Welcome back! Apologies for the long break publishing this next part of this blogpost series. This is part 5 and I am excited to be back on it.

Essentially we’ve seen that the mind of Christ is a mind of great reverence for the Father, it’s a humble and selfless mind and it is a mind conscious of the God-status as well as its attendant privileges and advantages.

Today we continue our study looking at the privileges of being a son of God.

1 John 3:1 tells us it’s a great privilege to be called sons of God, an identity that positions us for the Father’s love. And when we have the Father’s love, we have everything.

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!…”

All the privileges we see below are offshoots of His love…

1. We have the god-status.

“I said, “You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.” Psalm 82:6

We have the god-status to do works of miracles and power. We express the God-status by doing the Works of The Father. We have power, authority, dominion, we can create things, we can move mountains, we can bind and unbind stuffs, etc, all so that we EXPRESS the power of God by doing His Works (John 14:10, 34-38, John 14:12).

2. We have access to the Father at all times.

“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba Father’ Romans 8:15 NKJV

It is not a Master/slave relationship where the slave walks subdued in the presence of the Master.

Naa, we walk in boldly expecting to see the Father’s hands outstretched towards us in love.

There’s an endearment in knowing God as Father. Walls and barriers of fear and uncertainty are broken. We operate in liberty and freedom.

3. We have an inheritance

“”..and if children of God, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” Romans 8:17

An heir is a person legally entitled to the property or rank of another on that person’s death. An heir is an inheritor, a person who inherits and continues the work of a predecessor.

We are joint heirs with Christ to;

a. Continue the work of the kingdom

b. Enjoy the benefits of the Father’s Will. And God’s Will is His Word. And His Will is that we prosper, be in health, even as our soul prospers (3 John 1:2); speaking of material prosperity, wholeness in health and emotional stability.

4. We have the privilege of being provided for by the Father;

“If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him” Matthew 7:11.

So all we really need do is ask (and to ask according to His will) and we have good things.

The question that always comes to mind whenever I read Matthew 7:11 is; who defines the ‘good things‘, me or the Father? 🙂

Because many times as Christians we draw up our own list of ‘good things’ without ‘touching base‘ with the Father. I believe it’s much easier for our good things to materialize when they’re in sync with the Father (selah).

Healing is a good thing. Abundance is a good thing. Children are good things. A godly marriage is a good thing. A good paying job is a good thing. A heart at peace is a good thing.

It is the Father’s pleasure to daily satisfy our mouth with good things (Psalm 103:5).

5. We have the assurance of His presence at all times

“At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” John 14:20 NKJV.

There is nothing more assuring of security for me, than John 14:20.

In fact the way I interpret that scripture is; I am safely kept in the Father through Christ. It is a multi-level protective wall…in Christ, in the Father and Christ in Me.

Again, John 14:20 tells me that all things are possible, because I am not an ordinary being. I am a 3-part squad, my team wins always and in all things. Amen!

6. We are led by the Spirit of God

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” Romans 8:14 NKJV

I am led by the Spirit of God, I have wisdom and direction. I have the spirit of understanding, power, might, counsel, knowledge and I operate in the fear of the Lord. I know what the mind of God is concerning a thing by His Spirit. I am not tossed to and fro. I have discernment. I hear my Father’s voice and I know it’s Him.

7. We have the privilege of profiting from His Word

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” 2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV

Because the Word of God is profitable. The Word is Sound. The Word is Light, it illuminates. The Word is Life.

To find life is to know wisdom. And the fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom because a deep reverence for The Lord keeps one on the track of His Word, with a yearning to do only what the Father would approve. That is wisdom; knowing the right thing and doing it.

For every Christian the right thing is the Truth and the Truth is the Word.

Oh! what awesome privileges I have as a son of God. My whole life completely catered for. Nothing omitted.

Thank You Faithful Father.

You indeed work everything together for my good. Amen!

When was the last time you read Daniel chapter 10? Recently, long time ago or never? 🙂

Whatever your response, it is never a waste to read Daniel Chapter 10. In fact, to follow this blog post, I encourage you to read Daniel Chapter 10 and possibly to the end of the book. This is a very interesting narrative of Daniel’s encounter with an heavenly being and this scripture is laden with many useful spiritual insights that remain relevant to Christian living.

Before we start line listing learnings from this scripture, there’s a need to clearly identify the heavenly being in Daniel’s vision.

Was this Jesus?

Daniel’s vision brought to mind a similar experience by John in Revelations Chapter 1.

Wanting to gain clarity on this, I sort for parallels between the Man Daniel saw in his vision and the Man John saw in Revelations 1.

1. John talks of encountering one like the son of a Man however in Daniel 10, the person that appeared to Daniel is simply described as a man.

