Monday, June 28, 2010

Get Transformed and Become Supernatural

“God is not just the starting point of your life; He is the Source of it. To discover your purpose in life, you must turn to God’s Word, not the world’s wisdom” Rick Warren

Man’s colossal ignorance about the strategies, baits and destructive activities of satan makes his operations easy and successful. He uses evil spirits, vile passions, satanic influences and compulsive behaviour, abominable thoughts and imaginations to keep man in bondage.

Every segment of man’s life is under siege by the devil.
Sadly, millions of people all over the world deny and underscore these massive satanic armories against their lives. The devil, by virtue of this ignorance of man over his evil activities, receives little or no resistance from his captives.
Dr Daniel K. Olukoya said, “When the temple of God is loaded with evil structures, there is nothing any man can do to repair it unless the hidden structures are dealt with.”

Many people are slaves to premarital and extramarital relationships, lesbianism, gay, masturbation, anal sex, bestiality, prostitution, witchcraft, idolatry, occultism, household evil powers, anger, drug addiction, drunkenness, sex addiction, immoral thoughts, addiction to food, wears and partying and clubbing.

God offers salvation to man by the death of Christ and inhabits man by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God in man. Thus, He calls us the temple of the Holy Ghost(1 Corinthians 6:19; 3:16).

Therefore, God demands that we live according to the commands and lifestyle of the Spirit who lives in us. We are sternly warned not to conform to the world’s standard and lifestyle but be transformed by the renewal of our mind to be and live like Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 12:1).

Whenever we default in keeping this covenant, we become slaves in the camp of the devil because we bear the image of the devil as we swim in the ocean of sin and rebellion.

James Strong Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible defines the term “conformed” to mean “to be fashioned like or shaped into the image or the picture of”
We are not to conform to the pattern, standard, dictates and ways of the world. We must not use the standard of the world as a pattern for our progress and existence. You don’t measure your success or standard of character and values by the standard of the world.

Every aspect of your life which conforms to the world standard must be transformed as a matter of urgency to the image of God. It is the change from one form to another. In the physics class, we were taught the process of change where an entity can be transformed from the solid state to liquid or gaseous state. This is illustrated with the boiling of water in the liquid state which becomes gaseous when it is steam.

Transformation means change and change means repentance. It is the creation of a new man. It is the movement from the natural and carnal state to spiritual state, from the state of spiritual decay to spiritual purity. The caterpillar transforms to the butterfly and does not revert to the caterpillar.

The process of transformation leads to spiritual fractional distillation where God filters the vices in you from the virtues.
However, the power to transform your image lies with God and you must submit to God before you can acquire such power.

Sadly, God’s children are busy working and sweating in God’s vineyard without an appreciable difference in their standard of life. They fall in and out of sin. They have spent years in the Lord, yet they remain divine run of the mill.

The transformation starts with the renewal of the mind. You cannot transform your life until you transform your mind. Most Christians receive the word of God with no impact upon their lives because the Word doesn’t take root in their minds.
As a result, their character cannot manifest God’s Word and divine lifestyle.
Their minds are still choked by the pleasures of the world. The old things are in them because their minds have no space to accommodate the new things of righteousness.

You cannot transform your life until you thirst and hunger for the virtues of God (Galatians 5:22-23). The process of transformation involves a conscious effort and perseverance to become the exact image God has designed you to be. When we walk before God in carnal inclinations, we keep conforming to the pattern and dictates of the world. The mind is like the steering that controls the movement of the car on the road or the autopilot.

God has released the power that could change everything about you. Don’t delay any more. This is the time to grab it.
God Bless you.

Baruch Okpulor, Author of Stop Existing! Start Living! Discover Who and What Your Are to Step Into Greatness and Abundance

Are You A Beggar

“To die loaded with divine potentials designed to complete some particular segments of God’s purpose on Earth without completing those assignments is the worst kind of treachery against humanity” P.K. Emeaba, Author, Don’t Die in Your Training Depot

Satan would move freely and cause havoc among men without challenge until he encounters the man on whose life is deposited the ultimate power and authority of the Almighty God. The power that breaks the bars of iron asunder, melts the chains of wickedness and disarms the devil and set those in captive free.

