THE CHRISTIAN WALK

Moshood FayemiwoFriday, July 14, 2017
[email protected]
Cameron, Texas, USA

THE SEVEN WORKS WE MUST DO FOR FAITH TO WORK IN OUR CHRISTIAN WALK

e have heard and taught the power of faith in accessing all Divine blessings. You have prayed, fasted and done all that you have read and taught about receiving from the True Lord God Almighty, yet its herculean to move the middle in your life, what do you do? As a sister once shouted at me on the line to express her exasperation with unanswered prayers for a Christian partner during our telephone counseling: "Dr, don't God answer prayer anymore? I have prayed, fasted, did night vigils and all sorts of things, what else do I need to do?" I told her not to despair and gently walk her through these seven steps on how to access from the Lord. We talk about faith as if it is untouchable and unknowable. We define it as rendered in Hebrews 11:1: "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Many Christians know this scripture by heart and it is often quoted as the Golden Standard for faith, but that definition is not complete without its Jamesonian appendage thus: "� or as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (James 2:26).

If you look at the faith in Hebrews 11:1 above and divorce it from its scriptural counterpart in James here, it will not work. Why? Because the Faith that was half-defined by Apostle Paul in Hebrews 11:1 is different from the general faith that every human being is born with. The type of Faith used in Hebrews and James adumbrated with works is a gift of the Holy Spirit ("�Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good� to another faith by the same Spirit�I Corinthians 12: 7,9a). This type of Faith which is one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit was the motivation for James to write: "as the body without the spirit is dead," referring to the human spirit and not the Holy Spirit, although he drew a subtle causality in his adumbrated definition of Faith.

Every human being on earth has a modicum of faith in all we do. This universal faith resides in the human soul, but the Faith we are talking about here is Holy Spirit given, thus Apostle Paul used three words for its exceptionalism namely: confidence, hope and assurance. The True Lord God Almighty is not swayed by our needs, wants, cries, weeping etc., but only responds to our faith. This small faith which He has given to every human being is confidence in Him, but lacks hope and assurance. It is this faith that makes every human being to believe in something, even atheists do believe there is no God and that in itself is a belief, hence faith in unbelief is a religion. There is no one that doesn't believe in something, even in you. It is when that believe is mixed with hope and assurance that the True Lord God Almighty of the Holy Bible bestow His Holy Spirit-given Faith to the one with the universal faith of all humans. Just as the Holy Spirit is a Gift proving our redemption and heavenly forward as Ephesians 1: 1-14 "�When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of his glory." All Christians reached this stage and pull back without "works." Apostle Paul gave examples of men and women of God in the Old and New Testaments referred to as Hallowed Members of the Hall of Faith by drawing out the "works" they did which should serve as templates for us todays' Christians. Rather than hone home much efforts on these seven works which we shall examine below, we crank up more prayers as if we have not prayed enough. But if it is more prayers we need when we aren't hearing or receding feedback, why is more prayer not doing the trick? Yes, it is good to pray, but we should not forget that the very minute we set out to pray, the Lord God Almighty of the Holy Bible hears us, so why do we spend days and months in prayers, including fasting and still get stuck? Here are the seven "works" we need to fully operationalize our Faith as a gift from the Holy Spirit.

Knowledge: - Most Christians are completely oblivious of the power of knowledge in using the Faith of the Holy Spirit in our request for Divine blessings. We rush into prayer first before seeking requisite knowledge. Each time people call us here at the Jesus Christ Solution Center, the most common statement I hear is: "I hope you will join hands with me in prayer for so and so�" Anytime I pray for anything and answers are held back, I join hands with my wife and the feedback is immediate. Why? Because God says: "Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven" (Matthew 18:19). But how can two agree, if they do not discuss on the terms of the agreement. A sister called me ad entreated me to join hands with her to pray for her son and I asked how old the son is and she said he's 29 years old. I asked if the young man is a believer and she replied the son doesn't want to hear anything about pastors: "Daddy, he is always complaining that most pastors, in fact all the pastors of today are fake?" So I asked the sister that, how can I pray for someone who believes we pastors are fake. "Has he bought some fake products from China before, I asked the sister? Yes, she replied. Why does he still go to the stores to buy products since he bought fake products the last time? The Lord Almighty told me pointedly that, anyone above the age of 20 needs only one prayer, if he/she is not yet a born-again Christian; Prayer for repentance and accept the Lord Jesus Christ, period! (See Numbers 14:28-33: "Say to them, 'As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness." So, before you start to use faith to advance to the Holy Spirit-given Faith to pray on anything, seek knowledge on that particular prayer request first, because that is the first "work" you need before plunging headlong into prayer. The knowledge we're talking about here is that of the Holy Bible. When you buy any product, you check the Owner's Manual first before you start setting the electronic product or whatever so you can enjoy the product. Your Spiritual Manual is the Knowledge in the Holy Bible before you start to pray.

