The Walk of Faith

“But the just shall live by his faith.” Hab. 2:4

We have come again this beautiful day to dedicate this precious moment to be used by the Spirit of Holiness to impart some grace to the people of God. What an awesome God we serve! How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of great joy! But the source of all good things is the Lord God Almighty, and to Him every praise and adoration must be ascribed. Jesus Christ is the precious Lamb of God and the Risen Lord who has ushered immortality to us whom He redeemed with His precious Blood. Hallelujah!!!

My heavenly Father, we come with great expectation according to Your ordained will for our life. We thank You for the great love and kindness You lavished on us through our Lord Jesus Christ. We appreciate the joy and incredible security that You have granted us as adopted sons and daughters of the Most High God. This life has nothing permanent to offer us, and everything worldly belongs to the world. We have a treasure in Christ that will never fade or grow old. How awesome and reassuring that when we call, You answer us according to Your loving plans and designs. Thank You Lord for Your blessings of protection and soul winning in the evangelism and outreach accomplished in Nigeria this March, 2015.

Who can proclaim and bring it to pass if the Lord has not declared it? The Lord reveals deep secrets to His servants, and faithfully accomplishes His revealed purposes. This honor is granted to His children but the glory belongs to Jesus Christ. Last year, we penned God’s disappointment over the magnitude of corruption and financial recklessness in Nigeria. We all prayed for God’s mercy over the land and a change in leadership.  In the month of March, God made it possible for us to enter Nigeria and accomplish His plans just before the presidential elections. While in Nigeria, prayers were made and a declaration of a new leadership over that great country. The Lord Almighty fulfilled His purposes and affirmed the words of His messengers. Thank You Jesus!!!

Also, prior to our travel,  both our local church and  Prayer team here in Phoenix made supplications on behalf of my wife Edith, Pastor Mike Neamtu and myself for God’s divine protection and fruitful harvest of lost souls. The Lord answered and honored that request. We had a wonderful experience. Our Father is truly a God of signs and wonders! Our visit to Nigeria would have been in October 2014 but for the sincere deep concerns about the Ebola epidemic, we rescheduled for March 2015. However, Pastor Mike forgot to update his visa status, only to realize at the last minute that his visa to Nigeria was expired! You could imagine our fears on what could happen at the airport. We committed this honest mistake to the Lord in prayers. God delivered us both here at the point of exit and at the point of entrance in Nigeria. The agent in Phoenix glanced at the visa section of the passport and seemed to overlook the expired date, while the immigration officer in Nigeria initiated a dialogue that culminated in his faith in Christ being revived. He favored Pastor Mike with a free extended visa in Nigeria for one month. Talk of God’s favor on His children at the points of desperate needs. Hallelujah!!!

That was just the beginning of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit presence and power. God declared His promise of abiding presence and good success to Joshua in accomplishing the task of leading the Israelites to the Promised Land. With the difficult task ahead of us, we prayed for similar blessings that wherever we stepped our feet the glory of God should be revealed. That was also honored. In every city the gospel of Salvation in Christ was preached, and people gave their lives to Christ. We had an amazing fellowship with the brethren in my village, Nnobi. The gospel was preached to the poor, medical screening exercise was done; thanks to Uche Ezeigbo, who flew from United Kingdom where she is doing her masters program in nursing; and Brother Jesse, a laboratory technologist, who drove from Calabar to help out. Material and financial support were given to widows and orphans. Discouraged ministers were revived with God’s word and prayers. God’s grace overflowed and the joy of His Spirit was visibly present.

The climax of the Spirit presence and power as we followed His leading was noted in two places. In Lagos, as we persevered in ministering to a backslidden brother in a restaurant, unbeknownst to us, a couple of young people were observing our travail. In the end, this brother who had fallen into apostasy was revived and he reconciled again with the Lord. Immediately, about five young persons approached us. They wanted us to pray over them. Pastor Mike then explained that they needed to understand what the ordinance of prayer is, and who God is as revealed in Jesus. To our greatest surprise, one of the young girls confessed she was a Muslim but now wants Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. What a great joy for such mighty work of the Holy Spirit who ushered conviction and repentance!!!

Next, was our visitation of a family in Portharcourt. The Lord had revealed to us in a vision of the night before our departure from Phoenix that we must enter this family home with the Bible. We knew this family to be unbelievers of the Lord Jesus, but no specific instruction was given in the vision as to what to say or do when we get there. By faith we walked into that house not knowing what to expect. It soon became obvious that their first son had been indoctrinated into a demonic cult. This intelligent and handsome young man was studying Aeronautic Engineering abroad. What a drama and heated arguments that ensued. It was quite emotionally overwhelming to watch his mother pass through fleeting phases of deep emotions. From a state of utter shock to outrage and finally slumped on the floor in utter defeat. She cried out that suicide would be her way out of this huge family tragedy.

This pathetic family dysfunction was truly a case study that speaks of what obtains in many homes at this present generation. The pressure of modern society and the love of money have done much havoc in the integrity of our traditional family stability. This upper class family is well educated. The man of the house is a Medical doctor with a thriving medical practice and the wife has a doctorate degree in Laboratory Sciences, and very diligent in her practice. She has also authored some books. The man has a natural gentle and calm demeanor while the wife is the aggressive type. However, the woman so despised the husband to the point that he sank into a strange passivity. He seldom admonishes the children and plays little or no role in major family decisions. His authority as a father has been sadly usurped. He had been systematically emasculated by the overly aggressive, and controlling wife. I sincerely believe she wants the best for her children but her overly ambitious spirit had inadvertently created confusion and perversion of God’s ordained hierarchy in the family dynamics. The children are never passive bystanders of such aberrations in marital relationship. The Scripture instructs that “ God is not mocked; what you sow is what you reap.” Like the proverbial statement that says “ when two elephants fight the grass suffers” their first son who resented all this, was lured into a demonic cult; probably to gain respect and self-exertion to avoid becoming like his passive father.

It was indeed a strenuous battle between light and darkness that glorious night. We debated on the Word of God and the power in the name of Jesus Christ. This young, but incredibly intelligent boy was full of knowledge but no understanding of the Scripture. His mother was on one side throwing tantrums while the father was just passive, watching the drama. Our heated arguments did not yield any result; it only infuriated and enraged the young man who was wearing ornaments symbolic of his cultish religion and new frame of mind. We discerned through the Spirit, the deceptive spirit at work in this young man whom we could not overpower in the flesh. We prayed over the situation and surrendered control over the Lord who sent us to this family in the first place. Time was around 04:00 am. We retired for the night in preparation for a 10:30 am flight to Lagos that same morning.

Just around 07:30 am, the lady of the house, who apparently has had a restless night, came knocking at our door. We had driven throughout the previous day and were exhausted. She called me to join her in the living room. She was now ready to talk. She lamented over the broken relationship with her husband. She accused him of total negligence of both his husband role to her and fatherly role to the children. She claimed to be in charge of everything in the house to the extent that her children now resent her. She was exhausted to the point of near collapse and despair. But she failed to see her own contribution to the disorder and confusion in their home. She took advantage of the husband’s gentle demeanor, usurped his authority and now crying out over the consequences. While I was counseling her based on the Scriptures and she was resisting taking some responsibility for this ugly situation, her husband and Pastor Mike woke up and joined us in the discussion.

Through the special grace of God, the light of God’s truth was revealed in this family fiasco. After despairingly falling to the ground, threatening to commit suicide, the lady later agreed to sit and listen to the Counsel of the Spirit, based on God’s Word. They both saw where each contributed to this confusion and disorder in the family. There was a sense of remorse and acceptance of wrong. We shared God’s plan of Salvation for mankind and His ability to repair what the devil has disrupted in our lives, if we surrender to Him through acceptance of the gift of grace in Christ Jesus. We reconciled them together, prayed over their marital relationship and committed the troubled son and the rest of the children into the hands of the Almighty God who is able to do all things!!! When the “ Fear of God” is trampled upon, and the “fear of man” rules in our homes there are dire and gloomy consequences. Our children, in their formative years, are prone to suffer from all kinds of emotional and psychological traumas that manifest in various forms of identity crises.  Man or woman must not remove ancient landmarks. There are inevitable grave repercussions!!!

God is a Revealer of Secrets

The Scripture teaches that the secret things belong to God, but things revealed are for us to walk in them. Foremost on the list of these hidden things is the nature of God and His manifest presence. The Lord longs for fellowship and intimacy with His children. Though the Fall of mankind and sin created a wide gulf of separation, the Creator, in His incredible grace, often finds ways to reveal a form of Himself and makes His ways known as seen throughout the Bible. His intent is for us to understand Him and partake of His Holiness, and thus be partners with Christ in redemptive works in the earth. Isaiah 45:15. The true God has revealed Himself:

• As the Creator of heaven and earth. “ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Gen.1:1.
• As the Perfection of beauty. “ The earth was without form, and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘ Let there be light’; and there was light.” Gen.1:2-3.
• As a God of surpassing Greatness and infinite potency. “ I am Almighty God.” 17:1
• As a Covenant Keeper. “ I am the God of your father: the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Exodus 3:6.
• As a Compassionate Father. “ I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.” Exodus 3:7.
• As a God of sublime excellence and unlimited authority. “ I AM WHO I AM.” Exodus 3:14.
• As a Sovereign King whose power and purpose must stand. “ But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” Exodus 9:16.
• As the invisible God who reveals just enough for our good. “ You cannot see My face for no man shall see Me, and live.” Exodus 33:20.
• As the Holy One with perfect Integrity. “ God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19.

God is a Promise Speaker

As the Omniscience and Omnipotent Lord of all creation, God’s mysterious plan for the redemption and restoration of mankind had been hidden in His heart from eternity. As early as in the Book of Genesis, God began to communicate to us the knowledge of His Will with prophetic utterances. Join me as we navigate through the Scriptures to search profound truths out:

• Satan’s deceptive and destructive plan must be defeated. “ And I will put enmity between you(Satan) and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” Gen. 3:15.
• A family of Faith in God will be raised. “ I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; And in you( a Seed) all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Gen. 12:3.
• This Seed of Faith must come through the son of promise-Isaac. “ ….for in Isaac your Seed shall be called.” Gen. 21:12.
• Through this Seed, the tabernacle of God will dwell with mankind. “ I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright.” Leviticus 26:11-13.
• The identity of this glorious, promised Seed was revealed in the Prophets. “ For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given (the Righteous Seed) ; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6.

God is a Promise Keeper

The glorious and beautiful relationship that existed, vertically; between God and mankind, and thence, horizontally; between fellow humans could only be attained again through this Seed of God. This Wisdom and Power of God for salvation of the breached communion between the Creator and the created was critically important to the restoration of all things. As the King of kings and Lord of lords, God’s Word must come to life. This infinite potency in God’s spoken Word was brought to our understanding in fuller revelation:

• Only this Seed of God in mankind can heal the broken relationship. “ Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” translated, ‘God with us’. 1:23
• God spoke from heaven to affirm this Seed, even Jesus Christ. “ And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, ‘You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” Luke 3:22.
• God commands your trust in Christ for spiritual transformation. “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”
• The Gospel of John powerfully brings clarity to the identity of Jesus. “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” John 1:1-2.
• There is a hierarchical position of Son-ship and Fatherhood. “ The Son can do nothing of Himself but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” John 5:19.
• Yet, mysteriously, roles and function are interdependent. “ For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself does, and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.” John 5:20-21.
• There is a profound and deep unity between the titles of Father and Son. “ I and My Father are one.” John 10:31. And also, in John 14:9-10, “ Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘ Show us the Father’? Do you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you, I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.”
• And a startling wake up call and indictment over those trapped in the religiosity of the old covenant. “ For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son; that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son, does not honor the Father who sent Him.” John 5:22-23.

How are we expected to Respond to God’s Visions and Calling?

In an attempt to prayerfully tackle the biblical examples of how men and women of Faith responded to God’s gracious revelations, I will go back to memory lane. I had been a Church- goer and in my estimation, a believer of God. Well, that was just my testimony of myself, not different from many religious people all over the world. After my conversion to true Faith in God, that is granted only through the Lord Jesus, God’s promise of “ I will walk among them and dwell in them” became a reality. Scales were removed from my eyes, and my spiritual sight was opened to the Scriptures and the Godhead position of Jesus Christ as the “ light of the world.” Next, was my response to His Will; as revealed in the Bible, or impressions on my spirit through His Spirit, and sometimes through dreams and visions, or even more serious, His spoken voice; face to face, as a man speaks to a man.

After my deliverance from the kingdom of darkness and glorious entrance into His marvelous light, the Lord and Father of light gave me this vision as depicted by our incredibly gifted artist, David. The pressure on David to faithfully reproduce the vision as we struggle to describe every detail, I guess, could be overwhelming. He was not there in the dream and, like the wise men of Nebuchadnezzar, might be tempted to think Godwin must be crazy to expect a faithful drawing to another man’s conceptions. I have regularly given thoughts and meditations on this profound vision from God. Why was it given? What is the purpose? Was it given only for my need or to benefit other believers? How could the understanding of the import of this divine communication improve my relationship with the Lord Jesus and better serve His purpose in the life of others?

Prayer

Our heavenly Father, we thank you for the special grace You released in this exercise. We know that it is the entrance of Your Word that brings light and revelation, so we ask that the light of Your truth awaken the sleepers in the Church. We are grateful that we have a loving and Sovereign God who has the exclusive power and ability to change times and seasons. You have always known that Your people will come to ‘a time such as this’ to desperately need this nugget of truth, in order to rekindle our spiritual vitality. I pray for myself and other Believers, including those who will through our faithfulness come to a life of growing Faith in the One and only True God. In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen.

Jesus, I give You my Praise: