Ashamed of Christ?

“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” Mark 8:28

We live in a generation where the border-line demarcating good from evil is becoming fainter and fainter each passing day. Well established foundations and walls erected by our fathers to serve as the pathways to life are totally disregarded and mocked at in the times in which we live.

But if the foundations be destroyed what shall the righteous do says the good book. Ofcourse it is not very surprising what we see and hear in the news and around. Morality has been thrown to the gutters as new systems of believe are quickly springing up everywhere.

Amidst the moral chaos and decadence i can still hear the voice of the Spirit echoing cross the nations; “Who Is On The Lords Side”? Will you, you and you rise up and be counted or slip back into the bed of comfort to avoid confrontations?.

I believe that the society is a reflection of the church we have today; when light bearers refuse to shine the light darkness will have a field. When are ashamed to speak about Jesus to our unbelieving family, friends, teachers, bosses, etc we set the whole society and by extention the nation up for failure.

Remember the thief comes but to steal, kill and destroy. Satan is not afraid of your big grammar, suit or hair do.
Are you ashamed of Christ? you may say no but let me ask you some few question to acertain:

1) How often do you share your faith with unbelievers?
2) Do you feel uncomfortable sharing your faith outside the church settings?
3) Are you shy to talk about Jesus when with friends, family or colleagues?
4) Do you desire others to know Christ and be saved?

“Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you’re not saved yourself, be sure of that!” Charles Spurgeon

We are ashamed of him when we hide our identity as Christians so not to offend our family, friends and colleagues at work. We do not want to be tagged as fanatics or chrefe. We just want to be normal and blend in meanwhile Christianity is not a secret cult. In fact we are commanded let your light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father who is domiciled in heaven.

Chameleon Christianity that adapts to a fair weather environment to avoid standing out is counter productive to the course of Christ. We are called to stand for Christ and let our lights shine in the midst of this weaked and perverse generation that want to erase the memory of God from our school, work places and every social stratification.

Let those who profess Christ arise from shame and hoist high the banner of Christ in every nuke and cranny of society that it might also be said of us…we turned the world right side up for Christ in our generation.

The Revival

If that revival meeting will not produce young men that will hit the streets looking for souls, then, it is as good as new yam festival …If that prayer marathon will not birth hunger for the lost in people, then, it is not different from an Inter House sports …I am yet to see one single man that became mighty in God’s Hands by shouting loud Amen in church…I have not seen any young minister that manifested phenomenal grace just through the impartation of great men and women of God …If glory comes by falling under anointing, we would have had kingdom superstars everywhere .

But I have never seen God separate kingdom honour from a life that is sold out for lost souls…If glory is far from that life, check it, there is no genuine passion for souls in that heart …Can you reduce your hunting for impartation this year and trust God for ideas to spread the gospel? …Shouting loud amen and running for impartation without commensurate burden for the lost makes of no effect the power of the hands laid on you …This year, I am on a vow to call my generation back to the streets for evangelism… It is a delicate duty of which, by His grace, failure is not expected ..Incase we offend you in the process, please, we apologise in advance…But, if you are interested in seeing our generation pulling back from this shadow hunting, then, keep a date with us on this space … We are sure that God will help us all…I wondered what we do preach in our churches that makes young people leave our churches without any concern for their lost friends who will go to hell if they die now?

What do they copy in all their church sermon notes that makes them comfortable watching their neighbours living without Christ?…30 years ago, when men leaves the church, before they get home, they would have branched in some bars and markets, preaching to people…And when they don’t preach to people in a week, they go to pastor to pray for them, to revive their passion for the lost …But today, they come to church, fall under anointing and stand up, expecting miracle alerts…When are they going to stand up from our anointing and start crying to God to: “give us this mountain”?…I cry anytime I enter a bus and see old men and women preaching or leading in prayer, while, Christian youths are all seated inside the same bus, unperturbed …Do we need a prophet to tell the church that we are losing the souls of our young ones to church activities?…When was the last time you saw youths, standing in strategic places, preaching either with their mouths or with megaphones?…A young man will be burning for souls, but once he joins us in our churches, we use departmental positions to kill his zeal …He will start sowing choir uniforms, and because he has been choked with choir practice rehearsals, everything about evangelism in him will die.

