SIGNS OF A PRIDEFUL DISPOSITION 2

PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT SYNDROME: Another way a person demonstrates pride is by considering the good things in his or her life a product of personal achievement rather than the result of divine providence. In Jn.3:27-30, John the Baptist said:

“… a man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before Him.

He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John made this statement when some of his disciples came and told him that the Lord was baptizing on the other side of the Jordan. As a matter of fact, it was even the disciples of Jesus Christ that were doing the baptizing. John did not go to complain to God that he was the one with the mandate to baptize and question the fact that Jesus Christ was also doing the same thing. He simply acknowledged the fact that whatever a person gets comes from above. He acknowledged also that the grace to even conduct the baptism as he was doing was given from above. He then concluded by saying that the Lord must increase while he must decrease. This should be the attitude of every believer. This is why the Lord described him as a shining and burning light! Until the ‘I’ in a person decreases and Christ increases, such a person still has an issue with pride.

SEEKING FIRST TO RECEIVE BEFORE GIVING HONOUR: Another way a person demonstrates pride is by always waiting to receive greeting from others and consciously not making the move to greet first. As simple as this may look, it is a very serious issue that tells you that you believe others should answer to you and that you are not obligated to answer to any. Some even do this with the pretentious excuse that they are older than the person and as such should be greeted first. While this may apply by natural calculations, it is not an offence for an older person to greet a younger one first. Anyone who holds on strongly to this belief system will have issues at work where the boss is a younger person in age. You know that if you keep falling out with your boss all the time, you will be the worse for it. In fact, with a mindset like this, you are not likely to add any appreciable value to your organization and you will be edged out at the slightest opportunity without being missed. In Prov.16:18, we read:

            “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” 

Anyone with this kind of heart disposition should understand that it does not take anything from you to greet first whether the person you greet is older or younger than you. Like we are told from our quoted text here, pride precedes a fall so if you do not want to fall, avoid it.

MAKING AN IDOL OF ONE’S OPINION: Another way a person can demonstrate pride is by making an idol of their opinion. This is expressed in always desiring to win in arguments. While persistence in whatever good ideals you hold unto is a virtue, holding a view in extremity for egocentric reasons would only fit in with our description of pride. I have heard some Christian men make statements to the effect that they cannot give up their ego for anything and I fear for them because the first demand of discipleship is ego slaying. Some people even talk about massaging the ego of others. What does ego mean? Ego simply means self. I consider this in direct conflict with the word of God that places a demand of self-denial on anyone who wants to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. We should be careful to not allow the ways of the world form our thinking pattern. The bible tells us in Romans 12:2 to renew our minds. That text of Scripture reads:

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

It takes mind renewal to be able to decipher the will of God as the natural man can neither receive nor experience the things of the Spirit of God because they are foolishness to him. It is better to give up one’s ego so as to be able to embrace the mindset of God than to be destroyed along with the rest of the world. The truth is that we are not always right because of the limitations of the human nature, but God is all wise and is always right. It is better to buy into His ideals than to have and hold on to our own limited ones which may be wrong. Some people go to the extreme of claiming that their ego is all they have left. In that case, it is best you drop it and receive the Lord Jesus Christ because you are really nothing in comparison to the Lord! He is the king of kings and Lord of lords; he is the author of Life. Finally, making an idol of one’s opinion can deny the person so doing the advantage of a sound advice that would have taken him or her to the next level in life.

UNCONTROLLABLE FITS OF RAGE: Another way pride is demonstrated is through the expression of uncontrollable fits of anger and rage. The reason such a person demonstrates this kind of anger is that things do not go his or her way. This is the devil’s behaviour. In Rev.12:7-12, we read:

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil,        and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and   strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of   their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”

The devil wanted the throne of God but could not get it and when he was defeated, and could not have his way, he expressed his sentiments in an uncontrollable fit of rage which brought about a devastation of this world. Today, many destinies which would otherwise have grown to become glorious ones have been truncated by this vice. I once read of a famous celebrity who was told as a young person that he could become a man of global relevance through his sport, but would not get far if he did not deal with his temper. Thank God he heeded this advice and emerged a world renowned sport’s man. 

