DECEMBER 2012 OUR MONTH OF HARVEST

As November; Our month of Refreshing wound to a close, I began to rummage through my spirit in search of what to say to God’s people for the month of December. The Lord already told me that December shall be our month of Harvest. He also gave me some texts of scripture to meditate on in connection with harvest and as I looked through the texts in Gen.8:22, Gal.6:7-9 and Matthew 12:33-37, I could not help thinking of the many people around the world who often experience disappointments in life as a result of the operation of this law of seed time and harvest. To appreciate what I am about to talk about, let us see the text of scriptures:

“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Gen.8:22

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Galatians 6:7-9.

Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Matthew 12:33-37

Recently, while listening to John Maxwell review his latest book “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, I heard him make a very profound statement about laws that I do not think I have ever consciously averted my mind to even though I know it is there and have always tried to live by it. He said the interesting thing about a law is that it cuts across every sphere of existence whether we are aware of them or not. In other words, laws work for or against you whether you are aware of them or not depending on whether you obey them or not.

In school, we were taught that ignorance of the law is no excuse. I believe our teachers learnt it from God in Hosea 4:6 where He said through the prophet that His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Therefore, contrary to the belief in the world that what you don’t know cannot hurt you, what you don’t know may just be your undoing because the truth is that ignorance is not a virtue but a vice.

Consequent on the foregoing, your ignorance of the law of seed time and harvest may be the reason why another year has ended again for you in disappointment. I am sorry if this statement hurt you, but sometimes for you to be healed and make progress in life, you will have to get out of a comfort zone or two; to experience a little pain or inconvenience through exposure and application of the balm of truth. But believe me; this is in your best interest.

If you look deeply at all there texts of scripture quoted above, you would glean the following realities about life among others:

1.     Harvest is preceded by a planting season known as seed time.

2.     Following from one above, you cannot get out of life what you have not put into it. This explains why in our third text of scripture, the Lord said we should either make a tree good and it’s fruit good or make it corrupt and its fruit will be corrupt. In other words, the quality of seed sown will determine the quality of harvest reaped. This was reiterated by Apostle Paul in our second text where he said anyone who sows to the flesh shall reap corruption and anyone who sows to the spirit shall reap life everlasting.

3.     The harvest is usually more than the seeds sown so what you do not want to see in abundance in your life, ensure you do not sow to it. This would help to guard our tongues as we must have what we say [Mk.11:23]. So say what you want to see in your future always.

4.     In our fast paced mammon ruled world, many people have forgotten this precious virtue of sowing precious seeds of the right words and character which gender towards godliness and protect against corruption as well as provide the much sought after wealth. In a bid to get ahead, they have neglected the substance which is the cultivation of the right seeds in the right environment to produce the finished products. Instead, they are putting the cart before the horse seeking the fruit which represents the harvest at the expense of investing time to sow the seeds that guarantee the harvest they desire. The result is that they end up sowing to the flesh and reaping corruption in the process. As I look around me today, I see many chasing after money and fame while neglecting godly values in the process and the result in all the cases is disappointment. Some are disappointed in that they never get either of these things while others are disappointed in that they get them with leanness to their souls. By this I mean they get the mundane and lose the substance like love, joy peace in the Holy Ghost. Then they begin to envy those who were smart enough to recognize that godliness with contentment is great gain. As a result, such people walk in the blessing and end up with the fruit which is the harvest and they are the ones who determine the way things really play out in life; even though they do not have to run around and compromise their godly standards like others. To these kinds of people, little becomes much and small becomes great and wisdom is common place because their affections are set on things above and not on things of this world. Whereas, to the other kind of people, much become little or zero in their hands because by their life styles, they have subjected themselves to the forces of the waster.

5.     The kinds of seeds sown are not money only; you can sow your life (which is what God treasures most), your time, your efforts, your skill etc to enlarge the Kingdom of God and God will see to it that you get back a hundred percent what you give. When you sow your life for instance, you reap a harvest of long life, peace, safety, health, wisdom, joy and in many cases fame and money. God is not a man that He should lie! When I look through history and the present day, the trend has always been the same. Those who sow their destinies to please God never end their journeys small or in shame! You may want to do a little exercise and read through the bible from Genesis to Revelation as well as any history book you can find. Then take an objective look at the most outstanding men and women of God in our generation, you will find this assertion to be the truth.   

