BISHOP ELIJAH BANKOLE
The enemy of the Lord is one who is against the will of the Lord. The expected definition of success in the life of a believer should be God at the centre of our life. Any ambition that is against the Lord’s will for your life is enmity with God.
We are going to be with God forever and so we shouldn’t expect milk all the time and pampering. The call of God is very serious and every call has a purpose. The purpose was established even before the foundations of the world.
[biblegateway passage=”Genesis 12:1-3″ display=”Genesis 12:1-3″];
God’s call got across to Israel through Abraham. The gifts needed for Abraham’s calling was the blessings God gave him, in form of promises, so that he can achieve the purpose. The purpose of calling Abraham was that through Abraham, all the nations shall be blessed.
[biblegateway passage=”Romans 9:4-5″ display=”Romans 9:4-5″];
The gifts which followed the call, was passed down from to Abraham to Isaac to Jacob and to the 12 tribes till they became a nation in Egypt. At the time they left Egypt, they needed another set of gifts to fulfill their calling. The church also needs the gifts of the new testament to function in their calling.
[biblegateway passage=”Ephesians 4:11-15″ display=”Ephesians 4:11-15″];
Grace is released according to the measure of gift. Every gift is a responsibility that requires profit. God invests grace into us for us to yield results. The reason ministering gifts are being given to the body is to mature the members of the body. The ministering Gifts are coaches, making the members a team, the result the team gets is determined by how much effort the coaches have put into maturing the members.
Is the church being matured? We know that the church is completely matured when we all come to the unity of faith. We are supposed to grow up into Christ. The ministry of the Holy Spirit translates the word of God into our lives, causing us to change for one glory to glory.
[biblegateway passage=”Romans 12:3-8″ display=”Romans 12:3-8″]; [biblegateway passage=”1 Corinthians 12:12-18″ display=”1 Corinthians 12:12-18″];
Every member has a function. we are not called to be idle. We all have a part to play in the body of Christ. It is not about us, it is about the one who called us. The way God put it together as it as pleased him is that every member need one another to function.
[biblegateway passage=”Matthew 28:19″ display=”Matthew 28:19″]; [biblegateway passage=”2 Corinthians 5:10″ display=”2 Corinthians 5:10″]; [biblegateway passage=”1 Corinthians 12:29-31″ display=”1 Corinthians 12:29-31″];
The commission God has given us is the purpose of the church and the purpose cannot be fulfilled this without gifts. Pay attention to your calling, appreciate your gifts, recognize the gifts of your calling.
[biblegateway passage=”Acts 1:8″ display=”Acts 1:8″];
Jesus is the owner of the church and because we are part of him, we have a responsibility to work for Christ. Jesus is the one who determines whatever needs to be done. we have no right to determine the work of God.
[biblegateway passage=”Galatians 2:20″ display=”Galatians 2:20″];
We are not supposed to be alive to ourselves. we are only alive because Christ is alive in us. Since we are dead to self and live in Christ, He determines what we are to do. The christian life is all about Christ. Jesus never lived for himself, he lived for the will of the Father.
[biblegateway passage=”John 15:1-5″ display=”John 15:1-5″]; [biblegateway passage=”John 5:30″ display=”John 5:30″];
The doctrine of interpenetration is true of us; Christ in us and we in Christ. If we don’t follow this doctrine, everything we do becomes void. It is all about God’s will. Grace follows gifts, it has to be God leading and we following, all we need is faithfulness.
The gifts of God are irrevocable but power needs to be refueled, there is need for consistent in-filling. We need to refill the Holy Spirit with the word of God, purity, fasting and prayer. We have a divine calling greater than the earthly calling.