In April of 1983, I had an encounter with God. God informed me that I was at the point of no return. I had to decide that night to serve Him or the world because my recovery chances were nil to none. Sin had mastered me. It was a Friday night as I was planning another weekend of partying and vice.
That night I was born spiritually into the family of God as a royal priest, part of a holy nation, God’s very own possession. The following Tuesday, I married my Son’s mother. That was 37 years ago.
These were the first two major decisions in my life to take responsibility for my actions and be accountable for the decisions I had made and would make moving forward.
The following year March 1984, I started my own cleaning business to take responsibility for my financial well-being. I no longer wanted to depend on others or the world to provide for me.
I told God that from that day forward, I would depend totally on Him for my well-being. Deciding to depend on God for my well-being was the third major decision to take responsibility and control my life. That was 36 years ago. Since that time, I have never turned nor looked back!
As I began my learning journey to depend on God totally, God through His Word helped me put things in their proper perspective. He helped me understand that Satan deceived Eve to believe that she could not trust God and that He was holding back the best from them. Gen. 2: 1-3
Satan accomplished this deception by arousing Eve’s desire through sight, pleasure, accomplishments, and possession, which enticed her and drugged her away from God as her husband followed. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. Gen. 2:15-17, James 1: 12-15:
Thus, humanity became dominated by the sinful nature which only thinks about what the world offers, only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. 1 John 2: 15-17
Letting your sinful nature control your mind will lead to death because it is hostile to God and will not obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why being under the control of the sinful nature prevents you from pleasing God. Rom. 8:5-8:
Understanding the sinful nature prevents you from pleasing God is essential to understand because, when you were born-again, “You” spirit, got saved!
Your soul the seat of your emotions, your sin nature seeks to be independent of God in expressing itself in life, did not get saved. Rom. 7:1-25.
God informed me that my new life in Christ was a battle for my soul. As a born-again believer no longer conformed to the world, I was now responsible for building a life and community that represents the kingdom of God. Rom. 12:3, 1 John. 2:15-17
Building a life and community that represents God’s kingdom is all possible because I am, “spirit,” created in the image and likeness of God. In His likeness, I have the unique ability in my reasoning and intellect to think like God in decision making. 1 Cor. 2:16
In His image, I have the unique ability to represent God’s character through my lifestyle. Therefore, to be successful in my new life in Christ, I, spirit, must take control of my mind and program it in the things of God. Eph. 5:1,2
Therefore, I, “spirit,” must focus MY attention on the three spirits through which human nature’s tempted to turn away from God. The spirit of attraction, pleasure, and boastful spirit of pride. 1 John 2: 15-17
Taking control of my mind and programing it in the things of God was crucial in preventing me from fighting a winless battle against man as those before me because our battle is not against flesh and blood but principalities and powers in the heavenly places. Eph. 4:23
I discovered from God’s Word that if I wanted to live the life, He created me to live, it would require me to pursue righteousness in obedience to the Word of God.
For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So, then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. (Rom. 14:18,19)
This new-found knowledge started the journey of living a self-controlled life by the power of the Holy Spirit. Living a self-controlled life by the power of the Holy Spirit empowers you to take control over your mind, sinful nature, and creation. 1Thess. 4:3-8,
Therefore, it is essential to build a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the power agent of God assigned to the born-again believer to empower you to fulfill God’s will for your life. Rom. 8:12-14; Gal. 5:16,17
His work is to indwell, sanctify, instruct, empower the born-again believer for service, and seal them until the day of redemption. John 14:26, 16:13, Rom. 8:26, 1 Cor. 2:7-13, Eph. 1: 13,
But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law. If we live by the spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit Gal. 5:22-25
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere. For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but power. 1 Cor. 4:20, Acts 1:8
Overcoming these spirits that are assigned to my family tree and taking authority over them has led to operating in spiritual authority in my life and my circles of influence, thus bringing about change for righteousness and justice.
Growing in knowledge of God’s Word has required me to practice what I know. God makes it very clear in his word. “It would be better if I had never known the way of righteousness than to know it and then reject the command given to live a holy life.” (2Pet. 2:21)
Practicing what I know is essential because believers are held accountable for the Word of God, we know. God said that if I know the right thing to do and do not do it, it is a sin for me. (James 4:17)
Although we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. Our weapons of war are not of the flesh but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations, and every lofty thing raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 2 Cor. 10: 3-5; Eph. 6:12
This pursuit of righteousness has come with great sacrifice in my relationships, desires, my old comfort zone, and things that I thought were valuable. (Mark 10:28, 29)
Understand clearly, I am not trying to become righteous. I am in pursuit of living up to my righteous standing in Christ. Eph. 4:1
I am not saying that I have reached perfection. What I am saying is this, “When I find out from the Word of God that what I am doing does not line up with the written Word of God; I through faith in that word and the power of the Holy Spirit purpose to do it!
The Holy Spirit then empowers me through faith to turn away from my disobedience to God’s Word and start practicing that word in my daily life. Turning away from disobedience to God’s Word is called sanctification. Practicing God’s Word is my reaching for the Mark of the High calling mentioned in Phil. 3:14.
God assured me that if I committed faithfully to obey His Word, He guaranteed that He would make sure I do it. He told me that He would be the one who would give me the desire to do right and the ability to do it. (Phil. 2:13, Jude 1:24) “Wow, what a relief”!
I discovered that there’s much to learn because the mind is programmed in worldly wisdom, which considers God’s word foolishness. Not only that, but God has also made it impossible for people to come to know Him through worldly wisdom. 1 Cor. 1: 18-26
So, for the past 37 years of weekly observation, study, and application, I can confidently say that the Word of God is a fact, not a theory. God does what He says, and how He says; my life is living proof of this truth. (1 Pet. 2:12)
The pursuit of righteousness has been the most gratifying, fulfilling, and rewarding thing I’ve ever experienced. To God, be the glory. (Deut. 28: 1-14; Luke 18:29)
God told me in His Word that in his house, there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood, earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from youthful lusts, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. (2Tim. 2:20)
Cleansing myself from youthful lusts is the sacrifice” that I decided to make for the Lord, to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart that I may become a “vessel of honor,” nothing more nothing less.
Since being born-again, pursuing a life of righteousness has protected me from the deception of the enemy. It has allowed me to fulfill my vision of living a life that glorifies God while fulfilling my purpose of representing God’s character through my lifestyle.
Pursuing a life of righteousness has allowed me to experience security, stability, peace of mind, clarity, and total assurance that God is pleased with my life and service to Him and humanity. It is a lifestyle that is characterized by abundance, prosperity, and good health.
Being born into God’s family has empowered me to overcome identity confusion, a sense of not belonging, a sense of not having control over my life, and a sense of failure.
Training and practice in the word of righteousness, my senses are trained to discern good and evil. I am no longer deceived by false doctrine and men’s trickery, by craftiness in deceitful scheming. Heb. 5:11-14
Through this authority, principalities and powers submit to my spiritual authority in Christ, which has strengthened my faith and confidence in God’s written word. Luke 10:19
Now that the Holy Spirit has taught me how to rule in spiritual authority. I can now command the spirit realm to submit to my spiritual authority. I am now experiencing an unusual movement of God in all my life situations.
As I have mastered spiritual authority over the spirits working in my personal life, I am now taking authority over spirits working in my environment.
Through these victories, I observe a movement worldwide for justice and righteousness as I take authority over God’s creation.
This authority in the spirit realm frees those in the physical realm to be open and receptive to the word and will of God. Taking authority over spirits working in my environment has created an environment that inspires others to follow Christ and my counsel.
Now that God has established, strengthened, and placed me on a firm foundation, my focus moving forward is effective proclamation and demonstration of God’s transforming power.
My message is rooted in the demonstration of the spirit and power so that people’s faith will not rest on my wisdom but God’s power.
People are afraid, and fear breeds hopelessness. The world needs something only God’s people can provide, that’s, protection and deliverance from the things that bind them!
I must be a symbol against fear and hopelessness; only then will I be able to lead people into true salvation and deliver them from the destructive emotions controlling their minds.
People are looking for security, stability, peace of mind, clarity, and total assurance that God is pleased with their lives. Therefore, my message and experience is one of deliverance from the things that bind, guidance, comfort, healing, transformation, and empowerment
My purpose in life is clear, my values are spiritually sound, and I am fulfilling my life’s vision! Life is Grand! I am enjoying the peace of God, nothing that arises causes concern!
I strive to bring together humanity’s diversity while allowing for freedom of growth in non-essentials to all through mutual trust and respect. Thus, delivering measurable value, understanding, and solutions to life’s predicaments.
I now understand that my responsibility as a born-again believer is to establish, maintain, develop, and strengthen relationships. It is a community that operates on the philosophy that “Unconditional Love Requires No Change It Inspires Change”! (2Cor. 5: 16-21)
The church is the center of this community of believers living a self-controlled life through the Holy Spirit’s power characterized by righteous living.
A community of believers living a self-controlled life through the Holy Spirit’s power, characterized by righteous living, is essential because many churches have become no more than social clubs focusing on entertainment over the last three decades.
To pique people’s interest in attending the church, most churches have turned to schemes and gimmicks that mimic the world, ignoring God’s formula for church growth. This sophisticated approach to please the senses has critically diluted biblical content.
It has both trivialized and marginalized the instruction of the Word of God. The teaching of sound biblical doctrine and theology is, for the most part, non-existent, exchanged for musical entertainment, human experience, and emotional hype.
This sophisticated approach to please the senses has resulted in a shallow church experience with a breed of harmless professing believers who lack the power of God in their lives and represents a poor example of the transforming power of God’s grace.
Thus, churches that have a form of Godliness but lack spiritual power and authority to carry out God’s will for their lives. (2Tim. 3: 1-5)
I believe this to be the church community’s root problem; identity confusion, no purpose, and no kingdom vision or power to live a life that glorifies God.
I believe the solution is establishing a church community empowered and knowledgeable, operating in kingdom authority. (Luke 10:19)
