CAN HE TELL YOU?

Before you dive in...

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Yes, don't think about the question now. Just breathe in again.

Right!

As you may already know, God is not a fan of idleness. There is always something for the believer (his child) to do.

And if you have been paying attention to his word, you should have discovered that sometimes, at the mention of God's instructions, there is "and I will...." A promise. 

Other times, he only instructs. No promises. Nothing to excite you.

This is why I write today. 

I want to know

                      

I want to know if you are ready to obey God when reward is not stated.

God just instructs and you do.

Is he allowed?

Can he tell you to do a thing and all you think about is how much he has loved you not how much he is going to bless you?

Can he tell you to do a thing and you are passionate to obey because you love him not because you want him to see how hard you are working for him?

Go ahead and answer my question now.

Can he tell you? 

Mouth your answer. God wants to hear, too.

© Endowed 

THE LIFESTYLE

 

Maybe if I, who had never learnt about Christ got saved three days ago, and started learning about him from Matthew. Maybe after reading the first 20 chapters, I would pause and say excitedly "Man, this Jesus guy is God. Like, he's the real deal!"

But maybe if I read 6 chapters more, I wouldn't just pause but punch my bed too. Maybe this time, I wouldn't think of any God, but a man. A Son. First, second, third time. Sighing, writhing in pain... before his Father.

And maybe I would pick up my Bible again. Maybe I would see that this Son is so different from the sons I have met, sons whose stories are reversed editions because they never please until their fathers plead. Maybe I would also see that though the rich young man I met earlier obeyed the scriptures from his youth, I was wrong for comparing him with Jesus. Wrong for calling him a son. He walked away, but his father's will, Jesus did again. Jesus stuck to his way. The way of sons. Their lifestyle.

Now, since I love to learn more and become a son, maybe I would act like the Son, bow and cry before my Father, tell him that again and again and yet again, I want my spirit and body to be willing to do as he says. 

© Endowed

DEAR EN'OLORUNFE

 

Dear En'olorunfe,

last time we met, I wrote to you on enrolling in the school of obedience for this season as that's  paramount to a sweet walk with Abba  in a time like this.

but I won't like to assume that you took time to visit the library for the school's truest GUIDE

 Eniolorounfe, I came to share with you that, in school of obedience, confusion is the easiest and first pal to meet even right at the entrance of the institution, but for that I came to let you know that, to every instruction that may be given which cannot be found  in the BIBLE, don't heed!

Remember the following:

the school of obedience is founded by God and everything you must do there should come from the Proprietor's  not from anyone's

any teacher speaking outside the scope of God (the proprietor's) thoughts, such should be disregarded...

Lest I forget, check your role in the school of obedience through the founder's guide

I pray you discernment..

Hebrews 10:7. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Yours sincerely,

Oluwafemi.

DEAR FRIEND II

 

Dear Friend,

on this journey, there are many materials you would like to carry along

maybe you've been told of how prayer is the key to spiritual stamina

or you heard of how reading and meditating on the word of God is paramount to a better life in the voyage of faith 

Eniolorunfe, you're not and can never be wrong to pitch tent with prayers and in the word of God, mba!

But in all these, the school of obedience cannot be boycotted to achieve the heights God desires for you in the year...

Don't pray and study without obeying what God says!

I have come to tell you this year, be a LEARNER

not only in words but in OBEDIENCE

there your way is lightened..

"...though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered" Hebrews 5:8

selah...

© Josh' Oloyede

Dear friend...

I write to you.

You are here

In this new year

Called twenty twenty-one

I call it that, too

But just recently

I saw differently

2, 0, 2, 1

2 to 0

2 to 1

And Perhaps

like I did

you ask

"These numbers 

aren't consecutive

What sort of math

is this?"

You see

This thought

questioned my goals

raised a number of what ifs

What if 

along this year

my plans

refuse to work out?

What if 

my 2 

falls to 1

or goes down 

to 0?

At this, I cringed

2021

yet again

We may go up 

We may go down

We may succeed

We may fail

We may laugh

We may cry

Again

another reality

hit me hard

And this time

I really laughed

The reality

that when this year

we count 

1, 2, 3

There is a force

that keep us going

And even if

we happen to fall

2 to 1

2 to 0

there is a hand

that holds us up 

a power 

that lives in us

so that 

even after the seventh fall

we rise

My dear friend

This is Twenty twenty-one

2, 0, 2, 1

Go 

with these realities

Chuck what ifs

and embrace 

all your God is

© Endowed

CONTENTMENT: BENCHMARK FOR JOYFUL LIVING - (Part - 1)

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. - 1 Timothy6:6-8 ; KJV

Contentment is one of the most difficult Christian virtues to attain, yet it is one of the most crucial virtue needed to enjoy relationship with God and people around us. We live in a world that is hostile to contentment. Temptation to be discontent is everywhere. We are daily bombarded with advertisements telling us we are incomplete and unfulfilled. Friend’s achievements sometimes stir up our sense of inferiority, our lack prove to us that we live a wretched life. We are in the world full of lack of satisfaction. In all these, how should the kingdom people live?