Yet, we don’t care, as long as he is regular and punctual in church…Sister, I don’t know the position they gave you in church that swallowed your passion for souls…Please, cry to God to have it back… That is the only thing that will set you apart in our days… Because there is no mantle that is not traceable to passion for souls …Some of us have no horses and chariots that would have brought us this far …It was burden for the lost that served as the only currency that has paid our fare to the little we are seeing today…Joseph went in search of His brothers and ended up as a prime minister…David went for his brothers and ended up with the head of a Goliath …You don’t need to be a pastor… If God can find this burden in your heart… Then, our generation, here you come …This new year, Iyke Oriaku, I have made my choice .I don’t know about you …Let us pray!

By Iyke Oriaku

Marketers of God

Don’t be ashamed, but declare the word.

Everybody is selling something, whether they know it or not.
Everybody is promoting something, whether they are conscious of it or not.

So beloved, what are you selling and What are you promoting?

Just look at some of the information we are bombarded with, on the television and the radio which we are even ashamed to talk about. Alcohol is the cause of many accidents, leading to the deaths of a countless number of lives. And yet there are smiling people on television, telling us that it is the power we need. These commercials are being forced down our throats. We are being forced to believe things that are not true.

In this era of social media, just make a content analysis of the videos and pictures on some platforms and you would wonder why a believe will be comfortable in such groups.

One of the things that has struck me for sometime now is the shamelessness and boldness of unbelievers as they go about their lives and the shyness of believers to carry out their ministry.

The profanity, insults, nudity, immorality and irresponsibility communicated and demonstrated by unbelievers with gusto is shocking and overwhelming to say the least. Homosexuals confidently and boldly speak of their abnormal behaviour with passion and even have the temerity and audacity to fight for their “rights” on our streets, radio and television without any sense of embarrassment but how come believers are quiet when it comes to speaking God’s word?

Dear Believer, don’t be ashamed but declare the word. We are the only marketers and promoters with and for God. Our product is priceless and of such a great value: The Gospel of Jesus Christ. All other products will perish, but this product transcends death and the grave. So why will marketers of such products be ashamed when the products has such a great reward?

It was Paul who said “I’m not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ”, meaning some people or something was making him ashamed else there will be not need for such a statement. We cannot do this work of the ministry if we are ashamed, we need to be shameless and forceful in the business of the administration of the Gospel. Never again shall we hold back.
Declare the word to somebody today.
Shalom and peace to you.

Burdens

Noah preached the gospel of righteousness for 120 years and only seven people responded (his wife,3 children and their wives), nevertheless God’s judgement was executed as promised.This life itself is a mirage, for if in this life alone we have hope in Christ then we are of all men most miserable because the value of life is not in time.

Time is only an economy given to men to determine their own ranking in eternity. But we find ourselves in time and we think it’s for pleasure, but the Bible says he who lives for pleasure is dead even while he lives. Jesus said;”Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” Your life and my life is meant to be sown as a seed whose fruit will be enjoyed by generations yet unborn to time. Our lives are not meant for self-preservation and comfortability, but as an entity to traffic God and spread Him upon the earth. But we cannot represent Life until we die, for Life only comes from the gates of death.

Remember “except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die..”Oh Lord I cry out; detain me in the gates of death and crack my soul until my will aligns with my divine ordination.Take away anything and everything that does not give you glory that i may boldly say; the god of this world cometh but he has nothing in me. So Life and Light can break out of my mortal man.My own plans, visions, dreams and ambitions are too small in scope and bound to time;

Oh Lord help me to fulfil the dictates of my ordination as written in the volumes of the tablets of Zion. Baptise me with your refiners fire.Soak me in your power.Consume me, Prune me, Chisel me in shape.
Purge me of Pride, Lust and Relevance. That I may be a vessel FIT and meet for the masters use.

The Pursuit of God

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.(Jer. 29:13)

What will you consider your greatest achievement in life?
What will you acquire that will be your greatest satisfaction?
I am wondering what your answer will be. Your sincere answer will reveal to you the state of your own heart, for where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
Is it not written that in the last days, the love of many shall grow cold? and that men shall become lovers of themselves?

What is the purpose of life at all?
Why are we here?

We are not here to do our own thing, struggle to pay bills, get a good job, live a comfortable life,
retire early, chill on a yacht and die. Let him that has an ear, hear what the Spirit is saying; I speak
to believers. Today the standard of the world has become the standard of the church.

