My Walk with Christ Guidelines
Topic: Productive Christian ~ Part 5
Matthew 25:25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth and here it is. (NLT)
You are welcome to this week's episode which is going to take you deeper into becoming a productive christian. Last week, we looked at the three categories of humankind and we laid emphasis on the fact that unless we become spiritual, we cannot be productive enough. Becoming spiritual is not automatic; it's by allowing our minds to be renewed by the Spirit. Spiritual people follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, and not the dictates of the flesh. This week we are looking at fear as a major factor of christian unproductive and the way to conquer it for a productive living. Hope you are set...you will be blessed.
Many Christians don't engage themselves in anything productive because of fear: fear for falling, fear for failure (Proverbs 26:13), fear for the future (Judges 6:5)...
Fear is literally the absence of faith and faith is the result of spiritual activities. A christian who lives in fear lacks spiritual direction.
When fear rules a man, it's a sign that the man has not taken his son-ship position.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. We are products of power.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. We received the Spirit of God when we believed in Jesus and that Spirit is not of fear but of power.
The servant in our opening verse could not trade the money given to him for the simple reason that he was afraid. Fear can cripple a man. We therefore need something more powerful than fear in order to keep us moving and that is power or strength which the Spirit in us generates. When the strength of a man fails, his productivity is affected negatively.
Proverbs 24:10 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. We fail because we lack strength.
The challenge of the believer is not his lack of strength or power but his inability to activate the strength or power that God has given him. All we need to be able to do well in life is in us (in our spirit or the inner man). If we are going to be successful, we must learn to rely on the inside of us for a renewal of strength for our daily activities. Kenneth Hagin put it in these words:
"...the renewing of your inner man doesn't just happen automatically because the Bible talks about it. You have a part to play. You must seek God in his Word and prayer."{The Spirit Within and The Spirit Upon, pg51}. The strength within us is therefore activated through WORD MEDITATION AND PRAYER.
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Our strength as believers is of God. Everyone who does extremely well in the natural depends on something unseen called the supernatural.
The word of God is the material we need to be productive.
1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby Peter asked us not to desire "fufu" or "rice" but the WORD. A desire is cultivated. Akple is your favorite food not because you ate it just once, but because you were raised with it. The word of God becomes our desire when we continue in it.
John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
To be qualified as a true disciple of Christ, one must exercise himself or herself in the word continually. There is no way we are going to do the things God is calling us to do without giving ourselves wholly to the Master's words. He has made provision in His word. Grace or Power is therefore generated in us as we give ourselves to the word of God.
However, as indicated in the part 1 of this series, the word taken in isolation without prayer cannot yield the expected results. Every promise we have in the word of God is enforced through prayer. Kenneth Hagin, the sound Bible teacher put it this way on page 53 of his book "The Spirit Within and The Spirit Upon": "Thank God for the Word that He has given us to strengthen us! But as important as the Word is in the daily renewal of our spirit, it can never take the place of waiting before the Lord in prayer. We need both prayer and the word."
Jude 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Our inner man is strengthened for supernatural works as we pray, not just praying, but praying in the Holy Ghost.
Mashakesofelakrofasha...limilamose...kokose labalakaeha. Receive power in Jesus name!
1 Corinthians 16:8 But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost. Paul saw a great door open unto him but he said to himself "I will tarry"; Pentecost was when power given by the Holy Spirit made manifest through the speaking in tongues. There are many things we will never accomplish until we tap into the mystery of praying in tongues. Receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit now!
Matthew 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. There are some kinds of situations that will not change except by prayer and fasting, according to the words of Jesus. Some mountains don't move except we fast and pray.
Someone says, brother Cephas, you are becoming too Spiritual about this topic on productivity. Well, a person's output is determined by his input. Your inner capacity determines your achievement. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of America once said the day had more to do in the day; he prayed for not less than four hours. I believe in what prayer is able to change. As we pray in spirit, we must allow the Spirit to affect our minds. Productivity is possible when the mind is empowered.
1 Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
We do exercise to get our bodies in good shape for a healthy living, yet the Bible says bodily exercise profits just little but spiritual exercise is unto all profits including academic excellence, wealth making and career expertise.
Deuteronomy 8:18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. God's power in us when activated is able to make us wealthy. Paul says I am what I am because of GRACE. Grace makes us and grace increases as we engage our spirits in spiritual activities such as word meditation and prayer. Go on a prayer jogging as well as studying the scriptures; your entire life will never be the same.
I will come your way next week God willing for the last episode on this topic. I hope you have been blessed so far.
May the Lord help us all!
In case you have found yourself among the first group: natural Men, please before we talk further inbox me and I will personally lead you to Christ and your life will never be the same.
I pray for you that you will be found a faithful servant at the coming of Christ. Have a fruitful week!
Cephas Aziabou Godson (visionary)
God bless you for reading!
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