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The Overcoming Believer

The fear of man (2)

Hey family!
To continue on yesterday’s topic I’d like us to study the life of John the Baptist. He was Jesus’ cousin, born to prepare the way for the Lord as prophecied by Isaiah. The bible says that his lifestyle was not like the normal suit and tie, pizza and coke, or whatever they ate or wore that time. He loved differently. By living apart from the culture John was able to speak with great passion and clarity for the people of that day. He was part of the community but not part of the culture.

Let’s pause for a minute… Is it possible that we are afraid to speak up about the truth of the gospel because we are consumed by the culture of the communities we live in therefore we can’t speak against what we also partake in. A thief can’t call out another thief. The culture, the beliefs, the traditions, the day to day of the world cannot be the same as ours who are saved. Many of us are silenced because we also drink what they drink, smoke what they smoke, worship the gods they worship, do what they do – and if it happened in the past it is okay but now that you’re John The Baptiser, your lifestyle should be consistent to the values of the kingdom.

“Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭7‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John’s teachings were just raw. By raw I mean he never sugar coated anything. He had no fear of man.He didn’t live for the opinions of others, but lived with compassion to see others brought to repentance towards Christ. John was not afraid of the religious or political leaders of his day. He saw beyond their robes and titles into the deeper heart. He spoke the truth with clarity and passion, he didn’t live to people-please, simply to preach the need for forgiveness of sin. He called out the Pharisees and Sadducees, for what they truly were. He even died for speaking the truth to Herod! We are afraid to tell our friends “this is wrong” so how will we ever speak up against wrong laws made in our countries. If you can’t tell your friend , how will you tell the strangers? We are afraid. If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom I assume the fear of man is the beginning of foolishness.

“John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭3‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬ | Luke‬ ‭3‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Today’s believer fears man. We fear that they’ll put us in prison. How many people in the bible were imprisoned for speaking the truth? MANY! Am l terrified at the thought of being imprisoned yes! But how come we say we want to be like Jesus? He too was imprisoned for the truth – He was and is the King of the Jews. I’m saying to you, if you were to be in that position for the gospel would you change your testimony? Stephen would you say “no l was joking” . Apostles would you deny like Peter? “I don’t know him” because we are afraid of the people? How many times have we denied Christ and what we claim to believe because Herod will imprison us? Because our families will cut us off? Because we have an image to protect? If the extreme came and you had to die for speaking the truth – would you still stand for the truth? (I need to also sit and meditate on this one) How far are we willing to go to make sure nations are saved? The truth is we can’t go anywhere if we are afraid of man.

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How you speak – are you a people pleaser? What you do at work? How you carry yourself as a believer, whose approval do you seek? We fear that society will reject us for choosing Jesus, the cute lady will reject you for being a man of God so you hide that you speak in tongues. Your colleagues will not accept you because you don’t drink alcohol so you take it realise you kissed someone you don’t even know. Fear that our parents will disown us so we keep attending their ceremonies of ancestral worship. Fear that we will come across as “too serious” about God , so we go on social media and tone down the gospel. Other men died for this gospel, others were imprisoned , others suffered , what are we willing to sacrifice ? Can we sacrifice the approval of man for the kingdom of God?

The fear of man silences the believer. Hey, it’s okay to be different. We are not of the world . I trust that this teaching will help you to be bold about Christ wherever you are and wherever you go! I need to re-read as many times as possible so that I can also live what I’m teaching. Be a John the Baptist in a world of Peter’s by the fire. The overcoming believer must first overcome the fear of man – replace it with the fear of God. 

“Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said. But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭69‬-‭70‬ ‭NIV‬‬
Categories
The Overcoming Believer

The fear of man (1)

“Then Jesus said, “Be brave and don’t be afraid. I am here!””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭14‬:‭27‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Fear is an emotion caused by the belief that something or someone poses a threat to us. I remember growing up watching African movies, you guys know Patience Ozokwor movies yes? I’d always be scared because I thought oh she’s gonna show up and mince me up. The Blood Sisters scenes would play in my head – as a kid – l really thought dead people have more power than the living – now I realise , fear also comes from not knowing TRUTH. Had I known what I know now, I’d have really slept like a baby. What a waste man! 🙃

The spirit of fear causes us to weaken our resolve and shrink back. Let’s discuss types of fear;

  • The fear of man

Part of the after effects of the fall was the fear of man—a sinful craving for approval and status. We say things like ,”I fear to fail my parents, I want to be accepted by so and so , I’m afraid they will leave . I’m afraid of being different in my community/family” . We have threats like social media saying , “Everyone here wears almost nothing. You can’t dress modestly here. Nobody will accept you.” And so because we fear not having a “following” we start to become like the world . Like chameleons, we change our conduct to blend in with the new “man” you fell in love with , you compromise because if you don’t , he threatens to leave. The fear of man.

