The Insights

Foreignpolicy.com reports that Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world, and so does Wikipedia .1 No doubt this indicates a trend. But how is this growth achieved? Foreign Policy attributes Islamic growth to its presence in the world’s fastest-growing countries and the influx of Muslim immigrants into Europe, “The worlds [sic] largest Muslim populations are in fast-growing countries such as Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Egypt, and Iran. Islam also happens to be the fastest-growing religion in Europe, where an influx of Muslim immigrants from North Africa, Turkey, and South Asia has sent shock waves into a mostly Christian and secular population whose birthrates have stagnated.” 1 I lived in Bahrain (Arabian Peninsula) for a good number of years. But I do not recollect anyone evangelizing me into Islam. Even when I walked into the office of “Discover Islam” in the Island, I was greeted politely and courteously, but not one word was uttered to convert me. Al...

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (John 17:15-16) Being peculiar. That's not something most of us work to achieve, is it? But, you know, we should. God has called us to be peculiar—to stand out from the rest of the world as living proof of His power and His love (1 Peter 2:9). He doesn't, for example, want us to share the ailments of the world. He doesn't want us to share their sickness and poverty and failure. He's never wanted that for His people. He gave us a physical illustration of that during the time the nation of Israel was held captive in Egypt. Pharaoh had refused to set the Israelites free, so God had allowed a thick darkness to cover the whole land. The darkness was so dreadful throughout Egypt that no one moved for three days. "But," says Exodus 10:23, "all the children of Israel had light in their ...

 Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matt.22:13-14) Please read Matthew 22. If you are like me, you would agree that the king’s sentence is rather harsh, right? When I read this, I wrestled with it. What has he done to deserve being cast into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth? And then it occurred to me that being called is a function of favour but being chosen is a function of being worthy. Many are called but few are chosen. I pray that you will be part of the chosen and that you will be worthy in Jesus Name. It is not enough to be called. Are you worthy? When you are worthy, the things of God will prosper in your hands. When you are worthy, you are able to lay hold of your destiny. When you are worthy, you are the pride and joy of your Father. Elisha was worthy. He served Elijah and...

But God's grace is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:10) Have you ever wondered what it will be like when your body dies and you go on to heaven? Well, according to the Word, when that time comes, this flesh and blood tent you live in will die, but you won't feel a thing. You'll just take off the cloak of your flesh, lay it down and go to a better place. Believers who have died and come back say that they have no sensation of loss—no sting. Their minds stay intact, and they even have arms and legs, but they are spirit and not flesh. One man said he couldn't even tell he wasn't in his body until he tried to grasp something. His hand would just go right through the material object. He was spirit and not flesh. According to the Apostle Paul, to be absent from the body is to be present with God (2 Corinthians 5:1). So, when ...

With emphasis] “Listen to this wise advice; follow it closely, for it will do you good, and you can pass it on to others…” Proverbs 22:17–19 [TLB] When God wants to take you into a new experience with Him, what do you do? I would say the only response is to follow Him. And this is the beauty of relationship; the more you spend time with God, the more He reveals Himself to you. Has God not been beautiful beyond description even before you and I were formed? But as you spend time with Him, as you experience Him and tarry in His Presence, these things become real to you. Then you become better equipped to pick out His voice even amidst a crowd. Let me illustrate with this example and I hope it births in you a hunger to know Him more. At first, it used to be when I pray and prepare for a service that God talks to me about the service in my closet. Right there, I write down what God has said and so when I am ministering, I just read out what God had told me and then God does what...

“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God” John 1:12 [RSV] God is more interested in your character than in your comfort. God is more interested in who you are becoming than in what you are acquiring.  And God gives us a checklist in His Word. James 3:14-17 [NIV, with emphasis] “If you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition... such ‘wisdom’ is of the devil... The wisdom that comes from God is pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, impartial and sincere.” Be more like Christ. The additional test parameter to determine if God is speaking is: Is it consistent with my experience of God? Is what you are hearing consistent with your experience of God? John 10:3 “The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they kno...

And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. (Deuteronomy 28:2) Some people have very low expectations of what God will provide for them materially. They trust Him to feed and clothe them, but they don't trust Him to feed and clothe them very well! Somehow they've gotten the idea that God's an old miser who will do little more than put rags on their backs and beans on their tables. But that's not what Jesus told us. He said in Matthew 6 that God would clothe us better than He clothed Solomon. That one statement alone proves that God wants to do more than just meet our basic needs. He wants to bless us abundantly. I know that from personal experience. A few years ago I came home and found two expensive automobiles parked in my driveway. They'd been given to me to use by men who'd been blessed by the Lord through my ministry. I was baffled. "Lord," I said, "I d...

“In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.”   Ph. 2:5 [NCV] Test #6 for determining God voice is: Does this make me more like Christ? God’s goal is to make us like Christ Jesus and God will not say anything that will make us less like Christ. Take note of all the Scripture references I have given these past few days. These tests are not made up. They are rooted in God’s Word and you can build your faith on God’s Word. “In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.” One sure way to achieve this is, 2Cor.10:5 [GW] “We take every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ.” Is the thought, the idea, the inspiration, or revelation obedient to Christ? Taking thoughts captive is something we must do on a day-to-day basis. Nobody is exempt, not even pastors. I started playing golf recently so when my brother who also plays golf came to visit, I invited him to play with me. We are very competitive in my family. I mean we eat and drink competiti...

Therefore, now no condemnation awaits those who are living in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King (Romans 8:1) Guiltiness is not next to Godliness! A lot of people liken the feeling of being guilty to spirituality. So many people are used to just feeling downtrodden before God because they believe guiltiness is next to Godliness. Again I say guiltiness is not next to Godliness. That feeling of guilt that you feel when you are about to pray, is not from God; it is the devil. The goal of condemnation is to put you down. The objective of conviction is to lift you up. Conviction has a definite solution; the Holy Spirit will tell you how to resolve issues and be guilt free. Condemnation usually has no solution, and if any, it usually compounds the problem. Condemnation tells you nothing is enough. Conviction tells you Christ is enough. With conviction, as soon as you acknowledge and repent, the feeling of guilt goes away. But with condemnation, the feeling of guilt never leaves. ...

“We will all be judged one day, not by each other’s standards, or even our own, but by the judgment of God... It is to God alone that we shall have to answer for our actions.” (Rom.14:10-13) Sometimes, God talks to us about other people so that He can confirm what He has said to them. This is closely linked to moral authority. You must have the moral authority to engage people at that level otherwise keep quiet. Even with yourself, with certain things and in certain situations, you need to ask yourself “does this concern my responsibility”? Let me give you an illustration. Billy Graham, a great man of God, years ago was so popular in the polity of the United States that they offered him a cabinet seat. But Billy Graham refused the position. Why? He said, “God has called me to be an evangelist and this does not concern my responsibility”. A lot of people would happily testify about it and how God has opened doors for promotion. The question is, does it concern your responsibility? ...

“Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (Romans.14:4) A lot of people just abuse the things of God with, “God said…”. Keep quiet! Does it concern your responsibility and is it your business? Telling other people about God’s will for their lives can easily turn into presumption and arrogance. Yes, God speaks to us about other people but take note of this - under certain conditions. #1. If you are in authority over them, God will speak to you concerning them. For instance parents, God talks to fathers about their children. The fathers in turn change the destinies of their children through prophetic utterances. If you provide spiritual covering, for instance pastors, God can talk to you about them. #2. If you have the “moral authority” to speak into their lives, God will speak to you concerning them. In other words, you have built trust. With my pastor, Pastor Eskor of bles...

 "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow Me."  (John 21:22) Test #3 for recognizing Gods voice is: Does it concern my responsibility? Is it your business? Peter was asking Jesus in John 21:22 what was going to happen to John. Jesus had already told Peter what would happen to Peter, and how when he grows old, how he was going to be led by another plus how he would die. But Peter turned around and began to ask about John. Jesus’ response in essence was, what is your business? A lot of people are quick to say, “God has spoken to me about you”. My thoughts are, “Really? Where was I?” (Romans 14:4) “Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” A single lady says to a married man, “While I was praying, God showed me that your wife was rude and not submissive”. The question is, how exactly is that your business? Does it concern yo...

(Eph 3:10) “God’s intent is that through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known...” Test #2 for recognizing Gods voice is: Does my church family confirm this? God wants us to connect to each other. The people that usually get into trouble, are the people who do not want to have anything to do with other people. They feel they are better than everyone else so they do not want people in their business. God did not design us to be silos. God designed us for community. (Proverbs 11:9) “ The wisdom of the righteous can save you.” The correction or guidance you get at your life group meeting can change your life. The wisdom of your friend in church can save you. When you talk to the ministers and pastors, their vision can give you that breakthrough you have been praying for for twenty years. Speaking to mature Christians is so indispensable because if you speak to immature Christians you will have a lot of problems. Ask Joseph; he told immature Christians [his b...

He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from troubles. (Proverbs 21:23) There's just no two ways about it. If you want to live a life of blessing, you're going to have to make your words agree with what God says. Not just for a few hours or a few days, but all the time. And if you've ever done that, you know it's not easy. As time wears on and the circumstances around you appear to be stubbornly determined to stay in the same miserable condition they've always been in, it's hard to keep on speaking God's Word. But you have to do it if you ever want your harvest of blessing to come in. When Kenneth started preaching prosperity, I sat out there and listened to him with holes in the bottom of my shoes. We had terrible financial problems but we knew those problems didn't change what the Word of God said. We knew His prosperity promises were true even if we hadn't been able to tap in to them yet. So, even though we felt foolish at ...

“And though all heaven and earth shall pass away, yet my words remain forever true.” (Luke 21:33 TLB)  Over the next few days, we are going to learn six plus one ways of testing a message and recognizing God’s voice. This is not some clever way of getting you to solve a math problem. It is six plus one because the first six ways are indispensable. Every Word from God must pass the first six tests. If it fails even one out of the six, throw it out or keep it in the cooler. The seventh is also very crucial but again it is not. You can authenticate with just the first six. So let us just say the seventh is an added advantage. Test #1: Does this agree with the Bible? Luke 21:33 [NIV] “Heaven and earth will pass away but My words will never pass away.” Why will God’s Word never pass away? It is because God will never invalidate His Word. If God says you should wait till marriage to have sex, He is not going to change His mind. In fact, some people’s reason for cohabiting is beca...

This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.  (Hebrews 10:16-17) The Bible tells us that under Levitical law, an animal had to be offered every year to atone for the sins of the people. That word atone means "to cover" and it's used continually throughout the Old Testament. But let me tell you something exciting. It's never used in the New Testament. The Greek word used to describe what Jesus did for us on the cross is a different word altogether. It doesn't just mean "to cover"—it means "to remit; to do completely away with something." Do you know what that means? It means there is no longer a sin problem. Jesus solved it! When you made Him your Lord, He didn't just cover your sins, He put you into right-standing with God and re-created you by the Spirit of God a...

1 John 4:1 [LB] “Don’t believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from God; test it first to see if it really is!” Today, we will take off from a thought we touched on yesterday and that is, that there are three sources of voices that exist. The first source is God. Scripture points out in Job 33:14 “For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it.” I pray that you will always recognize God, in Jesus Name.  The second source is Yourself. Unfortunately, people talk to themselves and say God has spoken to them. No, dear brother or sister; you are the one talking to yourself. I talk to myself, I say “why did you do that?” You can talk to yourself but do not talk to yourself and say God has spoken to you. Why? It is because your ways are not His ways. Pr.14:12 “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. We can actually broadcast stuff to ourselves. If we are left to ourselves, we will take the path tha...

The sower soweth the word. (Mark 4:14) Right now, at this very moment, you have hidden within you a treasure that can change the world. A treasure that can change a man's eternal destiny, that can take him to heaven and save him from hell. A treasure that can turn a person's poverty into prosperity, his sickness into health, his sorrow into joy. You have within you the all-powerful Word of God. Don't keep it to yourself. Plant it wherever you go! Sow it into the hearts of those you meet. Share it at every opportunity. "But I don't know how!" you may say. Then start learning. Let these three steps help guide the way. 1: Make a decision. Make up your mind and heart today that you are going to share the Word with others no matter what! Determine right now that it's the most important thing you'll ever do. Commit to it. Once you've done that, you'll find the rest is easy. 2: Prepare yourself. Spend time meditating in the Word each...

Ps.46:10[NIV, with emphasis] “Be still, and know that I am God.” God spea ks to people who take the time to listen. When you still yourself, you are better able to listen and God is able to speak to you. He is able to breathe upon you. When the water is disturbed, it is almost impossible to see the bottom of the swimming pool. But when that same water is still, you can see through clearly. God takes us to a new level [and He will continue to take us higher in Him in Jesus Name], but while we are getting into the flow of things, because we are humans, we get ruffled. It could be anxiety that throws us off course. Or anger that ticks us off and takes us off course. The question is - how does one attain that oneness with the Spirit of God in the place of waiting? I am going to share three things I do and if you deploy them, it will help you too. The first thing I do is to calm down and regurgitate the Word. I speak [I confess] the Word of God. If you do not know Scriptures by he...