Simeon Edigbe – Resident Kingdom

THE TRUTH ABOUT HEBREWS 6

Simeon Edigbe — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:40:56 +0000

Simeon Edigbe — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:40:22 +0000

The Gift of Righteousness vs Self Righteousness: The Truth About Job And The Key To Why He Suffered (1)

One of the most difficult questions many people try to answer is ‘Why do Christians suffer. And is God behind the suffering?’. One thing we need to understand is that we live in a fallen world and the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. – 1 Peter 5:8 And the devil is out to make war with the children of grace (Revelations 12:17). Things will always try to come against you, but scripture says Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us – Romans 8:37 The devil has one intention and that is to accuse you, to lie and to deceive you. Our job is to remain steadfast in the faith, to keep on believing in the finished work of Jesus Christ and this is how we resist the enemy (1 Peter 5:9). Not by trying to go war against him. You can defeat a defeated criminal. Our Faith is the victory.

But even our faith is not self effort. Our faith was redeemed by Christ and we live by the measure of faith that God has given us through Jesus (Romans 12:3). The minute we believe in Jesus He covers us with His gift of righteousness (James 2:23, 2 Corinthians 5:21). His gift of righteousness is our breastplate of faith and love (1 Thessalonians 5:8).

From Genesis to Revelations there is one common topic in the Bible that gives us a clear picture on how to continuously be receiving God’s grace (His unmerited/undeserved/unearned favor) versus not receiving God’s grace. That common topic is the topic of righteousness (our right standing with God). We are either living in self righteousness, trying to be in right standing with God based on our works and efforts or we are living under His gift of righteousness that only comes by receiving His grace.

Self righteousness points to us and is based on the knowledge of good and evil (the law). His Gift of righteousness is based on His grace (unmerited favor) and always points to Jesus. Self righteousness likes to hide itself and manifest in our lives in different ways. We can look at the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, they chose self righteousness (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) over His gift of righteousness. Just like in Revelations 12, the serpent spewed bitter water (worldly knowledge) at Eve which only leads to sin and death. And Eve chose to believe in worldly knowledge rather than in His truth (sweet water) which is spirit and life. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, God only wanted them to live by receiving His truth that is spirit and life but their pride took over and they chose self righteousness and to live by worldly knowledge that led them to sin and death.
Some people say ‘if Adam and Eve couldn’t resist falling into self righteousness how can we’. We can because when God redeems and restores He doesn’t just redeem and restore to the same level as before. He doesn’t practice insurance principles of indemnity. He redeems and restores us to a greater level. He sent His Son to redeem us to a greater level than Adam. What Christ did is greater than what Adam did (Romans 5:12-21, 1 Corinthians 15:46-49). And just like the children of Israel, when the Lord saved them from Egypt He brought them out so that none among them were feeble and they were all wealthy (Psalm 105:37). He saved them to a better place than they ever were at before. And He promises that whatever the enemy has stolen He will restore double (Zechariah 9:12). Jesus’ finished work redeemed us to a greater place than Adam. To a place where we are in Christ and He is in us, where as He is at the right hand of the Father so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new – 2 Corinthians 5:17.

We are now coheirs with Christ (Romans 8:17) and our flesh that fell to self righteousness in Adam has been crucified with Christ the minute we believe in Him (Galatians 5:24). We can now reign in life. Romans 5:17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

There is no in between, we either live receiving His grace and His gift of righteousness or by the law (knowledge of good and evil) and by self righteousness. God will always speak to us based on what righteousness we choose (our own that always fails or His that is perfect). We see this throughout the Word of God. In Genesis 4:1-15 The Lord did not respect Cain’s offering because He offered it in self righteousness not because he offered the worst fruits like we were taught we were in children bible class. He was trying to be in right standing by his works. And so the Lord responded to Cain with the law “ So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”. In Cain’s self righteousness God’s grace couldn’t flow. God dealt with Cain based on what Cain believed.
And Cain believed that God’s acceptance was based on His works (his offering). Under the law the minute something negative happens guilt and condemnation sets in and the result is sin. Cain ended up killing his brother. In Exodus the children of Israel told Moses 8 Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. – Exodus 19:8. In their pride and trust in their flesh the Lord responded by giving them the Law (10 commandments). They boated in their ability to measure up to God’s standard of righteousness. So God gave Moses “The Big-10”. And even before Moses came down with the Law their self righteousness led them to sin, they made a golden calf to worship. He led them out of Egypt because of His grace (unmerited favor) and not because they merited it yet they rejected it and wanted to live by receiving all the good things of God based on their obedience. God deals with us based on which righteousness we choose to be under. His or ours, grace or the law.

The Lord considered Israel trusting in themselves as rebellion (Deuteronomy 9), they chose self righteousness over His gift of righteousness and in turn chose the Law instead of His grace (unmerited favor). We can keep going and look at how Jesus interacted with people when He walked on earth. If they came to Him with a law mentality (living trying to merit God’s goodness based on their obedience) then He spoke to them with parables. If they came to Him not under the law He spoke to them directly with compassion and grace and you saw an immediate transformation (true repentance) in the peoples lives.

In Revelations 3:14-22 we see the lukewarm church of the Laodiceans mixing grace (hot) and law (cold). Remember that any law (leaven) wrecks the whole batch (gospel of grace). Law always brings forth self righteousness. And the Lord despises self righteousness. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. –Revelations 3:17-18. He speaks to them from a distance, counselling them and not disciplining them as sons. How many believers are in this same category

So we see with the examples above that God deals with us based on what we believe of Him. His goodness and all of His blessings can only flow in our lives when we are under His grace (unmerited favor) and gift of righteousness through Jesus Christ. Under the law and self righteousness His goodness and blessings cannot flow. The scary fact is that when we live trying to be justified by the law (merit God’s goodness based on our works) we become estranged and alienated from Christ (the anointed one and his anointing). Under our self righteousness Christ becomes of no effect in our lives (Galatians 5:4). If you want to know what the devil is looking for when he walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. – 1 Peter 5:8 He is looking for those living under the law (the knowledge of good and evil, the 10 commandments), as this is living in the flesh and in self righteousness. That is why sin has dominion over you if you are under the law (Romans 6:14) and the strength of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15:56). And you live doing the things you don’t want to do and the things you want to do you won’t do (Romans 7). The law (knowledge of good and evil) brings forth self righteousness which in turn brings forth guilt and condemnation and that traps you in the prison of sin. The only answer is His pure grace upon grace, the fullness of Jesus.