This is the person who operates on the realm of holiness where the power of the Lord is reserved for him to consume the bondage of sin, life problems and the yoke of satan on his life and that of others.

This is the man who bows his heart and character, consciously and permanently, to the lordship of Jesus, the Christ. He is the man who has yielded his pride and Will to the Potter to purge and mortify all desires and works of the flesh in his life and he lives for Christ and never to himself any more.

The man who is ready to be used by God in manifesting His power of deliverance, restoration and prosperity is him who has resolved not to be contaminated by sin and the pollution of the world.He does not stink from the odour of filthiness.

He is the man who has determined God’s perfect plan for his life and refused to divert from the focus of his existence or misplace his priorities for receiving God’s power. He is the man whose primary focus of attack in this battle of life is to destroy the works of satan and the flesh without compromise. He is the man who has been empowered by God, through a constant stay in His Presence, to attack any fiery dart and satanic schemes designed to cut short God’s purpose concerning his life.

He is the man who has mastered the strategy of hiding in the pavilion of the Almighty against the risk, danger, hazard and perils of the enemy. He is never perturbed by the threat of the enemy for the Lord has set his feet on the Rock and raised his head above all his enemies. Therefore, he is above all principalities and evil powers for he mounts up with wings like the eagle.

Unfortunately, no one can climb to this enviable divine height to enjoy these benefits when he is a spiritual beggar. A spiritual beggar is one because he does not know how to climb God’s ladder of power and authority and lacks the time to stay in God’s sanctuary and commune with Him who dwells in an unapproachable light.
A beggar is one who must depend on others for continued existence and sustenance. He expects every one to satisfy his needs but does not satisfy the need of anyone.

He is the one whose potentials for greatness are buried in him while he looks to others for survival. His handicap stands between him and his heroic status.
Most times, he cannot move himself physically. People determine the level and pace of his progress and success in life. He doesn’t get enough even when he begs alms from morning till night hours. An example is the beggar at the gate called beautiful into the temple of Jerusalem (Acts 3:1-9).
He does not mind who gives him money and how the money is gotten. All he needs is a means of survival even though he may have all it takes to be like every other person.

Just as there are men and women who are beggars in the physical world, so are many Christians who are beggars in the spiritual world. They depend on some “men of God” to satisfy their spiritual needs. These “men of God” determine their survival in the spiritual realm. They beg for spiritual things such as prayers, open doors, deliverance, success and breakthroughs because they lack God’s righteousness, power and authority in their lives and the knowledge to ask and receive. They do not know how to pray on their own. They feel like dying whenever the word “fasting” is mentioned. They feel uncomfortable to engage in spiritual things.

Most of us are too busy to develop a personal time to stay in God’s presence in our homes, offices and stalls.We prefer to depend on any power or spirit that promises “solution” to our problems to seek God ourselves. We often make sacrifices to demons to appease them to lose their grip on our lives instead of fighting them. We give ourselves to idolatry and surrender to images, shrines, idols, groves, occult powers, and mystic forces in our bid to get free from life troubles.

The beggar is never contented with begging no matter how much you give him. His excitement is short lived. It does not take him to the next day because he will come out again and again to beg. The same happens to Christians who cannot discipline themselves to set apart a SPECIFIC time everyday to stay in God’s presence to derive power and authority against the devil, sin and sorrows of this world.

They have free access to the Holiest of all to derive power, authority, riches, healing and all material possessions but they prefer to depend on others for their survival. What a disgrace of divine privilege!

Others who have gotten wealth through the devil rise today and are down tomorrow because they lack the power to withstand satan from snatching from them those material possessions he has given them. When they die, their wealth dies with them because the living can’t do what they did to maintain the wealth from the dark world.

We are afraid and evade coming before God because our ways of life are rotten. We live in all manner of wickedness, immorality, idolatry, malice, selfishness and lasciviousness.