The bible has examples of men who were feared by the people. The parents of the blind man feared the Pharisees so they refused to be witnesses. One wrong word and the Pharisees would ban them from having anything to do with the synagogue. They had a lifetime of social interaction to lose, so they just claimed him as their son and said, “He is of age; ask him.” Imagine how they felt – not being able to celebrate their sons healing because of fear. We fear telling our friends we prayed for the blessing and we just tell them “I hustled” – to look cool yes? We can’t post about Jesus because we fear that people will call us “holier than thou”. People will say “You’re too serious about church, you’re boring!” Anytime we fear people , we rob ourselves from the liberty of living as God wants us to.

It’s easy to say “oh his parents should’ve just spoken up!” But what about us? Do we speak up against what is wrong? Do we tell the world the truth about Jesus? I know people who will never go to the streets to evangelise because they’re afraid their buddies who know them for other things will be shocked. Have you ever remained silent when you should have said something? Have you watered down your talk in order to not offend? You don’t want to offend your friends so you tag along to a wild party?

Do you go to church on Sunday but keep it a secret from those you meet on Monday? Are you afraid to go to a church that boldly proclaims the gospel because you’re afraid you’d have to drop your other life and risk losing your lifestyle that is funded by that life? There are people who can’t be trusted with big visions because they will compromise and a big number of people will fall with them. Big vision is for bold people like the blind son. He boldly spoke about his healing. The people you’re afraid of can be addressed. Someone will address them!

“We have no idea,” they answered. “We don’t know what happened to our son. Ask him, he’s a mature adult. He can speak for himself.” (Now the parents were obviously intimidated by the Jewish religious leaders, for they had already announced to the people that if anyone publicly confessed Jesus as the Messiah, they would be excommunicated. That’s why they told them, “Ask him, he’s a mature adult. He can speak for himself.”)
‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭TPT‬‬

What did their son say?

“I tell you, if this man isn’t from God, he wouldn’t be able to heal me like he has!”
‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭33‬ ‭TPT‬‬

So their son was not afraid of being chased out of the temple. Their son was not afraid of being questioned. He wasn’t afraid of confrontation. Many people are afraid of confrontation. They will mize the questions even if they know the answer. The world will confront you about your beliefs – who will answer? He says I sought for a man! You can say there are many men but which man is ready to be used? Who is the Elijah who will confront Ahab?Who is the Moses who will confront Pharoah? The world is filled with many “men of “ God who are like the parents of the blind man – afraid of “men of the world” … if you still want to look cool you’re not ready to be a witness of Christ! If you still fear being cut off by your family or friends – you’re not ready! The bible says we ought to love Him even more than our own family! Yes! If my mother says not to worship God anymore, I will honour her all my life but my obedience is to God first before anyone in this world. The fear of man is all over the church! We fear man so we don’t talk about same sex marriages, we don’t talk about the filthy happenings of Sodom and Gomorrah being validated by the government! We are quiet! We don’t want to speak up against rape because we know some rapists sit in parliament! We are mute! Scared to be jailed! I love John the Baptist! Let’s talk more on the fear of man tomorrow. We will study the fearless prophets. Ah I’m already excited!

And hey, I love you. Go and tell your world about Jesus! Fear not, He is with you!

Categories
Yielding the mind

June dates

Please note that these are the June dates for pvt prayer call and free counselling . Feel free to email and enquire if there’s any slots open.

Categories
Yielding the mind

Reflection Friday

Self-reflection is setting aside time to think deeply and evaluate your thoughts, attitudes, motivations, and desires. It’s examining your emotions and behaviors and then asking yourself, “Why do I feel and act this way?” Taking the time to reflect on life might sound like an overwhelming task. Yessssss, self-reflection is a personal process. You can’t self reflect for me – l can’t do it for you. This means that you need to be very honest with yourself. Many of us can’t face the truth so we lie to ourselves , running from the truth. You need to be very truthful with yourself otherwise the whole thing would be pointless.

