THE BLESSEDNESS OF A HUMBLE LIFESTYLE.

                              

''Let this same attitude and purpose and humble mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus who although being essentially ONE with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained but stripped Himself so as to assume the guise of a servant in that He became like men and was born a human being and after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross! Therefore God has highly exalted Him and has freely bestowed on Him the name that is above every name that in the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in Heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father’’

 

In the beginning of beginnings, Christ was there. He started creation and creation started with Him. All things were created by Him whether thrones, Kingdoms, dominions and powers. He created the sun, moon, stars, firmament, vegetation and plants, animals and the KING of God`s creation which is MAN. John said that ALL THINGS were created by Him and there is nothing that is made that escaped His creative ability and power. Christ was essentially GOD being the second person in the trinity. He was always referred to as GOD the SON being next to the GOD HEAD and prior to the Holy Spirit. All the attributes/nature/character of the FATHER GOD is also in Christ and also in the Holy Spirit. Christ was not inferior to the Father God and neither is He superior to the Holy Spirit as they are all ONE in unity of purpose. For functionality, distinctiveness and clarity of purpose, God the Father is seen to be the number one figure and personality in the trinity followed by God the Son/Christ and also followed by God the Holy Spirit but essentially they are all ONE being the embodiment of the glorious and eternal divinity. In the trinity, no one is superior to another and no one is inferior to another but for clarity of function and purpose, there had to be diversity of positions. When man fell into sin and needed to be reconciled back to God, there was a CALL in Heaven as to who will go and rescue man from the bondage and entanglement of sin. God the Son/Christ volunteered to leave His Godly throne in Heaven and serve as a sacrifice for man`s sin so that man can be delivered from the burden of sin and be reconciled back to God.

 

In truth to Christ volunteering, He left His throne in Heaven, stripped Himself of His divine nature and took the form of humanity in the form of a baby which was planted in Mary`s womb by the Holy Spirit. Everyone likes to be changed from humanity to divinity as by the glory of God and it is a GLORIOUS thing indeed but for somebody to be changed from divinity to humanity is a shameful and disgraceful thing but Christ accepted to do it after all. When He came to the earth, one would expect that God the Son would be birthed in the best of Hospitals but there was no place for Him to be birthed even in an inn as He was birthed in a manger where animals were kept. He was not born with silver spoon in His mouth as Joseph and Mary were not portrayed as very affluent personalities. He grew up not in a very rich setting despite the fact that He had a rich origin but He was accustomed to the carpenter`s workshop because carpentry was His father`s profession. He was very skilled in carpentry having stayed in that workshop for many years. When His ministry began having been commissioned by the Holy Spirit, He began to teach and to preach the good news of the Kingdom to diverse kinds of people in His day. The Holy Spirit confirmed the authenticity of His ministry with diverse signs and wonders such as healing the sick, raising the dead, feeding the hungry etc. He faced severe opposition from the teachers of the Law, the Pharisees, the Saducees, the Scribes, etc whom because of fear and insecurity were all out to bring down His ministry but Christ who had the power to destroy them humbly disregarded them and kept focused on His assignment.

 

When the time came for Him to be sacrificed as the Lamb that was to be slain tom take away the SINS of the whole world, the same people who He ministered to day and night masterminded His crucifixion. The same people who He created in the beginning of beginnings spat on Him, beat Him mercilessly, raised insults and terrible remarks on Him but He did not open His mouth but was humbly obedient to death…even the terrible death of the cross. He was stripped naked, hung on a tree that He created and was nailed shamefully like a robber/criminal on that tree. When He was on the cross, He humbly prayed to the Father God to forgive all his tormentors because He knew that all they did were done in ignorance. After three days that His blood was shed on the Cross, He died and went to hell. He stripped the devil, principalities and powers of all the powers and dominion which they stole from man and He went back to Heaven. When He got to Heaven, He presented the shed blood which was the blood of the eternal and everlasting covenant to God and the blood was sprinkled on the tables on the Holy of Holies(the temple) and that was how man was redeemed from sin and death and restored back to God. All that Christ did was done in SHEER HUMILITY and for all that He did, God rewarded Him with a NAME that was above every other name that at the mention of that name, every knee in Heaven, on earth and underneath the earth must bow to His Lordship and every tongue must also subscribe to this.