Always know this, "Sin will either keep you away from God or kill you."

God Bless you as you live for Him and impact the world positively.

Baruch Okpulor, Author of The Irony of Love, Premarital and Extramarital Affairs
baruchmails@gmail.com

The Wisdom in Accepting God’s Script for Your Life

“Don’t struggle to establish your own script, rather struggle to determine clearly what God’s Will is for you. This is the first step to your greatness and the secret of champions” Baruch Okpulor, Author of The Secret of Supernatural Power and Prosperity

God expects us to ask Him what He has for us before we make any decision concerning any aspect of our lives-education, marriage, business, career, etc.
This discovery saves us a lot of mistake, heart aches and frustrations in life. It helps us avoid destructive steps and things that look golden but gloomy for our lives. This is the secret of God’s most successful children in all ages.

Let us look at this case study.

Saul of Tarsus


Saul also called Paul was playing his own script when he was fighting and killing the Christians against God’s will. He was sincere in that pursuit and felt he was working for God by promoting the religion of Judaism but he was utterly wrong. As soon as he discovered God’s rightful plan for his life, he surrendered absolutely to God without hesitation (Acts 9: 3-6)
Paul’s concern was to understand properly that it was God who had the script he was asked to play. God reminded him that it is hard to kick against the goads. You can’t strive with God and live, for He is a Consuming Fire
(Isaiah 45:9).

His frustrations were removed as soon as he gave in to God. He asked God to show him his new script when he said, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” This is the question we must ask concerning every stage and season of our lives. Lord, what do you want me to do concerning this marriage proposal, job offer, proposed business venture, health condition, career plans, choice of life partner, programme of study, etc?
Most Christians are so scared to ask God for His Will for them because they are either not ready to accept God’s Will or have made up their minds even before they go to God for approval.

When you insist to study that course, pursue that job, execute that business plan, marry that man or woman, engage in that behaviour, and fight that cause without asking God first, you risk betrayal, disappointment and failure.
Paul gave up his legal profession, social status, former religious inclinations and goodwill among the Jews, his rapport with the Government of his time and religious bodies to play God’s script through a religion, in his time, that was unknown, most controversial and life threatening. He did not abandon God’s script when the Lord told him that he would suffer pains and humiliations for His sake (Acts 9:15-16)
He accepted God’s script even when he suffered the most brutal treatment- physical, spiritual and emotional, in the hands of the Roman Government.

He chose to become an enemy of those who opposed his new script including the Sadducees, Roman Government, Jews, heathens and false religious groups and brethren than to avoid God’s script. He became a target for destruction and received daily dangerous threats to his existence.

Saul otherwise called Paul, received 195 strokes of the cane from his own brothers, the Jews, for accepting God’s script for his life. He was beaten with rods, spent a day and night in the bottom of the sea, faced dangers from robbers, seas, his own people, the Gentiles, in the city, and desert.

Paul’s second home was the prison and death lurked around him all the time, yet he didn’t die until his appointed time (1 Corinthians 11:23-27).
Although he gave in to God, his journey of life was filled with hatred, conspiracy, false accusations, and dangers. When you accept God’s script for your life, the world may turn against you. Your household and best friends may become your worst enemies. Moses, Paul, Joseph, and Jesus Christ were examples.

Your family may oppose your decision especially if they see more benefit from your former calling than your new calling. Satan may possess people to confuse you, trap or distract you from God’s line for your life. The devil used Peter to stop Christ from fulfilling God’s script for Him which is death for mankind to establish redemption.

Now consider prayerfully and sincerely these questions of life. Have you discovered God’s perfect will for your life? What profession [business, career, job, work] has God designed for you? What type of course has God designed for you to study in school? What is it that God expects you to achieve on earth? What type of wife, children and family does God approve of you? What type of car, house or quantum of material possessions has God set out for you? What status has God preserved for you in life? What degree of popularity and fame has God made available for you? What do you consider as obstacles to playing God’s script for your life? Why are you undecided about God’s revelations for your life? What are your answers?

