WALK IN THE NEWNESS OF LIFE

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new – 2 Corinthians 5:17

LIGHT FOR NOW: Until you know who you are, you cannot walk in your true identity and nature.

A believer in Christ is a new man created in Christ, different from the old man that was born after the image of his parents. John 3:6 says, “that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”. To be born of the Spirit of God is to be born of God’s image and likeness, which includes his nature and character. This is why the true understanding of who you are in Christ is dependent on your accurate knowledge of who the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ is. This is very important and fundamental because until you know who you are, you cannot walk in your true identity and nature. And to know you, you must know Him, in whose image and likeness you were made, because as he is, so are we in this world (1John 4:17; 3:2).  Apostle Peter never knew who he was and the destiny he carried until he knew who Jesus is (Matthew 16:15-19).

As a believer in Christ, if you do not know who you are, the stuff that you are made off, you will not be able to live your life naturally. You will be living outside your nature which is living a fake life. You are born of the incorruptible word of God. “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of the incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever” (1 Peter 1:23). This is to say that you are born of God, because the word of God is God Himself. You are a product of faith in God’s word through the hearing of the gospel (Romans 10:17). You must never forget what you are made of. When you realize that the Word of God is your nature, you will not struggle to do the Word. You will do the Word naturally. This is because the word of God has the inherent power to manifest supernaturally. Therefore, you must be conscious of the truth that you are the mirror of God’s word. If the Word of God cannot fall to the ground void, then your words have no right to fail.

INSTRUCTION: Always be conscious of who you are in Christ.


Prayer: I am born of the Word. I do not struggle to do the Word; I do the Word naturally because I am a product of the Word, in Jesus Name!


QUOTE: You are a product of God’s Word.

DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 11; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 11

YOU ARE BLESSED

“…And if ye be Christ’s, then ye are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise” –

Galatians 3:29

LIGHT FOR NOW: God is not WITH you; God is IN you.


Our text for today says, “…And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and an heir according to the promise”. This debunks the general assumption that everybody cannot be successful. Although, in a sense; everybody cannot be successful. But this is not amongst God’s people, because we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. We are already successful and prosperous.  Peradventure you get into trouble, because you are the seed of Abraham, the blessing will bring you out of the trouble. It will locate solutions for you. You must understand that the blessing is the effect and result of God’s divine presence in your life. The Bible records that Joseph was a prosperous man because God was with him (Genesis 39:2). As a believer in Christ, it’s even better for you. God is not WITH you, God is IN you. Many of God’s children need to come to the full knowledge of Christianity. They need to know what God has done for them and in them, in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ”.

You have already been blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ. Victory, joy, peace, success, breakthroughs and every blessing from God is yours in Christ. Live everyday with the consciousness that you are blessed. You have been chosen and called into the life of blessing. Think blessing, talk blessing, and walk in blessings. You have been already blessed.


INSTRUCTION: Think blessing, talk blessing, and walk in blessings. You have been already blessed.


PRAYER: Lord, I declare that all things are mine. I live and walk in blessing, because I am the seed of Abraham, in Jesus Name.  Amen.


QUOTE: You are not about about to be blessed; you have already been blessed.


DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 10; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 10

WE ARE COMPLETE IN CHRIST

“…And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power” –

Colossians 2:20

LIGHT FOR NOW: You are the temple of the living God; He lives and walks in you.


As a born again believer in Christ, when you received the Holy Spirit, you received the fullness of God. There is nothing of God that is supposed to be in you that is not already in you. This is makes you unconquerable. You are not a mere man. Your humanity was supplanted by the very life and nature of God. As a believer in Christ, you have advantage over the prophets in the Old Testament because you have what they never had: the capacity to house the Holy Spirit. You are God’s living tabernacle; when you move, that is the Spirit of God moving in you. Your hands have become His Hands, and your fingers, His fingers. You have become immersed in Him and He dwells in you. God sees through your eyes, talks through your mouth, and moves with your body. God touches lives and impacts the world through you. There is nothing lacking in a born again man. You are complete and perfected in Him. 