 

That name is highly respected in the SPIRIT REALM and we know that it is the SPIRIT REALM that controls the PHYSICAL realm. When the devil and his cohorts hear the mention of that name in the Spirit realm, they shiver and bow hurriedly to the LORDSHIP of Christ. Your Healing/Health, prosperity, victory, triumphs. Joy, peace and other redemptive benefits is sealed in the powerful name of Jesus Christ. If Christ got to this enviable state by humility, we are His followers(Christians) have to follow His footsteps of humility. We have to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God Almighty so that He can lift us up in due time. Pride is the enemy of humility and God hates pride with a strong passion. He resists steadfastly the proud but gives grace to the humble. Satan lost his wonderful throne in Heaven to pride and he was debased to a mere serpent roaming about aimlessly. In spite of your achievements in life e.g educational status, professional status, marital status, religious status etc, make sure  that you are humble before God to take daily instructions from Him. Christ had all the status and achievements in Heaven before He came to the earth and He was abased on the earth because of a cogent divine mandate but God lifted Him up due to humility. I see God lifting us up to enviable positions/states in life and in His Kingdom as we take the pain of humbling ourselves before Him in all things. Shalom!             Coming straight from my heart of hearts…Dayo Oladapo…www.Facebook.com/pages/Dayo-Oladapo-Official-Page/465259763522821

THE SHIELD OF FAITH.

‘’Lift up over all the shield of saving FAITH upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked one’’

FAITH is a POWERFUL FORCE that can easily move the POWERFUL HANDS of GOD to one`s direction in order to produce POWERFUL ACTS. FAITH is holding on to God`s words in the midst of every circumstance of life which will commit Him to do what He has promised concerning any issue. FAITH can also be seen as BELIEVING God to a point where one can no longer doubt Him and such BELIEF is founded upon an UNSHAKABLE TRUST in Him and in His words as God and His words are inseparable. Remember that your living is connected to and tied to your faith and without faith cum absolute belief in God and His words, you can in no way please Him. The major attack of the enemy is launched towards your faith because he knows that if he can attack your faith and bring it to a zero level, he will be able to defeat you. Christ prayed for Apostle Peter that the devil was out to get Peter by all means but He(Christ) had prayed for him(Peter) so that his faith should not fail.

The devil shrinks whenever your faith tank reads HIGH but he is happy when your faith pointer deflects towards the zero level and that is the reason why all his attacks are targeted towards your faith but thank God that we can through the shield of saving faith quench all the flaming missiles of the devil. Abraham used this kind of faith to silence the devil. He believed God when there was nothing to believe and the devil could not stop him from becoming the father of nations. Noah also overcame the evil one using this raw faith. He believed God to the point of building an ark when no flood was in view and the devil could not stop him from triumphing over the destruction that took the lives of people in his generation. Joseph also flawed the devil when he believed God to bring the fulfilment of his dream to reality in the midst of all manner of temptations and invitation to sin and the devil could not stop his dream from becoming a reality. Moses also triumphed over the enemy when the enemy brought a fierce attack against him. The host of Pharaoh were trailing him and the Israelites from behind and he was face to face with red sea in front and the people he was leading were on the verge of killing him. At that critical point, he looked up to God in faith and obeyed Him and the devil including the host of pharaoh were utterly put to blatant shame. Finally, Christ was not spared from confronting the devil. The devil sent some missiles towards Christ in the form of hot dialogue/steamy conversation and Christ in turn quenched those fiery darts by speaking God`s word back to him which he believed in faith.

If you call yourself a Christian, the devil will come at you to attack your faith. If your faith level is HIGH in God, he will never triumph over you. Increase your FAITH level daily by constantly and consistently feeding on God`s word for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the WORD of God. Once your faith level/tank is HIGH, the devil will not be able to overpower you. May your FAITH level be FIRED up to a SUFFICIENT and ADEQUATE level sufficient and adequate enough to return every missile sent towards your direction by the devil back to him. Shalom! Coming straight from my heart of hearts…Dayo Oladapo…www.Facebook.com/pages/Dayo-Oladapo-Official-Page/465259763522821

SOWING AND REAPING (PART TWO).