2. The Man in Revelations introduced himself as the First and the Last (Jesus) while Daniel’s Man introduced himself as a messenger sent to deliver information.

3. Daniel’s Man was withheld by the prince of Persia. The prince of Persia describes a spiritual force rather than a physical one. Something seeming like a principality. Principalities are subject to God, principalities cannot stop God, Jesus is God. In fact, this point was probably the most intriguing for me in Daniel’s account. I was curious to know,…was Jesus withheld by the prince of Persia?

It wasn’t Jesus.

4. Angels are generally referred to in the Bible as ministering spirits or messengers. When Jesus came down to earth, He didn’t come as a messenger but as a Saviour. Many times God sends Michael or Gabriel to His people. So if Daniel’s Man says Michael came to his rescue, then the Man in Daniel’s vision is most likely Gabriel.

So that’s sorted.

Now what great learnings do we see in Daniel 10?

Number 1 learning:

We are told that Daniel separated himself in a kind of fast for 21 days prior to his vision. His vision came on the 24th day. The Bible is careful to present one event before the other. It was not a coincidence.

So first thing to learn for me is this; it pays to occasionally separate oneself to see, hear and clearly understand what God is saying.

We are told in verse 12 that Daniel set his heart to understand and humbled himself before God…..

“Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words”.
DANIEL 10:12.

Today, fasting in Christianity is either underplayed, abused(done for the wrong motives) or not done at all.

Probably we’d gain more clarity on grey areas in our Christian walk if we set our hearts to understand and humble ourselves before God (selah).

Number 2 learning:

God has a unique nametag for those who separate themselves to Him. Those committed and persuaded about their faith and belief. Those who are resolute about their integrity anchored on their faith in Him.

It was impressive for me to see Daniel described as highly esteemed one (verse 18). I immediately remember Mary’s (mother of Jesus) nametag revealed again by Gabriel- highly favoured one (Luke 1: 28) David’s nametag a man after Gods heart, Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth were described as righteous in the sight of God, ….and there are others.
So here I am with a smile on my face and only imagining what nametag The Father has given me, I’d love to know ?.

Number 3 learning:

God answers us always and He sends a response.

Again, in verse 12, angel Gabriel informs Daniel that God released an answer to His prayer from the first day.

First day!

There was no delay in God responding to Daniel’s prayer. God sent an immediate response.

But did Daniel know that? No. I am not saying Daniel was on a faithless mission, but he was oblivious of Gabriel’s plight with the prince of Persia. He had no way of knowing that God has released an immediate response to his request, yet the truth remains- God did.

One of my favourite blog posts is a response I provided to someone’s question on my online counselling platform. Blogpost title: Why Hasn’t God Answered Me?

I encourage you to read up that blogpost as it systematically alludes to the truth that God hears us always, He always sends a response for every of our request and we are guaranteed of receiving what we ask of Him when we ask according to His Will. Amen!

Number 4 learning:

There’s a devil somewhere actively working to avert God’s goodness towards us.

This is not an old testament thing. So don’t immediately jump to saying Jesus Christ defeated Satan. Well right, Jesus Christ defeated Satan, put him under our feet and gave us authority over principalities and powers.

Great!

But Christ gave us authority so we could use it. He didn’t just give us authority so that we’d be posing around as possessors of authority. No. He knows that as long as we live on this earth and for as long as Satan remains the lord of the world, we’ll need to exercise that authority to stay victorious.

Too many Christians work under the illusion that because they belong to Jesus Christ, Satan cannot reach them. So they generally put everything in Gods hands and then go to sleep. That is a fallacy not from God.

Yes, sleep and rest in God’s love, never doubt His faithfulness, love, mercy or ability to keep promises, but hey, Gabriel was withheld for 23 days. Someone might say, well, he was just an angel, and I quickly point out that He had the backing of Heaven to deliver God’s message to Daniel. Good news that Michael succeeded in releasing Gabriel from being bound, but we’re not told at what point God sent Michael out to help Gabriel. Why the 23 day delay?

Brethren, when sickness and disease come, let us by faith use our authority, when we feel attacked from different fronts, let us use our authority. Let’s stay always kitted with the whole armour of God so that we’ll be able to withstand all the fiery darts the enemy throws at us. Never falling prey to the lie, that God is in control of everything.

Our authority is in the Name of Jesus Christ.

Number 5 learning:

Angels carry a presence. Yes they’re ministering spirits, they serve us now as Christians but still they carry a presence. In fact, staying repeatedly in God’s presence is enough to cause a rub off ?.

And God didn’t stop sending angels on errands because Christ came to save the world or because we now have the Holy Spirit. So we should be sensitive to discern when we encounter an angel and not mistake one for Christ (selah). You say what’s the relevance of this point? Many ‘Christians’ have subscribed to the worship of angels, whether seen or imagined. This is misleading, and will ultimately land one in hell.