Let me close this little message by saying that the law of seed time and harvest has separated the people of this world into two categories. They are the seed minded people and the fruit minded people.

The former are the cultivators who immediately recognize good seeds and find the best ways to plant and nurture them to produce a rich harvest of good things eventually. To these people, little becomes much in their hands and small become great. They do not go around pressuring others for what others can do for them; rather they go around looking for how to add value to others. In the process, God blesses them because the law of seed time and harvest must be enforced and the only person who can enforce this law is God. This is why Apostle Paul affirms that he planted and Apollos watered, but God gave the increase [harvest].

On the other hand, the latter or fruit minded people are always looking for short cuts to get what they want without paying attention to the rule of seed time and harvest. They want the fruits of others and they are not interested in cultivating their own. They are never there for anyone else but for themselves. They would only maintain a relationship from which they benefit regardless of the feelings of the other party to the relationship for instance and wonder why they always experience broken relationships. In life, you cannot eat your cake and have it. You cannot expect what you have not put into life. The fact that you give money in Church for instance, does not guarantee that you will be rich because becoming rich involves a lot more than giving your tithes and offering. From my experience as a minister of the gospel, I have found out that obedience to God is the foundation for playing in this field with excellence. This explains why not every minister of the gospel commands equal attention.

In a bid to reducing the number of people in the latter category, God has sent this word at this crucial time of the year to enable us prepare for His visitation next year. So this month, we shall be looking at the law of seed time and harvest and how best we can engage this law to our advantage to the glory of God.

As I draw the curtain, I want to quickly say here that God has sown the greatest seed anyone could sow and you reading this message could become one of the harvest of this seed if you are not yet one by receiving His precious Son Jesus Christ into your life. If you do so, you receive the right to become a child of God and enjoy the entire benefits and privileges attendant therewith. If you want to reciprocate God’s affection in giving up His all for you, please say the following prayer out loud to God in faith and the Holy Spirit will take you up from there and give you the most pleasant journey through destiny.

            Heavenly father,

Have mercy on me a sinner. I repent of my sin and receive the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross for my salvation. I believe He died for me and on the third day, you raised Him from the dead for my salvation. From today, I receive Him as the Saviour and Lord of my Life.

Thank you father for forgiving me and writing my name in the book of life with the blood of Jesus. I pledge allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ from this day forever in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen!!!

If you just said this prayer, congratulations! You are now born again.  Please let me know by emailing flourishinggirl@gmail.com and I will send you an e copy of our “Believers’ Guide to Growth” to enable you take off on this glorious adventure of the new creation. You can also log on to my blog on www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com or follow me on face book at www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl   for more resource materials to enrich your Christian life. God bless you!!!

  

Who is a False Prophet?

False Prophets

A false prophet is anyone who pretends to be a man or woman of God when they are not. They claim to be called of God and sent to help mankind whereas, they are either doing that for covetous purposes or directly on behalf of the devil with the intent to deceive people and turn their hearts from God to the devil. They either never heard the call of God or heard at some point but later deviated into apostasy.

The definition of a false Prophet is brought out clearly in this statement of the Lord in Matt.7:15-23:

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

From this text of Scripture, we learn the following truths about false Prophets:

False prophets are described as ravening wolves that come to us in sheep’s clothing. This is a figurative expression describing a hypocrite. A friend of mine, who is a Pastor now, once told me a story of a Church his wife took him to when he was still a young convert. The lady pastoring the Church according to him came up with a very funny “revelation”. According to him, this lady pastor told him that from that day, he was to start treating her like his wife. That whatever he did for the wife, he should also do for her. He said he could not take it alone, so he called the wife to hear it and this “lady Pastor” had the effrontery to repeat he “revelation”! He said his wife did not say anything to this lady pastor that day. Then one day, the lady pastor came to their house; presumably to implement the “revelation”. This brother’s wife gave her a sound beating and threw her out of their house!

While this may sound funny, it is not something to be taken lightly at all because they later discovered that this same lady Pastor was committing adultery with another man in the same Church. Her ridiculous explanation for this adultery was that that was the means through which she transferred the man’s “blessings” to him! Sadly, this is not an isolated case. It is a common occurrence in the African Continent. Many people due to poverty and a desire to get something for nothing have become preys to these ravening wolves (greedy and voracious agents of the devil).

