Jesus is the reason for our living, the only reason behind our believe. He is the reason behind every service we render, the meetings we attend, and the sacrifices we offer to God. Jesus is the message we preach, the prayers we pray, the fellowship we exhibit with God and our fellow brethren, and the worship and praise we ascribe to God. He is the only hope of the world.
Finding Jesus is the greatest miracle that can happen to you. That is why the bible says, "For whoever finds me finds life and receives favor from God." Proverbs.8:35.
It is not the breath within us that make us a living being in the actual sense, any life without Christ is a walking corpse, any activity or worship void of Christ is a dead work. The life of Christ in our lives is what really make us a living being. However, finding Christ is like translating from death to life, and escaping from eternal doom and hopelessness to eternal abundance and hope.
Jesus is the one that put an end to the darkness that lingered for over four hundred years before His appearance to the world, and open the floor gate of heaven for any formidable blessing and significant instruction from on high to come down. He is the joy of the whole world and the only thing that give our life and existence a meaning.
No matter your calling, vision, gift , and ministry, as long as it is void of the presence of Jesus, it an ordinary activity; and no matter the praise and glory that seems to come out of it, it is an ordinary noise. John the baptist has been ministering and baptizing people by immersion for many years, but none of those days provoked any significant divine move until Jesus visited their gathering. Everywhere was cold and too natural until Jesus brought supernatural into their midst. It was a remarkable day that had to find a new space and chapter in the holy chronicles because of some dramatic events that took place and the overwhelming glory of God that filled the place. It brought about a transfer of power, I mean, there was a power shift on that day. The appearance of Jesus brought a different attention from the usual ones they have been experiencing before then. All hell was let lose and principalities and powers could not raise their ugly head on that day. The matter came to the hearing of the king and went viral through out the region without any internet or media aid. I pray for you today, regardless of your calling and profession, Jesus will visit you. He will visit your life, your home, your business, and your community in Jesus name.
Man saw heaven opened and God speaking loudly and physically for the first time in history. It was no longer news that Jesus is the Son of God. He needs no man to introduce His personality to the audience of that time and the entire world. "Lord I crave for this grace today."
It was on that day that John first noticed that his heaven was closed. The presence of Jesus automatically opened heaven over human race and brought mankind out of perpetual locking. I pray for you once again, your life will come out of a locked heaven. Supernatural intervention that will daze your enemies and frustrate their effort over your life all these years will occur to you in Jesus name. The manifestation of God will announce your enterprise and bring you a total turn around in Jesus name.
Another light flashed on my face following a statement John uttered in verse.31, it suggest to me one of the reasons Jesus must leave Galilee to come to Jordan; the reason the king of glory had to suspend everything and took up the pain of traveling many days journey to come to Jordan, the man of God that was saddled with the responsibility of revealing Christ to Israel had not known Christ himself. He was just seeing Jesus for the very first time on that day. Hear the confession of John here, "I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel."
Permit me to impress in your heart here that the major reason God called us into His kingdom mandate is to reveal His son Jesus Christ to the world in our lives. But how would you introduce to others who you don't know? It take someone who have been with you, walk with you, and live with you to recommend or rather introduce you in its details to others. No wonder God did not leave that grave assignment to John alone but had to rush down and rend heaven to fulfill that major purpose. Otherwise problem might ensue in the later time.
How I wish our spiritual leaders could take this matter to heart and cry to God for a clear revelation of Christ that would give them confidence to stand for Him any where without any atom of confusion or doubt. The matter I'm talking about here is not about calendar picture of Jesus we see all over, there is a deeper mystery behind this injunction I pray you could understand, knowing Jesus has to do with exhibiting a cordial or intimate relationship with Him to totally conform to His image and likeness.
Jesus is no longer with us physically but His Spirit is available for anyone who seek for it. It is this Spirit that help our mortal body to conform to the nature of Christ. It is this nature of Christ present in us that God expect us to show to the world.
This reminds me of one of the encounters I had with Christ before fully launched into the ministry, I was in a revelation one night, about 6 years ago, shortly after my national youth service, and I saw Jesus in His clear picture, He sat on a plank of a dry tree cut down and in white apron, His appearance was very casual He did not wear any shoe. I was gazing on Him and hide my face with an amazement that I saw Jesus eye ball to eye ball, the scene later changed in the same revelation and I saw Jesus holding my hand and some few other brothers, we form a circle and were in the mood of prayer. Everyone was falling as per under anointing, except for me who just hold the hand of Jesus very tight before I woke up.
I was very happy seeing such a revelation and started praising God for about an hour. After the few time of praises, I went back to bed and in less than ten minutes I heard a voice very dreadful saying, "I reveal myself to you that you may show forth to all!" Then I woke up.
