your righteousness (see Romans 5:17, 1 Corinthians 1:30). God wants you to be established in the truth that you are the righteousness of God in Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:21).

“Peace be with you” were the words that Jesus spoke to His disciples when He appeared before them after His resurrection. He also showed them His pierced hands and side. (John 20:19–20) God wants you to know that His Son’s finished work has given you peace. Your conscience can be at rest because your sin debt has been settled. You have peace with God and the peace of God.

Joy will come into your heart when you see Jesus in the scriptures, worship songs, or anointed preaching. It is the same joy from the Holy Spirit which filled the disciples’ hearts when they saw Jesus, His hands and His side (see John 20:20).

So every day, make it a priority to see yourself righteous in Christ. Don’t be conscious of your sins. Instead, be conscious of your righteousness. And whether you are reading your Bible or listening to anointed preaching, see Jesus with His pierced hands and side, which speak of His finished work. See all your sins forgiven, and you will flow with peace and joy. When you do this, you are seeking the kingdom of God!