Interestingly, these occurrences are not new. In the book of Revelation, Jesus warned the Church in Thyatira of his impending judgment of a false prophetess luring His servants into adultery and feeding them food sacrificed to idols. In Rev.2:20-23, Jesus Christ said to the Church:

“Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.”

From this text, we can see that this so called prophetess is the one who calls herself so; the Lord did not call her a prophetess but Jezebel. This refers to a spirit in some women who seek to gain undue control over a congregation (over which they have no spiritual authority) mostly through their lying dreams and visions. You would recall that Jezebel in the Old Testament was the wife of Ahab; a king who once reigned in Israel. She was so domineering that she controlled the affairs of the kingdom of Israel during their reign through her sorceries and witchcraft. You will find her account in 1Kings 16-22.

In 2Cor.11:13-15, Apostle Paul describes these false Prophets as false Apostle. He said:

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”

In my Country, you have some of these title crazy people who are not really servants of God, but pretend to be. There is a notorious one whose chief activity is adultery and extortion. As this nefarious activity persisted, his associate Pastors who really wanted to serve the Lord began to resign one after the other.

If a lady goes to a pastor for counseling for instance and the man’s prescription is sex as a means of transferring the ‘blessing’, she should escape for her life because it is a hallmark of false prophets to “renew” their evil powers through sexual intercourse with unsuspecting victims. They are aptly described by Apostle Peter in 2Pet.2:1-3, 12-19:

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

       … But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.

These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.”

Here, Apostle Peter describes them as false teachers peddling damnable heresies denying the Lordship of Jesus Christ all for covetous motives. Their conscience has become so desensitized by sin that the Apostle describes them as blemishes in their feasts with eyes full of adultery and are so given to vanity that they cannot speak of anything else but vanities. When you hear them speak, you could hardly hear any edifying words flow through them because they are empty. They cannot give what they do not have. He also describes them as wells without water and clouds without rain. This describes a people who can make many promises and deliver on none of them because they are incapable of deliveries due to carnality. Spirituality is the fertile soil for spiritual productivity and they are not spiritual at all; they are carnal like the devil. He sums their description by pointing out that they promise liberty while they themselves are the agents of corruption! What a paradox!

Welcome to November 2012 Our month of Refreshing

Our text scripture for the month is Acts 3:19-21 and I will quote from both the KJV and Amplified bible. That text reads:

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” KJV

The Amplified Bible puts it this way:

“So repent (change your mind and purpose), turn around and return [to God], that your sin may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean), that times of refreshing (of recovering from the effects of heat, of reviving with fresh air), may come from the presence of the Lord:

And that He may send [to you] the Christ (the Messiah). Who before was designated and appointed for you even-Jesus.

Whom heaven must receive [and retain] until the time of the complete restoration of all that God spoke by the mouth of all His holy prophets from ages past [from the most ancient time in the memory of man].”

As I awoke this morning, my heart was ringing with this song by Panam Percy Paul:

Few years turning into few months; in just few days

Jesus will come

No more crying; we shall be rejoicing

In just few days we will go home.

When I woke up fully, I added my favorite song by Pastor Andrae Crouch:

“Soon and very soon we are going to see the King 2ice

Halleluiah, halleluiah we are going to see the king

No my dying there we are going to see the King

No more weeping there we are going to see the king.

Halleluiah, halleluiah we are going to see the king!

Should there be any river we must cross

Should there be any mountain we must climb

God will supply all the strength that we need

Give us grace till we reach the other side…”

As I meditated on these lyrics together with the word of the Lord which came to me from Joel 2:18-26 when we were praying in Church yesterday putting it together with our text scripture for the month, I cannot help but feel a sense of excitement that the Church is in her greatest period in time.

Jesus Christ is coming soon to fulfill all that God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets preceding us from the farthest time in the memory of man. The bible says He is coming for a glorious Church – without spot or wrinkle. As the days progress more, I understand better now why the Lord has been so emphatic on our getting rid of carnality and living spiritual lives.

The work load on us as a ministry this year has been huge in spite of the strength of the work force, but God has made up for us by supplying all our needs. He has enabled us to broadcast the gospel on television, internet and radio and the print media this year more than ever before. He has also enabled us to take on building projects beyond our human capacity and is blessing the work with His favour beyond our wildest dreams.

And now, the compassionate God that He is has shown up again, He wants us to clean up and come and be refreshed and recover from the effects of heat brought on us through labour and self-inflicted stress due to missing the mark or not going by divine direction.  He indeed wants us rejuvenated for our own good; what a good God we serve!!!

In light of this, our focus this month shall be on the most important person on earth right now. So I shall be teaching on the gifts and the Ministry of the Holy Spirit from one of my latest books so titled. The reason is that it is His job to bring us this much needed refreshing and we would do well to tune in by knowledge. The more of Him we know, the more refreshing we can enjoy! You can keep up with these teachings by logging on to www.facebook.com/flourishinggirl and www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com or www.jointheirsfamily.blogspot.com.

If you are not born again and you are reading this piece, I would like you to know that you are not reading by accident. Events were orchestrated from the realm of the spirit that caused you to be reading now. Jesus wants to give you rest from all your troubles. In Matthew 11:28, He said: “come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” To receive that rest, please say the following prayer out loud and mean it with all your heart to God and a new day will dawn for you:

            Heavenly father,

Have mercy on me a sinner. I repent of my sin and receive the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s cross for my salvation. I believe He died for me and on the third day, you raised Him from the dead for my salvation. From today, I receive Him as the Saviour and Lord of my Life.

Thank you father for forgiving me and writing my name in the book of life with the blood of Jesus. I pledge allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ from this day forever in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen!!!

If you just said this prayer, congratulations! You are now born again.  Please let me know by emailing Flourishinggirl@gmail.com and I will send you an e copy of our “Believers’ Guide to Growth” to enable you take off on this glorious adventure of the new creation. God bless you!!!

HOW TO IDENTIFY FALSE CHRISTS AND PROPHETS

By Pastor Alero Flourish Nanna

(An excerpt from my book of this title)

DEDICATION

To all the saints of God in Northern Nigeria who have suffered untold hardship in the hands of the anti-Christ masquerading with religion. When I think of your suffering for the Cross of Christ, I cannot stop thinking that in heaven some will be more equal than others. You are my true Heroes!

To all the saints of God who have suffered in the hands of false Prophets, Teachers and Apostles due to ignorance born out of want of true spiritual leadership. It is my heart felt prayer that the light from this book will liberate you and set you free to be a servant of the Lord.

INTRODUCTION

Just yesterday, as I write, I heard this story about an event in Northern Nigeria that was even videoed and sent to a man of God in England who visited Nigeria and was addressing us at a gathering of Ministers of the Gospel. He recounted how he was shown a film by a man of God from Plateau State in Nigeria of the persecution of the saints of God in the Northern part of the country. He said that in the film, he saw how Christians were cut on the forehead with cutlass by the children of the bondwoman and forced to run while bleeding. These agents of the devil did not stop at that, but kept on cutting them from behind while they ran until they dropped dead.

Another scene he described was that of a Pastor’s wife whom they forced to lie on her back and drove a bottle into her vagina and forced her up again and ordered her to run. She was running with her legs apart with blood oozing out of her body. This brought tears to my eyes as I imagined the excruciating pain this woman of God must have had to endure for the Cross of Christ.

Another story I heard from a sister yesterday as I write is about a man in Lagos Nigeria; who went in search of a solution from a false prophet. The false prophet gave him an evil prescription which included that he had his bath with soap and sponge given to him by this false prophet. This gullible man did as he was told and sank into the ground where he went to take his bath. Only the sponge and soap were found at the scene until his body was later exhumed from the ground.

As I write, my heart bleeds. I had a restless night as I thought on these events, but I woke up with this song: “IT WONT BE LONG” by Andrae Crouch this morning and my heart was comforted.

From these two real life stories we cannot deny the devastating consequence of ignorance brought upon a people resulting in the thriving of the evil machinations of the anti-Christ and false prophets. This, I believe, is in part due to a want of real spiritual leadership for some and for others an outright rejection of the truth because they want to get something for nothing.

