Defeated Foe

 

Dear friends, we have a real enemy who fights day and night relentlessly to stop us from fulfilling God’s call on our lives, especially when that call is a direct threat to his Kingdom. This greatest and only enemy of mine has tried in many ways to hinder the production of this newsletter. He attacked our home computer and printers and put them out of service for weeks; attacked my body; etc. But guess what? He’s fighting a lost battle. The mere fact that you’re reading this issue of the Millennium Echo is a testimony to that. All that the devil can do is delay; he can never stop us, except we allow him to do so. As for me, “the prince of this world may come, but he’d never find a part in me.” Praise the Lord!!!

 

 

Unrecoverable Blow!

Yes, when Jesus rose up from that grave, He dealt a blow to the devil from which he’d never recover. That is the one regret the devil will always have – causing Jesus to be crucified, thinking that would be the end. But the Bible says, “Death is swallowed up in victory”. (1 Corinthians 15: 84) Hallelujah!!!

 

 

Dead to Sin

 

 

Beloved, as I was waiting on the Lord, and worshipping Him in my hotel room (SAS Raddisson Hotel) in Copenhagen, the Holy Spirit came mightily upon me, and the Lord told me it was time to write the next issue of the Millennium Echo. It’s what you’d regard as one of those intimate moments with God; those times when the Lord says to the soul “come apart and rest a while”. The Lord said, “I want you to warn my children about not toiling (playing) with sin”. Therefore, it is my prayer that the Holy Spirit will grant us the true revelation of what the Lord is asking me to share in this issue.

 

 

 

Living in Sin

The Lord says that many of His children are still living in sin, and because of this, they cannot witness effectively about His saving grace.

 

Having commemorated Easter not too long ago, it is well to remind us of its significance. The Bible queries, shall we keep on sinning so that God can keep on showing us more and more kindness and forgiveness? Of course not! Should we keep on sinning when we don’t have to? … Your old evil desires were nailed to the cross with Him; that part of you that loves to sin was crushed and fatally wounded, so that your sin-loving body is no longer under sin’s control, no longer needs to be a slave to sin; for when you are deadened to sin you are freed from all its allure and its power over you. …

 

Christ rose from the dead and will never die again. Death no longer has any power over Him. He died once for all to end sin’s power, but now lives forever in unbroken fellowship with God. So look upon your old sin nature as dead and unresponsive to sin, and instead be alive to God, alert to Him, through Jesus Christ our Lord .Do not let sin control your puny body any longer; do not give in to its sinful desires. Do not let any part of your bodies become tools of wickedness, to be used for sinning; but give your selves completely to God – every part of you – for you are back from death and you want to be tools in the hands of God, to be used for His good purposes. Sin need never again be your master, for now you are no longer tied to the law where sin enslaves you, but you are free under God’s favour and mercy’ (Romans 6: 1-2, 6-7, 9-14, Living Bible).

 

This issue of Christians toiling with sin (by whatever definition) is a very serious matter. The simple definition the Bible gives of sin is in James 4: 17 which says, “whoever knows what is right to do and fails to do it, for him (or her) it is sin’. Evangelist Steve Hill defines sin as “anything Jesus wouldn’t do”.

 

The point is that anytime we sin, we nail Jesus to that cross again and put Him to open shame.

 

 

Raised from the Dead

By now many of us reading this would have seen or heard the testimony of Pastor Daniel Ekechukwu who was raised from the dead in Nigeria. One of the voices he heard in hell was that of a Pastor who cried in desperation for the mercy of God, because he had stolen money from the church. In 1 Peter 4:17-18, the Bible says, “for the time has come for judgement, and it must begin first among God’s own children. And if even we who are Christians are barely saved, what chance will the godless have?” Beloved, this is scary! As a matter of fact, Reinhard Bonnke reported that the angel had told Pastor Ekechukwu that if he hadn’t been given the opportunity to come back to life, he would have ended up in hell. Pastor Ekechukwu confessed that although he was a pastor, he was not living right. The point is that many of us may not have the ‘second chance’ opportunity given to Pastor Ekechukwu.

 

 One of the most disturbing passages in the Bible is found in Matthew 7:21-23. It says, ‘Not all who sound religious are really godly people. They may refer to me as ‘Lord’, but still won’t get to heaven. For the decisive question is whether they obey my father in heaven. At the Judgement many will tell me, ‘Lord, we told others about you and used your name to cast out demons and to do many other great miracles’. But I will reply, ‘you have never been mine. Go away, for your deeds are evil’ (Living Bible).

 

Lamentations 3: 40 says “let us examine ourselves …, and repent and turn again to the Lord”. Beloved, it would be good for us to daily examine our lives and our walk with God in the light of this passage. The worse thing that can happen to any Christian is to find him or herself in the situation where s(he) stands before God and is told ‘depart from me, I never knew you’. Christ is coming for a spotless Bride, those who have kept themselves ready to meet the Bridegroom. Whilst we are waiting, we are reminded to “occupy” till He comes.

 

 

Resurrection Power!

Beloved, if you’re struggling with any type of sin that’s standing in the way and hindering you from fulfilling God’s call on your life, then let that power that raised Christ from the dead break that strong hold over your life.

 

 Pray, that like Paul, you may know Him and the ‘power of the resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering’.

 

When Christ died on that cross, a holy exchange took place. He took our sins and replaced it with His righteousness and that is why today we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ.

 

That is why the Bible asks in Romans 6: 2 “how shall we, who have died to sin, still live in it?”

 

Dear friends, we haven’t got eternity to do what God has called us to do, which is to take His love to a lost and dying world. This is what Easter is about. He is coming at a time no one expects. I pray He finds us worthy when He comes.

 

Millennium Echo reminds us to “occupy” in the Father’s business, until He comes. With sin in our lives, our witness will not be effective. And what’s the point doing all the good work and then not make it on that day. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and reveal to us things that we need to put right in our lives; things that stand in the way of our being His witnesses in our ‘Jerusalem, … and the uttermost parts of the earth’. This is all we have been saved to do.

 

Yet, it is not by might or by power, but ‘by my Spirit’, says the Lord.

 

 

God bless you.