Who made you a minister?

Who made you a minister? 2 cor. 3:5-6

That was the question an Anglican priest asked me. It was during the burial of my elder brother. He had done something wrong and I tried to call him to order. But whether I was wrong or right I faced that question several times as I struggled as an independent minister. Some sat me down to prove to me why going into the minister without being sure that God called me is dangerous. Many who would have been faithful servants of God were discouraged from the Lord’s service because they felt God had not called them. A man who is currently roaming the streets of Port Harcourt as a drunk lost his ministry through this intimidation of the devil.  He was pasturing a congregation of about hundred members, when he suddenly surprised his members one Sunday morning. He called them together to let them know that he was not sure God had called him into the ministry. Even though the members tried to prevail on him, he was adamant. Today he walks around as a drunk. Let me ask a question; if God had not called him into the ministry, does it mean God created him to be a drunk?

In my first few years as a minister, a man who claimed to be a great servant of God sat me down to explain to me how people go into the ministry. He said some enter by ASSUMPTION, some by IMAGINATION, some by IMITATION, etc. there were many things he mentioned that day but all the grammars ended with –tion or –ism. How I admired him. I was later to discover that my “expositor” was living with another man’s wife and was using occult power. He tried to harm me spiritually one night but woke up a mad man. What do I mean? Satan was speaking through him, to confuse me and make me abandon my calling. I know some people who fell for the devil and walked out on their ministry.

I wish to say that it is necessary to be sure that what you are doing is God’s will. But you don’t need the devil, or public opinion to prove that. The bible can help you. That is what we are about to do. Not every servant of God in the bible had a dramatic calling like Moses and Paul. Not all births of servants of God were announced like that of Samson and John the Baptist. Peter’s birth was not announced by angels but his shadow expelled demons. Apollos did not see a blinding light from heaven, but he majored among the greats in his time. See the league he belonged; Peter, Paul and Apollos ( 1 cor. 3:21). Nehemiah never spoke with angels, but his ministry was not less important to that of Ezekiel. 

God rejects nobody

And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord

to serve him,

to love the name of the Lord,

and to worship him,

all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it

and who hold fast to my covenant — 

these I will bring to my holy mountain

and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices

will be accepted on my altar;

for my house will be called

a house of prayer for all nations." Isa 56:6-7 NIV

This is a trustworthy saying: "If someone aspires to be an elder, he desires an honorable position."  So an elder must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach.  He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money.  He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him.  For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God's church?      1 Tim 3:1-5 NLT

The above scriptures should convince you that God rejects nobody. The God of the bible will not meet a man striving with all his energy to please him and throw him out just because he was not specifically called to the ministry. Three things are obvious from these scriptures.

1.      Total strangers can give themselves to God’s service and he will welcome their service and reward them just like every other person. Foreigners or strangers to the commonwealth of Israel can still serve Jesus. In the contest of the above scripture, God was talking to gentiles, the people Jews call unclean; if the so-called unclean person will only separate himself from his unclean ways, God will accept his service. If that is the case with the unclean, how much more privileged are you, who have been made the righteousness of God through the blood of God’s only Son? (2 cor. 5:17, 21).  When men say you are not qualified tell them that God has qualified you.

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.  He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. Col 2:18-19 NIV

2.      There is nothing wrong with you just desiring to do the work of the ministry. That means that you don’t necessarily need to wait for God to call you.  The New Living Translation used two words to express this; aspire and desire. That means that you can take the initiative in giving yourself to God’s service as a minister. So next time the devil begins to ask you through your mind or the voice of another man, “Are you sure God called you for this ministry?” remind him that you don’t need to be called especially before you can serve God. In fact he may taunt you that it was not God who called you but your pastor just appointed you. You need to read this-

 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.  Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless — not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.  He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. Titus 1:5-9 NIV

       The above scripture states that your senior pastor, just like Titus can prayerfully appoint you as a minister.      Thank God for those who had a dramatic invitation to the ministry, but that does not mean that yours is any less important to God.