My intention through this book is to unmask false Prophets, false Apostles, false Teachers, false pastors, false evangelists and false Christs.  This is with the intent that everyone who truly seeks to know the one true God of the universe in experience be liberated and released to know Him.

By way of introduction, let us look at the definition of our book title HOW TO IDENTIFY FALSE PROPHETS AND FALSE CHRISTS. For the purpose of clarity, I would like to break down the words and define them separately before putting them together again to get a clear picture of what we are looking at here. Your destiny may well depend on your understanding this truth.

To identify means to be able to say for sure or to recognize. False Prophets are people who claim to be prophets of God and are not. False Christs refers to anyone handing himself out as the Messiah or Saviour of mankind apart from Jesus Christ.  Thus the title of this book means how to recognize those pretending to be prophets and false Christ when they are not.

OCTOBER OUR MONTH OF TRAVAIL

Isa.66:8-9: “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.

Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.”

Gal.4:19: “My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,”

This month of October has been prophetically declared our month of travail based on the revelation given to me by the Lord drawn from these two scriptures. In the first text, we are made to understand that to birth souls into the kingdom of God; we must travail for them in prayer. The second text also makes us understand that to get these souls to mature in Christ; we must also travail like in child birth. In the text of Isaiah quoted above, we receive an assurance of answered prayers from God where He said He will not bring us to the point of delivery and shut the womb.

The Lord Jesus Christ makes us understand that for us to be effective in Kingdom service; we must learn to pray to the Lord of Harvest to send laborers into His field. You will find this in Lk.10:2 where He said:

“The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

He clarified this further in John 15:16 where He makes us understand that He has chosen and ordained us to the end that we should bear fruit and that our fruit should abide.

We bear fruit by winning the lost to Him and our fruit abide when the souls won to him are established in faith. Both of these responsibilities are not possible without the ministry of the Holy Spirit which we engaged through travail in prayer.

To this end, this month, as we conclude our message on the future of the world, we shall be learning how to pray kingdom driven prayers for the birth and establishment of souls in the Kingdom. We shall also be demonstrating through evangelism and training of the converts with a view to discipling them for Christ so they can in turn be engaged by the Lord as labourers in His vineyard.

Beloved, the Lord revealed to me that the end is nearer than many are aware of and we must put more effort into soul winning and discipling to enable the Lord return for a glorious Church without spot and wrinkle.

If you are reading this article and you are not yet born again, I believe that you are not reading this by accident. This is your divine appointment with your glorious destiny. You can get born again now by saying the prayer below out loud to the Lord and you will be saved.

THE SINNER’S PRAYER

Father in Heaven,

I come to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Your word says in John 6:37 that you will not cast me out when I come to you. So I thank you that you will take me in.

You also said in Romans 10:9-10 that if I shall confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in my heart that you raised him from the dead, I shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the son of God. I believe that he was raised from the dead for my justification and I confess him now as my saviour and Lord.

I believe that I have now become your righteousness in Christ whom you made to be sin for me on Calvary’s Cross.

Thank you father that I am saved from this day in Jesus’s name!

If you just said this prayer, CONGRATULATIONS!!! You are now born again. We would like to send you a free e copy of our believers guide to growth. Please indicate your interest by writing to Flourishinggirl@gmail.com or jointheirsfamily@gmail.com. For more of our resource materials please visit and follow our blog at: www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com. or  or check us out on face book by logging on to and liking:   www.facebook.com/alero.nanna1/kingdomjointheirsfamily. Or /Healing and restoration time with Pastor Alero Nanna.  

September 2012 - Perfection

PERFECTION

Welcome to the month of September! This month has been declared by the word of the Lord to us; our month of PERFECTION. Perfection speaks of maturity or completion. It takes perfection for us to walk in the full benefit of the covenant of the New Creation. Gal.4:1 says the heir to an inheritance cannot walk in the wealth allocated to him until he matures. In light of this, the perfection of a planting season is the harvest; the perfection of a pregnancy is delivery; the perfection of a baby Christian is maturity enough to be productive; the perfection of life on earth is the end of time and the commencement of timeless eternity.

