YOU NEED LIGHT FIRST!

 

 By Babatunde Israel

    "And God said, let there be light: and there was light." Genesis. 1:3.

    God ordered light to come into being after the emergence of the Holy Spirit's hovering over the water, there is a connection chain between the three God heads that unveil the primary need of the earth and later supply the rest in their order of priorities. God will not answer all our prayers at a time, and it is an abuse of privilege or rather ignorance to make a petition at the mercy seat without ensuring the help and intervention of the Holy Spirit, we might just be praying amiss and waste a whole opportunity to approach God. 

    No wonder the bible advised to pray in the Holy Ghost. And at another place said boldly, we do not know how to pray; it is the Spirit that intercedes on our behalf. In other words, for any prayer to make sense and be answered, your primary need is the Holy Spirit. Prayer is a weapon in the hand of a believer, and you can't handle it if you are not one. Because, the prove of a believer is primarily the Holy Spirit. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans.8:14).

    The first provision or supply to the earth was very symbolic and has its parallel to our life as a prospectus user of the prayer weapon. It takes the light of God's revelation and instruction to know what to actually request for and present them in order. But when you lack the light of God's revelation to the dark areas of your life, you asked base on need, and that might not be the correct approach.

    Sometimes our direct or pressing need is not really the major need, there might just be something somewhere in the veil responsible for that need, and until you really address a problem from its source you might not truly do justice to that challenge or need and proffer solution, because you haven't arrested what responsible for it.

    That is why the adage says, if rodents have not left of a clothe, there can't be an end to blood on the finger nails. We sometimes ask for money when we just need a correct relationship with God in righteousness. That is why most of our prayer points is not really a matter of need or concern for the believers in the first church. What we don't regard as prayer is their own prayer. Prayer of holy living; prayer for soul winning; prayer for a true revival in their time, etc.

    How I wish you could take this matter of God's light in prayer serious, the first church don't need to beg anyone for their needs, it is God that go on errand to meet them. Even if you come to meet their needs and you are not careful to present it with a clean heart toward God and in a correct and orderly manner, you might still find yourself in trouble. The approach of Peter to the present of Ananias and Sapphira was, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit of God, you know the aftermath event, the couple lost their lives in a day.

    A whole generation was lost and untraceable just because they kept back part of the price of the landed property they sold and presented before the feet of the Apostles.
Do you know what occurred to me following that trend, what would happen to the Apostles and the church if the family of the demise should hear of the news? But the sad truth is that the believers in those days are not like we, everyone that intends to follow Christ must first go and forsake his family and take up his cross daily and follow Him.

    You can't truly be a believer in those days if you have not got to a point where you part way and become enemy with anyone who would not allow you to serve God.
They are just like soldiers or military men of our time who have already signed their death warrant. They hold the matter of eternity with their life in the line.

    What do you already expect from people you have deserted to carry your cross when they hear of your evil news, they would be like, ugh that is good of him, don't we tell him that; Jesus is not the way. He has gotten what he sued for. That is why anyone who will serve God in those days needs to sit tight and take his Faith serious so that he won't be like a foolish builder, according to Jesus parable, who failed to plan and count the cost before laying the foundation of the building peradventure he would be able to finish it, who left it half way and become a laughing stock and a bye word to the passers bye.

    Unfortunately the reverse is the case today, there are many things that happened in the days of Jesus' apostles that if it should happen today, such a minister of God and his congregation will suffer severely for it. And I wonder if we would make it to the same heaven of those elders and fathers in the race.

    Many things that doesn't exist in the first church is the order of the day in today's church. You will still hear some thought provoking statement from a whole married man, saying, I would have done the will of God, but my father will not let me. I don't want to offend my parents, my boss, or what have you. Yet they will pose themselves as Christians and be the first to tell you they have been saved when you raise altar call. People in that category need genuine repentance and salvation, you are not yet a Christian, you are an idol worshiper.

    Ordinary church members in those days are stronger, committed and faithful than many of our revivalists and general overseers today. You can imagine ordinary deacon Stephen who by the move of the spirit left his deacon and face the Sanhedrin in defense for his Faith. "He would have just maintained his office as deacon and save his life" you said, but they are not like we who cherish our body and always want to keep it from any arm, even if it mean denying Faith or compromising our godly stand.

    They don't fear death, they don't mind where their Faith and commitment to the truth of the same will lead them. They neither regard their lives nor their earthly homes, but eagerly aspiring for a new home in heaven where they will truly rest from all labors. But majority of our today gospel ministers mind a whole lot before they open their mouth to preach the gospel. They consider their home, their congregation, their gigantic cathedral and other projects perhaps government may cease it from them if they tell them the whole truth.

    They put to mind their salaries and other benefits coming from the church members, should they speak against their evil conducts, that is the reason Jesus asked His men if He would find Faith on earth when He returns. He wasn't actually directing the question to them, because none of the generation failed him, but to we upon whom the end time has come. I have no reservations or apology to say that this generation believers is disappointing God.

    The slogan of Apostle Paul is, I don't want to know anything among you except what the Lord instructed me to preach to you, whether to come to you with stripes or praise. But the church of today praise those who need serious scolding of the word and as matter of fact quench fire on the altar and chase the Holy Spirit out of their midst. They have the form of godliness but deny the power thereof.

    Back to my initial point, when the light of God grace your prayer life, you set your priorities aright and tarry less in the place of prayer. And the light is a definition of your encounter with the Holy Spirit.
After my study of this scripture yesterday, I prayed to God casually, "Lord in agreement with your word, I need this certain amount of money between now and tomorrow I don't want to betray the promise I made to this so and so person." Lo and behold, the quarter from which the provision came, I don't ever expect it. I saw bank alert of the exact amount i needed on my phone exactly a couple of minutes to 10pm yesterday. I've been trying to call the sender of the money since then without getting through, at least to show appreciation.

    When Saul of Tarsus had the encounter, he was only praying for light to his darkness and openness of eyes to his blindness. That was all. It wasn't his business how heaven will do it. He needed not running from pillar to post, the deliverance he needed knocked at his door. God instructed someone from afar, Ananias by name to go and open his eyes. Ananias had not seen Saul before then, he only hear of his rumor, how he persecuted the brethren, but God said to him, he is not the old Saul, he has encountered his Maker-God and now had light, so go as I say and open his eyes.

    I don't know how that scenario occur to you, Saul wasn't in Jerusalem where he was rendering his priestly service, but somewhere along Damascus, yet God gave Ananias his correct description and location at that moment. It dawn on my heart that what we need to do to have all that pertain unto godliness is correct relationship with God, and we would save ourselves undue embarrassment we seldom receive from men when we are at their mercies.

    I wonder how Saul would have explained himself to Ananias if not for God's help, a man who was even protesting for the believers against his old misconducts before God until the Lord had to defend him, saying he is a new man and even praying right now. Otherwise, I don't know the purity of diction or flower of eloquence, and even grace of person with which such a task would have been easily carried out by Ananias, but thank God for divine intervention and instruction. The bible says, instruction is light.

    Peter was another example, if not for the intervention of God, no one knows what would have been the lot of we that are not chronologically and biologically a Jew. God having appeared to him in a dream and commanded him never to call what He has cleansed common or unclean, it would have been difficult for Cornelius' men to gain access to Peter, and to Christ and earned his acceptance of their plea to come and preach Christ to them.

    Not only that, the men of old don't need to lobby for ministerial doors before they were opened to them. Unbelievers are the ones begging them to come and witness Christ to them. They were just a partner with God in service, not really working for God. What a rare privilege.

    That reminds me of an experience I had over a month ago, I went to buy some items in a market near my house, and like my usual habit, I was racking jokes with those market people, and suddenly, one of them said, "You are a Pastor!" To cause more confusion, I told the man jokingly, "How did you know I am a Pastor? That's how some of you enter into the hands of fake clerics, what gave you the assurance that I am one, or have we met before?" The man was the more emphatically saying, "Your words convinced me that you are a Pastor." How I tried to confused him about my true identity, saying,"Do pastors have their way of talking or what does that suppose to mean?" He was convincingly proving me wrong, insisting that something tells him I am one. Funnily enough, this is a new area where I haven't done anything or identify myself with any, but I was very happy right in my spirit that some people could still identify you without any self introduction. They later asked me to pray for them all, asking where is my church.

    I pray for you today, the light you need to come out of every emptiness, void and formlessness of your life, the Lord will give you today. The light your helpers need to meet your needs today, the Lord will give them in Jesus name.
God bless you.
Good afternoon.