''Do not be deceived and deluded and misled for God will not allow Himself to be sneered at. For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction but he who sows to the Spirit will from it reap eternal life. And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right for in due time and at the appointed season, we shall reap if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint’’

There is no one greater than God. Before the beginning began, God existed. In the beginning of beginnings, God introduced Himself. After the close of the age, you will be surprised to find God there. This is the reason why God is the only one that can predict your future because He is in the future already. A day in front of Him is like a thousand years and a thousand years in front of him can be crystallized into a day. When a personality of that repute like God talks to a man, such a man has to take such God very seriously because even the life of that man hangs around God. He is the one that instituted the law of sowing and reaping and that law has been existential for many generations without losing its results. The law simply states that whatever a man sows shall he reap. Whatever means anything. Sow cowpea and reap cowpea. Sow cassava and reap cassava. Sow financial resources and also reap the same. Sow joy and inspiration to others and also reap the same. God who is the Lord of the harvest will see to it that the sower will always reap what he or she has sown as He can never be mocked or sneered at. He cannot be bribed as whatever/anything a man sows will he also reap.

When God created man, man was essentially a spirit-being. He communicated with man via his spirit. When man fell, man`s spirit was completely/totally dead to God. Man essentially lost his communion with God and man was ruled essentially by the flesh. The flesh gained ascendancy over man`s spirit. The thoughts of hatred, murder, sexual immorality, covetousness, greed and so on which are the works of the flesh replaced the thoughts of joy, peace, love, self-control, long-suffering which are the works of the spirit. The flesh through its works essentially dominated man`s spirit and man became a wicked being. When Christ came into the world, He crucified man`s sinful flesh in His own flesh by His Spirit and Christ`s Spirit (the Holy Spirit) gained His throne back over man`s sinful flesh. The fruit of the Holy Spirit that is fully at work in a born again Christian has the potential to choke the works of the flesh that is also at work in that believer. The Bible states clearly that the flesh wars against the Spirit and the Spirit also wars against the flesh. The battle is going to be on until we have a new body at Christ`s return to the earth. The law of sowing and reaping that God instituted in the beginning also comes into play as regards who will gain ascendancy between the flesh and the Spirit in the life of any Christian. Sow into your spirit while neglecting the flesh and you will reap a Spirit-controlled life and consequently manifest the fruits of the Spirit in an unlimited measure. Sow into your flesh while neglecting your spirit man and you will reap a flesh-controlled life and never manifest the fruits of the recreated human spirit.

The Bible also states clearly that the Christian that is ruled/controlled by the flesh can never please God and can be seen as His enemy. This means the Christian that is controlled by the Spirit will please God and be seen as His friend. We can sow into our spirits by accepting God`s word as the final authority over our lives. This will make us read it, digest it, meditate on it and be active doers of it. This will develop the fruits of the Spirit such as love, joy, peace, self-control, long-suffering and so on in us and in the end, we will also reap eternal life having successfully mortified the deeds of the flesh. Sow into the spirit and reap eternal life and on the other side of the coin, sow into the flesh and reap eternal condemnation/damnation. The enemy is an enemy to anyone who sows continually to his/her spirit while crucifying the flesh and that is the reason it takes commitment, resoluteness and determination to do this. We are expected not to faint, get tired and weary of sowing into our spirits because the Lord of the harvest will surely makes us reap the dividends of our sowings. It is well with us in Jesus precious name. Shalom! Coming straight from my heart of hearts….Dayo Oladapo…www.Facebook.com/pages/Dayo-Oladapo-Official-Page/465259763522821

GROWING UP TO ACCESS OUR SPIRITUAL INHERITANCE IN GOD.

