There is creative power in His Words and once God speaks, creation takes place. Imagine the power behind the words of kings, how much more the King of all kings. “ Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?” God made the heaven and the earth by His Word so He has absolutely nothing to lie about. b. He Honours His Word In the secular world they say a man's integrity is in his words, that is, a man's integrity is defined by how much he stays true to his own words. If this is true then how much more is the King of glory? According to the Hebrew custom, the name of someone refers to his authority and reputation, thus, the Name of God refers to His authority and reputation that is why when we pray in the Name of Jesus darkness bows. In trying to prove to us that His Word cannot be broken, the Lord declared in Psalms chapter 138 and verse 2 that He magnifies His Word even above His Name. 99
“I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” (Psalms 138:2) Recall that in Hebrew custom a man's name defines his reputation and authority, yet in the above passage we see God staking His Name to prove that His Word cannot fail, thereby sending a very strong message that He honours His Word. 6. We Must Ask In Faith “But without faith it is impossible to please him…” (Hebrews 11:6) “… for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23) If the above passages are true, then the implication would be that if we pray without faith then we would be sinning against God because He expects us to be confident in the fact that He is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we can ever ask of Him. “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” (Ephesians 3:20) 100
Why should we be confident that God will do what we ask in line with His will? Because He gave us the assurance in Mark chapter 11 and verse 24. “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:24) Faith is to believe in the unseen power of God and the result is seeing what we believe. Faith penetrates into the spiritual in order to activate the physical. So when we pray in faith, what we do is break into the spiritual realm to lay hold of our desired result which then ultimately manifests in the physical as results or testimonies. WHO CAN PRAY? As funny as the above question sounds, it is important to note that God does not hear every prayer, and if He does not hear them then He cannot answer so it follows that not everyone can pray. To answer the question of who can pray, let us see what the bible says about it. 101
“Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.” (John 9:31) Paraphrasing the above passage, we would say that God does not hear the prayers of sinners but He hears His saints. If this is true then it springs the question of who are sinners and who are saints? SINNERS Sinners are those who engage in sin or in sinful acts even though such acts contravene the commandments of God. It would be important to state that the word sinner is not a moralistic or judgmental word but rather, a relational one. Everyone who is separated from God through sin is a sinner. Sin defines the broken state of one's relationship with God. Sinners are those who not only break God's law but also those who live in sin and do not know they are and have become used to it that it has become normal not knowing that they have 102
become slaves to it. “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” (John 8:34) The bible says that God has covered Himself with clouds so that He cannot hear the prayers of sinners. “We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned… Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.” (Lam 3:42 and 44) Proverbs chapter 28 verse 9 tells us that the prayers of those who turn away from the law of the Lord are an abomination unto Him. “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” It is clear according to scriptures that God does not hear the prayers of sinners except their prayer of repentance. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) 103
Even though there are no biblical categories for sinners, I would personally grade sinners into two main groups for us to have a clear understanding of the points being made. 1. Unbeliever/Unsaved These are those who do not believe in Jesus Christ or have not allowed Jesus to be Lord of their lives. They are the one the bible refers to in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 3 to 4 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. These ones constantly live in sin but are unaware that they are. They may even be morally upright thinking that being moral passes for being saved. Often have they had the opportunity to get saved but rejects it. 2. Backsliders There was a man called Demas who worked with Apostle Paul and we see Paul referring to him in Colossians chapter 4 and verse 14: 104
“Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.” By the time we get to 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 10, we see that he had backslidden “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.” The bible says of these ones in Hebrews chapter 10 verses 26 and 27: For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. They have tasted of the power of the saving grace of God but decided that the Christian life is restricting and because of their love to live a life that would not restrict them, in their own view, they decided against continuing in the faith. These ones have at a point in their lives surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ but have gone back to the world. 105
SAINTS The word saint comes from the Greek word “hagios” which means consecrated unto God, holy and sacred. It is always used in plural to depict the fact that saints are more than just an individual.The idea of the word saints makes reference to a group of people set apart for the Lord and for His kingdom purpose. Scripturally speaking, saints are members of the body of Christ. “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:” (1 Corinthians 1:2) In the above passage as well as in his several writings, we see Apostle Paul make reference to believers in Corinth and in other places as saints. The word sanctified and holy comes from the Greek root as the word that is commonly translated as saints. Believers are therefore saints by virtue of their connection with God through His Son Jesus Christ. 106
What makes for a saint is that the believer allows not only His will over theirs but that they increasingly allow their lives conform to the standard of God's Word as they daily walk with Him. Saints are not only those who have died in the Lord but also those who are alive and walking daily to conform to the will of God. So everyone who has received Jesus Christ into their hearts by faith is a saint. The question then arises: do saints sin? To answer the above question, let us look at what the bible says. “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…” (Proverbs 24:16) According to scriptures, a saint may fall into temptation and sin but he refuses to glory in it or to remain fallen, instead he gets up, asks the Lord for mercy and continues to press on. It is useless to mock a saint who falls and repents because our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, does not write anyone off when they do. 107
And the saint on the other hand lives in the consciousness that God's mercy is always available for him if he falls and thus quickly repents and moves on. “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.” (Micah 7:8) The fundamental difference between a sinner and a saint is that while a sinner's sinful lifestyle is normal to him, saints do not make allowances for sin, and if they fall, they come running back to the Lord for restoration. So to answer the question of who can pray, only saints can pray and the only prayer of a sinner that God hears is the prayer of genuine repentance after which the sinner must continue to walk the path of righteousness which therefore makes him a saint. 108
CHAPTER FIVE 109
THE HOLY SPIRIT 110
This book, The School of Faith, will not be complete without touching on the Person of the Holy Spirit who Himself is the Author and Founder of this school. As a matter of fact, it is Him that empowers us in this school and indeed, the journey of life. In the School of Faith, the Holy Spirit is our greatest asset as it is in Him and through Him that the Word of God is empowered in us; by His touch faith is birthed in our spirits and it is by His help that we pray in line with God's will for our lives. And as believers, we cannot achieve anything without His help. So put simply, the School of Faith is useless without the Holy Spirit. It would be wisdom to state here that no one can claim to fully understand the person of the Holy Spirit let alone write about Him except for what He personally reveals to us of Himself and what is documented in scriptures for our learning. Having said that, who then is the Holy Spirit? WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT? All through scriptures we see that the Holy Spirit was not given a personal Name such as Yaweh or Emmanuel but was rather described by His work which has led so many to believe that He is just a 111
force or power and forget that He is the third Person in the God Head. When Jesus was commissioning His disciples to go into all nations to preach the gospel, He confirmed the Holy Spirit to be a Person and a member of the God Head. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” (Matthew 28:19) According to the above passage, we can see that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are co-equal, co-eternal and co-existing, thereby making the Holy Spirit God because He is also Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. The Holy Spirit unites the believer with Christ and places him in the body of Christ – the church. He also empowers the believer to live a victorious life over sin. While the believer may fall into temptation and sin, the Holy Spirit will never leave him if he repents and turns away from it. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the 112
lives of believers is a clear distinction between sinners and saints. THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE LIFE OF A BELIEVER It is by the Holy Spirit that a believer is saved, filled, sealed and sanctified. It is the Holy Spirit that reveals God's thoughts, teaches, guides the believer into all truth and reveals what is to come. The Holy Spirit also helps believers in their weaknesses and intercedes for them when they pray in the Spirit. If all of the above is true, what then are the roles of the Holy Spirit? 1. He Is Our Helper Who Teaches And Reminds "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:26, NASB) The Holy Spirit provides wise counsel to believers, helps and reminds them of the 113
teachings of Jesus Christ. 2. He Sanctifies And Helps Believers Bear Good Fruits “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, 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.” (Galatians 5:22-25) It is the Holy Spirit that convicts and empowers believers not to indulge in the sinful acts of flesh but to bear good fruits of the Spirit. It is also through Him that believers are sanctified. Note: Sanctification is not a one off process but a continuous process of being holy. 3. He Renews, Empowers And Gives Eternal Life to Believers “If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His 114
Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:10-11, NASU) We cannot separate the Holy Spirit from power because He is the custodian of power and He is the One who empowers believers to rule over their enemies because the believer cannot rule without power. It is also the Holy Spirit that renews and sanctifies believers to make them holy and also give them eternal life. 4. He Convicts The World Of Sin “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:” (John 16:7- 8) It is the Holy Spirit that proves the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. He also plays a major role in the application of salvation in the lives of individuals and brings conviction to the world and cause unbelievers to come to the knowledge of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. 115
Anyone who responds to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and places their faith in Jesus Christ receives a new nature and also eternal life. 5. He Dwells In Believers “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16) The Holy Spirit is God's presence in the lives of believers. He dwells in their hearts, leads and causes them to yield to God's Word. 6. He Strengthens Our Weaknesses And Intercedes For Us “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27, NASU) We all have down times and feel weak at one point or another and may not know what to do, it is at this point that the Holy Spirit helps us line up with God's will by interceding for us. 116
7. He Is Our Source Of Revelation,, Wisdom And Power “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:10-11, NASB) “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, (Ephesians 1:17- 18) God gave us the Holy Spirit so that we may know Him better and since the Holy Spirit is God, He knows the thoughts of God the Father and reveals them to the saints. The Holy Spirit also opens the eyes of believers to the hope of salvation and their inheritance in Christ. Through the Holy Spirit believers have access to the power, revelation and wisdom of God. 117
8. He Puts A Seal On Believers “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,” (Ephesians 1:13) As seals validate the authenticity of any legal documents, so also does the Holy Spirit validate our adoption as children of God. He was given to the saints so that they can be confident of their salvation and He represents the mark of ownership on our lives as the children of God. 9. He Guides Into All Truth “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” (John 16:13) The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth because He guides believers into the truth of God's Word. 118
In these end times where false and heretic teachings are becoming the norm and with the proliferation of false prophets everywhere, every genuine carrier of the Holy Spirit will certainly be able to discern falsehood when we see one and because the Holy Spirit is God and knows the end from the beginning, He gives the saints access to those things that is to come. 10. He Gives Believers Spiritual Gifts “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. (1 Corintians 12:7-11) All through scriptures we see a diversity of gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to believers. These gifts are meant not only to empower believers and edify the body of Christ - the church, but to equip 119
believers for the work of the ministry. And because we are the light of the world, we are to use the gifts of the Spirit to illuminate the world around us, dispel darkness and draw men to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us. 120
CHAPTER SIX 121
MY CONCLUDING THOUGHTS 122
All we have been discussing is a double edged sword because while it is for the benefit of everyone; saved and unsaved, male or female, believers, Muslims and even atheists because Jesus Christ died for all of mankind, it is on the other hand more beneficial for the growth and maturity of those who have surrendered their lives to Him as their Lord and Saviour; the saints, and for those who will come to the knowledge of His saving grace and also surrender their lives to Him because we can only have access to them by being holy. Pretenders/Hippocrates These are those who claim to have come to the knowledge of the saving grace of God yet their hearts are unchanged. They have consciously refused to yield their hearts to God or to the leading of the Holy Spirit. These ones may even sound and look very religious but lack the evidence of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. They are the ones the bible refers to as hypocrites in Matthew chapter 15 verses 7 to 9: Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with 123
their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. On one hand they are religious and on the other vile hypocrites. They know very well that sinful acts are contrary to God's dictates for mankind and will not go unpunished yet continue in them willfully. And sadly, they are very many in our churches today. “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 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. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” (1 John 3:6-10) Some years ago there was a lady whose mother pleaded with me and some sisters in church to 124
speak with because she did not like the way her daughter was living. One day she saw me speaking with a brother from my church and said she hoped that I was not like him. Upon enquiring why she would make such a statement, she said she once saw him with another brother from our church with two ladies drinking beer at a bar. For fear of not being seen, they hid in a secluded place not knowing she saw them. Not wanting to take her words for it, I asked the brother in question and to my surprise he was shocked about how I knew. I once had an experience where I was invited for a brief by an organization that we brand for and the lady who was assigned to attend to me was a new staff. During the brief she told me point blank that she heard I was a preacher and that she does not do business with preachers because all the ones she had encountered had proven to be the exact opposite of their claims. My response to her was; though there are many who call themselves believers but are not, it does not stop God from having genuine children. And to the glory of God, for the many years we worked for them they never had a reason to complain for one day. There is no middle ground in the Christian race. We are either truly saved or not because there is no room for pretense or hypocrisy. 125
Please call to mind that obedience is a necessity in the School of Faith because it takes the spirit of obedience to serve God and that is why genuine believers surrender their all to God to follow His will. In the spiritual there is no middle ground because we must either be in or out and being partially in means partial obedience and partial obedience is absolute disobedience. Therefore, we must take a stand. Like the marriage union where there is no graduation, we have also been able to establish that there is no graduation from the School of Faith except we stop walking with God. Deception In The Church “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” (2 Corinthians 6:17). Back in the days, believers were known by the way they dressed, their conducts, high moral standards and values but it is no longer so today because it is now a very common trend that some 126