The one responsible for making perfection happen is the God. This is why we are told in Ps.138:8 that the Lord will perfect all that concerns us. In addition, we are told in Hebrews 6:1 to move on from spiritual babyhood to maturity. The reason is that it takes maturity to be productive as a believer and our primary assignment as believers is to bear fruit [see Jn.15:16 & Rm.7:4]. When we bear fruit, we can be described as perfected as far as fruit bearing is concerned.   

Also, today, while waiting to pick up my friend from the airport, I started conversing with the Lord and began to imagine what the rapture would be like. Then I prayed that it should take place in my life time because I would like to experience it. The Lord told me to work harder at netting souls into His kingdom and that we can actually hasten His coming if we give more attention to the harvest of souls into God’s Kingdom. In light of the perfection of all things, this month, we shall be looking at the theme: The Second Coming of The Lord Jesus Christ and the End of Time. We shall be teaching from my new book “Will this World Really Come to an End”. You may have been hearing about the soon return of the Lord; the questions I want to ask you are: are you prepared for it? Do you know what events to watch out for and the step by step events that would lead to His glorious appearing and eventually the white Throne Judgment and the end of time? Are you confused about this or are you afraid to know of it because you think you are not prepared? All your fears would be allayed by a clear understanding of these events from God’s word and that is what this book will give to you as you read.

To purchase your own copy, send a request by email to flourishinggirl@gmail.Com; jointheirsfamily@gmail.com. or call any of our phone lines.

For more information and our resource materials please log on to our blogs at:

www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com  

www.jointheirsfamily.blogspot.com     

This month of September, the Lord shall perfect all that concerns you and you will reap the harvest of all the precious seeds you have sown in Jesus’ name!

August 2012, New Beginnings

NEW BEGINNINGS

Welcome to August, Destiny 2012 our Month of New Beginnings. As I examined the book of the beginnings lately, I discovered that beginning again did not start with us. God has had to begin again several times. In Genesis 1: 1 we are made to understand that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. In verse 2, we learn that the earth became formless and void and darkness covered the face of the deep and we see the Spirit of God hovering over the devastation that the earth had become. Then in verse 3, God did something very remarkable. He decided to start all over again to create a new earth. Do you know what He began with? He began with creating light.

In this new beginning, God is beginning with you by enlightening all your dark areas to enable you know where you may have missed it in the past and what you can do to get back on track. He told us as a Ministry that all our past mistakes and reproach has been wiped off together with their consequences. Halleluiah! This is God’s mercy and grace at work for us.

As I continued in my quest in the book of the beginnings, I realized that God gave our patriarchs in the faith new beginnings as well. For instance, Adam and Eve received a New Beginning following the loss of their first two sons after Cain murdered his brother Abel and ran away from home. God gave them Seth from whom the generations were eventually named. In fact when he was born, Eve exclaimed that God had given them another male child to replace Abel whom Cain murdered [Gen.4:25].

Noah received a New Beginning when God decided to wipe out the then world because of violence. In fact with this new beginning came the institution of the law of seed time and harvest in Gen.8:22.

Abraham was given a New Beginning at the age of seventy five when God told him to relocate to the Promised Land. So you are not too old to start again!

Isaac got a New Beginning when in Gen.26, God directed him to remain in Gerar and he sowed and reaped a hundred fold in a year of famine and the bible says he “waxed great and went forward and grew until he became very great”; to the point of arousing the envy of his neighbors.

Jacob got two chances of a New Beginning in his life when he had to flee to Laban and when he came back and wrestled with an angel until he got a change of name and status.

Joseph was also blessed with a new beginning when he was brought before Pharaoh to interpret his dream and received for that grace the position of the number 2 man in Egypt of that day.

The Nation of Israel received a New Beginning when they all had to relocate to Egypt owing to the famine in the land of Canaan.

Dear reader, this month, God wants you to begin afresh with Him at a higher level that only His grace can make happen for you. He has pardoned your past mistakes and is willing to give you another and a better chance in life. Welcome to your month of New Beginnings. To this end, we shall be looking at How to walk in God’s perfect will and not stumble in spite of the corruption in this world and the mounting pressure of hell against humans walking in righteousness. We shall be drawing from the experience of the Patriarchs and as such our texts will be from the book of the beginnings.

Once again, welcome to our month of New Beginnings. For more details and our resource materials, log on to www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com. also, check out our page on face book at aleronanna1/kingdom joint heirs family churches. Also see: Healing and Restoration Time with Pastor Alero Nanna on face book.