‘’Now what I mean is that as long as the inheritor is a child and under age, he does not differ from a slave although he is the master of the estate. But he is under the date fixed by his father’’ Christianity is a call to inheritance as God has called us to inherit certain things based on His divine promises which are also based on His divine provisions unto us. He has given us all things that pertains unto life and godliness. He has also made us inheritors of His divine promises having escaped corruption that is in the world through LUST. Apostle Paul also said in one of His powerful epistles to the church(you and me) that in Christ, ALL THINGS ARE OURS. In other words, he was saying that ALL THINGS that pertains to life and godliness which can be found in Christ Jesus are ours. It is important to see clearly that ALL THINGS that are accessible through Christ unto us can only be ours via our SONSHIP RIGHTS. When we gave our lives to Christ, we were transformed from being dirty dogs to being Spiritual miracle babies. We were babies being subject to the milk of God`s word which is needed by us for our nourishment, growth and development in Christ. After being on milk for a while, God expects us to grow and maturate from spiritual babies to spiritual sons so that we can really manifest our Sonship with Christ and also in Christ. Babies will always be babies as they cannot do anything by themselves. They cannot eat by themselves. They cannot urinate and defecate by themselves. They cannot put their clothes on by themselves not to talk of thinking for themselves. They cannot make any reasonable decisions of life in life as they are needed to be guided by someone who is more matured than they are. It is not spiritual babies that will access God`s promises but fully grown and matured sons and daughters of God. It is sad to see that some people have given their lives to Christ five, ten, fifteen and even twenty years ago but they are mere spiritual babies with feeding bottles in their hands everywhere they go. They are still being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine having not being fully rooted in Christ which is a direct result of feeding on God`s word regularly and being able to rightly divide the word of truth. Such babies are not yet delivered from the works of the flesh such as malice, back biting, envy, jealousy, hatred for even fellow Christians, evil plotting, covetousness having refused to embrace the fruits of the Holy Spirit such as love, joy, peace, long suffering and so on which have the virtues of triumphing over the works of the flesh any day, anytime. We also have babies that have grown rapidly into maturity under two, three and five years after giving their lives to Christ being slaves of God`s word by regularly feeding on it constantly and consistently and embracing the fruits of the Holy Spirit and mortifying the works of the flesh on a daily basis. These set of people are the ones that are able to manifest the sonship in Christ having grown from babyhood to adulthood. These set of people are the ones we see sharing testimonies of breakthroughs and advancement in life despite the fact that some of them came to the church only few years earlier. Being a spiritual baby is not a sin but remaining a spiritual baby for a long time after being saved and established in a church is a burden. A spiritual baby is a burden to the brethren, the pastors and other people in the spiritual family. Apostle Paul that grew to become an oak tree in Christendom was once a spiritual baby but he embraced spiritual responsibility in order to grow and blossom into a spiritual son who was able to totally access his redemptive rights in Christ. He once said that when he was a child, he talked like a child, moved about like a child and even reasoned like a child but when he grew to become a son, he left all childish things and he grew to become a person to be reckoned with. A spiritual baby is not different from a slave as a slave cannot enjoy the fullness of abundance in any house. All that slaves enjoy are the crumbs when God has set a table of feasting before us even in the midst of our enemies. It is only grown up sons that can dine and sup with God on His table having have their minds renewed and transformed in Him and not crying about as babies. There is a divine clarion call from God for us to grow up in Christ and leave behind all babyish attitudes, character and behavior by constantly and consistently feeding on God`s word and doing/practicing its obligations and going further to embrace the fruits of the Holy Spirit which will enable us to mortify the deeds of the flesh which may want to hinder our growth in God. It is God`s will for us to access ALL THINGS that are ours in Christ and I see us accessing them as we grow into mature sons and daughters of God in Christ in Jesus precious name. Shalom! Coming straight from my heart of hearts…..Dayo Oladapo…www.Facebook.com/pages/Dayo-Oladapo-Official-Page/465259763522821

SOWING AND REAPING.