God bless you as you discover your Purpose in Life.

Baruch Okpulor, Author of Stop Existing and Start Living.

Reach him on baruchmails@gmail.com

The Benefits of God’s Power and Authority

The devil uses sin to stop man from staying in God’s presence because of what he knows man would gain from God by staying in His presence. David realized these benefits when he said that God will show him the path of life.
You cannot experience joy when you are being chased about by troubles, pains and sorrows. The way to experience joy over all your problems is to be in God’s presence.

When you do this, you would achieve these physical blessings:
· Insurmountable problems of life become easily a walk over.
· Impossible situations become very possible.
· Easily achieve things which look unachievable before men.
· You experience uncommon and unusual favour before men as the Hebrew boys in Babylon, Joseph in Egypt, and Nehemiah in Shushan.
· God begins to easily use every circumstance, desire and challenges in your life as opportunity to manifest His supreme powers.
That means you become the testimony of God’s powers of deliverance, restoration and promotion just as Abraham, Job, Hannah, Shedrack, Meshack and Abednego, Elizabeth, David, Daniel, Mordecai, and Sarah.

· You automatically become a terror to the devil, demons and evil forces. They are intimidated at your presence.

· Your words become honoured by God because He is always with you just as he did for Gideon, Elijah, Elisha, and Joshua did.

· You become superior and above all other men on earth because you operate at a realm millions of people do not operate on-the realm of all possibilities and powers.

Daniel, Joseph, Abraham, David, Shedrack, Meshack, Abednego, Paul, Peter, Elijah, Elisha were respected by the people of their time even though they were physically equal with all men. The power of God moving in them made them ordinary men with extraordinary powers.

Do you want to get all these benefits, then initiate a walk with God today because whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him (1 John 5:18).
You may have a story of misery, fear, anxiety, hopelessness and helplessness just as I had at a point in my life. It may be that nothing works again in your life. Perhaps, it is sickness, business failure, marital trouble, childlessness, life threatened by satanic powers, and curses.

You may have done everything and anything possible to be free without success. You have relocated to another city or state because you think your problem is location yet the devil is after you. It may be protracted illness. You are being moved from one hospital to the other.

Despite what the challenge is, God is saying to you now that no water can swallow the ship where the Master of ocean, seas, and skies lies. They all [your problems and needs] shall sweetly obey God’s command and Will concerning you and you shall have great peace.

God is on the ship of your life now and the tempest must obey and peace restored in the voyage of your life. If you are ready to pick a covenant time with God and walk daily in holiness and readiness to do God’s will, then you have paid the price.
Don’t present your problems, present yourself
Another thing I was taught during my covenant time with God is that it is a time for self-searching and not problem presentation.
When you start to stay in God’s presence daily at your appointed time, you will be tempted to focus on your problems rather than developing a personal relationship with God.

You see, Christians spend so much time in God’s presence asking, seeking and knocking. All these efforts are made just to receive from God.
It is all about asking for material blessings. God, give me wife. God, give me car. God, prosper my business. God, I need an accommodation.

God, I want to get an offer of admission into school. God, give me this and God, I also need that. We spend time to hear from God only at worship sessions on Sundays and midweek fellowships. These times are not enough. God is the God of face-me-I-face-you.

Whenever we kneel before God, it is an asking galore. God did not make it this way. The disciples had time they spent alone with Jesus. It was not time for asking for favours, healing, fasting or prayers. It was time for interpersonal relationship. A time to know who Jesus is by interacting with Him. They needed to be sure that they were with the right Messiah even when the Jews were in confusion about the identity of Jesus as the Son of God.

Imagine if you are a parent and all your kid does when he comes to you is to ask for this or that all the time. He does not care to take instructions from you. You cannot chat with him at home. He does not even know your person well despite all efforts to draw him close. He has time for you only at public functions-vacations, ceremonies, picnics, etc. He is much interested and committed in running after other issues affecting his life than to have a talk with you unless he has a need to fill.