JULY; OUR MONTH OF HIGHER GROUND!

Welcome to July! This month to us by the word of the Lord is our month of HIGHER GROUND and our text scriptures are: Rev.4:1 and Galatians 2:2

Rev 4:1  “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”

Gal.2:2 “And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain”.

A meditation on our text scripture would hatch the following understanding to us:

1.     Higher ground means promotion and it is initiated by God. John said he heard a voice from heaven which told him to step up. Apostle Paul said he went up by revelation. By the way, revelation here means knowledge revealed to Him by the Lord.

2.     For you to hear the voice from heaven that will take you up, you must be in the spirit. This was the experience of the Apostle John. He said he was in the spirit on the Lord’s Day, and then he received a revelation in which he saw an open door in heaven. Remember, the door must be opened by God because He is the one with the key of David that opens a door that no man can shut [see Rev.3:7]. Then He heard the Lord say to him that he should ascend or step up [“come up hither”].

3.     Being in the spirit means having a spiritual mindset or being spiritual [Gal.5:16; 1Cor.2:13-14; Rm.8:7-9; Rm.12:1-2]. We are told that if we remain natural as believers, we cannot receive the things of the spirit. One of the things of the spirit is stepping up to higher ground and this is what God is set to do for us this month of July as we wait on him.

4.     For you to be in the spirit, you must fulfill certain conditions as a believer. These conditions are: Prayer especially praying in the spirit or in tongues, reading and meditating on the word to receive revelation from the Holy Spirit, studying the word, and doing the word of God by giving ourselves wholly to it.

For the above reason among others, we shall be looking at a series this month I have titled: SPIRITUALITY VERSUS CARNALITY. We are going to see how spirituality can help us wait on the Lord until we hear him speak to us and then we can step up by the revelation He gives to us. I believe God that after these series of teaching this month, we would know how to change levels from glory to glory on a regular basis with God.

once again, I welcome you to the month of July our month of HIGHER GROUND. For more information about our ministry and resource materials, please check out our blog at www.jointheirsfamily.blogspot.com. and my memoirs at www.flourishinggirl.blogspot.com. Presently, you may not be able to access our website as it is under reconstruction, but you can visit my face book page and benefit from our resources by liking HEALING AND RESTORATION TIME WITH PASTOR ALERO NANNA and KINGDOM JOINT HEIRS FAMILY CHURCHES under alero.nanna1@facebook.com.

RESPONSIBILITIES WE NEED TO TAKE TO ENABLE US WALK IN THE BLESSING Part 2

BY PASTOR EBENEZER AYESU

6. Walk in Love:(Eph 5:2  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God). A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. Joh 13:34. Love is very crucial for every Bible believing Christian who wants to activate the blessing of God upon his or her life. Jesus said this is a commandment. And every commandment is a Must. Thus we cannot do away with it if we want to see the true riches of God and bear much fruit in our lives.
 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you. Joh 15:7 -12
Do you see “if” in verse7? It means God is giving us a condition. Not for our salvation: that is free. We are save by grace, but if we want to see God’s power and blessing in our lives, there are some conditions that we must meet. The lord is asking right here,” what do you desire? What need do you have? I will give you every desire ‘if….’ On the condition that you do what he has asked you to do. Paul the apostle said “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Rom 8:28.  So you see, all things work for your good if you will comply to walking in love. The word of God says” We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. 1Jn 3:14
Many Christians today are abiding in death. Why? Because, they are not walking in love. Their businesses, their lives, their families and all other things surrounding them are in shambles. They are not passed from death unto life so they cannot see the blessing of God on their lives.