What does contentment actually mean?
Contentment means to be completely sufficient, to need absolutely nothing. It means to be fulfilled, satisfied, and complete.

The 3 Stages of Life
The three stages of life is given the acronym, “BED”:

#1: Stage – 1: Birth – At birth we brought nothing into this world (1 Timothy 6:7). When we entered the world, we came with only two things: (I) our bodies and (ii) our life. Beyond these, we were stark naked. We had nothing else and we will take nothing in return journey (Job 1:21; Ecclesiastes 5:15-16).

#2: Stage – 2: Experience – This is the stage between birth and death – it is the stage of life. In the stage of experience, we need some necessities that we must have to sustain life. The three essential things needed in this stage of life are:
     (I) Food – Exodus 21:10
  (ii) Clothing – Exodus 21:10
(iii) Shelter – Ecclesiastes 7:12; NIV

A striking point was made by William Barclay: It is not that Christianity pleads for poverty. There is no special virtue in being poor, and no happiness in having a constant struggle to make ends meet. But Christianity does plead for two things:
• Christianity pleads for the realization that it is never in the power of things to bring happiness (Luke 12:15).
• Christianity pleads for the concentration upon the things which are permanent, the things that a man can take with him when in the end he dies. (John 6:27).

#3: Stage – 3: Death – The fact of death is an absolute certainty. At death, we carry nothing – absolutely nothing out of this world. We will  leave this world just as we entered it, with nothing.

 Ponder on the following:
√ Godliness with Contentment is a great gain - 1 Timothy 6:6
√ Contentment gives freedom from the love of money - Hebrews 13:5
√ Contentment is the price tag of a true soldier - Luke 3:14
√ Contentment is the pathway to fulfilling your Purpose - Philippians 4:11-13
√ Contentment is a shield, it delivers from evil - Proverbs 19:23

CONCLUSION
The word contentment means an inner sufficiency that keeps us at peace in spite of outward circumstances. True contentment comes from

godliness in the heart, not wealth in the hand. A person who depends on material things for peace and assurance will never be satisfied, for material things have a way of losing their appeal. There are many wealthy people, who go to psychiatrists and who are more apt to try to commit suicide. Beware of covetousness, live a life of contentment. You will always experience the season of Joyful returns. Shalom!

© Revd Dr Tade Obaniyi,
Set Man, Dayspring Vision

[WhatsApp: 07031020015; E-mail: dayspringvision8@gmail.com]

MAXIMIZING YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS FOR GREATER IMPACTS

Christianity is a race. Our consciousness of fulfilling the purpose must go with the discovery, development, and deployment of the spiritual gift the Lord made available to everyone who seeks Him.

What is a Spiritual Gift?
Ken Hemphill defines a spiritual gift as an individual manifestation of grace from the Father that enables him or her to serve the Lord and thus play a vital role in His plan for the redemption of the world.
Hence, spiritual gift is special ability, skill or capacity given by the Holy Spirit at salvation which enables the believer to perform a meaningful work in the church and society with ease and effectiveness for kingdom growth.

 TYPES OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS

a. Revelation Gifts: These can manifest in the form of:
√ Word of wisdom: Right application of knowledge  Matthew 4:4, 7, 10
√ Word of knowledge: Facts supernaturally released by Holy Spirits prompting  Acts 5:3
√ Discerning of the spirits: Perceiving the source of manifestation  Acts 8:23; 16:18

b. Vocal Gifts: These can manifest in the form of:

√ Gift of tongues: The Supernatural means of Communication - 1 Corinthians 2:10 
Two types of tongues
i. Tongues as a sign to believers  Mark 16:17
ii. Tongues as Foreign language to the Speaker  Acts 2:4-8

√ Interpretation of Tongues – The act of giving meaning to the Spiritual unknown language spoken through the inspired vessel to the Church (1 Corinthians 2:10)

√ Prophecy - This is an inspired utterance to proclaim the mind of God on events of life. The prophecy can be fore-telling (Prediction of the future occurrence), or forth-telling (Declarations of the written word of God) - -Rom 12:6; 2 Pet 1:20-21

c. Power Gifts: These can manifest in the form of:

√ Gift of faith - The Gift of Faith is God-given ability to believe Him for the impossible - 1 Cor 12:9; Mark 11:22-23.
Dimensions of faith
• Saving faith = The common endowment for all believers (Eph 2:8).
• Wonder working faith = An Unusual Measure of Trust in God for Greater works (Mark 11:22-24).

