Blessed be our God and the Lord Jesus Christ for His manifold wisdom and overflowing grace towards us who He redeemed from the curse of the law and its attendant evil consequences and delivered unto His marvelous Light. I thank you so much Jesus that even at this time when there are many satanic movements in our world and so many people are befuddled and perplexed with doubts about the truth and reality of who you are, you are still the Sovereign God. There is no shadow of variation of turning in you. You remain the Light of the world and the remedy to the blindness and wickedness of man.

I remain eternally humbled and grateful to be counted worthy to work in your vineyard. I dedicate this forum to you my blessed Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ and pray that you sustain what you initiated through your mighty and outstretched arm. I sincerely ask that those you draw to this site will receive the Spirit of conviction, repent from their self-willed ways, return to you and receive what you have promised through the everlasting covenant in your Blood. Amen.

 

Wow. What an impressive work of art! You can tell I love arts with a passion. Not just the painting or sculpture but more so what the piece represents. I find it exciting to engage my analytical mind to penetrate the heart and thought process of the artist, in order to discern what message he or she is communicating with the world. “ I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.” Joel 2:28.

 

The original artist of this portrait is Jesus Christ. The vision was communicated to David, who faithfully did this beautiful painting. The setting is a family house. The living room is simple but elegant. On the surface the family could pass for a loving couple blessed with a wonderful son who seemed to be walking out of the room with head bowed. There are two guests; one who seems to come from a different race, and a young man who displayed focus and attention to the Counselor who presided over this family conference. But this is the initial and surface assessment.

 

 

The truth of the matter is that the man of the house has a passive personality, while the wife has an aggressive and controlling personality. This perversion has created a disturbing and confusing atmosphere in the house and their young son is exhibiting a strange and unacceptable behavior both at this Christian home and worst still in the school. How could this be? everyone seems to be asking. A religious family producing a rebellious son! “ Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” Genesis 3:16.

No doubt our fallen human nature has hitherto ushered in all kinds of ungodly personalities with evil desires and contentions. These have in all generations created assault to God ordained order and hierarchy in our relationships and house settings. God in His infinite wisdom created man to function not only as the main captain in providing material needs, protection of the family but in fellowship with God to steer the family in the worship of the true God. In fact, the spiritual comes first in his assigned role in the family. The woman was carved out of the bosom of the man to function as an intimate support and helper not only for procreation but also in raising godly seeds according to God ordained design and purpose.

 

So what has the passive personality of the man got to do with this case study? A lot! According to Webster dictionary, passivity is a state in which one lacks energy or willpower and fails to assume any active or dominant role. A powerful biblical illustration of this sinful passive nature was the case of  Esau who despised his birthright and his junior brother, Jacob, who has been coveting his position from birth, quickly hijacked it. When the man is negligent over his privileged role as God’s surrogate over the family, the needed spirit of fellowship, morality and discipline is gravely deficient in the home. The worst outcome is seen when the woman who could prayerfully inspire the husband to rise up to his divine role in the home is not yet matured spiritually or worst still an infant Christian.

 

At first the children seem to be doing great. Everyone is happy for they seem to get anything they desire. They quickly learn how to manipulate the lack of fatherly authority in issues pertaining to training the child in the right way they must go. They have prospered materially but slowly begin to show signs of deficiency in spirituality, morality and godly discipline. But no one seems to be noticing. Eventually, different shades of strange teenagers emerge. What a shocking development and embarrassment! Then, the pointing fingers war begins.” You were never there for the family” the wife throws at the husband. The husband hammers back, “ I did and bought all these for the good of the family and expected you to train the children.” Does this scenario sound familiar? Ahab, king of Israel then had a passive personality and his wife, the aggressor, usurped his authority and ruled Israel. They all got what they coveted but it was a hopelessly disastrous end not only for that royal family but spiritually bankrupt Israel. The pathetic fruit of this gross negligence in spiritual authority mixed with consequent controlling nature of a spiritually immature woman is confusion in the home.

 

The ungodly seeds relish the unbridled freedom thus created. All sorts of aberrant behaviors and self-indulgent carnality have been raised. These children will display the stuff they are made of in the schools, churches and the community. They serve us as teachers, administrators, doctors, nurses, governors, presidents, company executives, pastors, bishops and popes. The bible says,” God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” Galatians 6:7-8.