who claim to be believers are in very serious competition with unbelievers when it comes to being salacious that one can no longer differentiate between them and unbelievers. Some who claim to be sisters now dress in very tight and revealing dresses that those things which are supposed to be private have become public, yet have no sense of shame! The so called brothers are not different. These ones show off their undies in the name of fashion and call it sagging. Some wear very funny hair styles, pierce their ears like the opposite sex, button their shirts half way and carry on to their places of worship as though they were going for a fashion show. The church is supposed to be like a hospital where we come for treatment, but in this case, spiritual treatment. True, we are all sinners that is why Jesus came, and He said in Matthew 15:24: “… I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” We are to come the way we are; as sinners, but must NEVER return the way we came. 127
Anyone who had an encounter with Jesus during His earthly walk never remained the same. So we cannot claim to have encountered Him yet act like we have not! “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14) Listen, we cannot do what unbelievers do, go where they go, wear what they wear, act and dance like they do and say it does not matter. If it does not, the scripture would not have said in 1 John 2:3-4: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” The only proof that we love Him is to keep His commandments, because that is the litmus test of our claim of being saved, and one of His commandments says “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate…” 128
Jesus came to give us understanding of the truth and we know that He is the Truth. “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” (1 John 5:20) And Proverbs 23:23 sums it all by telling us to: “Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.” So knowing that God cannot change His standards to suit man is absolute truth and the earlier we realize that the better. A Word For The Body Of Christ In these end times every believer who truly desires not only to grow their faith but remain in the faith must be very careful of who and what they listen to if they do not want to fall into heresy because today there are teachers and preachers of falsehood, and sadly, a lot of believers are already falling for them. Of these fake teachers the bible says we should beware; 129
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (Matthew 7:15) We must beware because these fake teachers will come as God's prophets dressed in sheep's clothing but deep inside of them are ravening wolves who are serving their master, the devil and whose desire is to take as many people as possible to hell with them. Most importantly the bible says we should beware because a time will come when sound doctrine would no longer be appreciated because it would sound as being judgmental because the hearts of men would be drawn towards their lustful desires and would see the truth of God's Word as being old fashioned and would rather hear those things that excites them. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4) But Brother Jude in Jude verse 3 to 4 enjoins 130
those who love God and values the salvation that we have received by His Son, Jesus Christ to contend for the faith that we have received. “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” To contend means to fight; to fight for that which is precious to us which is our salvation and turn not to lasciousviousness or the preaching of God's grace which makes allowances for sin. Beloved of the Lord, if your faith means anything to you, then you must be willing to fight for it calling to mind that not everything that sounds right is alright. Some teachers have been anointed by the devil and have become specialist Word twisters, twisting every scripture out of context to bring out what their master, the devil wants. But thank God that even in the face of all the lies and deception, God has not left us without genuine men and women whom He has anointed 131
to tear down the kingdom of darkness but feed His people with knowledge and understanding. “And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” (Jeremiah 3:15) When you see any man or woman who claim to be of God but always criticizing and castigating ministers of the gospel, then be sure something is wrong. Or when you see preachers who are preaching doctrines that are not scriptural or claim that God has mandated them to teach everything because they have gotten a revelation that no one else has, then be sure to be careful. Needless to say that the Word of God is too big for one man, so God in His infinite wisdom has raised men and women of understanding and have saddled them with the responsibility of equipping the saints of God in this School. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11-12) Even at that, every believer have their own specific assignments that is why you see that in 132
the body of Christ different preachers have been saddled with their own specific messages. When you look around today, you will realize that even our fathers of faith, with all the wisdom of God in operation in their lives coupled with their academic qualifications do not meddle into what God has not sent them. So you see one preaching on holiness, another on righteousness and to yet another faith and so on, because the Word of God is far bigger than the whole of men put together, let alone to a single person, no matter how anointed he is. So beyond walking with God and taking personal responsibility for our own faith, it is wisdom to follow after the teachings of men and women who are indeed anointed by God while at the same time focusing on the assignment that we have been given because that is what ensures a fulfillment of purpose. No wonder in his letter to Timothy Apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 4:16: “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.” (1 Timothy 4: 16, NASU) It is staying true to one's assignment that guarantees his attainment in life and if you refuse 133
to focus on your assignment, you will lose your focus in life! Even our Lord Jesus Himself stayed focused on His assignment. When they were going to force Him to become their king in John chapter 6 verse 15, the bible says that He ran because He knew that, that was not His purpose. “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.” And in the face of death, He stayed true to His purpose: “Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” (John 18:37) Child of God, even if your assignment looks odd, so long as you are convinced beyond doubt that it is God who instructed you, then it would be wisdom to stick to it because it will certainly guarantee a glorious future at the end. 134