True angels of God do not accept to be worshipped as they immediately identify themselves as messengers and not objects of worship.

Well, I hope you study the rest of Daniel Chapters 10 to 12.

God bless.

Thank you for joining me, this is the 4th part of this series. We have been studying the Mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5) and what learning we can apply to ourselves as Christians.

Essentially we’ve seen that the mind of Christ is a mind of great reverence for the Father, it’s a humble and selfless mind and it is a mind conscious of the God-status as well as its attendant privileges and advantages.

Hebrews 1:5-10 showed us how God the Father sees Jesus Christ; importantly, we saw that Christ is God’s Firstborn. Then we tried to locate ourselves (Christians) by asking the question, ‘who are we?’

Galatians 3:26-29 provided us with answers to that question;

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

So Christ is the firstborn. We are all sons of God. We are Abraham’s seed. We are heirs of the promise.

Next, we have a bunch of questions to answer; What privileges do sons have? What advantages are there in being Abraham’s seed and/or heirs of the promise? What promise are we talking about?

I’d like to jump in and start exploring the scriptures for answers to these questions but first, the story of the prodigal son has been on my mind since my last publishing on this series. In my notes, I dropped some leading questions around this story; who is a father and what are his duties? How much of his father’s possession was the prodigal son entitled to? What is the Father’s (GOD) Will for His children and how would we find it?

From Luke 15:11-32, a narrative of the story of the prodigal son, we find that Jesus did not tell the story of the prodigal son solely from the son’s perspective. In fact, the story goes to show more about the heart of God the Father than the behavior of the prodigal son (which really is a regular occurrence with man).

So what do we see about The Father from Luke 15:11-23;

1. The Father has ‘goods’ (possessions) reserved for his children.
2. These goods/possessions are always available to the sons (the Father doesn’t withhold or hoard them).
3. These goods/possessions are limitless, they don’t run out, and we can draw from them over and over again.
4. The Father is compassionate.
5. The Father’s love is unconditional; He loves us irrespective of our shortcomings.
6. The Father is not afraid to let us ‘roam’ sometimes because even from afar, His love and compassion can reach and save us.
7. The Father is not afraid to allow us to be exposed to challenges sometimes, because these would build our faith and confidence.
8. The Father knows that all that He has belongs to His sons and He is not threatened.

Brethren, we are sons/heirs of God through Christ (Galatians 4:6-7), the Father has ‘goods’ reserved for us which we can access at anytime and in any dimension without it running out. We have a compassionate, merciful and loving Father and all that The Father has belongs to us.

Now, remember we’re trying to answer the question of our rights and privileges as sons of God. So what are these rights and privileges? What goods did the Father reserve for us? What’s our inheritance as heirs?

1. We are God’s children, therefore we are gods. Just like Jesus Christ, we have the God-status. We are not God The Father, We are not God The Son, we did not exist in the beginning, we did not create the world in any way or form, but we are God’s children, we are His heritage, we have the genes of God and we have the God-status.

Psalm 82:6 calls the children of the Most High; ‘gods’.

“I said, “You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.”

Don’t let me lose you now to religious thinking; possibly thinking; ‘hey Grace, this is blasphemy, why say we are gods?

Maybe one easy way to understand this is this; I have 3 children, they are all OBOMANU 🙂 They can claim all rights and privileges and carry out any duties of an OBOMANU anyday, anytime.

Now, Jesus actually got this same ‘blasphemy’ reaction from the Jews;

“Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”? If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming’?, because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him” John 10:34-38 NKJV

Question: Why do we have the God-status? …..To flaunt it around? To feel good about ourselves?…..or why?

Again, Jesus provides answers to this from John 10:34-38;

“…..If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him”.

So we have the God-status to do WORKS. We express the God-status by doing the Works of The Father. We have power, authority, dominion, we can create things, we can move mountains, we can bind and unbind stuffs, etc, all so that we EXPRESS the power of God by doing His Works.

The next rational question to ask is- what are the works of God that Jesus spoke of?

John 14:10 answers this for us;

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you I do not say on My own initiative or authority, but the Father, abiding continually in Me, does His works [His attesting miracles and acts of power].”AMP

Answer: Works of miracles and acts of power.

And in verse 12, Jesus tells us that our REACH, COVERAGE, in doing these Works would be more;

“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, anyone who believes in Me [as Savior] will also do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these [in extent and outreach], because I am going to the Father.”JOHN 14:12 AMP

What’s the scope of the authority of the name of Jesus?

“.…..So God raised Him up from the most important place and gave Him the name that is greater than any other name. God did this so that every person will bow down to honor the name of Jesus. Everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth will bow“. Philippians 2:9-10.

With the authority we have in the name of Jesus, forces from the different spheres/realms bow to us. Therefore there is no feat we cannot achieve.