The Bible says in John 1:16, “of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace”. As a believer in Christ, you have received in all fullness, everything that’s of deity in Christ Jesus. This is not just in measure, but also in the quality of life available in Him. You have received whatever that makes God to be God. You have all of His glory, might, strength and wisdom. You represent everything that God represents. You have been made an associate of the God-kind. No wonder Apostle John in 1John 4:17 says, “…as he is, so are we in this world”.


INSTRUCTION: Be conscious that you are complete in Christ.


PRAYER: Lord, I thank you for making me a carrier and dispenser of your glory, wisdom and might, in Jesus Name.  Amen.


QUOTE: You have been made an associate of the God-kind


DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 9; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 9

ALL THINGS ARE NEW (3)

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new – 2 Corinthians 5:17

LIGHT FOR NOW: Focus on the new. Forget the old.

To behold that all things are become new is to change your affections and appetites too. As a born again believer in Christ, you are to change the areas of your focus and desires. You are to behold the new things and not still the old things. In Colossians 3:1-3, Apostle Paul says, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God: set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God”. The scripture above shows that when you got born again, even your location changed. Your life is now hid with Christ in God. Ephesians 2:6 says, “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. Spiritually, you are now seated together with Christ in heaven. You must therefore begin to behold the new things you have in Christ Jesus rather than the old you had in the world.

Now, in Christ we behold the righteousness of God which is in Christ Jesus; we behold justification by faith; we behold Divine life, mercy, grace, health, prosperity, success, healing, fruitfulness, blessing, love etc; and not the opposite which comes from Satan. We focus on what Christ has done for us and not on what Satan is trying to do to us. “if ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on the things above, and not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: …in the which ye also walked sometime, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not to one another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him…”  Colossians 3:1-10).

INSTRUCTION: Focus on what Christ has done for you and not on what Satan is trying to do to you.


Prayer: In Christ, I have all things. Therefore, I refuse to be distracted by the suggestions of the enemy, in Jesus Name!


QUOTE: What you see determines what you get

DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 8; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 8

ALL THINGS ARE NEW (2)

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new – 2 Corinthians 5:17

LIGHT FOR NOW: A born again man is not a renovation, or a rebranding or a correction of Adam.

To behold or see that all things are new is to see things well and see it the way God sees it. When your focus or vision is right, your destination in God will be certain, because it is God who will hasten His word to perform it. By the reason of your new birth in Christ, everything about you in the eyes of God has become new. When God sees you, he sees Christ. Remember, a born again man is not a renovation or a rebranding or a correction of Adam. He is a new breed created in Christ. The new man in Christ has no past record. As a matter of truth, he has no record at all. A new man in Christ has no business with generational curses or limitations. His generation starts and ends in Christ. And in Christ, there is no curse or limitation; only blessings. For Christ hath redeemed us from the curse already (Galatians 3:13-14); and he has blessed us with all spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

In the flesh, a man can have parents or generations, but a born again man is no longer in the flesh but in the spirit (Romans 8:10). John 3:6 says, “For that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”. You must see yourself as a new man, born after the Spirit of God and who is already blessed in Christ. For “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree: that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13-14)

INSTRUCTION: See yourself as a new man born after the Spirit of God and who is already blessed in Christ.


Prayer: I am born of God. In this New Year, I am blessed without any curse or limitation, in Jesus Name!


QUOTE: When your focus is right, you arrive at your destination.

DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 7; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 7

ALL THINGS ARE NEW (1)

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new – 2 Corinthians 5:17

LIGHT FOR NOW: A man created in Christ is not ordinary.

To behold, is to see. As a new man in Christ, you have the responsibility to see that all things are now new. For you to be able to see well as a believer, you must begin to see things the way God sees things. You must also see yourself the way God sees you. Our text for today tells us that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, made in the image and likeness of God. You are not an ordinary man. A man created in Christ is ordinary. If God says that you are now born again in His image, having been conformed to the image of His son Jesus Christ by adoption, then you must see yourself that way. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).

God is seeing you as a son, His special creation in Christ Jesus (John 1:12). Apostle Peter in 1Peter 2:9-10 says, “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 marvelous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy”. Therefore, you must see yourself as a son of God specially created to show forth his praise and his word will find expression in your life.