THE SECRET ANGER IN THE HEART WHEN ONE IS NOT ACKNOWLEGED: This is a most common symptom of pride that cuts across every group of people. In fact this is hidden and some people are very good actors in covering this type. Some other people are too crude to hide this feeling. Either way, it is the same thing before God. Anyone who has this kind of problem will have difficulty serving as they would not be able to handle the flexibility of changing positions for the accomplishment of responsibilities. By this, I mean once they receive a position from which to influence or lead, they cannot step down to a lower one for the general good so as to get things done in a corporate environment like a Church, place of work or a club. This is the attitude demonstrated by the Pharisees that made the Lord say that except our righteousness exceed theirs; we shall not enter the kingdom. Anyone caught in this trap will be offended if his name or her name is not announced in connection with a gift they give in Church. Another instance of this is common among ministers who would; as a matter of personal policy, never attend a program except they are called to minister there. I am not referring to a case where the said minister by virtue of his schedule cannot afford the time to attend such programs. I am talking about a situation when this minister is not too busy to attend and the program is relevant to him or her and it is conducted in his or her community of ministry.

I recall the uncontrollable fit of rage demonstrated to me by a fellow minister who was part of one of the programs we organized some time in 2003 as a result of an oversight to acknowledge his presence at the service. I was stunned and wondered where all that feeling of self-importance came from. Today, he is no more in the ministry. People with this kind of attitude never last in ministry because clearly, their conception of ministry is grossly impaired. 

Concerning this kind of attitude, Jesus has this to say:

“But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,

And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi” Mt.23:5-7

“When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;

And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.

But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.

For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted”. Lk.14:8-11

From this second text of Scripture, we see that the attitude we are supposed to have is one of humility over and above self-importance as humility precedes honour. Apostle Peter in 1Pet.5:1-6 throws more light on this subject while exhorting the elders (Pastors) in his letter to them thus:

“The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:”

THE TRAP OF PRIDE

SIGNS OF A PRIDEFUL DISPOSITION 1

Pride can manifest in their victim’s behaviour as follows:

First, Prideful people believe unjustifiably that they are better than others. It is the opposite of humility and has no gain whatsoever. They are like the empty vessels that make the loudest noise. This is what informed the attitude of the Pharisees in the days of the Lord Jesus Christ selecting the highest seats at events for themselves. In Matthew 23:1-7, Jesus said:

“Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,

Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:

All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,

And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.”

From this text of scripture, we gather that proud people draw their strength from the accolades of men which in turn pump up their ego (self) and this is a big problem because it results in unbelief. In John 5:44, Jesus reproved the Jews with these words among others when they sought to kill Him for calling God His father:

“How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?”

From this text, we gather that those who seek to draw their strength from human approval would walk in unbelief as it would be impossible for them to please God for the following reasons: first, God cannot be pleased without faith and whatever promotes unbelief like human approval works against faith. Isaiah 55:8 makes us understand that the ways of God are higher than the ways of men. To access the higher ways of God require faith. Then Heb.11:6 makes us understand that without faith we cannot please God as coming to God requires that we believe in His existence and diligently seek Him. Secondly, the mindset of natural men runs counter to that of God. We are made to understand from 1Cor.2:14 that the natural man cannot receive and experience the things of the Spirit of God and Romans 8:7 says natural people cannot please God.  

This was the problem Saul had that made it impossible for God to establish his kingdom. After Samuel pointed out his offence before God to him and told Him of God’s verdict, instead of concerning himself with the issue at hand before God, he requested that Samuel should honour him before the people. This clearly pointed out to God and all wise observers that Saul like many politicians and even some ministers (sad to say), rated human approval higher than divine approval. You will find this account in 1Sam.15:16-30 thus:

Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.

1Sa 15:17  And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?

1Sa 15:18  And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.

1Sa 15:19  Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?

1Sa 15:20  And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

1Sa 15:21  But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.

1Sa 15:22  And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

1Sa 15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

1Sa 15:24  And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

1Sa 15:25  Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.

1Sa 15:26  And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.

1Sa 15:27  And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.

1Sa 15:28  And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.

1Sa 15:29  And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.