        Characteristics of love(1cor 13:1-13):
Ø  Love endures long and it’s patient and kind.
Ø  Love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy
Ø  Love is not boastful or vainglorious; does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited; arrogant and inflated with pride; it is not rude (unmannerly).
Ø  Love does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking.
Ø  Love is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of evil done to it or pays no attention to a suffered wrong.
Ø  Love does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoice when right and truth prevail.
Ø  Love bears up under anything and everything that comes.
Ø  Love is ever ready to believe the best of every person.
Ø  Loves hopes are fadeless under all circumstances and it endures everything.
NB: One way by which you can demonstrate God kind of love is being filled with the Holy Spirit .Read Rom5:5

7.    Live a Righteous Life:Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Ps 1:1-6
      Righteousness is the hallmark of every Christian. Christians who wants to be blessed are to hearken diligently to the word of God and walk in it. They walk not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful. But their delight is in the law of the lord; and in his law do they meditate day and night. So, of what relationship has light to do with darkness? They don’t blend together. Today many Christians want the blessing of God but, they are not ready to live a consecrated life unto God. How can this happen when you have not separated yourself from the world. It is impossible! God is looking for genuine people to bless and not wicked with uncircumcised heart. The word of God says’ they shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water’. Thus they are going to receive divine provision from heaven. Provisions that will make them flourish and excel in all their endeavors. Let us analyze what the word of God says in Psa 92:12 -15 “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;
To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.Righteousness we read from the book of proverbs that Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. Pro 14:34. Every Christian must note here that rightness attracts blessing and sin expels the blessing. In order to remain blessed we have to constantly discipline ourselves to walk in righteousness. Let’s look at the following scriptures below:
          The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be forever.
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. Psa 37:18-19.
          Pro 14:11  The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright            shall flourish.
  Pro 28:10  Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.
  Psa 5:12  For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
    NB: Now for one to live a righteous life he or she must refrain from the following works of the flesh; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred,
variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings. (Gal 5:19-26 ). He or she must walk in spirit to fulfill the character traits in Gal 5:22-23 ‘ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law’.

8.  Operate in the Wisdom of God:
          Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: 
And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. Pro 24:3-5
          One way any Christian can manifest the blessing of God is operating by the spirit of wisdom. The Spirit of wisdom is what helps the believer to gain skills to be fruitful in what the Lord has entrusted into his/her care. Of what use is it if one has all the riches in the world and lacks wisdom? King Solomon could not control all the riches his father left him without the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. That is why he said” Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. God can give you all the blessings you want but if you lack wisdom you will waste all and die shamefully. Through wisdom is an house built and by understanding is it established (Pro 24:3). You can only increase the seed in your bosom by constantly tapping into divine resources and the Supernatural provisions for your life. But if you rely on your intellectual wisdom and Capabilities  you will collapse very soon and fade off. We have got to a point where Christians need not Labour to be rich. They are to cease from their own wisdom and tap into the spirit of wisdom to make it in life.  Ecc 7:11-12 says: "Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun. For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it."
Wisdom is a defense and the Lord gives it to anyone who inquires of it free of charge. I mean free-You don’t have to pay for it. Many people think they can make their businesses, marriages, families and what have you to grow by not applying the wisdom of God. It is impossible! You cannot ignore it the wisdom of God and make it in life. The word of God says in Mat 25:14-30 “ For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
His lord said unto him, well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
These categories of People were given the talent according to their several abilities. The one who had five tapped into the supernatural wisdom to gain additional five. Likewise the one who had two. He also gains additional two. But the one who had one hid his own and did not work with it, thinking his master is hard and difficult. Today there are many people who have hid their talent. Though they are born again Christians, Holy Ghost filled, water born, redeemed etc. yet they are poor and can’t make ends meet in life. Why? Because they have forsaken the wisdom of God and adopted a wrong attitude thinking God is going to bring manna from heaven or perform magic. God is our Manufacturer and has bestowed good treasures on us that when we work in our several abilities, we would be able to turn things around and have positive results. Solomon was born a king and he worked within the confines of his grace and succeeded; Daniel was born a prophet, He also operated in his prophetic assignment by constantly tapping into the wisdom of God and he made it. Just look at Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Celeb, David and the like. They were each born for a peculiar assignment. They were able to find the purpose for their lives by operating in the wisdom of God. One should know that in every assignment, is your consignment or divine provision. That is why every Christian must receive illumination from God to make it. What am I driving at? (or u could say what am i insinuating? U cannot say insinuating at) I mean you have to tap into divine wisdom to know the purpose for your life. Don’t say this person is a footballer so I am also a footballer. No! It may be your assignment is to become a Pastor or a Musician. As you find yourself doing this faithfully, you will be successful. We need to use the wisdom of God to know the purpose for our lives and get what we don’t have.