Greater Works…..because He goes to the Father. Because He’s finished His Works, defeated the Devil, reclaimed power and authority and secured a Name higher than any other. So that anything we speak, declare or ask in His Name, will get done. Hallelujah!

We are God’s sons, we are gods and like Christ, we have Works to do…greater in reach, extent and coverage, because we have The NAME to which every knee must bow, all prayers will be answered, every victory will be won.

Thank You Father.

Thank You.

When we read Philippians 2:5, we see without much brainstorming that the mind of Christ is a mind of humility, selflessness and great reverence for The Father. We’ve discussed these 3 attributes of the mind of Christ in the first 2 parts of this series.

Is there anything else we see about the mind of Christ in Philippians 2:5?

“Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of Himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of Himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. he didn’t claim special privileges. Instead He lived a selfless, obedient life and then dies a selfless, obedient death-and the worst kind of death -a crucifixion.” ERV.

Well, I see something else;

4. A mind conscious of the God-status

5. A mind conscious of the privileges and advantages of the God-status.

So we see that Christ had equal status with God the Father, then we are admonished to have same mind as Christ

Question: Should we think of ourselves as having equal status with God the Father?

To help answer that question, we need to understand what the scripture mean by ‘Christ had equal status with God’?

In Blogpost 1, we mentioned that Jesus Christ did not misunderstand His position in the Godhead. He was the Son, there is God The Father (the supreme head) and the Holy Spirit. The 3 existed in the beginning having EQUAL status, power, authority, but their roles and interactions with man is distinct.  One of the things that fascinated me as a young Christian was getting to understand the person of the Holy Spirit. I’d read a book by Benny Hinn on the Holy Spirit (not about miracles) where he said that Christians were currently in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit; The Teacher & Comforter. I loved the revelation so much I started writing a book on the Holy Spirit ……don’t ask me where my notes are 🙂

Colossians 1:15 describes Christ as the firstborn;

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation”. NKJV.

In Hebrews 1:5-10, we see a very interesting narrative of the Father-Son relationship;

“….You are My Son, today I have begotten You? And again: “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son”? But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says; “Let all the angels of God worship Him” And of the angels He says: ‘Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire” But to the Son He says: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of  Your Kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore, God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions”. And You Lord in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands…” NKJV

We can tease out a lot about Christ Jesus (and His status) from Hebrews 1 {referenced from Psalm 45:6-7};

He was in the beginning. The heavens are the works of His hands. He laid the foundation of the earth. God is His God. The Father God calls Him both God & My Son. He is the firstborn.  He has an everlasting throne, etc

Now, we see how God describes Christ. How do we (Christians) fit in? Who are we?

Galatians 3:26-29;

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Christ is the firstborn.

We are all sons of God.

We are Abraham’s seed.

We are heirs of the promise.

Question: What privileges or advantages do we have as sons? What’s our status? What does scripture mean by ‘we are Abraham’s seed and heirs of the promise?

We’ll look into the scriptures to provide answers to these questions in the next part.

What have we learnt so far?

We should have a mind of great reverence for the Father, we should stay humble, remain selfless and never attempt to usurp the position of the Father, nonetheless living in the consciousness of our status as sons of God, being fully aware of the privileges and advantages we have as sons.

Started the year on a high note, with so much expectations and excitement. Towards the end of 2018, The Lord gave me a word for 2019; ‘Look up, The Drought Is Over, The Rains are Here‘ {which I discussed in 4 blog posts- you may wish to read that up}. I am thankful for the testimonies I’ve received from my blog subscribers, how the rains have been falling around them, Praise God! I am also thankful that The Lord have confirmed this Word that indeed It Is My New Season; the drought is over, the heavens are open and the rains are pouring down, rains of full, complete miracles, goodness and blessings of God.

But then there is a thief with a job description to steal, kill and destroy…

Somewhere towards the end of January, I started having thoughts of self-harm. Am I now a mental health case? Nope. I exposed myself and mind to evil.

Two things; One, I joined a group on Google+ with the name BIBLE, very misleading name indeed! It’s really Bible, but not The Holy Bible- Satanic Bible {YUP!}. My aim was simply to share the gospel among brethren; I found myself among wolves. Didn’t take me long to realize I’d stepped into the wrong territory. I got out! Praise God. But then a lot of stuff started happening around me.

Two, the first time I watched a horror movie many years ago, I spent about a week asking The Lord to clear my head and thoughts- I was oppressed every second of the day. The Lord saved me. This time, I watched another movie, wouldn’t really describe it as horror, but had some evilish stuffs. And that’s how I found myself oppressed and depressed. Thank God He sent me His Word-

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
Philippians 4:8 NKJV

Great news, I could choose what to think about!