Remember this that he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly and he who sows generously will also reap generously and with blessing. Let everyone give as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver. As it is written, He scatters abroad. He gives to the poor. His deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and endure forever.........................It is a known fact that as complex as life is, it answers to time-proven and tested laws. God put these laws in place to govern life as anyone who will obey the dictates of these laws will reap the fruits of what these laws have to offer. For example, on earth today, there is the law of gravity which states that everything that is thrown upward must surely come down. If a stone is thrown upward in Ilesha(Osun state, Nigeria), it will surely come down just as it will do the same in Calgary, Canada. There is the law of motion which states that everything on earth remains at rest until an external force is applied to that it which will move it from rest. This law applies to all things on earth. There is another law which states that to every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This law applies to every part on planet earth. In God`s Kingdom, there is also a law of sowing and reaping which answers with undeniable results in every place of the earth as laws are universal in results. According to God`s law of sowing and reaping, if a man sows, he is expected to reap what is sown within a period of time depending on the nature of the seed sown. If a man sows a seed, he is expected to reap fruits with the seed in it in a matter of time depending on the nature of seed sown just as the reaping time of the fruit of maize is different from the reaping time of the fruit of cocoa because the nature of these seeds are different. God went further to state that he who sows his seeds sparingly and grudgingly will also reap in like manner because He cannot be mocked and also, he who sows generously will also reap in likewise manner because God is just to His laws. So, the law of sowing and reaping applies to physical seeds in agriculture such as maize, cocoa, cowpea etc and it also applies to spiritual seeds. Spiritual seeds include money, energy, time which when sown into the Spiritual or sometimes physical will yield returns in the physical as the Spiritual controls the physical. To reap a wealthy life, we have to sow money/financial resources into God`s Kingdom/agenda on the face of the earth in order to propagate God`s end-time/Kingdom agenda here on earth. God`s cogent will is to establish His Kingdom on earth and it is through prosperity that His plan will be established. When God`s people take it as a responsibility to sow into this special agenda of God, He will in turn bless the giver with wealth. To reap a fruitful ministry, the visionary of the ministry must sow his precious financial resources, energy and time towards impacting the people to whom he is sent to minister to because ministry revolves around people as there cannot be ministry without people. To reap a fruitful family life, the head of the family who is the father must sow bountifully his financial resources, energy and scarce time to the life of his dear wife and children with the motive of loving them, caring for their physical and spiritual needs so that they can turn out well in life. The mother and wife must also sow her valuable financial resources, energy and time to her husband in full/total submission to his authority/leadership and to the children with the motive of reaping a fruitful home in terms of producing responsible citizens for the nation. To reap a strong physical body, spirit and mental system, the owner of these vital assets must sow good/nutritional food, diet, rest and physical exercise to the body, the word of God and a daily/fresh communion with the Holy Spirit and a good knowledge bank from good books and communion/communication with like minds/good friends to the mental system. These will create a total and complete man in terms of a functional physical body, viable spirit man and workable/fit mental system. To reap a productive relationship among singles and intending couples, both parties involved in the contractual relationship must sow a good amount of their financial resources, energy and time towards the success of their relationship thereby avoiding break-ups. If we can sow generously into all areas of our lives with our made-up-minds, we will surely reap generously because God who instituted the time-proven/tested universal law of sowing and reaping is surely committed to see that you reap a harvest of whatever you have sown into all areas of our lives. By two immutable things by which it is impossible for God to lie, whatever a man sows will he also reap whether good or bad, whether sparingly or generously and whether grudgingly or with absolute cheerfulness. God bless you! Coming straight from my heart of hearts…Dayo Oladapo…www.Facebook.com/pages/Dayo-Oladapo-Official-Page/465259763522821

THE REALITY OF DIVINE RICHES.