1Sa 15:30  Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God

A second sign of a prideful disposition is seen in the habit of Keeping malice with other people and refusing to make the first move at reconciliation. For instance, in your family, you may have had a little argument with your sibling which may not even be an issue strong enough to warrant your time to remember it. The next thing you do is give the person the silent treatment. This situation could even exist between spouses! It is interesting to know that some men give their wives the silent treatment just because of a little disagreement and in other cases, it could be vice versa. I recall living with one of my uncles several years ago and discovered that the owner of the house we were living in had been in malice with his wife for about eighteen years even though they were living in the same house. I found this rather strange. In fact, the man died about sixteen years after this without reconciling with the wife! When I think about his case, I cannot help wondering where he is now spending eternity. When parties who do this are unbelievers, it is quite understandable because anyone who is not born again, does not have power over pride. They will fall into it anyhow. Believers however have power over pride because the new creation is the nature of the Lord Jesus Christ which is humility. Sadly you still find some believers playing with pride. They keep malice and refuse to make the first move at reconciliation. When you find yourself refusing to make peace with a fellow believer because you feel too much to make the first move at peace making, you are listening to pride and drinking in its poisonous venom. If you do not stop it, it will stop you. This is how dangerous pride can be to its victim. If you are reading this book and still keeping malice with someone and finding it difficult on your own to make the first move at reconciliation, you have been trapped, but the good news is that you can lose yourself from the trap and humble yourself and make the move at reconciliation. An apology will not reduce your esteem before God; it will increase it and it is only God’s opinion you should be concerned with more than any other. Pride is the only poison I know of that would not kill you if you swallow it. Put the devil to shame today and make peace with your neighbor. A friend once told me how he had a little argument with a neighbor of his who was an expert at the silent treatment. He was a believer and was not comfortable with the silent treatment the neighbor gave him at all. So one day, he walked up to her and told her he was tired of the silent treatment that she should please forgive him. That was the end of the strife. It paid off for this brother because his relationship with God was more important to him than self-importance.

A third sign of a prideful disposition is the inability to apologize for any wrong done to another. In fact such people feel that the world should answer to them; meanwhile, they have nothing to offer the world. I know of a man some years back; a Pastor! who offended his wife and his cousin witnessed the incidence and advised him to apologize to the wife that what he did to her was not good. He replied: “I cannot apologize to my wife!” This was a habitual behavior of this man among other things and the wife eventually left him. In fact, this same attitude of his drove all his Church members away and he is eventually out of the ministry and is presently jobless and in want! The inability to say you are sorry when you should, spells only one thing; pride has been used by the devil to trap you! A person like this would rather look for other means of reconciling (especially when they stand to gain some advantage from the offended person) than saying they are sorry. Sometimes, you may be right, but for the sake of peace, you could apologize to another because the word of God in 1Cor.6:1-8 makes us understand that our inability to take wrong shows a fault in us; I believe that fault is pride. That text of scripture reads as follows:

“Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?

Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.

I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?

But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.

Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?

Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.”

Sadly, this is the situation with some believers and we do not have to live like this!

A fourth sign of a prideful disposition is the inability to acknowledge the better performance of others: A proud person cannot acknowledge that any other person does what they do better than them. For example, a proud person will never acknowledge any member of his profession who has gone ahead of him as making any input in his life. I got scared for a fellow minister some years back when I commented that a message he taught was similar to what I had read from Kenneth E. Hagin of blessed memory and he replied with some uncomplimentary remark about this great author. Interestingly, when I read a book written by this young man later, I immediately saw that he did not quite understand the concept of man being spirit, soul and body. Meanwhile, this is one light that God used Kenneth E. Hagin to bring to the Church that has resulted in the liberation of many. This attitude is what the bible calls a high look and God considers it an abomination. Ps.101:5 says:

“…him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.”  

The International standard version puts it this way:

“…I will not allow the proud and haughty to prevail.”

In the God News Bible, it is translated as follows: “I will not tolerate anyone who is proud and arrogant.”

Also, Proverbs 21:4 says:

“An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.”

As we all know, sin is offensive to God and God is the one person we must not offend.

The fastest way to learn is to acknowledge the good works of others and enjoy them. It will only be a question of time before you will also start contributing your own good works to the world.

A fifth sign of a prideful disposition is the inability to take on little tasks: I once had an associate Pastor who was having some financial issues. I offered him some copies of one of my books to sell and take care of his financial challenge. He felt so insulted that he sent me an anonymous text message when I went back to my station telling me off for all I was worth for being rude to my associate pastor in Nigeria. I was taken aback and wondered what I did wrong. I immediately made up my mind that I would call him and ask if I did or said anything to offend him, I was going to apologize first before letting him know of the text message and discussing it with him. When I called and asked if I offended him, he said I did not. I later helped him out of his financial predicament and two month later, he sent me a resignation by text message! As soon as I saw the text, I immediately knew that he sent that anonymous text two months earlier. A month earlier, I had gone with two associates to my country for a leadership Conference and I had all of us including this Associate and his wife lodged in a hotel near the venue for the duration of the conference after which they all went to lodge at this Pastor’s house pending their departure four days later.

