THIS DAY

“Can two walk together except they be agreed?” Amos 3:3.

Can two walk together if they are not in agreement, nor thinking the same thing? Is it possible to be of God and not bother about how God feels and what He’s thinking, what His agenda is? When we are thinking differently and acting differently, it shows we are not together.

This is our day, it is also the day of the Holy Spirit, who is the God-Head on the earth right now. The Father is on the throne, Jesus is at His right hand making intercessions, while the Holy Spirit is here on the earth. You have to know that the Holy Spirit is not inferior.  They are all equal in the God-head in authority, relevance, they only differ in function. He does not work/walk contrary to the Father. They have the same mindset and heart.

How Does God think?

“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy Father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee… And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Gen. 12:1-3 (Emphasis mine)

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Mt.24:3,14 (Emphasis mine)

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of  the earth.” Acts 1:8 (Emphasis mine)

From these verses of scriptures, we get to understand that God thinks globally and not locally. He let Abraham know that what He was starting with him, will not end with him but will involve everyone on the earth. We cannot partner with God if we are not thinking like Him. The Apostles started from Jerusalem but it didn’t end there. They were commanded to go further. As the Father (God), He expresses His desire of reaching the nations, the world, As the Son (Jesus), He also expressed this desire and as the Holy Spirit, this desire is still expressed.

Why is God thinking globally? Why does He have this mentality?

Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the LORD’S, and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein.” God is determined to get back what he had initially entrusted into the hands of man. You see, man was originally made in the image and likeness of God until he fell, but Jesus came to restore man back to that order – the original plan.

God’s desire is that every part be touched. That’s a global mentality. The question now is why is God particular about the earth? The nations? (People group, tribes or geographical boundary) The world (Every sphere of human operations, business, academic etc) What is God’s mind full of?

“What is man that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?” Ps.8:4

Literally, this verse is asking, “what is so special about man that your mind is full about the thought of him?” So, what is God’s desire? What is His wish?

“I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made  for all men… who will have all to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Tim.2:1-4

When God looks at humanity, His desire is that they will be saved. God does not need to come down to do it, He has made provision for it to be done.

In Psalm 2:8, God is telling us to ask of Him, to make our requests known to Him. However, this asking is at the point whereby one is abiding in Him, so that when one is asking, He is sanctioning it. (See Ps.22:27-28, 2 Pt.3:9)

While the heart cry of God is that all should come to the knowledge of the truth, satan’s desire is to have as many go to hell. Whose side are you on? God is not slack, He’s not weak, He can come at anytime but there’s something too precious that is holding Him, and that is the souls of men. His desire is to give everyone an opportunity to be saved and to come to Him.

As a child of God, you should be bothered to know what’s in the heart of God. His heart cry should be yours also. No matter the denomination or ministry we claim to belong, if this desire of God (the salvation of all men) is not being executed and accomplished, then, it is not of God.

“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few, pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Mt.9:36-38.

The harvest of the souls of men needs labourers, not collectors or bench warmers. A labourer is worthy of his wage if he’s doing what he’s supposed to do. A labourer does not work in isolation but is part of a team. God is pained that majority are under the hold of satan. God is desirous of labourers who will partner with the Spirit to bring this about. This labour to bring in the harvest is not one of physical means, it is spiritual. It won’t come about by physical strength but by God’s power.

“Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” Zech.4:6

It is so common these days to find people who are born again but not filled with the Spirit. In the Acts of Apostles, the first question one is asked after getting born again is “are you filled with the Holy Ghost?” and not which church do you attend?

The ministry of the Holy Ghost has been in existence right from the book of Genesis. He has been actively in operation but after Jesus came and finished his work and it was time for Him to ascend to heaven, He began to shift the focus of the disciples to the coming of the Holy spirit. He enjoined them to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

“…And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they  should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:4-5,8

What makes the Holy Spirit very unique is that He comes with power. And if you believe in Jesus, you will believe in the Holy Spirit because He is the God-Head on the earth right now desiring to fill men with His power. It is our day. It is not the day of the ‘Daniels’, not the day of the ‘Finis Dakes’, the ‘Idahosas’. It is not the day of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. It is our day and the day of the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost needs vessels to manifest through, available instruments. If the church will be saved and accomplish God’s mandate, she must recognize the person, relevance and activities of the Holy Spirit. We must give the Holy Spirit His place. He is the one that will lead and show us the way. Everything the Apostles wrought in the church was by the help of the Holy Spirit. Even in the beginning, every word that God spoke came to be because of the Holy Spirit. The disciples were nothing without Jesus and when He was to depart, He told them He would send ‘Another’ to take His place. The Holy Ghost has come and is here but He cannot do beyond the extent to which we invite Him and surrender to Him. It is only as we surrender to Him that we will begin to see the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. He is received and not imposed. The word receive means “to admit somebody, to hear and acknowledge something, relate with something, acquire something, get something.”

“Now it’s time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour our showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus. For the time being he must remain out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order again just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old, said it would be.” Acts 3:21 (Message)

What was at work in Adam when he gave names to all creatures?  What came upon Abraham that at the age of 99, he impregnated Sarah? What came upon Samson that he rooted out the gates of a city? What about Gideon and his 300 men? What about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? What about Archbishop Benson Idahosa, Babalola? It was the Holy Ghost! Do you think it was because God loved them so much? No! it was because they yielded.

In the day of his power, his people shall be willing. The Holy Ghost is looking for a people. We live in an arena of warfare and we will be ill-equipped without the Holy Ghost.

The whole purpose of the ‘Power’ of the Holy Spirit at work in us, is so that we will be witnesses.

“But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:8

A witness is one who testifies of what he hears and sees. So beyond praying in tongues, the Holy Ghost makes you see and hear what ordinarily you couldn’t have seen and heard.

The mandate is an heavenly one and has a global scope. Your witnessing is to the ends of the earth, however, your Jerusalem (where you are) must not be neglected. It does not necessarily mean we will all go round the globe but it follows that we can start with prayers. The disciples did same. They were all in one accord praying and waiting for the Holy Ghost. And when the Holy Ghost came, they spake in tongues such that other tribes could hear them speak in their languages. When the Holy Ghost came, He confirmed and witnessed to what was and is still burning in the heart of the Father. This shows that the gospel will get to every tongue (tribe, people group).

Beloved, the time of playing is over. We have a great responsibility before us. If we are going to execute and accomplish it, it has to be in partnership with the Holy Ghost. Some places may look impenetrable but as shown in Acts 2, it is penetrable by the power of the Holy Spirit. This was what happened to Saul. No one could reach, but the power of the Spirit, he surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus.

This partnership will also come about in the place of prayer for there is no distance in the Spirit and we will travel faster in intercession.

What is before us can only be accomplished by the power of the Spirit and there’s no limit to what the Holy Spirit can do if we are in partnership. It is not about methods. He alone knows what He will do, He has the agenda and the power to execute it. Let us surrender to Him.

GOD thinks NATION – PEOPLE - SALVATION