Purity, power and covenant progress – Bishop Taiwo Akinola
“O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever” ~ Deuteronomy 5:29!
Introduction:
Every masterpiece has its proper price. The place of purity in the formation of destiny can never be overemphasized. Purity of heart is so vitally important to our lives and destinies to the extent that all our salient legacies on earth are secured only by it (Proverbs 20:7).
Painfully, God laments the dearth of purity in the hearts of men till today (Deuteronomy 5:29). We are totally deprived of the gifts of God proffered for our accomplishments on earth, and we can hardly generate any meaningful spiritual impacts without purity. What a shame that many believers who were otherwise programmed for dizzying strides in their callings have astonishingly become victims of negative traits.
Lasting blessings call for Christ-like and unsoiled character. The future of every seed lies in its nature. Similarly, the quality of your character is the foundation for your future greatness. Even God will confirm your character before He defends your destiny.
Myles Munroe said, “no matter the beauty of your picture, it is still at the mercy of your nature. Without godly character, you lose the essence of your charisma. Without functional reverence for God, you misplace your relevance on earth”. The day you become tired of acting right, you start becoming a victim of trials.
Furthermore, he said: “character is what you do if no one will find out; it is integrity manifested. Your true character can be best described by what you do in secret”. Your character is the taproot of your future excellence. When you make a tree good, the fruit will also become good (Matthew 7:17-19; 12:33).
When the Lord approves you by reason of your godly character and virtues, the entire world becomes attracted to your worth and will readily pay any price for your talents. No wonder then that a principal desire of David was to have his life directed by the statutes of the Lord (Psalms 18:22; 19:8; 119:5,12).
Character is not a spiritual gift, but a virtue we must learn to develop. Good character is never made without pressure, neither can it be developed without determination, but your life speaks out for the glory of God and in the interest of His kingdom on earth when enough room is made for it.
We all must feel impelled to cooperate with God as we work upon our character. Meanwhile, the location where you stand will determine how you withstand the odds of character deficiency. When you stand in God’s righteousness, you glow in the joy of godly character (Romans 5:3).
Purity And Power
In God’s majestic and magnificent presence is a ceaseless outflow of incredible power and might, but purity of heart and a consistent walk of integrity are required to abide in the Lord’s tabernacle, and to dwell in His holy hill (Psalms 15:1-5). Definitely, sustainable covenant progress won’t call for anything less (Psalms 34:18).
It takes pure metals to conduct electrical power. If a metal is corrupted with impurities, it can only function as an insulator, not anymore as a pure conductor. Similarly, anyone that would serve as a channel for God’s power must be radiantly and manifestly pure in His sight, and show readiness to always obey His commandments.
Characteristic holiness is one of the most outstanding qualities of the Most High God (Isaiah 6:1-3). God is so holy that He cannot behold iniquity. When even His Son Jesus Christ was bearing the sins of the world upon His shoulders, the Father of Light turned His eyes away from Him temporarily (Psalms 22:1-3).
The pure in heart is securely blessed because he always attracts God’s attention. Jesus Christ said: “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God”(Matthew 5:8). We must do more than chewing the fat here; we must rather carefully mull over these facts, reflecting upon them very wisely and acting accordingly to give them necessary effects in our lives.
Purity, Possessions And Covenant Progress
Research has it that most things we have in life are results or products of who we are. We supernaturally attract what we have by who we have become. This is the reason each time the Holy Ghost touches human lives, He works with a focus to change their personalities (1 Samuel 10:6-7).
Results eradicate shame. If we are not happy with our current results in life, we have to work harder on ourselves. The joyous answer to a blessed breakthrough life lies in becoming more than we currently are. Albeit, this gives a reason for both jubilation and fright!
Jubilation because it means that any day we choose to start cooperating with the Holy Spirit by allowing necessary changes, then we begin to attract better things to ourselves. Contrariwise, if we disallow or ignore those changes, then we will always have exactly what we have now, same status and same frustrations.
God is never tired of blessing us if we are not tired of pursuing His values, and when we pursue His values, valuable things of life will equally pursue us. The results we get are essentially determined by what we are; doing more is only an enhancer. Promotion is not so much a function of what we do but of what we are.
In Joshua 1:6-9, Joshua received instruction on ‘what to be’ five times and on ‘what to do’ only two times. This clearly shows that what you are, more than what you do, determines what you accomplish on earth.
There are some common errors that easily arrest covenant progress. Allowing your world to be ruled by negative opinions from those who are unfamiliar with God’s Words is a major error of character (Genesis 16:1-4). Again, allowing fleshly desires to overrule your good sense, shirking your responsibilities or playing blame games could also comfortably arrest the progress of any destiny.
Every philosophy in life, or model value so called, that lacks divine ingredients will eventually lead to destruction. But, every error defeated by discipline paves a way for great exploits (Galatians 3:24). It is our wise endorsement of the divine instructions that eventually brings excellent approval.
There are many disciplines that the laws of God implant in us when we turn attention to them: such as self-control, implicit obedience to the statutes of God, humility, diligence, balanced attitude, planning ability, wise investment, sensible belief system and so on.
Friends, we must continue to choose God, and be evermore strong and courageous in character. God’s commandments are to make us spiritual Commanders; His statutes are intended to enhance our spiritual statures. When we obey God and do His will, all forces of creation will equally obey us, and our fruits will certainly show forth His glory (Isaiah 48:17-19). May you continue to progress by covenant, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Bishop Taiwo Akinola is the Presiding Bishop of Rhema Christian Church,
Otta, Ogun State, Nigeria.
Connect with Bishop Akinola via these channels:
Email: bishopakinola@yahoo.com
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