I sent for the Associate Pastor with me and asked him what was said about me when he was at the Associate Pastor’s place and what he told me showed that the Pastor was embittered against me and referred to the incident when I told him to sell books to take care of his financial predicament as an insult. In fact my ears were full, but I felt bad for this young man because of the consequences of the kind of mindset he still maintained even after ten years of making spiritual investments in his life. I did not say a word to him about his action since he did not seem to want to face me. Besides, my attitude to those working with me is that they are in God’s employment even though I was instrumental in employing them. So, it was not me he walked out on but God as such the matter was purely between him and God. I just let him go and moved on.

So many people like this young man have truncated their destinies with this kind of attitude of despising seemingly little tasks in the house of God. The truth is that with God, there is no small task. Anything that has to do with God is a high calling. So a refusal to do little tasks disqualifies a person from taking on the big tasks!

A sixth sign of a prideful disposition is the inability to openly acknowledge a weakness and deal with it. In Jn.3:19-20, Jesus said of these kinds of people:

“…light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”

People who fall into this category are Christians who have privately indulged in something shameful and find themselves in a position where they need to admit that fault openly to be able to get rid of it but refuse to do it so as to be seen to be better than they really are. I once saw a Christian movie in which the devil assigned some of his agents to extract bitter tears from people. In that film, the devil made them understand that one bitter tear from a saint is more valuable to him than that of many unbelievers. One of the witch doctors assigned to extract the bitter tears decided to engage the services of a very wicked witch whose target was a saint who rented an apartment in her premises. She decided to influence her falling into fornication with her fiancé and when she succeeded, decided to terminate the fiancé on the day of their wedding. The Lord revealed this to the Christian lady’s Pastor who asked her about it but she denied any such thing because she was a Church leader and could not bring herself to admit that she had fallen into such a sin.

In another scene, the witch doctor was seen trying to ask the wicked witch if their plan would work out considering that the girl would repent and disclose the matter to their Pastor. The witch replied that pride would not let them repent and sadly, she was correct. At the end of the day, they were able to extract the bitter tears from the saint because she was too prideful to admit what she did and repent.

In real life today, many are plagued with this same situation. When you are unable to openly admit a wrong done in private publicly when you need to, it is because of pride. The unwillingness to expose their weaknesses for instance, not knowing that such things need to be brought out to the open if we must be set free from them; is the reason why many men and women cannot openly admit an extra marital affair when the need arises. They would rather want to maintain an image of the upright when this is not the case. The result is that many people are laboring under this deadly curse brought upon them by their pride and claiming that they are the victims of their enemies. The real enemy in this case is the person hiding his sin to keep up a false self-image.

SKILLFULLY USING THE WORD

Skill is the ability to do something well, usually gained through training, experience or both. Every profession requires one form of skill or another. God’s word is the basis of the profession of our faith. When we express faith or confidence it is in God’s word. Just like the development of any other skill that requires training, so does the use of the word of God. Here, we are going to be looking at four steps to the skillful application of the word of God.

SPIRITUAL GROWTH:  The first step to the skillful application of the word is spiritual growth. The reason for this is that the skillful application of the word of God does not pertain to spiritual babies. When you just get born again, you are born a spiritual baby and according to Apostle Peter in 1Pet.2:2, you are expected to desire the sincere milk of the word to grow up spiritually. If you apply yourself to this demand, you will grow up spiritually to the point of taking spiritual meat instead of milk just as it happens in the natural; Heb.5:13-14 says:

“For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”   

Apostle Paul enumerated the behavior of baby Christians in 1Cor.3:1-3 when he said:

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”

So everyone who is just born again is born into the family of God as a baby believer. At this point of your new birth experience, your mind did not change. Your mind will only change after a process of time invested in researching God through His word. The more you research God, the more you get to know and obey Him and as you are consistent in your obedience to the word of God, you will be experiencing spiritual growth. As you keep growing, you will leave all these character traits of a baby Christian like envying and strife behind. The book of Galatians 5:18-19 enumerates the works of the flesh which we have already seen to be traits of a baby Christian. Every Christian who still behaves like a sinner is a baby Christian not withstanding how long they have been saved. These kinds of people cannot use the word skillfully as we have already seen. Any Christian who wants to be skillful in their use of the word of God and therefore be spiritually productive must grow up spiritually. How do you grow up spiritually? This takes us to the next step we must take to enable us skillfully use the word of God.