√ Gifts of healings - This is the supernatural endowment upon the anointed one to bring sound health without the intervention of medical science (1 Cor 12:9, 28).

√ Working of miracles -  This is the act of bringing into existence what is contrary to natural occurrences (1 Cor 12:10).

EFFECTIVE MANIFESTATIONS OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS:

Believers in Christ Jesus did not just get spiritual gifts to showcase themselves, but to bring profit to the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:7). To be effective in the divine manifestations of the spiritual gifts involves:

1. Distribution of Spiritual Gifts (Heb 2:4):
We are all equally born into the body of Christ to do good works, but we are not equally gifted. The spiritual gifts are given to each one of us as the Lord wishes. God gives spiritual gifts according to:

• God's will - Spiritual Gifts do not come by our desire. God distributes to everyone according to His will (Heb 2:4; 1 Cor 12:11). The Psalmist said, our God is in heaven, doing whatever pleases Him (Psalm 115:3). No man can gain access to any spiritual gifts on his own, except the one pleasing to God to release unto him.

• Our Good Standing with God - Spiritual Gifts are given as a loan from the Lord. We have access to the offer in order to give back profit in our labour (1 Cor 12:7). One of the criteria for God releasing the offer of the Spiritual Gifts to us is our right standing with Him (Eccl 2:26).

• Individual Ability - Kingdom business operates on abilities. Every believer has elastic limit to which he may be stretched. Gifts of the Spirit responds to individual abilities (Matt 25:15). God does this to prevent us from being overburdened and possibly break down in the course of discharging our God-given responsibilities.

• Measure of Grace - The grace of God for salvation is a general grace. It appears to all men to teach us to live Godly in this present age (Titus 2:11-12). But the grace for impacts is a specific grace made available to each man as he has needs for it (Rom 12:6; John 1:16). The measure of Gifts of the Spirit a man can manifest is a function of the measure of grace God made available to him. But, grace can be maximized by the level of Sacrifice God revealed to man to pay.

2. Discovery of Spiritual Gifts (1 Cor 12:1):
The first step to manifestations of the Spiritual Gifts is the discovery of the Gifts God gives. This is a step of knowing what God gives to you to contribute to the glory of your time.

Guidelines to discover your Spiritual Gift(s).

• Ease - What is easier for you than for others?
• Enjoyment - What puts a smile on your face?
• Excitement  - What is your passion?  What do you like talking about?
• Experience: What has God opened the door for you to do?
• Effectiveness - What are you good at? Are the blessings of God upon what you have given yourself to do?

3. Development of Your Spiritual Gifts (1 Cor 14:12):
Your spiritual gift(s) is a divine trust. God gives to man to proof his dependency on Him. No one should lay claim of ownership of the grace God gives for exploits of the faith.

Guidelines to Develop your Spiritual Gift(s).

• Pray for opportunities to manifest your spiritual gifts.
• Fan into flame the grace you have received by giving quality time to study the word of God and for effective prayer.
• Accept responsibility in the area of your spiritual gifts.
• Take time to learn from those who are more experienced in the area of your spiritual gifts.
• Seek feedback from those who are older than you in the faith and accept correction to improve.

4. Deployment of Your Spiritual Gift(s)
The deployment of your spiritual gifts has to do with putting to work the divine endowment placed upon you for maxima impacts in your world.

Guidelines to Develop your Spiritual Gift(s).

• Pray for empowerment and direction from the Holy Spirit for effective uses of your spiritual gifts.
• Use what you have been given for God's glory.
• Give the glory for impact in the discharge of your spiritual gifts back to God.
• Seek to encourage others in their use of Spiritual Gifts.
• Use whatever gift you are given to the fullest in order to receive divine reward (Matt 25:14-30).

Note:
God gives Spiritual Gifts to test our:

• Trust in Him - Our loyalty must be to God alone. The man God endowed with Grace must not put confidence on the gift at the expense of the giver.

• Stewardship of the grace - Operation of the Spiritual Gifts is a product of grace. The steward of grace is a man who owns nothing, but is responsible for all things. We must use the Spiritual Gifts with the consciousness that we shall give account of our stewardship to God one day (1 Pet 4:10-11).

Peace!

© Rev'd Dr. Tade Obaniyi.

Set man, Dayspring Vision Ministry.