 

The holy scriptures foretell the lamentable but avoidable consequences of dysfunctional upbringing in Paul’s epistles. “ But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money…,,blasphemers…,disobedient to parents…,unthankful…, despisers of good.., lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” 2 Timothy 3: 1-4. The male children will grow up despising their father who was not man enough to take charge at home; and in situation where the father was overbearing and controlling the children will resent him and nurture a rebellious attitude out of spite. The female children may copy the attitude of an aggressive and manipulative mother believing that men should be kept in check. Very controlling and abusive to his wife, the girls resent their mother for not standing up to her husband, but continued to condone the unacceptable abuses in the name of religion. The same God who instructs us that wives should submit to their husbands also admonishes the husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church! When this is not the case the girls in this kind of family will also nurture deep grudge against men in authority. Worst still is their distorted feelings towards God who is depicted in the bible as a male figure authority. These children have been severely deceived and both emotionally and psychologically traumatized and potentially will manifest these fractured characteristics in their future relationships. Trust in a relationship becomes a huge hurdle to accomplish. The scar of the formative years invokes suspicion, distrust and all sorts of defensive mechanisms inimical to a loving, mutually respectful relationship in marriage, which is our birthright in Christ.

 

Yes, their egos have been seriously damaged and trust in relationship becomes a huge hurdle to cross. Many adults are still in a child mindset; needy and demanding and when they don’t get what they want throw temper tantrum or activate manipulative tendencies. People are often silenced to injustices in the system as long as they are milking the cow! A practical example of this scenario even in biblical times was the case of Eli and his sons. “Now Eli was very old and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.”  1 Samuel 2: 12-36. This great man of God was successful in the ministry but a woeful failure in his primary responsibility-raising his children. Such characters abound in various ministries all over the world; deceived and unleashing deceiving doctrines and abominable examples for others to follow.

 

As I was gearing up for the next phase of this article, the Holy Spirit reminds me that the first phase is not yet finished. What about single motherhood which is becoming a trend in this generation? Statistics show that 1 in 3 children will be raised without a father. This is quite an alarming figure and portends a bleak outlook for these children. The toll in raising children in single families is huge for these women both financially and emotionally. With the overwhelming responsibility, these mothers often exhibit signs of depression and outburst of anger over their children. Verbal and physical abuses are not uncommon. The outbursts and hardship eventually result in high school drop out, “shacking up” together, teenage pregnancy, criminal behaviors and prison times among young adults. About 3 million teenagers drop out of high school annually in the United States alone. This is a sobering truth and a reflection of failures in our home dynamics.

 

I have been ministering to a population of chronic pain sufferers and many of my patients are poor and single mothers. A common denominator among them is the claim to Christian faith but either just nominal or inactive. I am amazed at the number of children these single women have, the level of education and the complete dependence on government program for their survival. Also shocking is the prevalence of mental illness, criminality and unbridled sexual practices among them. Many of these female patients have opened up to me in tears wondering how to educate their children who have erroneously toed similar path from teenage age. It’s hard for these single parents to see the connection between their life styles and that of their children. However, through the grace of God granted to me, when I share the gospel of Christ to them, they quickly feel convicted and ask the humble and inspiring question; what must we do? When the byproduct of our selfish life styles emerge in the lives of our kids, no amount of screaming at them, calling them names will solve the problem or steer them in the right direction. We are now at the mercies of God when true repentance and complete surrender to the grace of God in Christ is of the essence.

 

Rather than being pre-occupied with the signs of the times, trying to figure out when Jesus is coming back for the rapture, God, who leads us to all truth, earnestly wants the body of Christ to focus more on this ugly state of the family. The leaders in the churches and various ministries should be asking this question: What is the condition of the flock? Man’s view of successful ministry is often the size of the congregation, the amount of money accumulated, the chain of churches established, the eloquence of the pastors, association to the rich and powerful, the luxurious life styles of the ministers but to our shame God’s view is completely different! What is highly esteemed by man could and is often an abomination to the Spirit of Holiness.

Where is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the ministers and the entire body of Christ? Believers in Christ without the transformed lives and character of Christ is akin to a decapitated human body…Lifeless and emptiness. The scripture describes it as having a form of godliness, filled with the word and very eloquent about it, but denies its power. It is the Spirit that gives life! Hallelujah.

