Better than good greetings, in Jesus’ most colourful name!
I am so thrilled to bring you the better than good news of the Kingdom, today!
Glory! Halleluyah!
There is a common saying in the South West of Nigeria that when a child trips & falls down, he simply gets up & continues his walk but when an adult trips & falls, he gets up to check what happened before going on.
Beloved, it is wisdom to access how you’re doing in life by taking stock periodically, by that, you’ll know certainly if you’re on track or not.
Don’t just live life, accepting what comes your way, no, you must be definite, purposeful, determined, deliberate & well cultured in your approach to life!
Didn’t you hear what Jesus said in John 4.32,34-38(KJV):
[32]”But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of”.
[34]”Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work”.
[35]”Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest”.
[36]”And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together”.
[37]”And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth”.
[38]”I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours”.
Those are not statements of a careless man but of a calculated man!
Did you read Apostle Paul when he wrote in,1 Corinthians 3.10 that:
[10]”According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon”.
Can you discern a language & style of healthy calculation?
When you handle life as such, you cheaply disarm the powers of darkness, your HEALTH will be sound, you’ll be happy & well!
Let me show you now how you move on there.
You see, it’s not just calculating, it is going according to His terms.
If things are not going on well, please check if you’re still in His terms, & the first thing to check is your LOVE meter, what is it reading: low or high?
Now, read this directly from His blessed mouth, in Revelation 2.1-7(KJV):
[1]”Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks”;
[2]”I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars”:
[3]”And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted”.
[4]”Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love”.
[5]”Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent”.
[6]”But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate”.
[7]”He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God”.
In this Church, they were working for Him, serving Him very well, even loving what He loves & hating what He hates, yet He’s warning them to get back to base, in fact, he told them they have dropped, what?!!!
With all the acknowledgment of their efforts in His service, He showed them that they’ve gone far from Him by leaving their first LOVE!
He now asked them to remember where they started from & get back there, to do the FIRST works else, all their labour will be in vain.
It comes out too plainly in the Weymouth’s New Testament translation – Revelation 2.1-7:
2:1 “To the minister of the Church in Ephesus write as follows: “`This is what He who holds the seven stars in the grasp of His right hand says–He who walks to and fro among the seven lampstands of gold”.
2 “I know your doings and your toil and patient suffering. And I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, but have put to the test those who say that they themselves are Apostles but are not, and you have found them to be liars”.
3 “And you endure patiently and have borne burdens for My sake and have never grown weary”.
4 “Yet I have this against you–that you no longer love Me as you did at first”.
5 “Be mindful, therefore, of the height from which you have fallen. Repent at once, and act as you did at first, or else I will surely come and remove your lampstand out of its place–unless you repent”.
6 “Yet this you have in your favor: you hate the doings of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate”.
7 “`Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. To him who overcomes I will give the privilege of eating the fruit of the Tree of Life, which is in the Paradise of God’ “.
Beloved, your labour in the Lord won’t be in vain, in Jesus’ most colourful name!
He told them that they’ve left their FIRST LOVE & they should do the FIRST WORKS!
What’s the FIRST LOVE?
He asked Peter in John 21.15-17(KJV):
[15]”So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs”.
[16]”He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep”.
[17]”He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep”.
Looking at those three questions, they actually mean the same thing but He asked thrice for emphasis sake.
We have often thought that seeking or loving Him above things is the key to stop suffering but here, we see that it is not.
Loving Him above people, LOVING HIM above other relationships is His desire for each & every one of us in His Body!
In Matthew 6.33, we see that we should LOVE Him above things:
Matthew 6.33(KJV):
[33]”But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”.
In Hebrews 6.10, we also see that we should LOVE Him by ministering to the saints:
Hebrews 6.10(KJV):
[10]”For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister”.
However, in John 21.5-7, He comes out so clearly that our LOVE for Him should supersede that of any other relationship.
As a matter of fact, the basis of service, which is to feed the flock, as He ordered in John 21.5-7, should be because we LOVE Him, because we’re so intimate with Him, we have become one with Him, we know what He wants & why He wants what He wants!
Thank God for service but much more than that, our PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP MUST BE INTACT, ON FIRE!
You can be serving Him with wrong motives but you can’t LOVE Him RIGHTLY & not serve Him correctly!
That’s the message He was passing across to Peter & by extension, all of us in His Body.
He is saying to you & I, LOVE Me more than position, LOVE Me more than title, LOVE Me more than recognition, LOVE Me more than rewards, LOVE Me more than the things that accompany salvation, LOVE Me more than even yourself!
He told Peter what to do, to FEED THE FLOCK but He asked him to do something FIRST, He asked Peter to FIRST FOLLOW HIM, that is, LOSE YOURSELF, TAKE ME IN.
Now, Peter got it…
Did you notice from then on that Peter’s lifestyle depicted someone who cares less about every other thing about himself but his Lord?
He soaked in Jesus completely & I tell you, he got Jesus COMPLETELY!
In His days, people need to touch Jesus’ garments to be healed but they were putting the infirmed & the invalid at a position where the shadow of Peter would fall on them & they were healed!
The FOLLOWER IS THE ONE WHO THE LORD WILL MAKE.
Each person He called, He told them to FOLLOW Him.
David cried that his soul is after God – Psalm 42.1-2(KJV):
[1]”(To the chief Musician, Maschil, for the sons of Korah.) As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so PANTETH MY SOUL AFTER thee, O God”.
[2]”My SOUL THIRSTETH FOR GOD, FOR THE LIVING GOD: when shall I come and appear before God”?
He cried again in Psalm 63.1(KJV):
[1]”(A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.) O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my SOUL thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is”;
The soul of man is the seat of will, desire, affections & emotions, that part of man that takes decisions.
He couldn’t do without God!
All his decisions were for God.
And God testified about him in Acts 13.22(KJV):
[22]”And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a MAN AFTER MINE OWN HEART, which shall fulfil all my will”.
Jesus was laying hands on people to be healed but his LOVER, Apostle Paul would send handkerchiefs & aprons from his body to the oppressed & sick, & demons were flying away & the sick were getting healed!
LOVE AT WORK!
Why are you relating with people – to get what they have or to notice you or to HELP them REFLECT Christ?
To help people reflect Christ should be a target but your PRIME target should be to REFLECT CHRIST by FOLLOWING Him, then you can help others in REFLECTING Him.
Apostle Paul brought it to light when he said in Acts 20.28(KJV):
[28]”TAKE HEED THEREFORE UNTO YOURSELVES, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood”.
Check YOURSELF FIRST WITH JESUS CHRIST BEFORE ANY OTHER PERSON OR ANY OTHER THING, he meant to say.
Peter himself put it more clearly, as we see in 1 Peter 5.1-3(KJV):
[1]”The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed”:
[2]”Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a READY MIND”;
[3]”Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ENSAMPLES(EXAMPLES) to the flock”.
“Ready mind”, “ensamples”(examples) – YOU FIRST IN YOUR LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST!
Please, beloved, check the reading of your LOVE meter with the Lord Jesus & heaven will be a reality perpetually in your life without sicknesses, sorrows or suffering, in Jesus’ most colourful name!
PEACE!
JESUS IS LORD!