Gather All Necessary Information: Some Christians think that we must suspend our human brains in order to be used by the Holy Spirit. Many even think the more stupid you are, the more spiritual you will become. That is unbiblical and scriptural. The True Lord God Almighty told us His genuine followers: "The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out" (Proverbs 18:15). In another instance, we were exhorted by the Lord to come before Him and argue our case in Isaiah 43:26: "Review the past for me, let us argue the matter together; state the case for your innocence." Some Christians are biblically lazy; whatever they hear from the mouths of their pastors or preachers to them should be taken as the words of God. Instead of adopting the attitude of the Berean Christians who examined word-for-word and in line with the Holy Spirit what they are told and taught. Candidly, nothing should be taken as the gospel truth from a fellow man or woman of God, until examined in line with the revealed Word of Life; that is, the Holy Bible. Even in this column; examine what you read and let the Holy Spirit confirm it, before you accept it as solid spiritual content. A sister called for the fruit of the womb and as I was about to pray, the Holy Spirit said, I shouldn't pray with her, but ask her about her life. She demurred over the phone. "I have given her five children already, but she killed them all." It happened that our sister's past life was horrible, just as many of us and during her undergraduate years, she aborted three pregnancies and another two during her national youth service days. "But Daddy, those were during the years of ignorance, she has given her life to You now. Please O Lord, bless her with the fruit of the womb for your grace sake in Jesus Mighty Name," I pleaded on behalf of my sister. "Yes, I have forgiven her, but she doesn't need to be praying the prayer she's spraying now that I should give her what I have already given her," the Holy Spirit revealed. The Holy Spirit further instructed what the sister should do.

Do Real Spiritual Deliverance: The True Lord God Almighty of the Holy Bible and Christians is a God of Order. He will never, never circumvent His law. Anytime you pray for anything and you hit a brick wall, go back to the basics. There are certain laws and natural scheme of things that are immutable. Each time you examine a matter or an issue and the rule of evidence conforms with some natural immutable laws, yet something is not right somewhere, then be rest assured there is a spiritual dimension to it.

Let me give an example; a brother has a PhD in his field and is very brilliant, each time he applies for a job; somehow, someone less educated and knowledgeable than him would be chosen. When he called, it was difficult convincing him he has a spiritual problem. He said it was because he's a black person; I asked him, if a black person has been hired instead of him, and he said yes. Then his reason is puerile. Of course, our man was so spiritually blind he didn't get it until much, much later. There are many highly educated men and women out there with chains of university degrees roaming the streets. If you're a blood-bought, redeemed child of Jesus Christ and indwelled with the Holy Spirit and in this rank; you have three fundamental problems: denial, ignorance and spiritual pride. The spiritual deliverance we're talking about is not the three cents type administered in many of churches today; that is why we call it real spiritual deliverance.

Change Your Prayer Requests: -I entered a store one day in Chicago ready to buy something, but the way the store girl spoke to me irritated me and I skedaddled out of that shop as soon as I entered. Of course, I went to another store. Do you know there are some people who do not know how to talk? Do you know that prayer is actually talking to the Lord God Almighty? Some people are grumbling and complaining to the Lord thinking they're praying to the King of kings and Lord of lords? The Holy Bible says we do not even know what to pray for "�but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groan" (Romans 8:26b). We were praying for someone here at the Jesus Christ Solution Center and suddenly the Holy Spirit said we should stop praying and be praising Him. Meanwhile, we haven't seen the result in the physical, but the Holy Spirit said it had been done. How could a group of soldiers be preparing for battle and suddenly the Holy Spirit said they should be singing and dancing? The ways of the Lord God Almighty are unfathomable. It is not the number of hours we use in our prayer sessions, that catch God's attention, rather our obedience to His instructions. There are certain things the Holy Spirit told me never to pray for, because He has assured us His children He would supply those three things: food, clothing and shelter (Matthew 6:25-35). When you pray for these things, instead of believing Him as He promised, then you have sinned and have no works to back up your Faith. Nothing pains the Lord God Almighty than to be disbelieved.