Making this small change to your day-to-day can improve your well-being, strengthen your relationships, make you a better person and help you become better in your personal and professional development. “Why do l speak like that? Why don’t l like praying anymore? What’s causing me to dislike going to church? Why do people keep leaving me? Why do l hate correction? What can l change? Is my behaviour reflecting the character of Christ? If not, what should l change and what measures am l taking to change this?” All these and more are questions we should ask ourselves. It will help us to stop this thing of always blaming people even for things we did wrong.

Okay what about, “How much have l saved? Do l overspend? Why? It’s six months into the year , what have l achieved?” We hate those ones lol even l feel uncomfortable answering that – but we can’t keep running. Let me go deeper (go deeper papa) LOL, “Why do I attract the same kind of men or women? Why do my relationships break within such and such a time? What am l doing to become better as a spouse or a friend or do l expect people to accept me as l am even if I am rude? Why do I keep chasing after people who don’t love me or don’t reciprocate what I give? Am I broken? Am l too needy? Am I responding to life’s trauma by seeking validation from people all the time?” THE UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS ALSO CULTIVATE US!

Putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) allows you to process feelings and reflect on past experiences from a safe emotional distance. You can also compare how far you’ve come by re-reading past entries to see what’s changed over time. You need to check how far you’ve come. Let’s do this ; get a journal for self reflection Fridays. All the questions asked here, we must make it a point that we answer them. Put a date on it and let’s check progress after every month! Things need to change but they won’t unless or until we change! Change is intentional. Become. You will not walk in childish ways and expect the world to keep embracing you and patting you on the back no! The world does not even care about how much you sulk – change!. People can give you a few months of tolerance for a particular behaviour , then they will start disconnecting from you. I’m glad God stays with us through the whole process!

As that butterfly – transformation comes from us actually wanting to become better. And there you’ll be , once a worm – now a beautiful butterfly. Going wherever your wings take you. That’s beautiful isn’t it? The process is not to harm you. There’s so much beauty on the other side. Let’s put in the work. I love you! God loves you! You’re special!! ❤️ (Look at that picture above again)

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.”
‭‭Haggai‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬

Categories
Yielding the mind

Chilled Thursday

Happy chilled Thursday my loves! I woke up feeling like l really need a retreat. My ideal life honestly involves a LOT of writing ,serving God, counselling people, toiling is not even a part of it ! I feel like I’ve been toiling hey but it is good to work while it’s day.
How have you been? How’s your heart? I hope you’re kinder to yourself. Sometimes we’re not physically tired – we are emotionally tired from being unkind to ourselves. How so? By harbouring all sorts of evil in our hearts – we self harm. Let it go – chill.

If in this season you’re not locking in on the word , you will fall. If you’re not intentional about your prayer life – you will fall. I know we talk about these things as if they’re just nothing but many people were once great men and women of God but now they can’t even tell right from wrong. It’s not about how long you’ve been a Christian – the devil is still our enemy. It doesn’t get better – it gets worse – it intensifies. We need to keep reminding ourselves – the journey ahead requires that we have enough in our lunch tins. You must always have spiritual hunger. A healthy believer must always be hungry. It’s the opposite of the natural. Spiritual hunger is a sign of believer who will keep growing. You cannot have the “I have arrived mentality”.

That said : From today till Sunday even , lock in on a book of the bible and finish it. Don’t single out one verse after another. Read the whole book (eg Acts, Matthew, Genesis) If you’re currently reading a book by someone, even if it’s a Christian book, put it aside a bit and lock in on the Bible. Some of us know more of Vanessa’s quotes than the bible. More of an author than of the Author and Finisher of our faith. Don’t get me wrong please. I write but don’t exalt yielded more than you read the Bible. Yielded is secondary to the Bible. If you show up here more than you show up in the study of the Word you’re missing the point! Yielded takes from the Bible but it is not the Bible. Same as any other author. Read books but the Bible should be your number one.

Let me know what book you’re reading and what God has taught you on the comments. I’m on the book of Matthew and l found this ;

“Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Study His Word. You will not be sent away hungry. Nobody spends time with God and leaves hungry. There may be no sign of food but the good Shepherd has seen your needs and He will meet them. Here’s a movie to watch ;

Click on the link to watch