Spiritual Growth

There is a story about a King who had no children and needed to choose a successor to the throne, so he asked thousands of children to come into his palace so he can choose one of them.

From all corners of his kingdom, kids poured into the palace in their thousands. To each of them he gave a seed and told them to look after it for a year and then come back to the palace, when he would then choose his successor. The children took the seed and went home and they all returned after a year with magnificent plants in their pots except one boy who carried into the palace his empty pot with soil but no seeds growing in it. The King inspected all the pots with magnificent plants and then called out this boy with his lifeless pots to the front. He said ”when I gave you the seeds last year, they were boiled until they were no longer viable to grow but I see that everyone of you here would do anything including lying to be the King apart from this boy, hence he is my successor”

That boy’s integrity put him the palace. He was  truthful unlike the rest regarding what was given to him. Much more our God has integrity regarding His word that He has given to us. Many people need miracles in many areas of their lives and they are desperately crying and pleading that  God should move on their behalf, but like the King who gave those boys seeds, God has already moved, He has given us the seeds of His blessings, but unlike the King, our seeds has been primed to grow when planted. They are not boiled , they are viable.

That seed is His word.

Jesus brought this to the fore when He interpreted the parable of the sower to His disciples. And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? Mark 4:13 Jesus said that if we can understand the meaning of this parable, then we can understand everything that pertain to the kingdom of God.

Isn’t that important to know that if we can understand this parable, then this parable will unlock the key to everything God had ever said or would say to us!

That is an important key given to us by Jesus isn’t it?

You probably know the parable in Mark chapter four, when Jesus said that a sower went out to sow seeds and the seeds fell on different grounds, some fell  by the wayside, some fell among thorns, some fell on the rock and some fell  on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirty fold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” Mark 4:8. Jesus said that the seed He was referring to in the parable is the word of God. The sower planted the seed and the seeds fell on these grounds. unlike the dead seeds given to the boys who wanted to succeed the King, these seeds are alive but the problems are the ground in which they fell.

Different grounds, same seed

Now someone might say ‘Pastor that shows us that there are different grounds, maybe my ground is made of thorns! maybe the word is choked in my life.

That is wrong thinking. To think like that is to think that God is partial. He is not. For there is no partiality with God. Romans 2:11

You see everyone of us will determine what kind of soil we are going to be every second, every minute of each day, that we are exposed to the seed of God’s word. The word of God is the seed of His blessings, That blessings you desire is at your reach, when you choose the word of God and choose to make yourself the good ground instead of others.

How do you do that someone asked?

You do that by choosing to be a receiver of the seed, you choose to open yourself to what the word of God is saying to you right now instead of what your tradition, experience, ego, pride, lust, stupidity, fear…. add to the list (lol) is saying to you. That is how we are supposed to do it, we make our ground a good ground for the seed of His blessings every day of this life.

Don’t change your ground

You see when Jesus compared the word of God and the process in which it becomes fruitful in and through us, His audience understood the implication, they knew he was comparing the sowing of the seed of His word to a law of nature that is unchangeable and cannot be manipulated. The law of seed time and harvest. Genesis 8:22

Man may manipulate many system set up by man, like the judicial system for example, but the process of the system involved in the sowing of the seed and the harvest is unchangeable and cannot be manipulated by anyone. Next time you are tempted to switch your ground to the wayside when you hear the word.

Don’t.

Get the soil of your heart to be the good ground and you will experience the harvest promised by God’s word.

We live in the most noisy time in the history of this planet, there are many things that  distracts people easily, we have our mobile phone with various apps for various tasks and entertainment, It appears as if the life span of our attention has greatly reduced compared with previous generations.

To add to that, challenges of life and problems also adds to myriads of things that distracts us. Problems have a way of distracting our thoughts from the word of God especially when we need to focus on it more than ever. The devil try to distracts us in order to move our focus away from the most important thing in our life- the word of God.

Here are 4 ways you can focus your thoughts on what matters anytime the enemy try to distract you.

Look at what will feed your faith

I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it. Psalm 101:3

The bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God Romans 10:17, this means that we have to give our attention to what we feed our faith at all times despite the challenges the enemy brings. I know that it’s easier said than done, but what separate champions from the rest is the decision and the words. ”I will” Strong enough to propel us towards faith instead of the nagging doubts that the devil would try to feed us if we allow him. Don’t, feed your faith, don’t look at what will bring doubts to your life.