 

But thanks to God, through Jesus Christ, who visits us at just the right time; and redeem us from our depraved and unwholesome personalities which we inherited from our parents. This ministry is brought to us by the special grace of God to shine His light into our lives in order to reveal areas that desperately need healing and restoration. It is the will of God to restore man and woman to His original intent. Each of them was created as an intelligent, rational, creative, emotional being endowed with the power of freewill but expected responsibility and accountability towards the creator, God. It is only in Christ and through fellowship with Him by the power of the Holy Spirit that the design and purpose of God for man and woman can be fully realized. The grace for wholesome and fulfilling relationship in a mutually respectful co-existence to raise up godly seeds is our divine birthright through Christ.  It is the same God who said, “ It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him” that also gave this promise after our distrust and rebellion against Him. God passing judgment on the serpent, the deceiver and father of lies from of old, declared: “ And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall crush your head and you shall bruise His heel.” Yes, the devil has wrecked havoc in our homes but great thanks to God there is a refreshing hope through Christ Jesus because His victory on the cross has purchased for us all the spiritual blessings in heavenly places even a revamped relationship through the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit. We all must be born again is an imperative answer to man’s hopeless predicament! It is this divine solution and work of God that engenders man’s complete submission and fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. Only then can man and woman be awakened to their true spirituality and have a quickened responsiveness to the call of God. It is a call of partnership to God’s plan for mankind and not to oppress our wives or the wives to usurp man’s role. It is not a call to exalt oneself in pride over others in the name of religion. God’s vision is that, all should know Him and follow Jesus Christ, not pastors or churches, in an intimate and progressive relationship. It is for the restoration of the dignity of every creation of God! Hallelujah!

 

Finally, back to this beautiful painting above that the Holy Spirit revealed to draw our attention to the appalling state of affairs in our homes. This family instead of living in despair like one who does not have a savior humbled themselves, repented, confessed their selfish ways to one another, forgave and received forgiveness from God. The Holy Spirit who has been knocking at the door was welcomed into the house. He came with His light to reveal the root of this sickness of perverted existence, and also brought healing in His wings to usher reconciliation. This couple could only see the pains and shameful disgrace to the family by the ways of this troubled child but failed to recognize the root of the problem. Jesus asked the child to leave the room in respect to this couple. He asked, “ Do you have the Fear of God in your lives?” Feeling deeply convicted, the woman, in charge, blurted out after a knowing glance at her husband, an emphatic No.

 

 

The Fear of God

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, fear can be defined as:

1. An unpleasant, often strong, emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.
2. A state marked by this emotion.
3. Profound reverence and awe especially toward God.
4. Reason for alarm.

 

Going back to what we gleaned from the Genesis account of man’s endowment from God, fear as an emotion is a blessing given to preserve man from anything he perceives as threat to his existence or relationship to His maker. Fear is a neural-hormonal response that heightens our senses to fight or avoid perceived danger. Having this regulatory system intact and faithfully fulfilling its purpose is a good thing. “ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights…” James 1:18.

 

Sin came into the world and in our corrupted state, we are not only gripped by all kinds of ungodly and limiting fear but we often attempt to put fear into others to rule over them. My former life and in many of my patients there is all kinds of anxiety and fear issues that border towards psychotic disease. Phobia to ants, height, flying, marriage to opposite sex, having children, movement of the Holy spirit in members of the church and many others abound and limit the ability of man and the body of Christ to a life of fullness and vibrancy in the will of God.

 

There is a fear that is not only godly but also holy. It is an alarm that keeps us within the boundary provided by God for our worship of Him. It is a conscience that is awake not only to the ways of God as revealed by the Word of God in the bible but gradually matures into deep endearing reverence and devotedness to the will of God. You mature from a spiritual infant stage where you desire to do His will out of fear of judgment for disobedience, to spiritual maturity wherein God becomes the object of your fear and you are consumed by His love and your love for Him.

 

But how can this be? How can fallen man attain such a noble and lofty state in the worship of God and his relationship with others in this life especially with all the temptation that befalls mankind? Honestly speaking, man on his own cannot bring himself to this godly condition. Jesus came not only to destroy the works of the devil but to empower man through the baptism of the Holy Spirit and Fire to reclaim what was lost and be filled with passion for the will of God.

