You may be following somebody
for years without really knowing him. You may call him/her your best friend,
co-worker, business neighbour, landlord, fellowship member, wife or husband, my
Pastor, Rev. Father or General Overseer without really knowing him. He/she may
equally be your brother or sister and yet you may not know him. For the fact
that he was your friend or townsman right from your childhood is not an
assurance that you really know him.
Take for instance, a Rev.
Father, Pastor, Bishop or General Overseer may be a native doctor but his
congregation do not know and were following him. Or where your best or old
friend belonged to secret cult, committing murder and rituals and you did not
know; though you may still be calling him/her your best friend. Or your
business partner or friend is stealing your goods and money either directly or
through a medium like your male-servant, sales girl, your brother or your
in-law. Or in a situation where your intimate loved friend, husband or wife is a
homosexual or lesbian. There are some other examples which you can guess by
yourself.
Take for instance again, in
the finance house or banking industry; somebody you called your co-worker or
colleague whom you took to be your friend may steal by manipulation and you
will pay not knowing that he/she was the one responsible. You are working but he/she
is eating from your sweat through spiritual manipulations. What they did
sometimes result to an innocent person loosing his/her job.
That is why it is very
necessary for you to know somebody you assumed to be your friend. What I am
saying here is not that you don’t know your friend’s address, his town, name,
his parents and their address. This is knowing your friend physically but what
I mean is knowing him/her spiritually. For you to know your friend spiritually, it
takes only the spirit of the living God to reveal unto you or unto your own
spirit whom your friend is. With your physical and carnal eyes alone,
you cannot know him. That was why many peoples’ bright futures are marred,
distorted or destroyed by their so-called friends that pretended to love them. Note: You cannot use the measure of
physical or tangible gift alone to assess and ascertain who loves you because
some people or friends can offer to you tangible gifts physically and yet they
tied your bright star in the spiritual realm or in their occult kingdom.
Consequently, it is apparent that somebody may be following somebody for years
and yet did not know him.
Likewise, many people have
been following Jesus Christ for years and yet did not know Him. Many people
have proclaimed to have been serving God for years and yet they did not know
God.
Why the Pharisees and Sadducees did asked Jesus Christ to give them
signs from the sky before they can believe that He is the Messiah sent by God?
The answer is because they did not know Him. But they claimed to know God. They
only knew Jesus as the son of Joseph and Mary, not as the Messiah or Divine.
You need the power of revelation to understand Jesus Christ whom you are
following.
“The Pharisees also with the Sadducee came, and tempting desired Him
that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them,
when it is evening, ye say, it will be fair weather: For the sky is red. And in
the morning it will be foul weather today. For the sky is red and lowering. O ye
hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the
signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and
there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the Prophet Jonas. And He
left them, and departed.” (Matt. 16: 1- 4).
These hypocrites did not know
one thing, that Jesus Christ and God His father are one. Are you a
hypocrite? Jesus Christ is God the Son
made flesh to man. He is the same as God the Father. But these hypocrites
claimed to know God and to have been worshiping Him without really recognizing
Jesus Christ as the Only Begotten Son of God sent by God as the only Messiah to
die in order to save the entire world from destruction. Therefore, whosoever believes
on Him, will have everlasting life. Your religion will not give you everlasting
life.
“Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: No man cometh unto the
father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and
from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him”. (John 14: 6 - 7).
There is no other way you can
worship God better except through His Son Jesus Christ because nobody has ever
seen God before. But when you see Jesus Christ, you equally have seen God.
Therefore, Jesus Christ is God made manifest to man. If you do not believe
Jesus Christ, do not claim to have believed God and to have known God.
The need to know Jesus Christ
is not only in physical but also it is absolutely imperative to know Him both
in spirit and in truth. That was why Jesus Christ did not hesitate to ask His
disciples what people say about Him.
When
Jesus Christ came into the Coast of Caesarea Philippi, He asked his disciples,
saying, who do men say that I, the Son of Man am?” (Matt. 16:13)
His disciples answered Him
instantly saying: some say you are John the Baptist, Elijah and others say you
are Jeremiah or one of the prophets. These answers gave by His disciples were general
opinions of people about Jesus Christ because they did not know Jesus Christ as
Divine. They only knew Him as one of the prophets sent by God just like every
other prophets and He is the son of Joseph and Mary but not the long expected
Messiah.
These answers they gave
prompted Jesus Christ to ask them what they themselves thought about Him.
“He saith unto them, but whom say ye that I am? (Matt. 16:15)
This second question came to
the disciples like a bombshell. Where the Lord Jesus Christ that knows
everything is asking human being a question. They were thrown into utter
confusion. They did not know exactly what to say about their master. They might
say in their hearts that they have been working together and walking along with
Jesus Christ for years; how come He is asking us now “Who Do You Say I Am?”
But Jesus wanted them to know Him divinely and in truth so that they will not
be seeing Him the same ways other peoples in the world see Him; as one of the
prophets and as the son of Joseph and Marry.
Simon Peter only was able to
recognize that Jesus Christ is the son of the living God. Thank God for the
spirit of God who revealed whom Jesus Christ was unto Him. Note: Without the spirit of God revealed who Jesus Christ was to him, he
couldn’t have known Him. He would still be seeing Him as every other person
sees Him; as a prophet.