INSTRUCTION: Acknowledge that all that are become new.


Prayer: I am born of God. In this New Year, I will show forth his praise, in Jesus Name!


QUOTE: You are not an ordinary man.

DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 6; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 6

THE GOSPEL: THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek   – 2 Corinthians 5:17

LIGHT FOR NOW: The Gospel is the power of God.

The gospel is about the forgiveness of sins. It makes possible our translation from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Nothing changes the situation of a man other than the gospel. The Gospel is centered on the person of Christ. It is the only message that has the ability or power to save. Faith in Christ is faith in the gospel. It is faith in the resurrection. Until you have faith in Christ, salvation is far from you. The gospel of God is the news that was announced in the Old Testament. It is the promise in the Holy Scriptures (Romans 1:1-3). The promise announced in the scriptures was about a person – Jesus Christ. The gospel is the power of God. It is about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. The gospel brings salvation. A saved man is a victorious man. He is not a man looking for victory, but he is victory personified. A saved man is not the man looking for healing but he is the man that has already been healed. He does not go about looking for things; He already has all things. A saved man is not the man whose sins are about to be forgiven; but he is one whose sins have already been forgiven.

The gospel makes faith in Christ possible. It is the faith in Christ that saves. The gospel brings faith for salvation. Any message that does not testify or witness about the resurrection of Christ is not the gospel. It is in the gospel that the righteousness of God is revealed. The summary of the life of the believer in Christ is faith in His resurrection. There is no way a man can be saved or reconciled back to God outside the gospel.

INSTRUCTION: Go after the Gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation.


Prayer:  Lord, I thank you for the salvation of my soul, in Jesus Name!


QUOTE: it is in the gospel that the righteousness of God is revealed.

DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 5; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 5

THE FACTS OF THE GOSPEL

LIGHT FOR THE NOW: The gospel of Christ is the power of God.

From what I taught yesterday, you can clearly tell anyone what the gospel is all about. The gospel of Christ is the power of God. Whenever a message is preached and is devoid of specific facts; it is no longer the gospel of Christ but another gospel.

Only the gospel of Christ describes the power of God. What then are the specific facts you should look for in a message, irrespective of who preaches it, where and when. The following are the concrete elements that constitute the basis for the gospel of Christ:

Christ died for man’s sin. We read in 1 Corinthians 15:3‘For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures’ and in John 1:29 the Apostle John is reported of saying ‘John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world’.Also 2 Corinthians 5:21 [NIV] says ‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God’. Jesus Christ never committed sin, but He received man’s sin and died.

Another fact to establish in a gospel is the burial of Christ. There can’t be burial without death. Christ died and He was buried. He actually went to Hell – appeared before the Supreme Court of the Universe for judgment. Bear in mind that the accuser the devil accuses the brethren day and night. So, Christ had to be judged. We read in 1 Timothy 3:16 ‘And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory’. It is in Hell that Christ was judged in the Spirit. He was justified – not found guilty of the charges leveled against Him! Yes, Christ was judged, discharged and acquitted. This is part of the vital components of the Gospel of Christ that must be preached!

He rose again the third day. This report is made by the scriptures! It is not an assumption. There are specific and emphatic documentations in the scripture to this effect: that Christ rose the third day. Read Luke 24:1-8; Romans 1:4; 1 Corinthians 20.

INSTRUCTION: In every message preached, look for the facts of the Gospel of Christ.


PRAYER: Lord, I thank you for the revelation on what the gospel of Christ is, in Jesus name.


QUOTE: The gospel is what makes salvation available

DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 4; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 4

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) -Romans 1:1-2

LIGHT FOR NOW: The gospel of God was centered on Jesus Christ our Lord, and nothing else!

The gospel of God spoke of by Apostle Paul was the news that was announced by the prophets in the Old Testament. Verses 3 and 4 convey specific words concerning God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who was in the flesh made from the Seed of David. ‘Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead’. The gospel explains that Christ is the power of resurrection from the dead. It can be summed up in this way; that the gospel of God is about the resurrection of Jesus, and the power of Jesus Christ.