The Lord reached out and delivered me. Halleluyah!

And just as I was celebrating my victory over those horrible thoughts, I started feeling a sharp persistent pain in my left breast, and then there was a lump! Oops! The Surgeon wanted to immediately yank it out {fearing malignancy), but I knew I’d made declarations repeatedly against malignancy in my body. I believe the Holy Bible, that ‘I shall decree a thing and it’ll be established’. Something about the Surgeon’s plan wasn’t aligning with my believe and declarations. So I said NO. I needed a second opinion on the decision. Scan, mammogram, blood tests, etc. Everything looked good. The devil is a liar 🙂 Next Surgeon that saw me said He couldn’t even locate the lump his colleague had measured and documented a week earlier {I am just smiling in my corner}. The pain persisted for a few more days, but finally gave in to ‘by His stripes I was healed‘. Months later the pain returned. This time there was a palpable lump; even visible to the ordinary eyes. The surgeon that saw me struggled to hide his fear. I was to be scheduled for all kinds of investigations. On a brief thought, the surgeon decided to stick in a needle. About 10mls of fluids emptied from a cyst. The surgeon said to me; “you are one lucky lady you know that”. I just smiled. My Father has come through for me one more time…it is not luck.

And just as I started celebrating that victory, my blood pressure went up! Actually had my first blood pressure scare in 2018; a reaction to the steroid therapy I received for paralysis on one side of my face 🙂 I’d just woken up in the morning and oh no, one side of my jaw was drooping, my smile was funny, my entire face looked distorted 🙂 Some medics thought it was a Bell’s palsy, others thought otherwise. My thought? The Lord would fix my face and He did, halleluyah!

I was given low dose anti-hypertensives to bring down the BP, but it shot up again 3 months later. Something wasn’t right. I insisted The Lord fixed it. Told Him I wasn’t interested in any medications. And yes, He gave me an answer of peace. I clearly heard to introduce a particular vegetable into my meals, that was it. The BP went down and stayed down {don’t ask me for my veggie, ask The Lord for your answer of peace}.

So this new surge wasn’t welcome at all. I seized the opportunity to run my routine medicals for the year- everything was perfect. I reminded The Lord that we’d settled this BP issue, He reminded me about my vegetables which I’ve been omitting from my meals 🙂 On a second review, the Physician decided he wouldn’t give me anti-hypertensives- that was my ‘ask anything in My name‘ answered. Praise God!

I woke up the next morning and lo all the horrible symptoms I described in my blog post ‘When The Doctor says No‘ were back in my body like a storm! How? yesterday I was cheerful, hale and hearty, today extremely dizzy, weak, light-headed, nauseous, etc etc??

This is March 2019, and certainly these symptoms are not the RAINS The Lord promised me. This is unacceptable. I missed mid-week service, barely did any work, to lie on my bed again for days, weeks, months?? Naaa. The next morning, Saturday, I grabbed my running shoes and yes, I jogged for about 30 minutes, confessing and proclaiming that ‘he whom the Son sets free is free indeed, and ‘with Christ Jesus, I can reach any height, climb any mountain and achieve any feat’. And I jogged the next day and the next. My balance is back! Halleluyah.

But the thief wasn’t done, I started having terrible pains in my renal area. Hian! {dialect exclamation}. They hurt me for about 3 days. Somehow, I knew it was needless going to the clinic, this was a mirage. I mean i just ran my routine medical checks (so I already went to the clinic…do same if you need to).

Laid my hands over the area many times declaring that my organs were perfect. Today, as I write this I am amused….God is good.

And this is the end of this trend of events in Jesus name. I rebuke and resist you Satan in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Whatever your experience, doesn’t matter the storms or wind that blow your way, or the fire that suddenly appears to unsettle your peace, remember 2 Corinthians 2:14 and Isaiah 43:2, Isaiah 54:17, and all the promises of victory we have in Christ Jesus…

“But thanks be to God, who ALWAYS leads us in victory through Christ. God uses us to spread His knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume“. ERV. 2 Corinthians 2:14

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall flame scorch you“. Isaiah 43:2 NKJV

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment YOU shall condemn. This is the HERITAGE of the SERVANTS of The Lord.…” Isaiah 54:17 NKJV.

There will be evil weapons formed against God’s Servants, evil enchantments will take place, there will be waters, rivers, fire and flame but VICTORY is our HERITAGE.

In the first blog post we stated that the real identity of a person is revealed in not always what we see them do or the way they act but in the way they think which they eventually voice out. The Bible tells us that ‘out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks‘ (Matthew 12:34).

Then we started looking at how the Mind of Christ is.

No.1 we said Christ had a mind of great reverence for the Father. Reverence here meaning to yield or submit to the Father’s Will by simply answering the question; ‘what would God have me do‘?