3.      Ministry requires proper preparation and adjustment of perspective if you must succeed in it. If your ministry is not doing well, it is not because God did not call you. The man of God T.L Osborn said that he never heard any dream, vision or voice from heaven. He only read it said in the bible, “Go in to the world and preach…” and he went in obedience. Few ministers in the past five centuries can boast of the many signs that followed his ministry. I will leave the outlined qualifications in the above stated scriptures for your careful assessment. If you find that some of those points are not true in your life, then perhaps that could be the reason your ministry is not making head way.

To round up this chapter, I wish to state that everybody face challenges in life and endeavor; believers and unbelievers alike. But it is devil’s habit to point to your ministry as the reason you are not moving on in life. Take time to look at people around you, are they not facing challenges. In another way devil will accuse God in your heart for neglecting you. Before you agree with him, take time and consider your life. Is it true that God has abandoned you in the past?

So much noise about nothing.

                                              

One cannot ignore the noise going round in the country without being accused of indifference; Terrorism,  Gay marriage and Islamic Banking. Let me state that none of these issues is peculiar to Nigeria or our generation.

Terrorism is everywhere in the world today in their different dimensions. Most countries in the middle East today have adjusted to it as way of life- Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Afghanistan, but to mention a few. We are only beginning to feel what those we neglected to reach with the gospel have been living with for decades. Each time missionaries come to our gatherings to ask for mission support, our leaders announce that it is time for widow’s mite. Some even divert funds meant for these missionaries for their insatiable materialistic desires. When we are told to pray for missionaries martyred by the governments of these countries living the best way devil would want them to, we rush over it to continue with our kill and bury prayers. It was when Afghanistan was liberated from Taliban control we heard that two lady missionaries- Heather and Mercie- had been held in a dungeon waiting for death.

Even in the bible, religious extremism and terrorism is mentioned. That was what killed Jesus Christ and James the brother of John. Some forty men bound themselves under an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed Paul (Acts 23:12-13).

There is this one we have ignored because we don’t see the blood of those that they kill- journalism terrorism. Newspapers publish fear instilling reports which are not verified. Where one person was killed, they say hundred had died. Where there is no trouble any where they manufacture them just to sell their papers. Ray Ekpu the chief editor of Newswatch magazine once said on an interview, that bad news sell more than good news. You can understand why newspapers propagate more bad news than good news. United Nations Organization (UNO) and Western world powers keep circulating fearful reports about African countries and their economies so that their citizens will see no reason to put confidence in their leaders. They even told us that Nigeria will not stay for another fifteen years, and some powerful Nigerians are putting in every effort to prove them right. They tell us we are so corrupt there is no hope for us.

But are they better? How did we learn fraud? Right before we knew our left from our right, white men gave our fathers bottles of dry gin in exchange for their brothers and children who they used in their plantations as slaves. Only last year an American was jailed for helping the late Nigerian dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, defraud Nigeria. How? They gave people free eye-glasses and took away millions of Dollars. Some come here to give us ministry cover and promise to take us to see their wonderful country. We pay seven thousand Naira registration fees to them, multiply that by one thousand and see how much you have. Because we believe that everything from them is better, we can’t see that a ministry cover from an organization in Britain or USA is of no use to somebody in Africa.  Now the prime minister of Britain, David Cameron is threatening us, lower vassals that unless we become as vile as he is and accept same sex marriage as he has done, he will stop sending us what he calls aides. How does he get the money he sends as aides? Stolen money! The money our politicians paid into their banks that had yielded so much interest for the government.  Another way is that they know where to buy crude oil and other natural resources at the official rate but will rather encourage our people to steal it and sell to them at cheaper rate. To facilitate this, they give us guns and encourage us to fight for resource control. So the cycle continues. These are all terrorism in their different forms. Thanks to the God of justice, we hear that what a man sows he shall reap. International Monetary Fund (IMF) will have to take their services home now. France, Britain, Greece, Sweden and many more European countries need them badly. We all should remember how they forced these loans down our throat through our ignorant but corrupt leaders. We only knew what we had eaten when our stomach began to turn.