Paul explained that the gospel of God was centered on Jesus Christ our Lord, and nothing else! The gospel tells us that Christ would be resurrected by the Spirit, from the dead. This is a clear indication that it was a promise, that Christ will come, suffer, die and then be resurrected.

Paul stated in verse sixteen of Romans chapter one “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” It can be deduced that Paul says that the Gospel of Christ is the power of God and vice versa, and he made his stand clear on this matter – he was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ! The resurrection of Christ from death is the power of the gospel.

Again, Paul in Romans 10:9 states that God raised Christ from the dead. He pointed out that salvation emanates from your confession of the resurrection of Christ. ‘That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’ The power of God is basically concerning Jesus resurrection from death. This is the Gospel!

INSTRUCTION:

Jesus Christ is the Gospel of God. Confess Him and be saved!

PRAYER: Thank you Lord Jesus, for the knowledge of salvation by you.

QUOTE: You only confess Christ to be saved.

DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 3; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 3

WHAT DO YOU SEE?

“And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever ” – Genesis 13:14

LIGHT FOR NOW: In this New Year, what you see will determine what you will get.

We are in an era where one is tempted to see all kinds of things, but it is your responsibility to ensure that you see well. What you see is key to what God has in store for you in this New Year.  The greatest weapon for access into the treasures and possibilities in God is in your ability to see. You must always ensure that you see something from God’s Word that will give hope. In the service of God, what you see is fundamental to what you can have of Him. Throughout the writings of Paul, you will never see where he prayed for the church or believers to have things. Rather, he always prayed for them to see or know what they already have and to take possession of it. In Ephesians 1:17-18, he says, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. That the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints”.

Apostle Paul was talking about the eyes of the mind, which is beyond the physical eye. This is because the believer sees possibilities from the eyes of his mind and not from the physical eyes. As a believer in Christ, there is a new way of seeing things. As a matter of truth, it also affects the way you see your salvation. It is your responsibility to see things from a new perspective as a new man. Never see the old. See that all things have become new. In this new year, you must consciously drop old habits and develop new ones that are consistent with who you are in Christ. Stop seeing failures and begin to enjoy success. Never see limitations but see all the possibilities that you have in Christ Jesus.  In this new year, what you see will determine what you will get.

INSTRUCTION: Stop seeing the old. Embrace the new.                                      

Prayer: Lord, I receive grace to see and embrace the new, in Jesus Name!


QUOTE: What you see determines what you get.

DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 2; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 2

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET

“And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever ” –

Genesis 13:14-15

LIGHT FOR NOW: Until you see it, you are not entitled to have it.


God told Abraham, “As far as you can see, I’ll give you”. Until you see, you are not entitled to get it. Without revelation, there is no restoration. You have to see it to have it. One of the principles that govern access to our inheritance and dominion is our ability to see and discern the intangible word until they become tangible. Your ability to see what the optical eyes cannot see is one of the fundamental principles of advancement in life. There are two kinds of eyes; the physical and the spiritual eyes. The natural man is limited because he only has the optical eyes hence he cannot press into the things that are out of the natural realm. But this is not so for the spiritual man. The spiritual man has been fortified by the Holy Spirit to have both the natural and the spiritual eyes. Hence, he can function between two realms; interact with both realms and press into the realm beyond the natural.  The spiritual man is advantaged by the Holy Spirit to see beyond the realm of materiality. He can see the things that have been freely given to him in Christ Jesus. The natural man is disadvantaged because he cannot see these things. You have to see it first before you can possess it. Your vision empowers you to possess your inheritance.

To see your inheritance in Christ, you must be filled with the knowledge of God’s will through His Word. The picture of our future is in the scripture. You can access information about how your life will be in the next few years from the pages of the scripture. The scripture helps us to know God better, know His plans for our lives and guides us on what to do in order to possess our possessions. God’s word is our mirror. Through it, we can see our present outlook and our future destination. When you are given to meditating on God’s word, the word will become flesh and you can behold it.


INSTRUCTION: Picture your future from the scripture.


PRAYER: Lord, in this New Year, I receive grace to see well, in Jesus Name.  Amen.



QUOTE: Your elevation in life is tied to the level of your revelation.



DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: GENESIS CHAPTER 1; EVENING: MATTHEW CHAPTER 1