For you are becoming progressively acquainted with and recognized more strongly and clearly the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though He was so very rich, yet for your sakes He became so very poor in order that by His poverty you might become enriched.....................God is a rich God. There is no trace of poverty in God. The silver is mine and so also is gold says the all-sufficient God. The cattle on a thousand hill is equally mine as if I were hungry, there is enough abundance to satisfy my hunger says the El-Shaddai God. When God created man in His image and likeness, God created man a blessed, prosperous and rich man. God placed man in a garden of abundance, plenty and prosperity. Abundance of food and water was in the garden. Cattle that God was talking about later in the old testament was in that garden. Silver and gold and all manner of precious stones were also in that garden. Man was living at the peak of riches and wealth in Eden. Poverty came into the world when Adam and Eve fell into sin and sold their riches and wealth to the devil and obtained poverty in its place. Unfortunately, poverty brings untold accompanying misfortunes with it. Poverty brought sickness, hunger, thirst, lack, want and other misfortunes to the world. A poor man is likely to live a sickly life because he will not be able to feed well and the body needs nourishing food to fight sickness and diseases. A poor man is also a sure candidate for lack and want because of the insufficiency that goes along with his status. In addition, a poor man is a sure candidate of several misfortunes e.g public disgrace, mockery, lack of respect and acceptance etc. God has always wanted the best for man even after the fall. He had always wanted man to live in inexplicable riches and wealth thereby escaping the horrible holocaust of poverty. God sought for a man to establish His covenant of riches and wealth with for humanity and He found Abraham. When God picked Abraham by His divine prerogative, he was an idol worshipper. At 75 years of age, nothing was good about him as he was living in his father`s house despite the fact that he was married. God found Abraham not because of righteousness but by grace. When Abraham saw God, he abandoned idolatry to serve Him whole-heartedly and he became a friend of the Most High. When Abraham decided to walk with God by obediently following Him, God established the covenant of everlasting riches/wealth/prosperity with him and it was ratified by the blood of his fore-skin and that of all the males in his house. God`s promise of blessing other nations of the earth aside the Jewish descendants of Abraham came into view when Christ Jesus came to the earth. He left the inexhaustible riches and glory in Heaven to come to the earth and die for man so that man can be restored to his former estate. When Christ died on the Cross, His blood was shed. That shed blood ratified the covenant of riches/prosperity/wealth that was lost to the devil by Adam and Eve in the beginning. Christ literally went to hell, stripped the devil of man`s stolen wealth and riches and restored man`s glory, wealth, riches and prosperity on the basis of his shed blood. The devil with his eyes wide open shylishly handed over man`s riches back to Christ and Christ has handed what belonged to man back to man. Christ had all the riches from the devil but because of his enduring/everlasting love for man, He gave him all He took from the devil. He redeemed the gentile nation with the Jews inclusive from the yoke of poverty so that the Blessing of Abraham that is resident on the Jewish nation can also rest on all the Gentile nations across the earth. The devil regretted ever crucifying Christ because if He was not crucified, man`s poverty would have continued. The devil is totally powerless as regards the case of any saved human being to make him poor. All he has now are lies and deception as he goes about deceiving people that the message of prosperity is fake and not biblical because he likes to see God`s people suffer in penury. If God is against us being blessed, Christ would not have died to connect us to Abraham`s Blessings. If God is against us being prosperous, the following scriptures should not be found in the Holy Bible…1. When the Lord has blessed you as He promised, you shall lend to many nations and you shall not borrow. 2. The Lord be blessed who takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servants. 3. It is the Lord your God who gives you power to get wealth. 4. I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health as your soul prospers. 5. Blessed shall you be in the city and Blessed shall you be in the field. If these scriptures are in the Bible and the Bible is true with its words which cannot be broken, then it can be said that it is God`s will for you and me to escape the pangs of poverty that is ravaging our world today. If you are born again and saved by the blood of the lamb, you have unlimited access to the inexhaustible riches of God in Christ Jesus. Just as Abraham walked with God to secure his wealth in God, you have to be obedient to God as regards His prosperity plan for your life. I will advise you to look for scriptures in the Bible that deals with the Prosperity plan of God for us and obey all the conditions attached to each scripture as there is no promise of God in the Bible that does not have the responsibility that man has to carry out before the promise can become a reality in that man`s life. As you take the pain to obey God to carry out all His laid-down conditions for a prosperous life as stated in the scriptures, I`m sure that God`s covenant plan of prosperity will not elude you sooner or later in Jesus precious name. God bless you! Coming straight from my heart of hearts…Dayo Oladapo…www.Facebook.com/pages/Dayo-Oladapo-Official-Page/465259763522821