THE GOAL OF OUR FAITH (1 PETER 1:9; John 7:37-38)
Pastor Poju Oyemade started by saying that the ultimate goal of any faith project is the salvation of souls.
Our thirst for the living water that Christ gives is the evidence of a need in us to manifest God’s power. It’s not about quenching our own personal thirst, for we do not need a river for that.
God’s purpose for our tribulations is beyond meeting our own personal needs. Our trials are seeds God uses to do something greater on the earth, so we can be a source of succor, covering, comfort and strength to others. Isa. 32:2
In God’s big picture, it is not the manifestation, but the lessons learnt and integrated into our beings that count. This is His plan for us to impact nations. 2 Cor. 2:14; Psalm 40:3.
Productivity in our lives inspires proximity between God and those who have erred away from God. Isaiah 29:22-24.
This is why some of our challenges as Christians are in the public place so that when God shows up in our lives, everyone that knows about what we have gone through will turn to God.
“Our trials are seeds God uses to do something greater on the earth, so we can be a source of succor, covering, comfort and strength to others.”
Our goal as Christians is to bridge the gap between our theology and the experiences of our lives. A lot of Christians know so much in God’s word about their inheritance but have little or no result to show for it.
Two words capture our attempt to bridge this gap: AUTHORIZATION and APPROPRIATION.
For example, if the legislative arm of government decides to pass bills into law, then that’s Authorization. However, the process by which funding is provided for what has been authorized is called Appropriation.
In spiritual context, when Jesus died and rose again, many things were authorized on our behalf, those things we refer to as our legal rights and privileges – redemption, provision, healing, protection, freedom from bondage, etc.
However, after Jesus rose from the dead, He sent the Holy Spirit as the appropriation (‘funding”) for what has been authorized for us in Him.
“Funding” here is not in the literal sense of money, but as a means of making the inheritance we have in Christ a reality in our lives, not just to remain knowledge in our heads.
HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT APPROPRIATES
What the Holy Spirit does is to create within us the Rheuma (Spoken word) of God.
The above three operations of the Holy Spirit are illustrative of the three classifications of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, namely:
KNOWLEDGE GIFTS
VOCAL GIFTS (or Gifts of Utterance)
DEMONSTRATIVE GIFTS
1 Cor. 2:9-13
So whatever Scriptures God shows you that capture your inheritance in Christ, keep confessing the scripture. God’s word will not return to Him void.
As you get closer to laying hold on your inheritance, you will experience the peace of God in your heart as a confirmation that you are standing on the right ground for possession.
FIXING THE FAITH PROBLEM
When you find yourself struggling with taking possession of what you have found in the scriptures to be yours, you must learn to mix the scripture you have received with faith in your heart.
In other words, unite your heart with the truth you have read in God’s word, regardless of whether or not external conditions are conducive for its actualization.
Faith goes beyond mentally assenting to a truth; it is about not doubting the integrity of God’s spoken word.
Finally, whatever the Holy Spirit reveals to you as the Rheuma of God to you on any matter, believe that nothing shall be impossible.
May God open the eyes of your understanding and fill you with the knowledge of His will and the hope of His high calling over your life. Ephesians 1:17.
You can listen to the entire teaching of this session by Pastor Poju Oyemade. Visit the church website by clicking DAY 2 AFTERNOON SESSION 1