Think right always, don’t allow your mind to wander

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

When we allow our mind to have a mind of its own it will wander away from that which is true-the word of God, if you allow your mind to start thinking failure, it will, in fact it’s easier to think of failure because the demonic ‘gravitational’ pull of this world is towards failure,. That is why cannot allow our mind to think of anything else that will distract us from the successful plan God has placed in our lives.

Continually renew your mind with the word

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

The mind has to be renewed daily in order to impact a lasting change on it.

You will have to deal with your mind first before you deal with anything else. If you are being distracted from the word of God by the problems you are facing or the frustration of not achieving your goal.

Stop. go back and read and meditate on the word of God even if you have to force yourself to do it.

Do it. You will not maintain your focus without your mind changing to mirror God’as word on a daily basis. Don’t forget. Do it, even if you have to force yourself.

Set your mind on the end result

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2

Set your mind on the end result, not on the temporary setbacks and distractions due to various day-to-day life. Allow yourself to spend quality time with Good and His word in such a way that it does not only impact your thinking and your faith, it spills over into your emotive fellowship with Him. It’s important that like a thermostat you set your mind and affection on things above and refuse to be moved otherwise no matter the raging storms that want to shift your focus away from what matters-the word.

Many people have been there at one point of the other, facing a situation that is critical and not knowing what to do. Sometimes life has a way of slapping people around that you can reel from one crisis to another as you pursue God’s plan for your life. Reason is because as long as you live on this earth you are going to face challenges. However if you are a Christian, know that you have the grace of God and favour bestowed on you by God and you have nothing to fear in the midst of the challenges you are facing because He has your back.

Now what you need is the solution to the situation isn’t it? And the solution to the situation could appears to be non-existent if you look it from the eyepiece of fear but don’t allow yourself to be paralysed by fear, take advice from God who knows everything.

Remind yourself that you are a child of God

I believe we need to remind ourselves of this simple fact daily, you see there must be an emotional connection in our minds to the reality of our identity in Christ and what He has done for us in Christ. These must readily impact our thinking process about the situation we are facing. Remind your self that God’s got your back, He is your father, He loves you and want the best for you in the situation. In fact tell your self this over and over again. Be joyful about it because you are about to use the crisis to propel your self forward and learn important lesson about how to trust God. Don’t allow the devil to tell you that it’s all over. No. It’s not over until you win.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

Don’t allow your past to shape your future

Sometimes, the reason why we are facing challenges might be because of our past action or inaction and these scenes of the past have a way of playing in our minds over and over again. It becomes our focus with its attendant regrets and self condemnation. We have to learn to snap out of such feelings, we must not allow our emotional response to the situation to dwell on past failures because dwelling on the sins of the past hinder the work of God’s favour and grace in our lives. Know this that once you repent, you are forgiven by God and He is not in business of bringing your sins up to you again.

How did I know that? I’m glad you asked. He said so. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

He even forgave you for His own sake!

I, even I, am he who blots out  your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Isaiah 43:25

Did you see that, right from the horse’s mouth. God forgives and forgets. Don’t let the devil condemn you. God is not. And He is the most important Person in your life.

Get into the word of God

The word of God is the wisdom of God and is designed by God to give you insight into the situation/. So start there, get into the word of God and finds out what He has said about the situation. Sometimes when we discovered what God has said about it, we find it hard to believe because it might too simple, or looks difficult, or too good to be true. But we need to remember that this is the word of God. We have to allow the wisdom in the word of God to direct us.

You see the bible says that wisdom is the principle thing (Proverbs 4:5-7) not the problem, not the challenge, not the situation. So focus on the word of God, the advice from the word of God will take you out, the instructions from His word will show you what to do. Commit yourself to the wisdom of God and do it even if it is not convenient for you in the situation. God knows everything! He knows you and the situation more that you even know yourself

If you are a fan of superhero comics, one consistent theme is that of the transformation of an ordinary person to a superhero who now go ahead against odds to defeat the enemy. If you are a Christian, something like that but far better happened to you when you became saved. You see you were an ordinary person, subject to the course of this world, under the influence of demonic forces and their master Satan until the day you became saved. You got transformed, instantly, not gradually but instantly.

I have heard believer says ‘I am a sinner saved by grace’. No. You were a sinner but now you are a saint. You are as saintly you will ever be Hallelujah.