“And Simon Peter answered and said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed Art thou, Simon Bar-Jona:
For flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in
heaven”. (Matt. 16:16 - 17)
Note: He did not know Jesus
Christ only as the son of God but he knew Him also as the Son of the living
God. That means there are gods that are not living. They are not divine. These
are dead gods. But we have one God that is living and Jesus Christ is the only
begotten son of that living God. The Messiah sent by that living God.
For that reason, Jesus Christ
said unto Simon Peter again;
“And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter and upon this rock I will
build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven”. (Matt. 16:18-19)
I thank God that in every
generation there is somebody who is outstanding for God no matter how wicked,
sinful and adulterous the generation might be. And those people that are
outstanding, the power and authority to become the sons of God must be given
unto them.
“But
as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name”. (John 1:12)
The keys of authority and
power of the kingdom of heaven must be given to them on earth. God delegated to
them the authority from the kingdom of heaven to be exercised on earth. That
means they will start using their power on earth before going to heaven.
Whatever they hate, they will say ‘no’ to it and whatever they love, they will
say ‘yes’ and God will confirm and register it in heaven.
Note: This authority or power will not be delegated
to any man who will not exercise or demonstrate it on earth; only waiting for
the period he will go to heaven to exercise his authority. Now, let me ask you;
if you go to heaven who are you going to preach to? Because the Devil and his
cohorts will not enter there and you can neither bind nor loose the Angels of
God.
Do you know that if you know
Jesus Christ as a Spirit God, that you must worship Him in spirit and in truth?
You need the power of revelation to know Him spiritually.
“But
the Hour cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father
in spirit and in truth: For the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a
spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth”
(John
4: 23 - 24)
Note: You cannot
worship God in spirit and in truth when you really don’t have the power of His
revelation given to you. You must really understand whom He is spiritually (his
eternal power and his divine nature)
Therefore, you will no longer
worship the Lord like the hypocrites, the Pharisees and Sadducees that go to
church everyday and yet they did not know that Jesus Christ is the Messiah but
they claimed to know God and to worship God. They worship God with eye service.
They occupy vital positions in the church with less or no function. They could
not worship God in the spirit but rather capitalized on their own
self-righteousness.
Note: Many people in the house of God today are
like the Pharisees and Sadducees of those days. They never want to permit Jesus
Christ to live in their lives. They did not want to change their old ways of
living. Their attitude and character is repelling and irritating to Jesus Christ.
They never want to leave their
sins of: Fornication, abortion, adultery, drunkenness, smoking, cheating,
covetousness, strife, division, gossip, lying, 419, armed robbery, greediness,
homosexuality, lesbianism, jealousy etc. They were not better than the
Pharisees and Sadducees that killed Jesus Christ because their evil and wicked
characters in the house of God are tantamount to killing Jesus Christ. That was
why the Pharisees and Sadducees sought for signs from heaven before they can
believe Jesus Christ to be the Messiah.
Likewise, many people in the
house of God nowadays are pursuing after signs, miracles, and wonders but have
forgotten salvation, which supposes to be their first priority of seeking for
God. To them, signs miracles and wonders have taken over their salvation. They
no longer worship God in truth and in spirit because of these.
Nowadays, many people are
following Jesus Christ because of food, cloth and drink He gives to them. He is
the only one who has the capacity to turn water into wine. He multiplied fish
for Simon Peter. He multiplied five loaves of bread and two fishes to feed the
hungry. He shows compassion always to the needy world. They only follow Him
because of what they gained from Him not that they know Him as the son of the
living God.
For instance, remove their
names from any church committee that is lucrative they will stop coming to
church. They only want to work in the oil section ‘oil company’ in the church.
Do you know that when you really
know Jesus Christ, you must permit Him into your life, your family, your
business, your marriage, your office and into your relationship? You should
know that Jesus Christ is the light of the world, the true light that lights
all men that come into the world. That is why you will need the power of His
revelation in order to know him divinely.
“Then
spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: He that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”. (John
8:12).
You must know that Jesus
Christ came from heaven and He is not of this world.
“And He said unto them, ye are from beneath; I am from above: Ye are of
this world; I am not of this world”.
(John 8: 23).
You must believe in Jesus
Christ who is the only truth that has the efficacy to make you free. And
whomever He made free is free indeed.
“And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:
32).
“If
the son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8: 36).
If God really is your father,
you must love Jesus Christ.
“Jesus
said unto them, if God were your father, ye would love Me: for I proceeded
forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but He sent Me”. (John 8:
42).
And you must believe and should
know that Jesus Christ was before Abraham was created by God. You really need
this power of revelation.
“Jesus
said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am”. (John 8: 58).
He was not just born as a
prophet. He is God. He was in the beginning before everything was created. And
there was nothing that was created without His consent. He signed and approved
every other creatures including Abraham. Read the book of John chapter 1, from verses
1-3.
Therefore, we need the spirit of
wisdom and revelation to know God better according to St. Paul to Ephesians.
I
keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may
give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
(Eph. 1: 17 NIV)
You can’t know Him better
without Him revealed Himself to you. Therefore, you need the spirit or power of
His revelation into your life.