PASTOR AYO JEJE
[biblegateway passage=”MATTHEW 19:16-26 ” display=”MATTHEW 19:16-26 “]
There are many people who are not born again but they live by very high moral standards. There are also many innocent people in the Church who are just doing their thing though they do not meet up with God’s standards. In as much as human morality or righteousness is a filthy rag before God, we should be greatly challenged to live by God’s higher standards.
We do not have the capacity on our own to go unto perfection. The supply for perfection is from God. With men, it is impossible to live a life of total surrender to God. We have to depend on the Spirit of God.
Whenever God places an order, He has enough resources to make the payment. We can always trust Him to help us do what He wants us to do.
[biblegateway passage=”EPHESIANS 4:11-16″ display=”EPHESIANS 4:11-16″]; [biblegateway passage=”LUKE 2:40″ display=”LUKE 2:40″]; [biblegateway passage=”GALATIANS 3:1-3 ” display=”GALATIANS 3:1-3 “]
The arrangement for perfection is actually invested in the body. An individual cannot attain unto perfection all by himself. Perfection requires team work. Perfection is not attainable without a thorough understanding and correct positioning in the Body of Christ. One thing the enemy has succeeded in doing is to divide the Body.
We live in a day where everybody is going about his own things whereas God’s original intention is to build His body. Once we remove our focus from our corporate existence to our individual strength, we remove ourselves from the pursuit of perfection. We must begin to emphasize our corporate existence. When we lose our common identity, we become cheap preys unto the enemy.
When Israel faced Goliath, he came with a divisive tactic; what was supposed to be a joint effort was to become an individualistic combat. David was wise enough to confront Goliath on behalf of the army of the Lord and he overcame. We have not been called to competitive jealousy, we have been called to supply our portion of nutrition that the Body requires. We need to discern the Body; we need to understand the placement of each and every ministry gift. No matter how anointed anyone is, he is not complete without the rest of the Body.
Perfection is the measure of the fullness of Christ. The measure of the fullness of Christ is the sum total of our individual measures as believers. Jesus progressively arrived at a stature after He had been born human. He made a journey in the Spirit as the pattern of the process we have to follow.
Jesus’ journey began in the Spirit right from infancy. He grew and wax strong in Spirit. He was filled with wisdom. The grace of God was upon Him. The issues of wisdom and grace begin in the Spirit. Humanness cannot achieve strength in the Spirit. It is foolishness to abandon the Spirit for the flesh.
[biblegateway passage=”MATTHEW 17:1″ display=”MATTHEW 17:1″]; [biblegateway passage=”MARK 9:1-9″ display=”MARK 9:1-9″]; [biblegateway passage=”2 CORINTHIANS 3:18″ display=”2 CORINTHIANS 3:18″]
Devotion, fasts and prayers can earn us a life in the Spirit. Sometimes, it becomes very difficult for us to grow and advance because of our religious approach to God-ordained principles. There are some experiences that we will not have in the Spirit until we are wearied out in the flesh. Jesus took three of His disciples to the Mount of Transfiguration after SIX days. Six is the number of flesh and man. We cannot be upgraded in the Spirit until humanness has been expired. When men give you your life in the flesh by hyping you, they sniff out your life in the Spirit. Perfection is not in the order of the flesh; it is totally elusive in the flesh.
There are some experiences that God is taking us through; He is taking us through rigour and stress so that we can attain unto great spiritual heights. He will expire our flesh power so that His Spirit can reign supreme. Some times God forces some experiences on us because we have been sincere enough to miss them. He gives us those experiences not just for ourselves but for the whole Body.
The order of perfection will come by the Spirit. The emphasis is always going to be by the spirit. Our assignment is to subject the flesh to death regularly completely. God has been consistent in the time of Old. His pattern is to make the Apostolic follow the Prophetic. The Prophet declares the new day, the Apostle gives it expression and makes it accessible. The Law and the Prophets are analogous to the Apostolic and the Prophetic. Whenever God is bringing a new season, it is declared by the prophetic and begotten by the apostolic.
Just like Peter, we always want to give a man’s face to every spiritual experience and that is what has led to the divisive denominational-ism in the Church today. It was not so in the days of the Apostles.
To live eternal, we must enjoy the good word of the Lord and the power of the ages to come. As spiritual people God makes us to live beyond our time. It is not everything God reveals to us that we are permitted to share with people. The experiences of God are very sweet but we must not allow the flesh to hijack them. We must not allow ourselves to be exalted above measure because of the some privileged experiences we have with God.