Same sex marriage or sexual relations was here in the days of Abraham and continued to the time of Paul, not only in Britain but all over the world. For crying out loud, it is here in Nigeria. It is reported that most show persons involved in it. There is no government policy backing armed robbery, prostitution, adultery, political thuggery, public fund embezzlement, use of magic and occultism. Yet, all these are going on today unrestricted. Same sex marriage is not the only sin which the bible condemns which is going on around the world. Nigeria has not legalized abortion, who can deny the fact it is going on unrestricted.

Why are we now disturbed about this? That is because many pastors have never mentioned this as sin. Some are too busy raising fund for glass houses and air-conditioned auditoria so that they have no time to deal with issues that concerns personal lives of their members. We are becoming more and more further from reality in our teachings and activities. Some criminals have hijacked our political class and they keep warning us to keep out of politics. Some Christian leaders even boast that they don’t involve in politics. Those who go close, go to look for contracts. Even pulpit people are so hungry for power that they abandon their pulpits to contest for political office. Something Jesus Christ was offered and he turned it down, his servants want to accept.

 If our pulpits become fiery voice of God again and preachers follow the examples of John Wesley and John Wycliffe, we will rule Nigeria from our churches. As long as Nigeria is concerned today, political and economic power are with the church of Jesus Christ. Not because of political office holders but our numbers are more and we have spiritual upper hand. No other religious organization can boast of the spiritual control we command in Nigeria. That is why they have to resort to violence and legislation. As in United States of America ,so Nigeria is. Legislation doesn’t govern USA, churches do.

Islamic banking- Here again our sins stare us in the face. I just can’t understand what our leaders are talking about. If we lived as the bible commands us, nobody will have need for Islamic banking. Our Christian leaders tell us to give for God’s work as they build universities, but after the tuition in these schools are so high that those who built them can’t afford them. Even pastors in these organizations have to send their children elsewhere; I begin to wonder which god owns the school. Our G.Os fly private jets and go about with bullet proofed cars escorted by fierce looking policemen while most of us are begging the state Governments for eighteen thousand Naira minimum wage per month, and they say nothing.

Let us get this clear; we don’t need a government banking system to keep our members and win converts. Just do what the bible says, He that has two coats share with your brother, extend help to people, not survival allowance. There is so much suffering in the land that if we reach out to people with the wealth God has put in our care, Islamic banking will be no threat at all. Some of us pay our security men ten thousand Naira monthly, while the same men are sent to buy foods for pet dogs to the tune of hundred thousand a month. Why won’t such a man go for any another religion where he is valued more than a dog?

God did not make Ishmael richer than Isaac; all religious groups in Nigeria put together are not richer than Christians. We all saw the show of shame in the banking sector, those who claimed to be Christians ran the house of fraud in the name of banks. One of our sisters, who was a bank executive, claimed she gave her house-help loan to the tone of thirty six million Naira, but we know the truth. Most of the bank executives were and are still prominent members of our churches who pay in large sums of their stolen money into our cathedrals. If they valued their religion in any way, we will see this wealth in the life of the ordinary man on the street, and then who will have time for non-interest banking. When governments of some States in Nigeria returned schools to Mission organizations, what was the result? Tuition rose astronomically so that almost all the students in these schools were thrown out. If we showed value for those students they won’t face the temptation for going for non-interest banking system of another religion. Does the bible encourage the Christian to lend to his brother on interest? Why are we now threatening to have our own banking system only in response to Islamic banking? So now it was not adopted we go back to comatose, never taking the initiative.

Finally I dare to say, let the Christian leaders return to teach the truth of the bible and it won’t be long before all this noise will disappear. Let us go back to messages that deal with everyday living of our members and also practice same, and the walls of every other system will tumble like Jericho’s wall. No questioning the fact that Christians are in charge in the world because our message is reasonable and practicable and holds true hope for now and the life after. Jesus Christ did a thorough job, it is only for us to follow his footsteps and the victory is already ours.

Stop This Sacrilege!

Stop this sacrilege

"You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

                                                                                                      Ex 20:7-8     

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17

It is alarming how our generation has so degenerated in her lack of fear of God. For those who plead the ground of season of grace, the bible states that Jesus Christ brought grace and truth. He did not bring grace only.

What am I talking about? I watched in shock as a senior pastor in                Port Harcourt hosted some popular comedians in his church. These humor-mongers used his pulpit and the altar. They cracked jokes with the Blood of Jesus Christ, the Name of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and every other thing the Church holds sacred. To make matters worse this was repeatedly shown on popular TV stations in Port Harcourt. To add to the mockery \they showed my fellow pastor laughing deliriously as they made mockery of everything he stands for- that is if he stands for anything.

One would wonder how I knew all these. My children were watching this program and were also borrowing jokes from it. I had to sit them down to try to explain to them why what they were seeing was bad and dangerous and when I came to the point of, “Even if I or another pastor does this, it must not be accepted as a standard. It is wrong.” It was at this point that my children told me that what I was seeing was actually taking place in a church. I turned to the screen, and saw that they were right. I tried to stomach this as I have tried to avoid unnecessary conflicts as I did my job as a minister of the gospel. But now things are getting out of hand.

Gordon, a popular comedian in Port Harcourt rolled out an audio release of his comedy, and I was shocked as I heard this blaring out of the loudspeakers of a   music shop. Every holy word and title of Jehovah, Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit was used to crack jokes. As one would expect people were implicated in this sin as they listened and laughed. I saw a poster of a church program. You can guess what I saw. A comedian was posted alongside the speakers. Some of these comedians are notorious characters and drunkards whom these churches are only giving landing pads for the excesses of their reprobate minds.

I stand to say that this is ungodliness. Let everyone who cares hear me; this is sacrilege, it is an insult in the face of God. Whoever does this is drawing the anger of God to himself. We must not add to our many sins this evil also. Is it not enough the many gambling and manipulations with which we tend to make our churches grow? Are we not contented with our romance with murderers, prostitutes and fraudsters in the name of ministering grace? Is our display of shame in the name of fashion not enough? Why stir this hornet in the face of an ignorant and unsuspecting people?

This must STOP! God’s word does not change. Whoever does this is not innocent before God. Those who encourage this, also share in the sin.

I advise the comedians and those who do this to look for something else to entertain themselves. The pastors who are desperate for a large church should try voodoo. To be frank the consequence of involvement in voodoo is far less than the result of the retaliation of an angry God.

In my capacity as a minister of the gospel, a father of children in this generation and the President of Prayer Network for Universal Revival {PNUR}, I wash my hands off this evil. When I heard it I did not rejoice in it, it was not funny to me. Hence I or my family or members of my ministry who obey my teachings will not share the consequence of this abomination. I also ask everyone who does not share in this evil to openly make a public denunciation of this evil.

From the office of the President

                           Prayer Network for Universal Revival (PNUR)

                            9b Iriebe Street, D/line, Port Harcourt.

                             Nigeria. 08035724526

                              pnurnigeria@gmail.com  www.pnurnigeria.org

Prisoner of War - Chapter three

Let’s look at our text once more.

But I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a PRISONER of the law of sin at work within my members.                    (Rom 7:23)                                             

The way I understand this place is like a man who was a sinner, shut away from the light of Christ. By the special grace of God he sees the danger of his soul through the divine quickening of his conscience. He stretched out his hand to embrace Christ. He felt a great joy and promises himself and his God to continue to work in the parts of righteousness. Only to discover-

15- I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

19- For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do this I keep  on doing.

Beloved, this is very different from willful sin but the person in question is not totally innocent.

Let the child of God wake up and know that there is an on-going war between light and darkness, good and evil, righteousness and wickedness. Any careless move would land him at the mercy of our enemy. As we desire deliverance, God expects three things from us -

1. Acknowledgement of sin:- Let the child of God now acknowledgment his sins. If you will but accept that whatever is happening in your life did not start happening but that through pride and carelessness you opened the door to the enemy to take you captive.  

     

2. Acknowledgment of your helplessness:- When a man is a prisoner of war in military terms, efforts to get away is dangerous. So, it is in the spiritual. Devil would rather kill you than see you return to Jesus. That is why each time you want to rise, one problem or the other draws you back. Could be sickness, loss of job or many such things, just to draw you back. You can not help yourself. The help can not come from within you.

