"Dr Larry reminded his audience that whereas the current ministry of the Lord Jesus is intercession; that of satan is accusation, complaint. As followers of the Lord Jesus, our ministry is to intercede and not just in prayer, but also by exercising the authority that is ours in Christ. So, whenever a believer resorts to complaining, murmuring and accusations, be it against, he/she is fulfilling the ministry of satan."
Preston Humphries, Senior Pastor of
Riverside Church, in Norman, Oklahoma, I told you the last time took the can of
Coke that had been lying on the pulpit as he ministered from ministered from verses
68-75 of Luke chapter one. He held it up and asked what it was. Of
course everybody recognised the ubiquitous American brand and shouted it. He
then proceeded to ask the billion-dollar can question: how can you rid the
world of it? His answer: produce a better brand.
But this was not a lecture on product
development. It was a ministration at the just concluded African Leadership
Summit of Kingdom Global Ministries led by Rev Dr Larry Titus, author of The
Teleios Man. This was a teaching on the very essence of salvation and deliverance
from sin. We had been delivered so that we can help deliver others. If we are
to be fruitful and fulfilled, salvation was not an end in itself; it is a means
to an end. We were saved so that we can serve the savior without fear and in
holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives.
The world has a sin problem. Sin is as
ubiquitous as the Coca-Cola brand. So, if it will take a better brand to get
rid of the soda king of the world, it will take a better way of life to get rid
of sin – the holy and righteous life into which we were saved. You are that
better brand that the world needs to get rid of sin. The world needs a better
you!
Powerful insight, no doubt, but, as I told you last time, it didn’t end there. He went on to show that in delivering us from “our enemy and those who hate us”, as Zechariah put it in Luke 1:71, God didn’t stop there, He subsequently went on to equip us with all that we need to live the new life; He equipped us to be that better brand capable of doing the sin brand under.
The man from
Riverside ministering at the capital city of Nigeria’s Rivers state took his
audience to St Paul’s first epistle to the church in Corinth, chapter 12, which
reads:
“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the
same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh
all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit
withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the
word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to
another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of
miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another
the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame
Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will” (1Corinthians
12: 4-11).
He went on
to explain the essence and application of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit
declaring that those gifts confer authority on the believer to deal with
situations and circumstances, personal or communal. All you have to do is pair
the problem, whatever it may be with God’s solution and victory is assured.
Allotted
speaking time over, Pastor Humphries whose parents were also on the contingent
from the United States, handed the microphone over to Dr Titus, who seized the
opportunity of introducing the next speaker to issue the warning that’s the title
of this serial.
Continuing
on the theme of Pastor Preston’s message, he pointed out that the authority of
the believer, through the Holy Spirit and the nine gifts confers
responsibilities on us. Now, if someone who has authority to deal with situations
resort to complaining, wouldn’t that amount to shirking of responsibility? If
that were all, it probably would be tolerable. But it’s far worse; its playing
the devil’s game.
Dr Larry
reminded his audience that whereas the current ministry of the Lord Jesus is
intercession; that of satan is accusation, complaint. As followers of the Lord
Jesus, our ministry is to intercede and not just in prayer, but also by
exercising the authority that is ours in Christ. So, whenever a believer
resorts to complaining, murmuring and accusations, be it against, he/she is
fulfilling the ministry of satan.
Given the
way things are in our land; with terrorism, kidnapping, corruption and
ineptitude in governance at various levels as the order of the day, complaints
and accusations seem inevitable. But here you have it, brethren; we need a
change of approach. It’s time to stop complaining and take charge. That begins
with me – and you. CONCLUDED
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