FAITHFULNESS IN USING THE WORD OF GOD: The next step we must take to the skillful application of the word of God is faithfulness in using the word. To be faithful is to be consistently loyal to a person, belief or cause; in this case, consistent loyalty in the pursuit of God and his word. This will enable a person gain experience in righteousness. Apostle Paul says such a person can take the strong meat of the word of God because; by practice, he has developed himself to be able to discern right from wrong. In other words, such a person is mature and knows and lives by the ways of God. Heb. 5:14 says:

“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even tho se who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

A typical example of such a person in the Bible is Moses. Concerning Moses the Bible says he was faithful in his entire house. Heb.3:1-2 says:

“Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.”

In Exodus 33:13 while reporting one of the prayers of Moses the man of God, the Bible says:

“Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.”

An examination of the content of the prayer of Moses here would quickly reveal to us that Moses was a mature saint; not asking for any selfish thing but a revelation of the ways of God to him so that he could please God. The bulk of believers today however, do not share the sentiments of Moses. Most of the time when I receive prayer requests after some of our broadcasts, I feel sorry for many people because of the content of their request. You could easily detect that these ones have a long way to go. Many of these requests make me wonder whether these people have ever read Matthew 6:33.

Meanwhile God wants us to learn his ways so that we would not need to come crying bless me anymore; we would become blessings instead. God expects us to be blessings wherever we are found. But how can we be blessings if we are still children? It is a matured person that takes responsibility; not a child. So, we have to grow up spiritually. Growing up spiritually does not have to do with your biological age. You can be a hundred years old and still be a spiritual baby. Also, the length of time you have been a Christian does not determine your level of maturity; it all depends on your faithfulness in using God’s word. As you put what little of the word of God you know to work, you gain experience in the ways of God. As you consistently live this way, you will find out that many of these character traits of a baby Christian will drop off your life.

There was a way you lived as a sinner, as soon as you get born again; you are expected to start changing from that way to the ways of God. You cannot do this however, if you do not know the ways of God.

In Ps.103:7, we are told that God revealed his ways to Moses and his acts to the children of Israel. Moses was creating the acts of God whereas the children of Israel were merely consuming them. That was why whenever the children of Israel experienced any unpleasant situation, they would murmur against Moses and God. Can you imagine that as soon as God delivered them from the host of Pharaoh through the Red sea by sinking their enemies with the same sea he caused to become dry land for the people to pass through, that they still murmured against Moses and God when they faced a little inconvenience of water scarcity? Moses again created another act of God providing water for them.  Consequently anyone who will be faithful to seek and walk in the ways of God will skillfully use the word of God to create the acts of God.

Moses is a human being like we are, so if God used him before, he can still use you dear reader, all you need to do is be faithful in using the word. The Bible says Elijah was a man of like passions as we are but he prayed that there should not be rain for three and a half years and it was so. When he wanted the rain, he prayed again and it was so. What did he do? He applied skill. The Bible says after he told Ahab that there was a sound of the abundance of rain, He went up and he bent over and began to pray. He prayed until rain came. If he had not prayed the right word he would not have been able to work the miracle that brought the rain [Jas.5:17-18; 1Kings 17:1-7; 18:41-45]. Anyone who will be faithful to speak the word and walk in the ways of God will skillfully use the word of God.

EMBRACE THE MINSTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:  The third step we need to take in the skillful application of the word is to embrace the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is called our helper, our teacher and comforter. He will take of the Father and the son and reveal to us. He is called to show us things to come. He will reveal things which no one has seen to us and whenever we ask Him, He will give us the right scripture for each occasion. The Holy Spirit is for the church. The fact that you have not received the infilling of the Holy Ghost does not mean he is not there. The fact that I go and jump off a cliff for instance, does not negate the law of gravity. No matter what my opinion about the law of gravity is, it will still be very functional. The Holy Spirit is still here whether you believe in his ministry or not. You will do yourself a huge favour to embrace the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

In John 16:12-16 while talking to his disciples, Jesus said:

“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.”