What a wretched man. I am! Who will deliver (rescue) me from this body of death? (Rom. 7:24)

You must look outside for help. In military terms, only a commando operation- a situation where the comrade of the prisoner attacks unsuspecting and rescues him- or exchange of prisoners- like Iraq and Iran had- prisoners of war are exchanged at battle lines.

This means that you can only have help from outside. In the spiritual level, our rescue force is the body of Christ. Move forward and tell the brethren you know you are backslidden and ask them to do whatever is within their reach to help you.

My address is at the back of this book if you feel this way, write for directions.

3. Only Jesus can save you-

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord- verse 25

14- Since the children have flesh and blood, he (Jesus Christ) too shared in their humanity so that by his death he mighty destroy him who holds the power of death- that is the devil

15- and free those who all their lives were HELD IN SLAVERY (BONDAGE- KJV) by their fear of death.

                                                       (Heb 2:14-15)

So if the son (of God) sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)

Jesus Christ is the bondage breaker.

And the scriptures says-

For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord  shall be saved”

You know what you should do next. Your heart is made ready. You are going to pray now like never before.

PRAYERS-

(a) Confess the sin of pride and rebellion which opened the door for you fall.

(b) Confess the power of Christ to deliver you and restore you.

(c) By the authority in the name of Jesus Christ begin to deal with each of the prison houses stated above as spirits. Bind them and by the power of the Holy Spirit break their bars away.

(i) Spirit of Pride

(ii) Spirit of prayerlessness

(iii) Spirit of procrastination:

(iv) Spirit of selfishness called comfort

(v) Spirit of discouragement

 Beloved pray violently

(d) Return to the things you know you stopped doing.

Remember the height from which you have fallen? Repent and do the things you did at first (Rev. 2:5)

PRAY- ON

Prisoner of War - chapter two

Let the child of God look into his life now and see if the things stated above are not true about him. How could you have kept away from the men’s meeting, if not pride? How could you have neglected the pastor’s instruction, if not pride?

If I am caught in fornication or adultery, I know I will be back benched and my license as a preacher withdrawn until further notice. If I steal and I am caught, I will be dismembered from fellowship. If I fight and my senior pastor hears of it, I will be disfellowshipped until further notice. But look at this mortal sin that has dealt the deadliest blow on the church of Christ. That has left many a mighty instruments of God sprawling at the feet of Satan. Look at this saints-killer, that has pushed our beloved ones into the bosom of Satan’s hell; none of us know what to do about it. Could it be because we all are guilty of it that we treat it as a light matter?

It was pride that led a sister to marry a criminal in the name of liberty in Christ. It is pride that led the senior pastor to refuse to allow the young minister mount the pulpit, even though he had no message from God.

It is pride that will not allow a brother apologize to the body of Christ, instead he went to another church that will condone his sin and there he is ordained a deacon. Though, the Holy Spirit pricked him, pride will not allow him bow, he is on his way to hell. Although, he had read that God honours the just mandate of the church, pride will not allow our brother go and make restitution.

Oh, pride, the murderer of our brothers who dwelt with us on mount Zion and carry them to the valley of backsliding. If this is your case you are a prisoner to pride. The righteousness you profess today is what the scriptures call self righteousness. You have not submitted to God’s righteousness.    

2. Prisoner to prayerlessness:-

19 your glory, Oh Israel, lies slain on your heights.

     How the mighty have fallen

27 How the mighty have fallen

     The weapons of war have perished!  11 Sam 1:

Beloved is your spiritual life what you would wish it were? Pride is the culprit again. Once a prisoner to pride, the arch enemy of your soul leads you one more step into his hideous prison cells. Because you have broken a spiritual law that says, Iron sharpens iron? You thought to keep your self warm alone (Eccl. 4:9). No more time to meet with your prayer partner. You could give money to keep the prayer team in a camp, but you are too busy to attend. Even when your wife invites you to the family altar, you will tell them to carry on, tell them you will pray later. If you dare to attend at all, you will rebuke your daughter for making long prayers.

You used to make a lot of noise when you prayed, that was when you were a “Babe” in the Lord. Now you will be in the “spirit” and dose off.