Reference scripture is Philippians 2:5;

“Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of Himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of Himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. he didn’t claim special privileges. Instead He lived a selfless, obedient life and then dies a selfless, obedient death-and the worst kind of death -a crucifixion.”

The next thing we see about the Mind of Christ from our reference scripture is this;

‘He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of Himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what.’

‘Didn’t think so much of Himself‘ can mean- humility or selflessness or both.

Question: If Jesus didn’t think so much of Himself, then who was He concerned about?

Answer: Others, the world, the Father’s will….sounds like selflessness to me.

Selflessness is defined as;

-“the quality of caring more about what other people need and want than about what you yourself need and want” (Cambridge Dictionary).

Humility means ‘the quality of having a modest or low view of one’s importance’.

Notice that humility doesn’t mean the quality of thinking of oneself as unimportant, rather it refers to a state where someone of great importance chooses to pay little or no attention to the things defining their status.

Arnold (my hubby) tells me I ‘worry’ too much about everything, even when it’s clearly not my ‘worry’ 🙂 and I pray that I will {upgrade} to consciously put the wants and needs of others above mine always.

Somebody said something to me some years ago, it was the first time I was hearing the second part of it -‘Grace, you look kind of unfriendly from far, but you actually have no airs’ Yes, I regularly get the feedback of having an unfriendly strict look from a distance {Lord Jesus help me! 🙂 } but that always changes on close contact. Strict/firm? Yes. Unfriendly? Try me 🙂

Question: Grace, are you implying that you’re someone of great importance? Yes! I am a Child of the Most High God, an heir of His Kingdom, that’s super important 🙂

So, ‘not having airs‘ was coming to me for the first time. And indeed, I am completely free from any sort of complex defined by a personal worth or possession. There is really nothing in this world I consider luxurious or invaluable {Heavenly things are heavenly}, this can be a problem sometimes when people think they should gain some respect because of their wealth- I may not notice….. Yes, I love beautiful lovely things and places (and The Lord blesses me with them always) but many times, I find that people keep defining my status from their personal evaluations 🙂 Surprises me how they do it!

Humility is not about portraying a depressed self or form but a choice to pay little or no attention to the things defining one’s perceived status, Selflessness is putting others above self.

Help us Lord.

The Mind of Christ is a mind of humility, selflessness and great reverence for The Father.

My first draft on this blogpost was 3 weeks ago. Isn’t it interesting how God’s Spirit works?; this was a sub-theme discussion in Church last Sunday! Ordinarily I wouldn’t bother publishing this again but for this reason; I am interested in doing a personal study on this scripture. I hope we can together gain some insights as we draw from the wisdom of Christ (Colossians 2:3).

My notes 3 weeks ago reads;

The real identity of a person is revealed in not always what we see them do or the way they act but in the way they think which they eventually voice out. The Bible tells us that ‘out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks‘ (Matthew 12:34)- Interesting that that came from Jesus Himself! Little wonder Jesus said, speaking about the Pharisees; to listen to what they say but never to act the way they do.

Focus scripture for this blogpost is Philippians 2:5 and I love the Message translation;

“Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of Himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of Himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. he didn’t claim special privileges. Instead He lived a selfless, obedient life and then dies a selfless, obedient death-and the worst kind of death -a crucifixion.”

So how exactly is the mind of Christ?

1. A mind of great reverence for the Father (The Supreme Head).

Many times we misunderstand and misinterpret the Godhead. Jesus didn’t. On more than one occasion, He clearly reverenced the Father….don’t let me lose you now 🙂 – the Godhead consist of 3 ‘persons’; The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The 3 have EQUAL status, power, authority, but with distinct roles in their interaction with man. I believe that while Jesus walked on earth, he clearly identified the different characters of the Godhead. The Father as the Supreme Head, Himself as the Messiah and the Holy Spirit as the Comforter/Teacher.  Need we do same? ………

I used to wonder why Jesus repeatedly admonished His disciples to ‘make their requests to the Father in His name’ (e.g The Lord’s Prayer), why He’d pray to the Father at Lazarus’ grave before calling  him out of the tomb, why He’d ask the Father to take away the cup of His death from Him, why he said He’d pray the Father to send us the Comforter, why he’d say ‘in my Father’s house (not His house) are many mansions’….and many more why’s. The Father is just that….THE FATHER. Did He give birth to the Son? We’re not told, but we’re told the Son existed in the beginning with The Father with same God status (John 1:1-3).

Does it then mean that every time we call ‘GOD‘ we’re referring to the Godhead? Would we get the attention of all 3 of them or would they work in unison to respond? (Selah).

Certainly, we can be specific (just as Jesus always was) in clearly identifying the deity we’re referring to by calling on their specific titles; The Father, The Son (Jesus Christ) and The Holy Spirit. While they remain ONE and can do All things, but can our knowledge and familiarity of the Godhead be of added benefit to us, especially when we pray?

Back to our discussion on reverence……..

There is a particular tribe in my country Nigeria, where ordinary word greeting (good morning, evening etc) is unacceptable, especially for elders; any greeting unaccompanied by full physical prostration is considered disrespectful. Can we describe physical prostration, kneeling, bowing etc as reverence? Depends on how you look at it. Did Jesus have to do any of these to communicate His reverence for The father? (Selah).

What does it mean to reverence someone?

Dictionary definition: Simply to regard or treat someone with great respect, to think highly of someone, to hold someone in high esteem, to value someone, etc.

My all-time personal definition for reverence as relates to my faith walk?: What would God have me do (in every given situation)?  Like it or not, I tell you that this personal understanding of reverence have kept me on the right track, kept me away from trouble and given me peace.

There is a strong relationship between reverence and obedience/submission. I find that because I answer the simple question of ‘what would God have me do?’ in very challenging life situations, I am compelled, against my natural and preferred inclinations, to give a divine response to such situations and circumstances . It always pays better!  🙂

So first question to answer for ourselves: Do we have the mind of Christ as regards reverence for The Father? Do we often follow our flesh and personal inclinations, often ignoring God’s word and Spirit?

Jesus could have walked away from the cross. But He submitted to the Father’s Will (Mark 14: 36; Luke 22:42, Matthew 26:39).

 

 

We’re having a 3-day, 4 session Bible-study time in my local assembly next month April 4th, 5th and 7th 2019 with the theme; ‘the righteous shall live by faith’. I am usually excited any time Word conferences come up (micro or macro), especially when I sense it’s going to be good stuff, ….always great time for me. Somehow, for some reason, my imaginative mind raced ahead of this conference as I caught myself thinking on the theme. Yes the righteous should deal in faith as a lifestyle but that wasn’t my thought line, my brain was reading; if the Holy Bible says ‘the righteous shall live by faith‘ (Romans 1:17, Hebrews 10:38, Galatians 3:11, Habakkuk 2:4), shall the righteous without faith die? 🙂

As funny as that question may sound (and scary too), it is a pretty serious one and a wake up call to Christians. The story that comes to mind as I think on this is recorded in Mark 4:36-40.

As someone who grew up in a coastal community, take my advice when I tell you that except you can swim like a fish (in the real sense of it), resist the temptation to embark on a journey (short or long) across a sea with small boats….do not tempt The Lord Thy God 🙂

But hey! here was Jesus in a boat, probably smaller than the little ones that taggged along him, definitely a small boat all the same, crossing a sea! When the boat began to fill up and sinking as the waves beat water into it, the disciples panicked (understandably so), threw up their hands in the air and yelled..”JESUS! JESUS!! JESUS!!! Surely, whosoever calls upon the name of The Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13, Acts 2:21, Joel 2:32), even more so when The Lord is just a tap away. Jesus quietened the sea alright, but he was disappointed that the disciples didn’t apply their faith.

Questions: What would have happened if the disciples didn’t wake Jesus up? Would the boat have become totally submerged? If the boat sank completely, would the disciples have perished as they feared? Could the disciples really speak calmness to the sea? Did they have such powers as Jesus suggested?

To answer these questions, consider them from the perspective of your own ‘little sinking boat’ right now (if any). Will you ‘wake Jesus up from sleep’ or will you spare Him another disappoint by speaking ‘peace be still’?

My experience with my faith walk? ….. dead untapped faith is useless/dead and can result to spiritual stagnancy or death. James 2;20.

Part 1: We answered Arnold’s question that the Passover (holy communion) may have become commonly known as ‘breaking bread‘ among the disciples probably due to the change in its frequency of occurrence following Jesus’ command to ‘do it as often as we can’. Secondly, we noted that while the Jews were to commemorate the Passover as a reminder of God’s mighty deliverance from Death, the Destroyer and their release from slavery in Egypt, Jesus commands us to remember Him every time we partake of the communion (Luke 22:19 NKJV, Exodus 12:22-27, Acts 2:46 , 1 Corinthians 10:16).

Question: Since the frequency and focus of the Passover changed with Jesus Christ, did its significance also change? I think not.

I believe that when Jesus commanded that the disciples observe the Passover in remembrance of Him that He meant to remember;

1. That He represents the new Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7).
2. That we have a New Covenant with God sealed with His blood (Hebrews 9:12, Mark 14:24).
3. That the old covenant of sin and death is obsolete.
4. That while the old covenant covered sin (atonement) to prevent death and destruction, the new covenant completely removes sin (remission) from us (Matthew 26:28, Hebrews 9:26).
5. That this New Covenant affirms of eternal deliverance from the law of sin and death for all who believe (Romans 8:2, Hebrews 9:12), therefore we are protected from Death and the Destroyer.
6. That for our transgressions He received wounds, for our iniquities, he received bruises, for our peace, He got chastised, for our healing, He got stripes and for every curse emanating from the old covenant, He got us the blessing ( Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24, Galatians 3:13-14).