This revelation came in response to my walk with Jesus, I once saw the same revelation not up to a year before the one I narrated above while still observing national youth service, but I could not see the face of Jesus as at that time. Both of them have their parallel with my relationship with Christ. It is dangerous to face the ministry when you have not known the one you want to represent and project to the world. Because John did not know Jesus before hand, it was difficult for him to stand for Him in the presences of the Jews, he could not stand his ground and withstand the persecution, he had to doubt the Jesus he once saw and introduce to his gathering on that day because of fear of persecution. Unlike the 12 disciples of Jesus who preferred to die than compromising their stand in the true knowledge of Jesus they knew. Don't forget, these are the twelve that were first called Christian in Antioch, by virtue of their uncompromising and in-confusing image of Christ they portrayed and bore in their jar of clay.
John has title but was not recognized as Christian. John has ministry of baptism and witnessing but unfortunately did not know the one he was trying to reveal to Israel.
Beloved, do you know Jesus in your life, home and ministry? have you seen Jesus in such a way you can personally introduce Him to your immediate family and clan in your life? Has His life been made conformable in yours? It is a matter of urgency so that you don't labor in vain. The first approach to the ministry of witnessing is for a minister to know who he want to witness to Others.
Prophet Isaiah had written five different chapters before getting to know that he was undone; a man of unclean lips, and lives in the midst of people of unclean lips. Until he realized himself in the mirror of Christ, his ministry could not profit heaven, it could not add value to God's kingdom. All that comes out of his labor so far in ministry was impurity and no impurity will inherit the kingdom of God.
Beloved, have you mirror yourself in the lens of Christ and see if you really resemble Him? It is very grave in approaching the service of the Lord. The word of God says, let everyone that carry the sacred thing be holy. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.
Sequel to the above, the major thing that provoke this writing is the text I cited above, and for the sake of emphasis l will like to recapitulate it, "Andrew, Simon Peter's brother was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ).'" John.1:40-41.
The problem with this generation believer is that we are religion oriented than having a corresponding understanding and genuine experience of what the sacred institution entails, and this is compounded by our lack of genuine encounter and clear revelation of Jesus Christ. Everyone that truly encounter Christ in the Bible took it as a matter of urgency and top in their priority to witness Christ to others. They are sleepless and restless until what they saw or rather found was revealed to others. Immediately Andrew saw Jesus he was looking around for his brother Peter until he found him and dragged him to the feet of the Master for the same revelation. No one knows what cost Brother Andrew to bring Peter before Christ, as you know that it isn't easy to convince man to believe something, but Andrew did not give the matter a breathing space until his brother Peter came to Jesus.
This was the only significant work recorded on Andrew's account, he did not raise any dead or heal any sick, but that one thing he urgently and hurriedly did justifies everything. His convert did what he could not.
The Samaritan woman was another example, the moment she found Jesus, she dropped every hindrances and ran to the city to witness Christ to people and they followed her. She couldn't hide her experience and Wait for a convenient time to share it with her generation.
I have suffered many backlashes from people over this issue I am sharing with you, I don't blame them because it is out of share compassion. I've seen people telling me that if you're truly working for God you have to stay in one place and let your calling draw people to you, well I don't oppose that, but before Jesus sat down to feed the flock or rather before people started looking for Jesus, He first look for them. Don't go and sit down somewhere thinking that people will look for you, no matter your level of anointing and power, when you have not first sought for them. God is not a magician, He's a God of action and compassion.
Jesus sacrificed His comfort to get the disciples and before heaven could open over His ministry for any significant miracle and signs. His answer at time was, birds have their nest, ants have their holes, sheep and oxen have their crib, but the Son of man has no where to lay His head. All this explained the depth of what the king of glory first suffer to accomplish His mission and won the heart of men to His father's kingdom.
That reminds me of what the Lord told me sometimes ago in Libya, the Lord said I should tell anyone that may want to join us in the ministry that they shouldn't come because of money or material things they might want to derive, so that they don't get disappointed, but if any one want to have money and material blessings they must be ready to obey God totally.
Beloved, gospel business is not an hideout for lazy gems, it isn't a shortcut to financial and material prosperity, yet it is not a license to poverty. God rewards as you serve faithfully and obediently. But the question is who have you found since you said you believe? The prove of every genuine Christian is their unsatisfied longing for soul winning. You may say well, I don't want anyone to embarrass or insult me that's why I have to be careful in that area. Anyway, if men don't embarrass you and later come to your light as they carefully observe your godly lifestyle, you will eventually be embarrassed on the day of judgement where the consequence would be costly and deadly, when you could not produce any fruit you bear since you have been saved. If someone has found you, you need to find others. It is mandatory! It is compulsory! It is very urgent! Let your life count for others and eternity.
I wish you a net breaking harvest as you launch your net into the deep at this hour of urgent need in Jesus name.
God bless you. .
Inspired by Babatunde Israel
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