I personally believe that it sounded stupid to those who were with Jesus Christ when He said His assignment was to come and die to save mankind. As a matter of fact, He was disdained that some mocked at Him. “Then they scoffed, "He's just the carpenter's son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things? And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family." (Matthew 13:55-57, NLT) I can only imagine what His mother thought of Him. If it were in our time, some people would probably have suggested that He be taken for psychiatric evaluation. But because He stayed focused on His assignment, we can boldly declare today that we are saved. Praise God! It is most important to state here, however, that heeding the call of God on our lives should never be on the basis of being blessed with material possessions but because we truly love God and want to fulfill our purposes here on earth. 135
In the School of Faith, the walk of faith will always look foolish to the world because they will certainly not understand why we do what we do, especially when it does not make logical sense. And truthfully, in this School, we do not work by logic or our natural senses but by faith in God and faith to the carnal and natural mind is foolishness because it does not make sense and because it does not, they begin to criticize us. You would have observed by now that no matter what happens in the world, they take it as normal, but once it concerns the church or any man or woman of God, what you will hear is “BREAKING NEWS! And that is because carnality and spirituality can never mix so they always look for a way to ridicule the church. But so that we do not get discouraged by such criticisms, God gave us His Holy Spirit to comfort us at such times and that is one reason why we must continuously maintain a solid relationship with the Holy Spirit, no matter what we go through. A Word Of Encouragement And Prayer I want to believe that you are already saved and desire to grow your faith that is why you are reading this book. But just in case you have not surrendered your life to Jesus Christ as your Lord 136
and Saviour, then my dear friend, that is the starting point of all we have been discussing. So it would be wisdom to please stop here for a few minutes and ask God to have mercy on you, forgive you of your sin and cleanse you with the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ if you want to maximize everything that you have read in this book. Confess your sin to the Lord and believe by faith that He has heard and forgiven you because He truly loves you. In the event that you do not know what to say, please say this short prayer with all sincerity of heart: “Heavenly Father, I confess my sins (mention them), please forgive and cleanse me with the blood that Jesus shed formy sake. I believe Jesus loves me and died for me and I accept Him into my heart as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You Father for showing me your mercy, in Jesus Precious Name. Amen! Congratulations to you if you said that prayer. Remember, wisdom is knowing what to do and doing it. Therefore let us continue to renew our 137
minds by consistently studying God's Word, rededicating our lives to Christ and asking Him for the wisdom to separate ourselves from worldliness and its standards if we must excel in the School of Faith, and as we do, I pray that the light of God that shines in darkness, that darkness cannot comprehend will continue to illuminate our hearts for God's glory even till the day of the Lord, in Jesus Precious Name. Amen! 138
139 AUTHORS CONTACT THE WORD SEED EVANGELISTIC MINISTRY P.O. Box 1646, Festac Town, Lagos, Nigeria. Email address: [email protected] Mobile/WhatsApp: +234 805 496 4167, +234 815 577 6251 Facebook: The Word Seed Evangelistic Ministry LinkedIn:The Word Seed Evangelistic Ministry Twitter: The Word Seed Evangelistic Ministry Instagram: The Word Seed Evangelistic Ministry Wix: www.twseministry.wixsite.com/thewordseed Wordpress: www.twseministry.wordpress.com
140 ABOUT OUR MINISTRY God commissioned THE WORD SEED EVANGELISTIC MINISTRY to sow the seed of His Word in the hearts of men, through Evangelism and Soul Winning. All through the years God has helped us take the gospel message to Widows, Orphans, Destitutes, the Blind, Indigent Students, Inmates, held Crusades and Outreaches in the Northern and Southern parts of Nigeria, etc. All of which God made possible through the kind support of friends and partners. We would be glad to have you partner with us by giving a one-off or a recurrent freewill donation of any amount to the account below: Account name: The Word Seed Account no: 010 5308 394 Access (Diamond Bank PLC) To give online, please use this secure link below: https://bit.ly/givetoTWSEM May the Lord bless and increase you, in Jesus Precious Name!
Christianity without faith is atheism without knowing because it is by faith that we tap into the Omnipotent power of God in order to provoke physical manifestation. So the Christian race without faith renders it impotent and useless. Faith is a fundamental component of the Christian race because it is by faith that we believe in a God who is invincible and in His Son, Jesus Christ, whom He sent. This book not only offers the necessity of having faith in God but also gives practical bible based guide on how to grow your faith and to maximize the benefits therein. ABOUT THE BOOK To sow the seed of God’s Word in the hearts on men even to the uttermost part of the earth. (Luke 8:11, Acts 1:8) OUR MANDATE ABOUT THE AUTHOR Samson Aboloje is an ordained minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, an anointed preacher, an author and an Evangelist. He is the Lead Evangelist of THE WORD SEED EVANGELISTIC MINISTRY. Joyfully married to Evangelist (Mrs) Winifred O. Aboloje, a Kingdom Minstrel, together they serve to edify the body of Christ and share the good news of redemption to the world. They are blessed with children. ISBN: 978-978-995-710-1