How would you feel about this type of relationship with your own child? Will you be disturbed, feel despised, neglected, or fulfilled and happy? What do you then think God thinks about such relationships we keep with Him? How do you think God feels at such times when we only come to Him when we have a need to fill?

Even when we come for prayers before God, we are in a hurry to start pouring our problems into the bowls of God for solution and we desire instant response. We lack the patience to discover God’s will for every aspect and stage of our lives and problems. We can’t even spend little time to adore God with praises before making our request known unto Him. We hurriedly ask for forgiveness of our sins and rarely ask for others need. This is what happens often among Christians.

The principle of setting up a covenant time with God is to attract God’s presence into your life. It is just as if you want to woo God to your life. Your focus must be to discover God’s word, derive His power and authority while developing a personal conversational relationship with Him. These are things that must occupy your heart not your problems.

You don’t dictate to God how He would deliver you from your problems. Your work is to seek His presence and watch what happens in your life. Do not be like Naaman who was in a hurry to dictate how God would heal him and the river to use.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Why we don’t play God’s Script

“No matter your pain and struggle, wait for God’s season because any miracle outside God’s Will and time will end in ridicule” Dr. Chris Kwakpovwe

It is paradoxical to discover that there are many men and women who have achieved their heart desires according the scripts they wrote for themselves, yet they live in misery, fear, dissatisfaction and confusion. They look fulfilled outwardly but feel empty within.

They have good jobs, nice houses, happy marriages, cars and money, yet peace eludes them. They feel they never got it right in the career they took in life but cannot turn the hand of the clock backwards. They have much to live on but nothing to live for.

Ignorance of God’s Will for our lives

One reason why we don’t play God’s script is ignorance of His will for our lives. In my book “Find It Now or Lose It Forever,” I explained that a number of people are yet to determine why they are on earth as regards who they are, what they are able to achieve, and God’s project for their lives.

We lack knowledge of God’s will for our lives because we have a strenuous relationship with God. We don’t start on time to seek God’s Will for our lives. We run to God only when we hit a brick wall in our bid to do it ourselves.
That’s why many people are in schools, programmes, jobs, vocations, businesses, marriages and relationships God never planned for their lives.

They keep wondering why they cannot prosper in a business venture that booms for some other persons. They can’t understand why they are unable to secure a great job as their friends who have studied same course with them. They want to know how a friend or family member thrives well in a locality that is unknown, yet they do poorly in a highly commercialized and industrialized city where they found themselves.
These are questions on our lips at one time or another which cannot be answered without possessing God’s knowledge in ones life.

Desire to walk by sight

People insist on playing their own written script because they walk by sight and not by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7; Galatians 5:16).

We are made to believe that our existence and success in life depend so much on the academic, environmental and economic factors. We struggle to underplay the role and power of God to determine what happens in our lives. We believe heaven is not interested in things of sort.

Now consider the following passage in Jeremiah 27:5:

“I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched are, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me”

This passage is the evidence that God establishes and regulates what ever happens to man even you. Nebuchadnezzar in all his power and arrogance was subdued by God to acknowledge that the Lord rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomsoever He desires (Daniel 4: 25).

Your life is not determined by what happens around you but by what God has decreed concerning you. Joseph was a prisoner when he was moved to the throne of Pharaoh in Egypt as a Minister for Agriculture. His former status as a prisoner holds no future for him to come close to the royal throne yet God gave him the throne of Pharaoh when it was time.

The status of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, as captives from Israel held no bright future for them in Babylon, yet God made them great men by the simple act of submission to God. It is not about your choice, environment, strength, opportunities available to you, knowledge, and position; it is about what God says and upholds to happen in your life. Walk in this path of life with God and discover the road to your greatness on earth.

Rebellion against God’s Will for your life

One other reason why most Christians write and play their own script of life is refusal to accept God’s script for their lives.
Every child of God is expected to dance to God’s tunes for his life. He must be disciplined enough to accept God’s choices for him at every phase of his life. It doesn’t matter how desirable and prospective his plans for himself might look.