 

Moses, that great prophet and leader, in his final address to the Israelites, spoke authoritatively; “this commandment is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.” Deut. 30: 11-14. Paul in his epistle to the Romans alluded to this part of the scripture as he threw more light on Faith in Christ for salvation of the soul. This Fear of God cannot be conjured by human effort regardless of your zeal but is our birthright through salvation in Christ and the outflow of the Holy Spirit.

 

Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “ You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “ Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” Exodus 20: 18-20. There is a carnal fear that opposes the godly fear. An un-regenerated soul cannot receive or respond appropriately to the things of God. People can tremble in fear to all the catastrophic events of a fallen world but obedience to the ways of God is an uphill task! The Fear of God cannot be induced by external events as witnessed by the exodus account but it is a gracious in-working of the Holy spirit received by Faith in prayer to God through Christ.

 

Compared to everything you may desire or aspire to receive from God this grace is of prime and paramount importance in your walk with God. It is not found in the realm of nature but proceeds only from the heart of God. God decried the widespread lack of it in our generation, which could be explained by faulty leadership and poor example from spiritual leaders in high places. This is a treasure discovered by our father Abraham that solidified his qualification to receive the promises. Jesus delighted in this special and rare grace among other gifts of the Holy Spirit and exhorted the believers that God should be the ultimate object of our fear.

Job 28; Isaiah 29:9-16; Genesis 22:9-18; Isaiah 11:1-5; 33:6; Matthew 10:28.

 

You cannot blame anyone for not knowing to seek and search for this grace in prayer. We are in a covenant of grace through Christ. God gave it to Abraham by promise. Abraham was a man of prayer and built so many altars of prayer to God in his sojourn on earth. Jacob realized the futility of his selfish and crafty ways and persevered in earnest prayer until God transformed his character with the fear of God. Solomon, the wise one, realized this at old age after so many failures in his life and gave his wise counsel.

Ezekiel 18:1-3; Jeremiah 32:37-42; Genesis 32:24-28; Ecclesiastes 8:11-13, 12:13-14.

 

“The Fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance, the evil way and perverse mouth.” Proverb 8:13. What an incredible and supernatural ability! This treasure of a grace empowers you to resist:

1. Evil such as selfish lifestyle, lying and cheating, murder and such thoughts, rage, false witness, sowing seeds of discord and of course plotting wicked schemes against your neighbor.
2. Pride and arrogance. Your success will not get into your head but you remain humble and gentle with the attitude of an unprofitable servant of God. God resist the proud but gives more grace to the humble.
3. Perverse mouth. Because for “every idle word men may speak, they will give an account of it in the Day of Judgment.” There is power of life and death in the tongue.

 

As you embrace and cultivate this divine gift, your soul is ignited to:

1. A life of holiness. You will delight, meditate and store the word of God in your heart to walk in obedience to the will of God. Psalm 40:8.
2. A life of prayer. Vitally important to receive the Holy Spirit presence in your life and over your household. Genesis 28:12; Malachi 2:14-16; Psalm 127.
3. Intercede for other believers and the lost souls. You empathize for others because God has no pleasure in the destruction of a sinner. Ezekiel 22:30.
4. Charitable deeds. God wants us to be rich in mercy and share our bread, material and spiritual blessings, with those in need. Isaiah 58:6-9.

Awesome Rewards….if you open your door

 

Who wouldn’t like to be rewarded for such a great sacrifice? The all-wise God has a rich and enviable package for you:

• Friend of God and close confidant. You are ushered into the throne room of God and the secret things of Jesus are revealed to you. Hallelujah! Psalm 25:14.
• Contentment and fruitfulness will abound in you, your spouse and children. Psalm 128.
• Highly esteemed of God. You will become a peculiar man or woman of distinction in the eyes of God and He will showcase you for others to learn from your walk of Faith. Job 1:8.

 

Deadly Danger….if you shut your door

 

Just like the corollary between sowing and reaping, a deficiency of this awesome grace ultimately yields a spiritually bankrupt life and God is not pleased. Its outcome:

• When our eyes are blinded by our passions and conscience seared by the deceit of lusts and our spouse either too scared to correct us according to God’s truth or too preoccupied by their carnal pursuit, there is grave danger. On the surface everybody is happy and are prospering in various ventures but their eternal end is wrath of God and the agony of hell! True unity is found only when our will is surrendered to the Will of God in Christ. Ask Ananias & Sapphira (Acts 5), or better still King Ahab & Queen Jezebel ( 1 king 21 ). Jeremiah 6: 10-14.
• When our children are not brought up in the Fear of God because the parents are deficient in this grace, what a pitiable outcome for these kids. When there is no one to cultivate this virtue in the lives of these children they grow up fattened with ‘ my way or the highway ‘ mentality. They confuse immediate gratification for their deserved right, and pampering for sound parental affection, with long-term ramifications. Their stomach becomes their god, and their desire the driving force. There is no Spirit of Counsel to restrain them from evil and inspire them towards godly vision. In the end it becomes tales of misery and regret for both parent(s) and the children. Deuteronomy 32: 15-18; Matthew 13: 24-30.
• You teenagers or young adults who have suffered years of witnessing the contentions and abuses in broken homes and are deeply hurt should seek the help of anointed counselors. Unforgivingness and resentment have catastrophic consequences. Do not disrespect or dishonor your parents for past mistakes but through God’s grace seek reconciliation that brings healing. It will be a grave mistake to abandon your family and gang up with other aggrieved youth, for that path will not be blessed in the end. Proverbs 1: 20-33.

 

Finally, the scripture reminds us that marriage is an honorable institution that foreshadows the marriage of the church and Christ. I have learnt a great lesson through the mercies of God to take my marital relationship seriously through fellowship with God in prayer and fasting for wisdom and strength in godly leadership of our home. It is only through the awesome presence and leading of the Holy Spirit that not only do we receive revival in our relationship as husband and wife but exemplary to our children in our followership of Christ Jesus. We all see things differently and thus offences come always but His grace provides openness, vulnerability, forgiveness, mutual respect, encouragement and reconciliation.

 

Diagnostics/Prescription

 

It is the light of God’s Truth that reveals the hidden works of darkness in our hearts. When we humbly come to the Light, the power of the Holy Spirit conviction brings us to repentance. Jesus Christ is at the door right now and knocking to be invited into our lives. Godly fear should move us to welcome the Holy Spirit as we confess and repent of our unwholesome pride or complacency. God is faithful to His promises to forgive and justify the ungodly. He invites us to come and reason with Him. No matter the darkness of our sins the potency in the Blood of Christ will cleanse us and make us white and justified in His sight. Hallelujah!!!

 

Prayer.

 

Our heavenly father, we come to you in the name of Jesus. There is none like you in all the earth. When we consider all the wonders that your hands have made, we can only but stand in awe of you and ask, “ what is man that you are so mindful of him?”

Out of all that you created,  only man and woman were so fearfully and wonderfully made in the image and likeness of you, our maker. How precious are your thoughts toward all of us. I pray that through the grace in the blood of Christ, you will extend your mercies and forgive us for our selfish ways and life independent of you. I pray that the spirit of conviction and repentance will be granted to us, especially the men of the homes, to realize what is at stake in the family dynamics. So many young people are getting dissatisfied with the church of God and are deceived into all sorts of ungodly living with disastrous consequences. We need you to inspire holiness in our lives and a commitment to set up altars in our houses and pray together as your apostles modeled for us through the movement of the Holy Spirit. Release the Spirit of the Fear of God into our hearts to restrain our thoughts and eyes from evil that pulls us away from you and our family. Empower our men to remain faithful to the covenant of love we promised our wives just as Christ loves the church. Strengthen our wives to godly submission and focus on the family. Even when we disagree, may we not be disagreeable. We come against and rebuke the evil monsters of bitterness, aggression, passivity, negativity, competition and all sorts of divisive attitude in our homes. We invite and open our hearts to the Sun of Righteousness to usher in the refreshing rays of healing, delight, hope and oneness in our relationship; and teach us to nurture our children in the fear of the Lord so they become sons and daughters of Light. Ignite our souls for endearing passion for Jesus and one another. We are in earnest expectation for your divine visitation and hope that you sanctify your children by the greatness of your power in Jesus mighty name. Amen.

 

My Lord and my God, Jesus, I give you my praise:

  

“How Great Thou Art”

 

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,

Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

 

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art!