Vows:- This is one of the greatest secrets of successful men and women of God Almighty. Our God is a government of covenants; He does all things by entering into agreements. From Genesis to Revelation, the Old and New Testaments are interpreted as Old and New Covenants respectively. I have never used this faith work to no amiss. Leaf through the Word of Life and see the powers of vows in monumental breakthroughs in all areas of life; from Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Jephthah, Hannah and many more.

Seed Sowing: -The world has been so dollarized that everything has been reduced to money, thus each time we talk about seed sowing, Christians and non-Christians peremptorily conclude we're talking about money. Love is a seed. Honor is a seed, Patience is a seed. All the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-24. are seeds. Similarly, the fruits of the flesh are also seeds. Whichever of these spiritual aisles you occupy and shop will bear fruits and grow with time. Sow a seed that will grow for His Glory as one of the works to demonstrate your faith in the Lord.

Testing: -Every Christian must be tested to show that our faith is indeed genuine before the King of Glory. Here is Apostle Peter put it: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (I Peter 3-8).

There are times when we pray, the Lord God Almighty will not give us answers instantly and this is for a purpose; to test us whether we still maintain our integrity in Him as Lord and Savior. Satan and his demons are still in the business of accusing you and me as they did Job and our forbear saints. Satan continues to tell the Almighty God that we human beings do not really and genuinely love God, but only what He gives. To prove that accusation against you and me before the Eternal Throne of God's Justice, He regularly requests that some answers to our prayers be delayed. He tells God that human beings generally are impatient and once we do not have our way now and now, we turn our backs on God. To many people, God is really good as long as His largesse flows, but once in a while, the Lord in His infinite wisdom turn off the plug on His goodies to test us. Your work of faith at this testing period is to demonstrate to the Lord of lords and the King of kings that come what may, we are already sold unto our God and there is no going back. That means such a Christian is a man/woman of integrity. Praise the Lord!

THE DEATH OF MRS OMOWUNMI BISI AKANDE

I hate seeing the death of human beings, but because death is the greatest enemy of the human race. But the good news about Death is that, it has been conquered by our Lord Jesus Crist, at least for those of us who have given our lives to Him and have taken Hi as our Lord and personal Savior. Consequently, when the Holy Spirit shows us prophetic death which is a way of life, we have no option than to announce it as shown us by the Holy Spirit. As I have noted in this column in the past, when a prophetic death is shown us and we announce it, those concerned can do something about it. But it is not our responsibility to force those concerned to do what they should do to avert the looming tragedy. For example, the Holy Spirit may tell us to simply pray and push back the hovering gale of death on some people He shows us about to transit; while at times, He will instruct us to name such people. In the latter instance, what is needed to push back time of transition may be more than just praying. One size doesn't fit all as we may say, but over all, it is case specific.

For those ardent readers of this column, on Friday January 06, 2017, we unveiled some of the things the Holy Spirit showed us that will happen in Nigeria and around the world this year. That was about seven months ago. Read what we were shown about the death of Chief Mrs. Akande, the wife of Chief Bisi Akande, the national leader of the APC and former governor of Osun State: OSUN STATE:� "Baba Akande should pray fervently for good health. We saw the mighty and the great converging at Ila-Orangun for a funeral but Baba Akande was missing among the crowd; from presidents, ministers, governors, ambassadors to envoys and political juggernauts going to pay their last respects with his wife welcoming the mourners at Ila-Orangun" Here is the link to the

https://nigeriaworld.com/feature/publication/fayemiwo/010617.html

Do you see how the prophecy was flipped over? It occurred the other way around, but the fulfillment cannot be denied. May the Almighty God give the Akande family the fortitude to bear the loss.

THIS IS HUGE, STAY TUNED! For those that participated in our three-day national prayer and fasting for Nigeria penultimate week, something is in the offing. As I stated at the commencement of the three-day fasting and intercessory prayers for our motherland, the Lord God Almighty answers prayers. Next week, I will disclose what He told me through the Holy Spirit for Nigeria and Nigerians. It is huge. Stay tuned.

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