So He is supposed to show us things to come. In Jn.14:26, the bible says:

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

Not everyone who reads the bible really understands it; so one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to teach us as we read the bible and cause us to understand it. He is our maker and He knows how we can best understand anything including the bible which He authored. Also, you can be in situations where you need the Holy Ghost to remind you of a scripture (that is what Jesus is saying here) when you ask Him, He will remind you. How do you accomplish this? Just ask Him what scripture you need to use in the circumstance and then keep quiet and listen to your heart because He is in your heart. He will speak to you through your heart. If you are not yet filled with the Holy Ghost, please go and receive the infilling of the Holy Ghost today. I strongly recommend my books: “What About Speaking in Tongues?” and “Understanding the Ministry and Gifts of The Holy Spirit” for a comprehensive study of this subject. I also wrote out some prayers in those books that you could pray and receive this precious gift of the Father.  Search the scriptures and find out your rights in the covenant and take advantage of them. It is your right to be filled with the Holy Spirit because God has said that as many as receive Jesus Christ will be given the gift of the Holy Ghost. Peter said to the seekers in Acts 2:38 that if they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, they shall be saved and that they shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. In Rom 8:26 we are told that the Holy Spirit will help us in our weaknesses one of which I believe is forgetfulness of scriptures. In Jn.14:26, we are told that He would teach us all things and remind us of the word of God that we have learnt and forgotten.

In 1Corth 14:14-15, the Bible says:

“For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.

What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.”

 So every time you pray in tongues, you are praying in the spirit. Praying in tongues and giving messages in tongues are two different things. Not everyone will give messages in tongues because the Bible says let him that gives a message in tongues also pray that he should interpret it. Giving a message is usually addressed to people and therefore must be interpreted for the people to whom it is addressed to be able to comprehend the message. When it is interpreted, it becomes prophecy. The spirit language on the other hand is for prayer and it is every believer’s right to exercise. Prayer as we all know is addressed to God who understands the language of the spirit with which we speak to Him. You do not even need to understand it. This is why Paul says in 1Cor.14:2 that when you speak in unknown tongues, you speak to God and not to men because no man understands you. You do not even understand what you are saying because as we saw earlier, when you pray in tongues your spirit prays and your understanding is unproductive.  It is your right in the covenant of grace to speak to your Father [God] in tongues; so if you are not yet filled with the Holy Ghost ensure you get filled today because praying in tongues helps to develop your most holy faith causing you to advance from babyhood to adulthood as a Christian! [Jude.1:20]

MEETING SPIRITUAL CONDITIONS: The fourth step to the skillful application of the word is meeting spiritual conditions. It is not every promise in the Bible that is automatic. There are some that have conditions attached to them. So if you are going to have your needs met by those scriptures you must first meet the conditions attached. For example Philippians 4:19 says:

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

 This scripture is for everyone who would first satisfy the conditions that prompted Apostle Paul to say that prayer in the first place. The condition is set out in Phil 4:14-16 thus:

“Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.

Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.

For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.”

The Philippians were believers who have sown into the life and ministry of Apostle Paul. They had given him gifts in cash and kind. Paul had to respond with the anointing upon his life. And told them what we read in Phil.4:19. So if you have been giving to ministers of God in worship to God, you can claim this scripture and it would work for you because you have met the condition for it to work. If not, you may want to look for another scripture to use to get your needs met. In fact if you have this habit of the Philippians, you will never be stranded as far as needs in your life are concerned.

Another example of a conditional promise is found in Ps 84:11 which reads:

“For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”

You will observe from this text of scripture that there is a condition you must fulfill before God will not withhold any good thing from you and that condition is that you are walking uprightly. If you are not walking uprightly, God is not obligated to bring this word to pass in your life no matter how much you confess it.

So if you start saying God will not withhold any good thing from you ask yourself; “Am I you walking up rightly?” This is because if you are not walking up rightly good things will be withheld from you. The scriptures cannot be broken. People are actually broken by the scriptures they break!

Another example of a conditional promise is found in Exo.23:25-26 which says:

“And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.

There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.”