“There are many plans in a man's heart, nevertheless the LORD'S counsel-that will stand” Proverbs 19:21

Can you see why we become frustrated when we struggle to go against God’s will for our lives? God’s counsel must stand irrespective of how beautiful and good your plans are for your life. You cannot stop it.

Prophet Jeremiah might have been intimidated by the harsh countenance of the people of his time and the height of wickedness prevalent in the land that he wanted to avoid God’s script for his life. He stood before God to give excuses why he found himself unfit to play God’s script for his life-the script of being God’s spokesman before the nations and kingdoms (Jeremiah 1:4-10).

Jeremiah might have had another plan for his life just as we do today, but God ordained him a Prophet to the nations even before he was formed in the womb. God was to build righteousness and uproot wickedness in the land using Jeremiah as the bridge between Him and the nations.

Today, it is easier for some people to escape God’s will for them than their shadows. They use their physical limitations as excuses to ignore God’s script. Often you hear people say, “ I am not cut out for that work, business, profession, course of study, type of life” “ I am too young for that,” “I don’t think I can handle that at this time.” They are too selfish and strict with their lives that they ignore whatever God says.

God made Jeremiah realize that youthfulness is never a barrier to achieve great things for God just as He told Moses that the problem of slow of speech is never a reason to drop God’s script.

When you accept God’s plan for your life, He guarantees the protection of your life at dangerous spots. Look at this promise of God to Jeremiah.

“For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee (Jeremiah 1:18-19).

Why don’t you allow God fight for you as you agree to accept His plans for you instead of resisting His Will for you? Remember that no one strives with the Lord.
God bless you.

Baruch Okpulor is the Author of Breaking the Hold of Self-Slavery
Reach him at baruchmails@gmail.com

You are God’s Employed Actor

Even everyone that is called by My Name…. I have created him for My Glory, I have formed him, yes I have made him” Isaiah 43:7

It is great to realize that every child of God is an employee of God to drive God’s business. Jesus knew this and said to his family members, “Why do you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?” You are employed by God as an actor or actress for a role play on this earth. God made life as a stage where men and women act their scripts otherwise known as the purpose of creation.

This purpose is the script of your life containing every thing that would happen at every season and stage of your life from childhood to adulthood till death separate you unto God-the Master Producer.

All the secular and spiritual education you need to succeed on earth, wealth and riches, marriage partner, number of children, type of career, job or vocation, cities and countries to live in, and any other issues about you are contained in this divine script once you become a living soul. Remember the case of Moses and Jeremiah.

Fortunately, God’s thought for His people are of good and not evil. So, all things that happen in your life are coordinated to bring you to an expected end in a perfected state.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Unfortunately, millions of people all over the world play scripts of life written by their parents, friends or themselves outside God’s line. This anomaly explains why we end up in frustrations and regrets about the way we have lived our lives.

Some others play life scripts written for them by the devil and demons because they believe that’s the shortest and easiest way to make it in life. At our old age, we look back on life and wish we could have the opportunity to correct some scripts we wrongly played against the Will of God in our lives but such opportunities are denied us.

In the movie industry, the actor is under obligation to act what the producer has given him to perform. He does not dictate the lines of the script and cannot amend it without the consent of the film director. Some of the lines of the script may be stressful and scary to perform, but the desire of the Producer must be met. God’s script for our lives may involve delays, trials of faith and challenges. It may be awkward to our eyes and demanding at the onset but you are the person created to execute it.

Also, don’t forget that all scripts are not completed within the same time frame. Some may take few months while others may last for a year or more, going through series of adjustment for a perfect finish. God has timing for everyone to start and end his life script which demands patience from man, the actor.

Every film producer has a message he wants the audience to derive. This is the message the actor is called upon to project to the viewers through acting.

God as the script writer has an image to project, message to relay and purpose to achieve in your life as His child but you must identify what your life purpose is if you must act God’s script correctly. The world is watching you and you must behave as God’s celebrity.

God bless you.

Baruch Okpulor is the Author of Breaking the Hold of Self-Slavery

Reach him on baruchmails@gmail.com