Simeon Edigbe — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:37:04 +0000

THE BOOK OF REVELATION: Part 2
The contents of Revelation were written regarding the 70AD destruction of Jerusalem.
This book is actually John’s record concerning the prophecy of Jesus about the destruction of Jerusalem. It was written before 70AD. Once a person understands that the book of Revelation was written before the 70AD destruction of Jerusalem, then the contents of the book can take on a new form. Applying the use of imagery, signs and symbols it gives the reader, primarily the Jews a systematic view of how the end was coming to the age of the Old covenant.
There are several clues, which Chilton uses to point to this possibility.
Firstly, the fact that Revelation 11 speaks of the Temple as physically still standing.
“I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. 2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.” Revelation 11:1-2
Some scholars argue that the book of Revelation was written in 96AD, 26 years after the utter destruction of Jerusalem. If it was so then it is likely that John would have made mention of it in its content. Yet there is not one mention in the entire 22 chapters regarding the destruction of Jerusalem. This point not only bolsters the first presupposition, but it also points to the truth that Revelation was very likely written about the 70AD destruction which was about to take place.
The Days of Vengeance a classic book by David Chilton is a verse-by-verse commentary on the entire Book of Revelation. The feat of writing such a book is incredible and it gives a clearer picture than any commentator I know. It seems that his goal was not simply to comment, but to show, prove, and convince the reader of his particular presuppositions. They are:
1. That the Book of Revelation was written before 70AD
2. That the contents of Revelation were regarding the 70AD destruction of Jerusalem.
3. That the time-texts of Revelation should be taken literally, that Revelation 1-22 was written regarding things that were shortly to come to pass.
4. That Jerusalem and the Jewish religious system had become apostate and was seen by God as an adulterous whore, as Babylon, as the old creation, which was about to pass away.
5. That Rome, the Roman Empire and Nero Caesar were represented prophetically as a beast, which controlled commerce and all other aspects of life.

Chilton in his book also brings out a fascinating point, which he did not quite to emphasize. Some keys highlights that enable one to see some comparisons that was not uncommon from the Old testament regarding God’s act of judgment upon a nation that abandoned her covenant. The contents of Revelation parallel the contents of Ezekiel (20 point diagram from page 21)
1. The Throne-Vision (Rev. 4/Ez. 1)
2. The Book (Rev. 5/Ez. 2-3)
3. The Four Plagues (Rev. 6:1-8/Ez. 5)
4. The Slain under the Altar (Rev. 6:9-11/Ez. 6)
5. The Wrath of God (Rev. 6:12-17/Ez. 7)
6. The Seal on the Saint’s Foreheads (Rev. 7/Ez. 9)
7. The Coals from the Altar (Rev. 8/Ez. 10)
8. No More Delay (Rev. 10:1-7/ Ez. 12)
9. The Eating of the Book (Rev. 10:8-11/Ez. 2)
10. The Measuring of the Temple (Rev. 11:1-2/Ez. 40-43)
11. Jerusalem and Sodom (Rev. 11:8/Ez. 16)
12. The Cup of Wrath (Rev. 14/Ez. 23)
13. The Vine of the Land (Rev. 14:18-20/Ez. 15)
14. The Great Harlot (Rev. 17-18/Ez. 16, 23)
15. The Lament over the City (Rev. 18/Ez. 27)
16. The Scavengers’ Feast (Rev. 19/Ez. 39)
17. The First Resurrection (Rev. 20:4-6/Ez. 37)
18. The Battle with Gog and Magog (Rev. 20:7-9/Ez. 38-39)
19. The New Jerusalem (Rev. 21/Ez. 40-48)
20. The River of Life (Rev. 22/Ez. 47)
Essentially what Chilton demonstrates is that the book of Ezekiel is to the Old Testament what the book of Revelation is to the New Testament. Ezekiel laid out the coming destruction of Jerusalem (by the Babylonians) in the Old Testament and John used the same prophetic language to speak of the imminent coming destruction of Jerusalem in the New Testament. With that framework, the symbolism of Revelation is set in place and becomes simpler to interpret drawing the comparisons and seeing clearer the message.
Then Chilton quotes The Meaning of the Revelation by Philip Carrington (1931) about this Ezekiel/Revelation connection.
“The Revelation is a Christian rewriting of Ezekiel. Its fundamental structure is the same. Its interpretation depends upon Ezekiel. The first half of both books leads up to the destruction of the earthly Jerusalem; in the second half they describe a new and holy Jerusalem. There is one significant difference. Ezekiel’s lament over Tyre is transformed into a lament over Jerusalem, the reason being that St. John wishes to transfer to Jerusalem the note of irrevocable doom found in the lament over Tyre. Here lies the real difference in the messages of the two books. Jerusalem, like Tyre, is to go [be removed] forever.” (Page 21)

Another interesting thing to note about the book of Revelation is that the time-texts of Revelation should be taken literally, that Revelation 1-22 was written regarding things that were shortly to come to pass.
While all four ways of interpretation by different scholars would agree that parts of Revelation are symbolic and other parts are literal, each of the of the four systems takes a different stance regarding the time-texts. I discovered that using the time texts literally is the most reasonable approach.. If the time-frame described is taken as symbolic, then the contents and interpretations will strectch to any person and time zone. This will not make sense to its original reader. See below some verses taken from the book of Revelation with regard to the time-text mentioned:

“The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servantswhat must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,” Revelation 1:1

“The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the thingsthat must soon take place.” “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.” Revelation 22:6-7

“Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.” Revelation 22:10

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.” Revelation 22:12
“He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Revelation 22:20

Another key point to note about the book of Revelation is that Jerusalem and the Jewish religious system had become apostate and was seen by God as an adulterous whore, as Babylon, as the old creation, which was about to pass away. Upon a closer look at the book you will discover a reoccurring term the “great city”. John stated in his book “Great City” is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, yet literally speaking, this was the city where Jesus was crucified, therefore the “Great City” is a reference to Jerusalem. The great city which is also called Sodom, Babylon and the Whore is not the Papacy or the Roman Catholic Church but Jerusalem who had gave her allegiance to Rome for her commercial benefit. They rejected the Lordship of Jesus and declared in John 19:15 (NIV) “But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.” This is the spiritual adultery that the scriptures talks about over and over.

“Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified.” Revelation 11:8
The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. Revelation 16:19

The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” Revelation 17:18

“Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: “‘Woe! Woe to you,great city, you mighty city of Babylon! In one hour your doom has come!’ …. and cry out: “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls! … When they see the smoke of her burning, they will exclaim, ‘Was there ever a city like this great city?’ They will throw dust on their heads, and with weeping and mourning cry out: “‘Woe! Woe to you, great city, where all who had ships on the sea became rich through her wealth! In one hour she has been brought to ruin!’… [The Finality of Babylon’s Doom ] Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.” Revelation 18:10, 16, 18-19, 21

At a point I was confused with this scripture because one renowned Prophet explained this previous verse as the destruction of the Twin towers that happened on Sept 11, 2001 during the terrorists attacks on US soil. Like so many interpretations that come many American preachers this one is false as it does not take into account content and reader relevance. Why would John write a book so important to a Jew and did not mean for them contemplate about it because it would be fulfilled in 2000 years to come.
One final thing to note about the book is the identity of the beast. Just as we the symbolism of the “Great City” meant Jerusalem, the beast also has its own keys for understanding. One of the most convincing is the lineage of the Roman Emperors provided in the book of Revelation in prophetic format.
“They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast.” Revelation 17:10-12

This passage, which is speaking of the line of rulers in Rome, tells us exactly how many rulers had already come, which one was currently in power, and that the next one would only last a short while. This rulership ancestry leads the reader to the conclusion that Nero was the Beast in reference here. The rule of the first seven Roman Emperor’s are as follows:
1. Julius Caesar (49–44 BC)
2. Augustus (27 BC–AD 14)
3. Tiberius (AD 14–37)
4. Caligula (AD 37–41)
5. Claudius (AD 41–54)
“Five have fallen…”
6. Nero (AD 54–68)
“One is…”
7. Galba (June AD 68–January AD 69, a six month ruler-ship)
“the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while.”
Of the first seven kings of the Roman Empire, five had come (Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius, and Claudius), one was now in power (Nero), and one had not yet come (Galba), but would only remain a little time (six months).

The fact that Nero fits the description of the “beast” is well documented. According to Suetonius, he murdered his parents, wife, brother, aunt, and many others close to him and of high station in Rome. He was a torturer, a homosexual rapist, and a sodomite. He even married two young boys and paraded them around as his wives. One of the boys, whose name was Sporus, was castrated by Nero. As written in Historic books he was truly bestial in his character, depravity, and actions. He devised a kind of game: covered with the skin of some wild animal, he was let loose from a cage and attacked the private parts of men and women, who were bound at stakes. He also initiated the war against the Jews which led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD..

Nero’s persecution, which was initiated in A.D.64, was the first ever Roman assault on Christianity. Roman historian Tacitus (A.D. 56-117) spoke of Nero’s “cruel nature” that “put to death so many innocent men.” He records the scene in Rome when the persecution of Christians broke out: “And their death was aggravated with mockeries, insomuch that, wrapped in the hides of wild beasts, they were torn to pieces by dogs, or fastened to crosses to be set on fire, that when the darkness fell they might be burned to illuminate the night.” Christians were crucified, beheaded, burnt alive, and used as torches to light the palace gardens. Historically, Nero is the one that persecuted Christians beyond all comparison. St. John’s banishment to Patmos (where he wrote the book of Revelation) was itself a result of the great persecution of Nero. The apostle Paul was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. The apostle Peter, who was crucified upside down, was another victim of Nero, .

So we can see from the this brief summary that the book of Revelation becomes an interesting book to look into because of its content and for what purpose it was written. It was not never written to scare us but to encourage the church during the time of the great persecution of the hope they had after God had shown his final upon a people who all time life had rejected his goodness and considered themselves not worthy of His love. As Jesus said in Matthew 23:37 “”Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” The bible ends with the end of an age, the Mosaic age for us to enter the New age ushered by the New Covenant.

THE EVENTS IN REVELATIONS ARE PASSED US AND NOT IN OUR FUTURE:

Simeon Edigbe — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:31:56 +0000

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, (Revelation 1:1 NASB)

John in writing this last book of the bible emphasized the truth of imminence of events in a variety of ways through language. He carefully varies the manner of his expressions as if to avoid any potential confusion on the matter. The Greek word translated “soon” in Revelation 1:1 is from the Greek word tachos.

