We Must Never Lose Focus (My editorial note for January-March 2015 edition of Awakeninglight Magazine)

Dear friend, my message from the throne of Grace this quarter is that we must set our face like a flint and be determined to finish the race that God has set before us all well.  This is the primary reason for our salvation and other things we may get in the Kingdom are just fringe benefits. Even a person raised from the dead must still consider that miracle a fringe benefit. Take heed my friend who is blessed with the best kingdom gifts, lest you are taken out of the way(1 Corinthians 13.1-3). We all must make ending up our journey in Heaven our major goal, otherwise the years we spent on earth will be tagged ‘wasted years’. May this never be our portion in Jesus name, amen. Salvation and true baptism of the Spirit of our friends and relations should be paramount in our hearts, for this is the major reason Christ came. It is a misnomer if anyone has been in the church for years without knowing what it means to receive the Holy Spirit, let alone be filled with it because without the Holy Ghost, the believer will continue to struggle to live the Christian life. Preachers must work more in this area to ensure that fire returns to the pews just as it should be constantly blazing in our pulpits. We should not only be concerned about how filled up our pews are with worshipers, but rather how many have become true worshipers in the course of our ministry (John 4.23). Let us not forget as we interact with the world in business, that the core business of the kingdom is to bring souls to Christ and make them submit to the Leadership of the Most High through the office of the Holy Ghost. Many may have loved the things of this ephemeral world and forsake the savior who brought them out of the darkness of this life into God’s marvelous light. Yes, it is easy to forget that we are indeed pilgrims on earth when we hold so close to our hearts the gold and silver of this world, whereas the streets in the Emmanuel’s land where Christ has gone to prepare a place for us is filled with gold(John 14.1-3). This is the picture of heaven, dear friend. Our sojourn here must end there! This is Christ’s desire for us all; this is why He died on that cross of shame. When we allow competitive spirit to hold sway in our lives as believers and ministers, we tend to forget the fact that we are all one in Him having purchased us by His own precious blood. We have only created those differences that separate us as different denominations, use this, don’t use that, worship this way, don’t worship that way. Many of these rules are nothing, but the commandments of men. They matter a little to Christ in comparison to the unifying factor of his blood which brings us all together. This is the reason He stated it expressly that we should love one another and desist from judging ourselves (Matthew 7.1-5).  Family pressure may mount on us, but we must never let our heart waver from keeping the feast of serving the Lord in spirit and in truth. Nowadays, many want to keep high standards in terms of how beautiful they want their places of worship to be and so build up untold financial pressure on themselves. And because of this, the place of the undiluted word of God that could set people free indeed has become desolate; the place for words that may only excite the senses of worshippers and have no effect on their spirits, now thrives. We should be reminded once again that God does not dwell in temples made with hands! He seeks the hearts of men to dwell in (Acts 17.24) Yes, dear friend, I know that it is Christ like to desire the best for the ministry. But we should also allow time to play its own role in building up the ministry. We should never allow threats of terrorism, political instability, and economic uncertainties to deter us from engaging in kingdom’s business. The more the Disciples and Apostles of old were persecuted, the more the word of God grew, the reason being that they knew the God that they were serving and believed that He would keep them even in the face of most gruesome antagonism. Many have reduced their participation in church activities for fear of unexpected attacks, but this ought not to be so. Therefore, we are all encouraged to put on our whole armor as soldiers of Christ and never be dissuaded by any sleight of darkness
(Ephesians 6.13). God has given some people among us, wisdom and they have developed technological devices that we as believers can use to enhance our evangelistic drives. Therefore, we should never allow these instruments to be used in corrupting our minds and so take us away from the place of incessant and deep prayers. I was in one office the other day and the program that was running in the television almost made me cry. It was pure nudity and show of shame! I think these days are supposed to be days of the outpouring of the Holy Ghost (Joel 2.28), but why do many still engage in activities that only promote the kingdom of the Devil? Those of us who have made up our minds to follow the Lord till the very end must be mindful of what we watch on television and see on the internet and we must continue earnestly in prayers for those whose occupation is just to be streaming out profane things for the public to watch. Let us take heed preachers, in the manner in which we present the gospel to both the complex and the simple minds. If we read the word of God, search the scripture thoroughly and bring our messages out from it, there is no way we will not be preaching the whole truth that have been revealed in the word of life (Acts 20.27). Therefore, Let us resist constantly the temptation of presenting theological arguments in our pulpits instead of presenting the Gospel in all simplicity. My heart’s desire and prayer is that this edition of the Awakeninglight magazine will bring more souls into the kingdom and strengthen the faith of many believers. We shall all finish well in Jesus name amen.