Meeting: Season of the spirit day 1
Message: The Heart that can receive the appearance of Glory
Ministers: Pastor Laide Olaniyan
(Titus 1:11-13) – “11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake. 12 One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, the Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. 13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.”
(2:12-15) – “12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.”
The Lord our God is a Father. He wants to purify us and make us a people who can bear His glory. His way of purifying us will not always be by pampering us but oftentimes through rebuke and correction. There are seasons of gentility but there are certain administrations of the spirit that will require sharp and tough rebuke and chastisement for certain natures to fall off so we can be sound in the faith. There are some natures in our souls and the intent of God for us is that we are redeemed from all our iniquities.
(Ephesians 5:26-27) – “26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
The project in God’s heart is to present to Himself a peculiar people; a glorious church without spot or wrinkle. This is the reason for His appearance, to make us ready to be presented glorious to Him.
A peculiar people is a redeemed people, a glorious church. To arrive at being a peculiar people as seen in 1 Peter 2:1-18, we must be redeemed from vain conversations, purified in our souls unto unfeigned love and must have laid aside all malice and guile and iniquities to come into the realm of the living God.
The fountain of all of man’s sin is iniquity in the heart – Mark 7:21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders.” God does not just look at our actions or the outward, He looks at our thoughts and intentions. The manifestation of the evil ways of man is rooted in iniquity; an error in our judgement – Hebrews 3:10 “Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.” God has to purify us from every error in our heart. We can do right actions outwardly but as long as our heart, thought and intent aren’t right with God and according to His righteous standard and judgement, it’s still iniquity.
Iniquity is a result of the fall. We were born and conceived in it. They are thoughts and motives that are alien to God. What God wants to do is replace iniquities in our hearts by the giving of the thoughts and judgements of Christ. (Isaiah 11:2-3) – “2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; 3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:” (Daniel 7:22) – “Until the Ancient of days came, and judgement was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.”
Judgement is an adornment. Judgement raises the bar of righteousness, for the righteous man. Judgement isn’t to condemn a people but to prepare the righteous for appearance. God is a being of high judgement, no thought can be hidden from him. Thoughts are manifest and loud in His sight. Our thoughts and intent are louder than our actions!
What makes us judge wrongly is the software of the adversary that is inside of us. This season, God is delivering judgement of His ways, so that the revelation of how He judges can be unveiled. It is written that judgement must begin at the House of God.
(Esther 2:15-23) With the story of Esther, she was taught the judgement and manner of the kingdom. She was prepared for the king by her obedience to the King’s chamberlain. Beyond her beauty, by the reason of judgement, she obtained the favour of all men who looked upon her. To be accepted by the Lord we must become virgins, we must subject ourselves to purification process like Esther did to come before the king.
“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5)
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;” (1 Peter 2:9)
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:6)
As we subject ourselves to God’s redemption plan, we will be redeemed from our nations and tribes, we will be made unto another nationale, that is, a holy nation. The Lord desires to make us kings and priests in His kingdom. Being a king and a priest has nothing to do with earthly dominion as men think but is more after the order of our Lord Jesus Christ who is seated at the right hand of our God far above all powers and principalities. If it were not so, we would have seen Jesus take over political seats or earthly power realms.
There is a kingship in priesthood, this kingly priesthood is a royal priesthood. God wants to raise a royal people on earth.
“For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest, Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” (Hebrews 7:14-17).
The Aaronic priesthood was a prophetic template for the people of God in the wilderness. However, God’s original template of priesthood is that of the Melchizedek order. God’s intention is not to have one priesthood as with Aaron or that we like Aaron should only come into presence once a year. What God wants is to raise many priests like our High Priest, Jesus. God wants every believer to apprehend salvation and be a minister of salvation just like the High Priest. Jesus’ High Priestly stature is not His original estate from the beginning, it is not His eternal nature or stature but a condescension. Even after we become high priests, it does not mean we become equal with Him.
One of the signs of a peculiar people is that they are zealous of good works. Just like Jesus, they are consumed with doing the will of God – Psalm 69:9 “For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.” Zeal is a fire of God manifesting in a drive. Love of God is translated into zeal – 2 Corinthians 5:13-14 “13 For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. 14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:” We can be so addicted and driven to keep the commandments of God even though they may seem too high and lofty.
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,” (Acts 2: 17-21).
The project of the Lord upon the earth is supervised by the Holyghost and the Lord will keep giving portions of His spirit until He gives “my spirit”. God gives us measures out of “my spirit” e.g the baptism of the Holyghost but He wants us to have “my spirit” within and upon us that we might walk in His statutes. “My spirit” is an allocation of the spirit of God that is unique to the Godhead.
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
Having a new heart and new spirit are operations when we first believed to begin our journey but the new heart cannot take us to the end of our journey which is arriving at God’s presence. There is a need for the believer also to be given the heart of flesh which can endure all of God’s curriculum. The heart of flesh can receive “my spirit” but the new heart we received at new birth can’t because of the presence of the stony heart of flesh still residing within it. Such a heart (stony heart) will eventually get offended in the way. The church of God is under a continuous surgical process to take out the stony heart of flesh until we can receive the heart of flesh.
(Exodus 20:7) – “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”
(Acts 2:21) – “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
(2 Timothy 2:22) – “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
As we call upon the Lord (and/or LORD) at our various seasons and phases in our Christian journey, we are being healed from vanity and can receive salvation and its various measures until we are fully saved. “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7) – Only those completely healed from vanity can call upon the name of the LORD. The name of God is a name of high separation and only men who have been highly separated from all vanity can call this sacred name.
As we are drinking into the allocations of the spirits we are also drinking into salvation till we come to a place where we can call upon the name of our God for salvation.
The prophecy of the fullness of salvation is still hanging over the church. When doctrine is taught us, we will come into a level where we can bear the name of God. God wants to pour His spirit upon us, He wants us to carry and bear His name.
The calling of the name of the LORD is not mere opening of mouth to call His name but it is of the soul’s response to the dealings and requirements of and for salvation. Only a sincere soul will know that it hasn’t yet called this name. Can we have called the name of the Lord? Yes but the name of the LORD God is different. We must further undergo learnings of this name to call upon it. We must know the person of the LORD God to call it. This name is SALVATION – “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” (Proverbs 18:10). God will always check our hearts before He answers our call for this name.
THE END