Therefore every time we break bread, we must remember and affirm these things.

Get My Book On Healing; “When The Doctor Says No”

To learn more about our healing benefits in Christ Jesus, follow this link to my book, “When The Doctor Says No” available online at here

The Book is available in two formats; kindle and paperback. It is also available for order online from all amazon market places, meaning that the Amazon shop in your neighborhood should be able to supply you.

I have shared this testimony some years back on my online talk page and I promised someone who missed it I’d share it again this morning on the blog. Like David, this testimony (and the recent testimony of how God restored my health-which is narrated in my blog post “When the Doctor says No“), stand as my own ‘I have overcome the bear and the lion, this uncircumcised Philistine wouldn’t be different’.  God’s faithfulness is sure. We can depend absolutely on His faithfulness.

Many years back as an undergraduate, I had the priviledge of having my own private accommodation outside the school hostels. I didn’t really like the campus accommodation for more than one reason; shared rooms, dirty rest/shower rooms, shared and very small cooking areas, etc etc. A personal room was private and more suiting of my personality at the time I think. Not that I could afford to rent one myself, The Lord miraculously gave me a free room most of my university days through my Uncle (God bless him). So I wasn’t really born with a silver spoon. My Uncle practically trained me through school-tuition, books, allowances, etc etc. God bless him again.  But you see, sometimes, even as would happen with a rich child, my supplies ran out-toiletries, provisions, groceries, etc etc.

Like most Nigerians, I was brought up eating mostly a Nigerian staple food- garri (processed from cassava). Many Nigerian households survive on garri, it’s filling and you only require a bowl of soup to stay full and sustained for hours.

It was Saturday morning, I was in my room and there was drought; my supplies had ran out, totally out. My beverages, cereals, biscuits, everything was gone! But not my garri, I had a handful of garri somewhere in the room.

Not that this was the first time this would happen, but for some reason, I was greatly vexed in my spirit. I was angry, not with my parents, Uncle or anyone else, I was upset that God would constantly let my supply run out!  I prayed out loud and told God, He had to send me soup that day, as I was not going to try to ask anyone for food, visit anyone (hoping they feed me), or even go home (to my Uncle’s house). I needed a miracle, period!

So the whole day, I sat at my table studying my big medical books, occasionally reminding God that I was waiting for Him to show up with my soup. And it wasn’t a small wait! I was hungry, I was fagged out and I was tired. There was temptation to just discard this miracle/faith chase and simply ‘soak’ the garri and drink it. But I didn’t. I didn’t really also know how to speak ‘faith’ words at the time, or how to give so as to receive, but I’ve been enjoying a close intimate relationship with God and I was certain He existed.

It was not until about 16.00 hours that someone knocked at my door. I delayed in answering the door, upset that the response to my request was coming too late. But then, I told myself to check who’s at the door first 🙂  To my utter surprise one of my aunt’s was standing by the door with a big bowl in her hand. Her house was about 30 minute’s drive from my room. Sorry to say that at the time, I was not particularly close to this aunt. So you understand my surprise. What was she doing here? It was after I let her into the room and welcomed her warmly, that she explained that she felt in her spirit to bring me some soup as she cooked that afternoon. I thanked her immensely and she left. That was the last time she visited.

The Lord showed up with my soup!!!

There are so many things I do not know about God, so many things I am discovering about God as I walk with Him daily. But I know for sure; that God is faithful- it is His nature, He cannot be otherwise. He is faithful, He is merciful and He is a Covenant Keeper.

 “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.” Deuteronomy 7: 9  NKJV.

Many times, Christians speak about faith as if it’s some religious ceremony. What is faith?  Faith is the substance of our belief. Faith is Christian living. Faith is Evidence. Faith is Believing and Seeing. Faith is Now! (Hebrews 11:1). Faith was me fixing my eyes on my bowl of soup until it showed up (and oh! I need to take on many more faith projects to continue to enjoy the fullness of The Blessing).

You know, faith can be easy and yet difficult. It is easy to speak faith, but it can be challenging to patiently wait until the substance of it becomes evident. The beauty in it all though is that while you wait, your spiritual muscles are strengthened, you move some rungs in the ladder of your faith walk and more importantly for me, you build memorials of God’s faithfulness for your future walk as your the object of your faith becomes physical.

So I ask you today- Where is your focus? Who is your source? Where will the refill of your supply come from? If you answer “from a known man” to any of the above, then I say to you; ‘you are of all men most miserable‘. Man will fail and fade, but not God.