According to Arndt and Gingich Lexicon, tachos is used in the LXX and certain non-canonical writings to mean speed, quickness, swiftness, haste. John uses the same word in Revelation 2:16; 3:11; 22:6,7,12,20.
John also uses the Greek word eggus:
Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. (Revelation 1:3 NASB)

Which is translated here as “near” it is also used in Revelation 22:10. This term speaks of temporal nearness and John uses it to bracket the book. The third Greek word is mello; it is translated “about to”’ in Revelation 1:19 & 3:10.
“Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. (Revelation 1:19 NASB)

The phrase, “the things which will take place after these things” is literally “the things which are about to occur” and in 3:10, “which shall come upon all the world” is literally “is about to come upon the whole world [oikoumene].”

If we apply the principle of audience relevance, what would the original readers have thought when they read this? John strategically places these words at the introduction and conclusion of the book. John was telling the seven churches to expect these things at any moment.

Simeon Edigbe — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:30:25 +0000

²⁵“And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. ²⁶Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. ²⁷For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. ²⁸Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God^{c]” style=”box-sizing: border-box;”>[c]} which He purchased with His own blood. ²⁹For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. ³⁰Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. ³¹Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.

³²“So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Acts 20:25-32 (NKJV)

Lets see it from the Amplified version:

²⁴But none of these things move me; neither do I esteem my life dear to myself, if only I may finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have obtained from [which was entrusted to me by] the Lord Jesus, faithfully to attest to the good news (Gospel) of God’s grace (His unmerited favor, spiritual blessing, and mercy).

²⁵And now, observe, I perceive that all of you, among whom I have gone in and out proclaiming the kingdom, will see my face no more.

²⁶Therefore I testify and protest to you on this [our parting] day that I am clean and innocent and not responsible for the blood of any of you.

²⁷For I never shrank or kept back or fell short from declaring to you the whole purpose and plan and counsel of God.

²⁸Take care and be on guard for yourselves and the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you bishops and guardians, to shepherd (tend and feed and guide) the church of the Lord or ^{d]” style=”box-sizing: border-box;”>[d]}of God which He obtained for Himself [buying it and saving it for Himself] with His own blood.

²⁹I know that after I am gone, ferocious wolves will get in among you, not sparing the flock;

³⁰Even from among your own selves men will come to the front who, by saying perverse (distorted and corrupt) things, will endeavor to draw away the disciples after them [to their own party].

³¹Therefore be always alert and on your guard, being mindful that for three years I never stopped night or day seriously to admonish and advise and exhort you one by one with tears.

³²And now [brethren], I commit you to God [I deposit you in His charge, entrusting you to His protection and care]. And I commend you to the Word of His grace [to the commands and counsels and promises of His unmerited favor]. It is able to build you up and to give you [your rightful] inheritance among all God’s set-apart ones (those consecrated, purified, and transformed of soul).

Paul was clearly warning the church of his day that wolves would soon enter the church and try to snatch them away. Away from what? Away from the truth.

This is something that is not uncommon in the church today. Everyone is crying wolf, wolf! The problem is many can’t identify the wolf seeing that they are dressed in sheep’s clothing. In some cases some people have falsely accused as the wolf because they seem to represent a threat to the head pastor due to their charisma and knowledge of the Word of God.

I would like us to see it as Paul’s explained it for us to interpret in context.

These wolves were to do the following:

Say perverse (distorted and corrupt) things. To perverse transposing the truth and twisting it. This would be mixing the grace of God with another.

Paul also in his letter to the church at Ephesus mentioned about such people too.

^“5You can be sure that using people or religion or things just for what you can get out of them—the usual variations on idolatry—will get you nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of God.

^6-7Don’t let yourselves get taken in by religious smooth talk. God gets furious with people who are full of religious sales talk but want nothing to do with him. Don’t even hang around people like that.”

– Ephesians 5

When John wrote to the same church in Ephesus in the book of Revelation, he expressed the same concerns Jesus had.

2 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

²I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

Jesus said that they had tried false apostles and seen them as liars. This early church as others were in a period of transition where the Jews their brothers persecuted them because they declared that righteousness was no longer required under the law. That shattered their Jewish foundation at its very root.

These false prophets came in to lure the church into acceptance into the society by mixing the grace of the Lord Jesus with the law of Moses. Even the early believers had a hard time fully accepting God’s grace without the law and they expressed their concern in one particular occasion with Paul in Acts 21 (The Message).

^20-21They had a story to tell, too: “And just look at what’s been happening here—thousands upon thousands of God-fearing Jews have become believers in Jesus! But there’s also a problem because they are more zealous than ever in observing the laws of Moses. They’ve been told that you advise believing Jews who live surrounded by unbelieving outsiders to go light on Moses, telling them that they don’t need to circumcise their children or keep up the old traditions. This isn’t sitting at all well with them.

Many people these days make a lot of derogatory comments about those preaching the grace of God. They call them radical grace preachers and warn people from embracing the grace of God squarely without balance from the law.

These accusations and slander against the grace of God has received applause in many quarters. Unsuspectingly many has been further drawn into more bondage and cannot fully express the life of God in them. In many cases these false teachings have just produced death in the hearers.

How do you identify a wolf or a false preacher?

Pastor Paul White did a fantastic exposition on this, which I want to share with you.

“We must be on guard for the false prophet because they are ravening wolves inside. Wolves feed on sheep, so a good indicator of whether or not you are near a false prophet is not what they act like or look like, because they are wearing “sheep’s clothing” (verse 15). An indicator of a false prophet’s nature is the fruit of their ministry. Are the sheep being whipped and scattered? Are there many who have run from the church because of that ministry? Are the people sitting in the church producing the fruits of the Spirit? The answer to these questions will indicate whether you are near a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

What is the answer to false teaching or bad doctrine? Lets look at Paul’s conclusion in Acts 20.

The radical grace of our Lord Jesus is the key to safety and establishment. This grace is pure with no mixture of human efforts and tradition. This gospel builds one up is the one exalts the promises of His unmerited and unearned favour towards through Jesus. It is this truth that releases to us our inheritance as sons and not servants.

Like Paul said your establishment in life should be on the grace of God so that when the evil comes, you will always manifest the victory that is always available in Christ Jesus.

Simeon Edigbe — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 12:08:39 +0000

The recent decision by the Supreme Court in the US to legalize gay marriages has caused so much ripples in the religious world over morality. We have heard prophecies about an impending doom that must manifest over America drawing similaries from Sodom and Gomorah. If we really look at the matter we will honest to agree that the church has not been successful in reaching those either gay or homosexual.

The Lord has given us the gospel of grace which is for all people regardless of the moral issue involved. His ministers must minister life to anyone they serve from the well of salvation. Bringing up the 10 commandments or any law from Leviticus or Deautoronmy is not the answer. Quoting one will require you to quote all. We are good to know that all the law has been abolished by the sacrificice of Jesus on the cross.

The only law we have now is of the Spirit that ministers life to a death-ridden world. We have been equipped by God by His Spirit to make the necessary transformation and impact that the world so really needs but may not know.

I want to share with a personal experience from Bob Rufus of City Church International Hong Kong when he received an invitation to minister to a largely gay setup. He talks about how the anointing of the Spirit can transform one from being gay to straight without having to declare judgment on them.

“I want to talk about this because the anointing is the grace of God – the anointing carries grace and we want to speak about how the anointing is carried in your words. I want to talk about how the anointing is transferred through the laying on of hands and other ways.

When you leave here I believe God wants to spread the supernatural aroma and flavour and perfume of grace wherever you go. He wants us to see that the anointing can be transferred. The anointing is transferable, transmittable and tangible. The anointing of God is like supernatural electricity. The anointing of God is like heavenly materiality – it is real. You can feel the anointing. You can feel it on your hands and you can feel it on your face. You can feel it leaving your body and going into someone else’s body.

I was in Holland just a few weeks ago and we taught on the transfer of the anointing. I said; “Any five people who are sick – I don’t care how sick you are – I want to show you the transfer of the anointing and I will pray for you”. So five people came out and within a minute or two three of them were completely healed. The fourth had to go for a checkup and a few weeks later we got the email saying they were healed. The fifth one I don’t know about – but four were healed about them understanding how to receive the transfer of the anointing!

How many want to know how to give the anointing into people’s lives after receiving it? We are all called to be competent ministers of the Spirit that gives life. When we walk in the gift of righteousness and speak about the gift of grace we should be able to back that up with the transfer of the ministry of the Spirit of life.

We should be able to give away the Spirit of life. Some years ago a man invited me to go to the United Kingdom and preach to a big outreach in London. The network was called “Pioneer Ministries” and they were doing an amazing work with people suffering with HIV/AIDS and they were ministering to them. So they knew many many precious homosexual folk – people who were lesbians and homosexuals. I want to tell you that God loves homosexuals and lesbians the way He loves adulterers and murderers and every unsaved person. Jesus has died for the whole world! Somehow Christians have put homosexuality in a different category and said their sin is worse. I don’t know – everything is bad! Under the Law everyone falls short and everyone has missed the glory of God!

The church has not been successful in reaching homosexual people or gay people. In the Western world the church has not had a good result with the gay community. Much of the church has bashed the gays and marched with big “anti-gay” slogans. That doesn’t represent Jesus! I really believe Jesus walks amongst the gay people and wants to love them into the freedom of the Kingdom! So I was going to minister to hundreds and hundreds of people who hated church – hated Christianity and didn’t go to church and certainly didn’t trust Christians and are in the gay community.

Now I had never preached to hundreds of gay people at once – so I went to the United Kingdom and went out to the forest to pray and wait on God. I began to pray and wait on God for 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours until I got the breakthrough in prayer. Now the breakthrough came at the Cross but I was praying the victory of the Cross into this community. While I was in the forest, I felt the breakthrough of God. I had a white T-shirt, white running shorts on and was so happy when the breakthrough came and knew the victory had been released and I was running and jumping in the forest and even rolled down the hill and rolled down into a big pile of cow dung and my T-shirt was covered in cow dung but I was so happy I kept running and knew tonight there would be blessing and liberty and people saved tonight!

I heard God say to me; “Son, the anointing of blessing is all over your white T-shirt which was now the colour of green cow dung. Tonight I don’t want you to preach for more than 10 minutes – I just want you to go to the meeting and wave it over the crowd and I’ll do the rest”. So I said; “Jesus please don’t ask me to do this! These are British people with stiff upper lips and won’t appreciate this!”. He said; “Okay Rob – don’t worry but you will be preaching on your own”. I said; “No Lord don’t leave me on my own!”. But you see – sometimes to do the miraculous we have to do the ridiculous. That is why grace liberates us to become bold and adventurous. We can step out in faith when we hear the voice of God. We do things people are too afraid to do but we do them because we are walking in the grace of God.

So that night I went to the meeting and there were 100s of people there. Someone was trying to lead them in worship but they were not interested. They were angry and mad and upset. I came out and began to speak and spoke for 10 minutes. Everything was so tight and unfriendly and hostile and terrible that I wanted to run out the meeting. I thought; “Lord I will just preach for a little longer to get their faith up”. The Lord kept saying; “Son I am telling you – just wave the T-shirt over the crowd”. I had the T-shirt in a plastic bag and hidden it under the pulpit and was dressed in a clean shirt and trousers. But nothing was happening – it was getting worse. So finally I said; “Ladies and gentlemen – I just want to say to you that I have been disobeying God for the last 20 minutes”. As soon as I said I had been disobeying God all these unsaved people – I had their attention. I said; “The Lord told me to only speak for 10 minutes and then He told me to do …. this”.

I was feeling embarrassed and nervous and felt no great faith. I pulled the T-shirt out which was green and yellow from cow dung. And I said; “The Lord told me to do … this” and as I waved the T-shirt over the crowd the power of God was released across that room and hundreds of people fell from their chairs. Demons began to come out. People began to scream and repent. Then I said; “He told me to do THIS!” and then they went hysterical. When God told the disciples to feed the masses with fish, don’t think Thomas was breaking the loaves in half and throwing them out. They were taking little crumbs! When they saw the bread and fish was not running out – then they got bolder. And I began to get bolder and bolder. Literally 100’s of people – I have a video recording of this – 100’s of these people without me asking them to do it, got up off the floor, fell on their knees at the front, taking their lovers rings off and throwing them onto the pulpit and repenting and calling out on God.

I was amazed! But I saw one man standing in a pin-striped suit standing by himself. Everyone was on the floor kneeling and weeping and repenting. I ran up to this very British man with the white T-shirt and went pow in his stomach! He fell and began to cry out and weep before God! I didn’t realise that man worked at Buckingham Palace and was the legal advisor to the Royal Family. God got him! I wanted to give him my white T-shirt and ask him to take it and wave it over Prince Charles!

There is an anointing that flows out of grace that will radiate out of our lives and through our churches. We just have to learn how to release it and many Christians have to learn how to receive it.

I believe its time for the kingdom to release the power to change and transform through the various giftings of the Spirit operating in the lives of a believer. We can minister true change as we behold him in glory and present Him in his love. We have to be open to the Spirit of God to lead us in this revolution and not let offence becloud sound and profitable judgment. The world is confused and it might not accept it so but we who have embraced the truth should utilize every opportunity to let the Spirit of grace do only what he can do.

FAITH OR MENTAL BELIEVING BY PETER YOUNGREN

Simeon Edigbe — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 11:45:00 +0000

A truckload of mental believing produced by human effort and struggle will do nothing, but a teaspoonful of the faith of Jesus will move mountains every time.

There is a huge gap between mental believing and the God-kind of faith. Mental believing is natural. It comes by repeatedly telling our mind it is so. True faith is supernatural. It moves mountains and is only found in Jesus.

The four Gospels give us many case studies that contrast mental believing with the God-kind of faith. Matthew chapter seventeen begins with Jesus and three of His disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration. When they come down from the mountain, Jesus quickly encounters human pain and suffering. We read, “And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, ‘Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.’” (Matthew 17:14-16)

Can you see the desperation? It’s obvious Jesus’ disciples believed in healing, otherwise they would not have tried to cure the boy. The father must have also believed in the miracle-working power of Jesus, because later he says, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

We don’t know all the details, but we can well imagine the disciples gathered around the boy while he was rolling on the ground, foaming at the mouth. Maybe they rebuked the devil or commanded the demons to leave and nothing happened. Possibly they tried repeatedly praying, interceding and pleading with God. Maybe they encouraged the father to believe more fervently, putting the onus for more faith on him or on the boy. Did the disciples try to discern the cause of the boy’s sickness? Maybe they tried to research what had been the entry point for the demons to begin to oppress the boy and his family. We don’t know exactly how they attempted to cure the boy, but we know they tried. Still, after all the prayer, rebuking and crying out to God was done, the result was dismal. The boy was as sick as ever before. Now some may conclude that this indicated it was not God’s will to heal the boy. We know that’s not the case because when Jesus came, He said, “Bring him here to Me.” (Matthew 17:17) After a short conversation with the father, Jesus heals the boy. Jesus’ action proves that it was God’s will to heal the boy.

Later on, the disciples wonder at what they have seen and why they could not cure the boy. Jesus explains, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

A Truckload or a Teaspoon

Do you see the distinction between mental believing and mountain-moving faith? The disciples had exercised mental believing. No question! They believed in healing or they would not have attempted to cure the boy. Jesus shows that if they had real faith instead of mental believing, they would only need a mustard seed of that kind of faith, and the miracle would happen.

A billion dollars worth of mental believing and nothing will happen, but a penny of faith – the God-kind of faith – and nothing is impossible.

What we call “faith” is often only mental believing or “mind over matter.” People may be heard repeatedly saying, “I’m healed, I’m healed, I’m healed,” or “I got it, I got it, I got it,” or “It’s mine, it’s mine, it’s mine.” It is as if we thought that by repeating something enough we’ll convince our own minds that we believe it, and then we’ll get it.

The faith that Jesus gives, the God-kind of faith, is alive, vibrant and powerful. Let’s never reduce faith to “five steps, ten keys, seven clues, or ten secrets.” Faith can never be reduced to a mere principle or a “step.” It is much more than affirming a doctrine; it is the energy of Jesus Himself flowing through you. Faith is not a condition of our mind; it is a divine grace.

A truckload of mental believing produced by human effort and struggle will do nothing, but a teaspoonful of the faith of Jesus will move mountains every time. The good news is that Jesus makes this faith readily available. You only have to come to Him, call out for Him, and draw near to Him. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12) It’s all wrapped up in “Him,” “He” and “His.” He does the work and we receive the benefits.

Just as I Am

In every Billy Graham crusade when the invitation for people to come to Christ is given the choir sings, “Just as I am without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me.” I love those words, “without one plea.” That means that I have nothing to plead of my own. I cannot brag of a single good thing about myself, including boasting of my faith. Instead, I simply come asking for God’s mercy.

Remember the prayer meeting in the temple in Jerusalem with the publican in the back crying out for mercy, and the self-righteous Pharisee in the front of the sanctuary thanking God that he was not as “other sinners.” Whose shoes would you rather be in: the publican sinner or the self-righteous Pharisee? There was no blessing in coming to God presenting something of ourselves, but mercy and grace flowed freely to the one who came “without one plea.” All our mental attempts at faith will avail nothing. When we come to Jesus without anything of our own, the floodgates of His mercy and love open wide to us.

Peace In The Storm

On another occasion when Jesus and the disciples were in the boat, a raging storm threatened to drown them. The disciples were on the deck crying out to God, commanding the winds to be calm, but nothing happened. Obviously they believed that God could calm the storm, but it was a believing produced of their mind. Jesus simply spoke the words, “Peace be still,” and there was a great calm (Mark 4:39). This is the distinguishing mark between mental believing and the faith which comes of Jesus. Mental believing is our effort to believe and see something happen. Jesus’ faith comes with great peace.

Believe & Speak

Someone may ask, “Isn’t it important that we speak in faith?” Yes, faith speaks and confesses God’s Word. Our positive confession of God’s Word comes from faith, but faith doesn’t come from positive confession, for faith comes from Jesus. That’s why the Scripture says, “I believe, therefore I spoke,” not I spoke until I believed. You may ask, “Doesn’t faith act?” Yes, action comes from faith, not faith from action – for faith only comes from Jesus.

Vasco’s New Shoes

While preaching in the central square in Plovdiv, Bulgaria a mother brought her five-year-old son, Vasco, who had been born paralyzed. The mother had heard of the wonders of Jesus that had happened in our previous meeting in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. She was overwhelmed with what she had heard, and now certain that her son would walk she bought him a pair of jeans, a jean jacket and a brand-new pair of sneakers. The boy had never owned a pair of shoes; he had no need for them as he could neither stand nor walk. However, Vasco’s mother was sure he would need shoes because Jesus would heal him. As I preached Jesus that night a beaming five-year-old and a crying mother came on the platform. Vasco ran back and forth showing the people the wonder that had happened. The people were beside themselves with joy. That’s the faith of Jesus in operation. He gave Vasco’s mother mountain-moving faith.

Now I could tell that story and someone else who was lame could also buy new shoes and come to a meeting and nothing would happen. To the one person this was a living vibrant reality; to another person it may only be another faith technique. Faith is not a method – faith is a person.

The Man Who Crawled

In one of our Gospel Festivals in India, a man paralyzed from his waist down was lying on the ground listening as I spoke of Jesus Christ. He pushed himself up leaning on his arms all the while inching his way around the crowd to get a closer view of the platform. When I spoke in the name of Jesus for the lame to rise up and walk, he tried to get up but fell down. He did it again with the same dismal result. I would never have known these details unless a friend of mine, Pastor Frederick Mwassa from the east coast of Kenya, had been present. He was standing looking at this pitiful sight of a man trying to get up and walk. He told me after the meeting, “Peter, I approached the lame man saying, ‘Shall I help you?’ The man responded, ‘No, I believe the word of Jesus that I have heard preached. I believe it more than I believe in my paralyzed condition. I will walk on my own.’” Again he tried, and this time life flowed to his limbs. He jumped to his feet and came running to the platform while all the people who’d seen him began to weep and cry, and were beside themselves at what they had just witnessed. The Holy Spirit had revealed Jesus to that man. Jesus had given him faith, and no one was going to talk him out of it.

I could relate this story and another person in a similar condition could say and act in exactly the same way, and nothing would happen. It is true that faith responds by acting, that faith without works is dead. But faith doesn’t come from imitating the action of someone else – faith comes from Jesus. Don’t try to imitate or copy what someone else has done, instead just draw closer to Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to you more everyday. Jesus’ faith, assurance and peace will come into your heart. This is why every miracle testimony is unique, whether a testimony from the Bible or a current one. As each individual connects with Jesus, that person will act out their faith in Him.

Jesus is the key to everything. Our miracle is in Him. The more we look at our own effort the worse it gets, while the more we look at Jesus the easier it becomes. I have increasingly made my whole focus to lift up Jesus. The apostle Paul writes, “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?” (Galatians 3:1) Faith, miracles, healings and wonders are not produced by methods or faith techniques. These blessings come when people fully see Jesus portrayed. This was Paul’s preaching style: to vividly paint a picture of the awesomeness of Jesus.

It Is A Gift

Mental believing comes from within ourselves. We try to achieve a level of soulish concentration where we think we believe something. This is the complete opposite of the faith of God. Look again at this scripture: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

This means:

1. Faith is “not of ourselves;”
2. Faith is “a gift of God;”
3. Faith is “not of works;”
4. If faith came from our works or ourselves we could boast, but since it doesn’t, all boasting goes to Jesus.

The next verse sheds light on how real faith comes. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) Everything we have is because we are new creations in Christ Jesus. We are believers because Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of faith, is in us. We nurture and grow this God-given faith by continually looking unto Jesus.

Do you work for a “gift?” Obviously not! A gift must be free or it is no longer a gift. Faith is a gift of God.

At times we hear people say, “I have seriously studied and prayed and my faith is growing. I believe I can do great things for God now.” This type of speaking is an indication that faith’s not at work, because we cannot work for faith and consequently we can’t boast in it.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I practice Bible reading, prayer, and spiritual discipline with all my heart. Still we may read and pray diligently and yet not have the faith that moves mountains. Only Jesus can give us this faith. When His peaceful presence touches you, another world will open up to you. It’s no longer you trying to have faith. Instead, His faith, the faith of Jesus, is flowing through you. He is our TOTAL MIRACLE SOURCE.

Moving Past Guilt

Simeon Edigbe — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 13:31:00 +0000

Sarah a few years back, swung out on to the outer lane to overtake a slow moving van and collided head on with an oncoming truck. Her husband was killed on the spot and her son was paralyzed waist down. Years later, her sense of guilt continues to blame her cruelly over her fatal error of judgment. A feeble and pained voice within her keeps rejoining with the truth – that it was just a momentary mistake, which could have happened to anyone but could she accept that.

A thoughtless, but awful mistake. Each time Sarah opens her front door and feels the emptiness and sense of failure especially each time she glimpses her child on the wheelchair, the painful critical voice returns, killing her with its persistent reminder of her past failure. It has brought her despair poisoned her career and the upbringing of her son, altering her life into a living nightmare.

We can be trapped in our yesterdays by guilt and regrets. Guilt is a negative feeling because of something we have done, or that we think we have done. The guilt is over sins that we committed and mistakes that we made and the regret is for things that we could have and should have done, but we did not for one reason or the other. Guilt in particular is so destructive that it ends up draining life and hope out of individuals. This is one of the enemy’s tool to keep people from living in the abundant life in Jesus.

There are many believers who are constantly driven by guilt. Some were introduced into the faith through the agency of guilt. As a result they have keep wearing fig leaves to cover their shame so that God would keep rewarding them with his blessings. Just as many have embraced various church activities to silence the voice of guilt in their lives, they have become drug addicts who keep taking harmful substance to suppress their feelings of inferiority. The problem being that one is never enough. So the addiction continues.

When people have an innate feeling of not being right with God, they go somewhere to ”make things right with God.” This is a state of self-righteousness that does not give us the opportunity to express the life of God. This has led many believers to experience issues in their health and they seem to find the goodness of God distant from them.

Research at the University of California Los Angeles confirms activity in the neural pain circuits, when a person suffers social rejection. A person suffers pain, when damaged skin cells cause nociceptors (pain nerve cells) to fire. It leads to depression, personality disorder and other related issues.

Religion is not the cure to guilt but a wholesome relationship; this is what Jesus offers us. The most dangerous enemy to the Gospel is sincere religious practices that suggest to people that God accepts them on the basis of their spiritual activities.

The dilemma of all religion are the questions that never gets answered: ”When is it enough?” When am I good enough? Have I fasted enough? Have I prayed enough? Have I read the holy book enough?” When is enough, enough?

If we rely on outward observances, there is always ”one thing you lack,” just as the case of the Pharisee, we continue laden down with guilt and shame. We cant keep wearing the fig leaves of religion and self-righteousness and still expect to manifest His glory and life.

The law amplifies our guilt and shame but grace speaks us His gift of righteousness. This gift should be our clothing, one that radiates with glory and confidence. Paul described the law as “ Now if the ministry that brought death’ in 2 Corinthians 3. It ministered death because there was no perfection in that age. Since they couldn’t be made perfect they had to keep coming back with their best sacrifices.

Thank God in Christ that has been done away with. He has now perfected by his death.

“When he said, “You don’t want sacrifices and offerings,” he was referring to practices according to the old plan. When he added, “I’m here to do it your way,” he set aside the first in order to enact the new plan—God’s way—by which we are made fit for God by the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus.” (Hebrews 10:9-10) The Message

God is not looking our sacrifices to perfect us. He wants us to appropriate the perfection in Jesus our sacrifice. We need to look beyond ourselves and look to him who has become our very life. All our mistakes and sins have been placed under the blood because there’s no way that we could ever pay for it completely.

Stop living in the past and stop putting everything off until tomorrow. Live your dreams. Start now and you are one day closer to being where you want to go. Jesus not only paid for your past, he also paid for your future. You can’t find life in your past. It’s time to move on.

If you stand before God with your “fig leaf” of everything you have done, you will never be free from the guilt and shame of your inadequacies. The only way you can enjoy your relationship and fellowship with him is when you present yourself to Him the way he has made you; Like the son glorious in righteousness.

Have a confident expectation of good in your life because of the fact that the Father now sees you as He sees Jesus.

Photo by Mitchell Hollander on Unsplash

Stop Paying Debts to God!

Simeon Edigbe — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 13:24:00 +0000

Many people are living their lives collecting and paying debts to God. They are dragged around with a lot of religious activities in order to keep a place in God’s good book. People are trying to settle their heavenly accounts so that on the last day their “Rapture Cheques” won’t bounce. In a bid to live their lives for God, they have no life to live at all.

God is not interested in all that. Jesus came to pay the price for all that concerns your destiny. Stop paying the price for the anointing. The anointing is not a reward of efforts but a gift of grace. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 ““Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (AMP)

The call to ministry should also not be seen as a way to pay back the debt that Jesus paid for you on the cross. Ministry should not be done from the posture of lack or the desire to fill a need that God has. God is all-sufficient. He owes no man and he not seeking any man to pay the debt of sin. Jesus gladly did that. He paid the price with unconditional love.

As scriptures say in John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

He didnt give Jesus because he was convinced that man would pay him back. He demonstrated in the highest level of faith by giving forth His only begotten Son. His son gave us forgiveness at the cross. We are not forgiven because we are sorry. We have been given the free gift of forgiveness because the offering for sin has been made.

Don’t give yourself the duty of paying God back with your life. Life the abundant life that He died to give you. Fulfill your dreams and be all that you were born to be. Remember that you are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus.

Your good works cannot do it, your long prayers and fastings cannot do it, your large offerings and cheques cannot do it and your church commitments cannot do it. The price has been paid.

In that one sacrifice on the cross, Jesus’ obedience and perfections rose as “a sweet aroma to the Lord”, which is what is emitted when the offering is burnt in the Old testament. This “sweet aroma” speaks of a savor of rest and pleasure to God. Jesus’ perfect sacrifice gave God so much satisfaction that He rested. That is why the work is finished.

Your job is to rest in the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, knowing that what He did, He did for you as Paul said “Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma”. (Ephesians 5:2) You can rest knowing that God the Father is satisfied with you because His Son’s sacrifice has caused His heart to rest with regard to you. You can rest because Jesus is God’s satisfaction for you.

See Jesus not just as your example but as your saviour. He’s very interested in making things happen. Learn of Jesus in His grace and you will draw his rest into your life.

THE ESSENCE OF RESURRECTION

Simeon Edigbe — Sat, 09 Mar 2019 12:16:23 +0000