In your diary you have it recorded when you were baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues. If anybody showed doubt as to if you have it, you know how to wag your tongue and produce the old sound. This is where many brethren miss it. That you had a baptism ten years ago- even six months ago- does not mean you are still filled. Study your bible and you will agree with me. In John 20:22, Jesus said to the disciples,

“Receive the Holy Spirit”, in Acts 2:4, they were filled in the Holy Spirit and again in Acts 4:31, they were filled with the Holy Spirit again. I believe that subsequently they were filled at different occasions. What does the scripture tend to let us know? Beloved, that your diary record is insignificant if you have not been receiving in-fillings after that one. You are empty.

That is why your prayer life is zero. When you are in the congregation you shout as if you are still alive but at home you can not pray. Poor Rehoboam, when his enemies took away his golden shield, he improvised inferior ones that looked like the original but only he and his bearers knew what he had was not the real thing (1 Kings 14:25-28)

Beloved you can fake the signs but you cannot fake the power. Those days you were bold to lay hands on the sick and if they did not get healed, you were surprised. But today you will be the first to recommend the nearest hospital. You begin to excuse your flaw, “God still uses the doctors to heal the sick”. A strange doctrine from a man like you.

In those days your neighbours call you “Pastor” because if a child screamed from his dream because of demonic attack, when you pray, that will be the end. Today, it is not the case. In fact, under your pillow is a bottle of “Holy oil” you got from one of the “Popular Pastors” in town.

Fasting? No longer for today. In fact, your doctrine says, “God answers prayers, whether fasting or not. Fasting is like coming before God with ones work”. A strange doctrine from a man like you that used to keep twenty-one days fasting. Is the difference not clear?

The enemy of your soul has you captive. You are a prisoner to the spirit of prayerlessness. It has you shut up, it is the result of your pride. It started when you started to excuse yourself for group prayer. Little by little you begin to find yourself in some sins you would not have thought of attempting before. All kinds of ugly things are now happening to you. Oh, prisoner, Is there any hope?

3. Prisoner to procrastination:- At this point you begin to wonder what is really happening. Like the prodigal son you say, “I will arise and go to my father”. But no way. Even the Lord Jesus calls Satan who is holding you captive a strong man (*Luke 11:21). Devil says you are his belonging, his possession, in fact, his house. Therefore, he is fully armed as he guards you.

 The day you manage to think of returning to your first love, he tells you why you are too busy to think about that now.

“Wait”, he says, “you can do it at a more convenient time. Wait till your last child graduates.  Why not wait till your church sends you an assistant”.  “It is not your fault. The youths are not performing. Just wait till next year, then you will have the time to really talk to them. The nature of your work is really too tedious for you to fast now. Wait till you are promoted”.

Then you begin to defer the day of recovery. To be sincere, you would want to get this over, but you are a prisoner.

 A man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

                                                          (2Pet. 2:19).

For by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage (KJV).

You have been mastered by your present condition; you are prisoner to it. So, the spirit of procrastination is holding you captive.    

4. Prisoner to the fire extinguisher:- 

Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God.                                             (Hosea 5:4).

Somebody after reading this is provoked in the Spirit. He wants to rise but it is not possible. He has gone too low. The church was against your wedding. They said nothing clean can come out of the unclean. But you said you must go ahead. Now your marriage partner is a great hindrance to your fellowship with God. The spirit of God warned you that that job cannot allow you chance to live like a good Christian but you resisted him, look at the mess you are into. 

The fire extinguisher could be a human being. Like my pastor friend whose wife would cross him with her legs on the bed when it is time for morning cry. When he wants to fast she would place a heavy demand for sex and romance. If he turns her down she would tell him that his prayers will not reach God because she did not agree with him.

It could be completely spiritual. All kinds of distracting thoughts come to your mind. You look into the bible; your mind goes so far that the book drops. Your environment is unclean so your thoughts represent your environment. When you think of this, tears dribble down your cheeks, but sorry, you are a prisoner.

5. Prisoner to bad habits:-

(a) Comfort eating- Again I will state here that very few fell in the time of hardship as compared to the time of abundance. Even God warned the Israelites about this-

12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down,

13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied,

14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

A preacher, who went to somewhere I have preached before, made a pressing demand on his hosts to provide him with an air conditioned room. He did not know-or rather care- how he had wounded those he went to bless but they told me.

When you did not have much wealth, you did not care where you slept. You did not care the kind of plate with which you got your food. You did not care the clothes you wore to church. You were humble, so God exalted you. How about now? Some Sundays you do not go to church because your dry cleaner did not finish the suit you would want to wear. You have too many wonderful things to eat, how can you fast? Your mechanic did not finish your car that is why you could not attend the workers meeting. The seats in your pastors’ parlor would tear your lace, so if he cared he should visit you instead.

Night vigil? “Oh no! Pastor, you know I am a very busy person. I need a good sleep, to work well tomorrow”. Sunday evening fellowship? “No beloved, there is time for everything. After Sunday morning, I come home and have a good time with my children watching video movies”.

And if there are not many car owners in the church in which God lifted you, instead of contributing immensely to help the church grow, you move over to the other church with many car owners like yourself and that runs TV ministry.

But, at the bottom of your heart, you do not like all this. You wish you can become humble again. You know the richer you become, the more comfort you desire and lesser Christian you are. You are a prisoner.

6. Prisoner to discouragement:-

I know that by now you are fed up with yourself. Having read so far, you can not continue to gamble with this miserable condition of your life. No by the special grace of God you hope to rise but suddenly you remember that this was not the first message that had moved you. You have heard many of such messages and the enemy of your soul says. “And so what could you do with them? Give it up; it is too late.”

Then you slump back into your pit waiting for your eventual destruction. Many young people after hearing me present the message, “The Expected Birth Of The Militant Church” were so provoked that they cried, promising God that they would be the ones to change the world in this generation. But after a few days the enemy of the church will discourage them, he will remind them they do not have gospel equipment, he will even tell them these are not the days of great revival. He will tell them they did not have as much money as the men I mentioned. Some resolved to fast more than ever and the accuser warns them of the adverse effects of fasting. Some of my readers today have been inactive in church for years, now the Spirit of God is telling them to start house fellowship in their houses so that they can plant a new outreach for their church, but they will rather listen to the enemy of their soul than listen to their Lord and Master, who gave even his throne to die for them, and promised most assuredly to be with them if only they will obey his voice today.

                             Now hear the verdict-

After a doctor carries out medical test he must show the patent a copy of the result. All I have been doing is a diagnosis on the state of your spiritual life. It is true the report may be very bad but I just must let you know what the position of your spiritual health is. First, I must tell you I acknowledge that you are in trouble and would not mind to have help but I also should let you know the true picture, and perhaps render help if I have any.

Picture a man who sees a bunch of colourful flowers not very far away. He begins to walk toward it, not knowing he was walking into a solid glass box-transparent yet too hard for anybody to break it. When he was completely inside the box, the hard glass gate shuts. Alas, the man who was free a few minutes ago is now inside a glass box. He deceives himself he would get the flower and then break the glass and get away but he was dead wrong.  

The flowers are not even in the glass box. They are outside, and then it is time to go home. He strikes with his bare fist at the box but the pains he felt made him change pattern. He tries his shoulder and then his legs but no way, he puts in more efforts but no result. He decides to rest, perhaps somebody will pass by and help. Suddenly he looks up and sees the man who holds the glass in his hand. He is his enemy- the devil himself. He jeers at him and jingles the keys and began to carry the box away. The helpless man looks at the direction he is carrying the box. It is a big lake of fire. He sees other souls gnashing their teeth there crying, weeping. Wishing he were dreaming and that he would wake-up. The man in the box wakes up, puts up a last fight but no way. He is a prisoner of war.

It is a pity that this is your position if what I discussed earlier represent your spiritual state. I want to present my diagnosis in a simple sentence now.

The fact is this- you are BACK SLIDDEN, you have fallen out of the way. The fact is that if you died in your present state you may wake up in Hell Fire. And I know you would be wondering why the whole thing appears so real to you now. The evidence that a man is drawing closer to Christ is when he begins to see his true spiritual state. When a man begins to see the effect of sin on his life and how unworthy he really is, then God is at ear shot. Then God is around to see whether the man will ask for help that he the Lord of his soul would save him.