The demons literally saw your transformation right before their eyes and they were helpless to stop it. it’s so glorious for man and frustrating for them each time they see this transformation in people. No wonder angels rejoice each time this happened literally.

The demons saw you become a new person

I consider the new birth the greatest of all miracles on this earth.
When you got born again you became a new person! You actually became a person in the likeness and image of God with His life in you. You need to know that and understand its importance because God miraculously recreated you
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17.

When I say you, I mean your spirit. The bible teaches us that man is a spirit, he possesses or has a soul where his will, mind and emotions resides and he lives inside a body which someone refers to as man’s “earthsuit”. So your spirit became new through the miracle of new birth when you believe in your heart and confess Jesus as your Lord and saviour Romans 10:8-10.

Your soul and body did not change

But your body and soul remains the same, they did not change. That’s why your body and your soul will like to continue in their usual pattern of lifestyle but God says you are a new creature. Therefore you need to align your mind with what God says about you and what God says about who you are in Christ Jesus. You will be able to know that by looking at the word of God and believing that, that’s who you are, you don’t only believe it, you say it, you are a new creature!
You see the word of God has the power to change your soul and your body because you are born again, you are a new creature

for you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God 1 Peter 1:23(NIV)
When you start feeding on the word of God, you will see the effect on your mind, will emotions and your body.
Note this, you cannot change yourself but you can allow the word of God to change you.

Let the word of God change you

As long as you determine to keep saying what God says about you being a new creature, you will begin to see the changes, for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation Romans 10:10. Rise up boldly and declare this; ” I am a new creature, I am born again old things are passed away and all things in my life are become new”.
So purpose in your heart today to let the word of God dominates your thinking and your conversations, begin to say that you are a new creature in Christ Jesus, irrespective of your situation and the power in the word of God will quicken your bodies through the Spirit of God. God is not a man that He should lie, if He says in His word that old things are passed away in your life, they are!
Believers need to know that and walk in its reality in order to walk in victory and We need to know that when it comes to walking in the reality of God’s word, our feelings are secondary, the primary thing is what God has said about us and that is what we need to believe.

Ezekiel 11:9, Ephesians 4:24.

Have you been in a position where you are holding an appliance or a tool in your hands that you don’t know how to use but but you’ve been told that it will do the job.How frustrating it is, the tool is in your but you have no clue how to use it. Same way we live unnecessary frustrating lives because we do not know how to live our lives according to the owner’s manual.
Believers need to know what God wants from them, what He will do for them, and how He wants them to behave and conduct themselves, they need to know what the will of God is in all situation.

God has set His will for us in His word

Thank God He is not the author of confusion, He has written His will clearly in His word, and has given us the Holy Spirit to enable us to understand His word so we can do what He says. We are given directive by God to get understanding of His word. This privilege belongs to us because we have God’s nature, God’s DNA in us which give us the ability to understand His word and then do it.

But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10

Take the time to study

Many times believers will say they don’t know what the will of God and then go off with that mindset thinking that it’s impossible to know what the will of God for their life, what they don’t know is that the will of God is already in their hands, probably somewhere gathering dust on their table or unused among many apps they have on their phone. We will have to take the time to look at what God has said in His word if we want to know His will and have His secrets revealed to us.
God is no respecter of persons. He wants to reveal His will to you.

I daresay He is far more willing than you to know His will and do it, but your part is the determinant factor in the whole process, which is to study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analysing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skilfully teaching] the Word of Truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 Amplified Bible

When you take the time to study and meditate on His word daily, you will begin to see more of His dictates and instructions that He has specifically prepare for you. The strength in His word will be imparted into you to do those things that you see in His word, when you join your faith with His faith, and agree with Him about what He said in His word.

Let your heart be fixed on the word

You must let your heart and mind be fixed on the word and stay ready to capture anything that is not of faith in the truth that you see in God’s word, anything that smells of doubt, anything that looks like fear and cast it out of your mind.
Your heart must be fixed on the word at all times and you can do it because God says you can!

The devil will try to throw us off course from the word of God but you need to understand his intention to do so and stop Hm, many times you might not even feel like it but do it. The word of God says that we can cast down every imaginations and everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. We can cast out anything contrary to the word of God that tries to assail our minds and we will see clearly the will of God for our lives and the strength to do it.

Watch Pastor Segun Idowu teaches on how to renew your mind