What unbelievers who have got nothing to do with God have, has become the goals and dreams of believers. Materialism has become the hallmark of God’s blessing in our lives. No wonder the devil is not fighting the church anymore because he is part of the church. If the Bible is the blueprint and foundation of the believer then we have missed it big time.

Okay, what was the life of Paul like, what about Peter and John? Aahhh !!!
Sorry, I know you don’t like messages like this. Honestly speaking, we were not told
what it meant to be a believer; A Death Sentence. The 1st Century church knew this, even
folks in the old testament knew this, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew this,
Abraham knew this. It is only the church in the 21st Century that is oblivious.

Let me end here. Have you thought of why the church in Europe is dying?
Now if the gospel was all about prosperity and comfort, then God was very unfair to
men like Paul; who was in prison frequently, beaten with a rod 3 times, given 39 lashes severally,
stoned to death, to John was as dragged from horseback, boiled in oil, drowned in water and when he
refused to die, he was exiled to the Island of death; Patmos with no food and water. Yet even at the Island of death, the heavens opened to him to download the Book of Revelation which he penned down for generations yet unborn to time.

Now when you meet someone like Bill Gates who has all the money in the world to last more than two lifetimes, who does not need healing or miracle, who is not looking for a wife or husband, not looking for rent or school fees or job; what are you going to preach to such a person to give his life to Christ?

Every other area of human life is advancing ie technology, education except Spirituality which is why we continue to be in trouble. The hunter of the souls of men continues to use the same areas of advancement to kill, steal and destroy man.

Do we wonder why people who have all the certificates from world-renowned institutions like the calibrations on a thermometer steal from the poor in society?
Do we wonder what could cause someone with great financial standing and goodwill in society to commit suicide?

It is only the genuine pursuit of God and the preaching of the pure word of God that has the power to transform the souls of men. While education is good, more education without God is a potent tool in the hands of the adversary to the end that the human race be destroyed.

What is your object of pursuit?
Are you pursuing the hand of God (what He gives) or the face of God(knowing Him intimately)?

My heart is heavy

Spiritual Diplomat

There is nothing like cold fire. All fire is hot. Fire does not compromise. Flies do not settle on a hot stove. Fire symbolizes power and aggression. It dominates and conquers. The early Christians had fire in their bones. They were not spiritual diplomats but men and women on fire for God. These days, there are many Christians who are ashamed to broadcast the name of Jesus. But the Apostles collected fire and turned their world upside down. It was side about them “..these that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;” Can we say this is the testimony of our generation? I think not!

Fire empowers God’s people to confront and destroy the works of darkness. How come we attend all manner of well-organized meetings and still produce “ice cream Christians” who cannot even quote one Scripture in the face of the devil.

Fire-emitting Christians are scarce in our time; no wonder darkness is gradually overtaking us on every side. In our time negotiation, compromise, motivational speeches, and counseling has replaced FIRE because there is no power. But it is written “..they overcame him by the blood and the word of their testimony; they loved not their lives unto death”. We almost always forget to add “and they loved not their lives unto death”. Christians are afraid of death because there is no power to deal with the works of darkness, but this was not the testimony of our fathers in the faith.

The devil is not a myth, he is real and interested in your destiny. In fact, he has his destiny for you to fulfill. He is not a diplomat so don’t negotiate with him. If you play with the snake, it will bite you. Don’t sit on the fence because there is no vacuum in the spirit. Arise thou sleeping lion and roar some scriptures, arise and spit FIRE. I am tired of grammar, I want some Power, Give me FIRE.

Be With Him

Sitting under the feet of the master and learning His ways and imbibing His nature and life is better than being all over the place in the name of working for God. He called us first to be with Him before sending us out. He that called us is the same that sends us out. We are unable to stand for Him because we have not been with Him long enough. Our impact is shallow if any because we love activities than real encounters. A form of godliness without the power of God.
Jonah was one man, but his cry brought the entire wicked civilization of Nineveh to its knees.
Today we have churches of 5,000 10,000 50,000 yet darkness is permeating and invading our borders on every side.
Jesus had only 11 men but it was said of them: these men the turned the world upside down have come here hither.
God is looking for depth, not number.

Will you examine your life today to see if you are still in the faith or just going through the motions and performing activities?
Let’s Cry to God for help from a sincere heart and repent.