To claim protection from sickness and bareness on the basis of this promise, you must meet the condition of being in active service of God wherever you are found. If you do not meet this condition, then you can rely on James 5:13-15, to claim healing. I find it interesting that many believers find service of God very distasteful, yet they want to claim what is reserved for servants of God. God cannot be mocked!

MAY DESTINY 2012 OUR MONTH OF DIVINE ENLARGEMENT

WELCOME TO MAY DESTINY 2012 OUR MONTH OF DIVINE ENLARGEMENT

The word of the Lord that came to me for this month is from Isa.54:2-3 which says:

“Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.”

The bible also makes us understand in Psalm 127:1 that except the Lord builds a house, they labour in vain that build it and that except the Lord watches over a city, the security of that City would be porous notwithstanding all the security details men have put in place. This is why as a Ministry; we always look up to the Lord for everything.

As a Church leader, I have never gone this road before because I have only one life time and every day for me is a new day that has never existed before. I appreciate the fact that if I am going to lead in the right direction, I must follow the Shepherd of my soul – The Holy Spirit. Jesus said he would lead me into all truths and show me things to come.

The word He gave us last month was divine favour and every day of that month, his favour followed us and has spilled over to the rest of our lives. Last month, by the favour of the Lord, we were able to commence two very important projects as a ministry; one of which is to start developing our Church property. None of us here at Kingdom Heirs Ministries can doubt the great hand of God in providing for and protecting us. We saw him in action.

Now His word of enlargement has come for this month. We are in no doubt that God will deliver on this word also, but an examination of the text in Isaiah 54 quoted above reveals that we have a part to play and that part is to prepare. We are expected to make additional rooms to accommodate the enlargement coming – “lengthen the cords and strengthen the stakes”. Why so? The answer is that God is set for us to expand on every side. For me, I believe that structure grows from inside out. We cannot talk of a strong Church when all the members are babies who are not making any advancement in their spiritual development! People cannot enlarge beyond their spiritual capacity. As a shepherd for instance, it would be unfair for me to expect toothless spiritual babies to crack spiritual bones. So what we must do this month is that in preparation for what the Lord is doing, we must work towards weaning the babies among us and getting them trained in discipleship and getting the young men among us to advance to the next level in their spiritual development to enable them father babies and nurture them to maturity. When this is done and done well, we shall be ready to take on; with ease the next set of challenges that would be presented by the pressure of our Church growth.

Already, we have intensified our leadership training program and through practical trainings encouraged our leaders’ creativity and deliveries on their God given assignment. This is not the easy way to do this though, but it is God’s way and the surest if we are going to leave any enduring structures behind. This was the method adopted by the Lord Jesus Christ when He came and raised twelve men and equipped them for the establishment of the Church. Even though when he was leaving, they had reduced to eleven, he already had people who had what it took to pioneer what is known today as the Church of Jesus Christ which after more than two thousand years is still waxing greater and greater in everything.

Let me close by saying that I learnt from John C. Maxwell that any Church that will experience explosive growth will do so by raising leaders and I have proven this truth for more than nine years now and I can say that this works!

Please avail yourself of the opportunity for enlargement by logging on to our website, blogs and face book pages often to enrich yourself with spiritual resources that will empower your leadership skill.

If you are not born again however, you cannot talk about enlargement because dead people only enlarge in decomposition. You don’t have to be spiritually dead you can come alive today by making Jesus Christ the Lord of your life. If you want to embrace the love of God today, please say the sinners’ prayer below out loud meaning it with all your heart and the Holy Spirit will take your up from there. God bless and enrich your life in Jesus’ name!

Father in Heaven,

I come to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Your word says in John 6:37 that you will not cast me out when I come to you. So I thank you that you will take me in.

You also said in Romans 10:9-10 that if I shall confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in my heart that you raised him from the dead, I shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the son of God. I believe that he was raised from the dead for my justification and I confess him now as my Saviour and Lord.

I believe that I have now become your righteousness in Christ whom you made to be sin for me on Calvary’s Cross.

Thank you father that I am saved from this day in Jesus’s name!

For more information and spiritual resources please log on to http://www.kingdomheirsministries.org/. and follow me on face book by liking our page healing and restoration time with Pastor Alero Nanna and Kingdom Joint Heirs Family Churches. You can also follow our blogs: http://www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com/ and www.jointheirsfamily.blogspot.com. www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl.