THESE TWO DON'T MIX

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi John 14:30 NKJV “I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.” In this scripture Jesus explains to His disciples that they would not be left comfortless. The statement ‘I will no longer talk much ‘was an assurance that even if they didn’t hear His voice, they were still not alone because the Holy Spirit shall remain with them throughout eternity. It is the consciousness of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives during those silent moments that give us the much needed peace. Peace isn’t necessarily the absence of problems but the ability to remain calm, stable and purposeful in the midst of problems. This is where a lot of believers miss it, they often pray that the lord to put an end to their problems and it is more worrisome when a preacher declares that the lord will bring all our problems to an end. It is only in death that all problems come to an end in the life of a Christian. As long as we are on planet earth, we will be faced with problems; the scripture says in Eccl 7:14 “Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life.” It is the unpredictability of life that leads to our search for divine assistance. The vicissitudes of life is an opportunity to discover the real but latent strength of the inner man. God’s gifting in us is easily brought to fore during trying times. There is a precondition to receive the peace of the spirit in the time of crisis, Jesus highlighted this in the statement “for the ruler of this world is coming, he has nothing in Me ”. Satan is the ruler of the world’s socioeconomic system (2cor4:4) but it is for a short time before he and his followers are sentenced to eternal damnation (2Thes 2:6-11). The world’s system favours those whose activities promote Satan’s agenda to kill, steal and destroy. It is exemplified in the life of suicide bombers: they are promised illusionary gains and eventually destroyed. Jesus came to give us the good life and this can only be attained when the ruler of this world has nothing in us. The word ‘has’ in Jn14:30 is the Greek word “echo” which means to hold, go to law, direct or remote possessions; ability, continuity, relation, enjoy, begin to amend, count, uncircumcised, use. What this means is that as long as a person still enjoys the past way of life and holds in high esteem ideologies that are contrary to God’s word and continues to keep in possession properties belonging to antichrist organizations, the peace of the lord will be far from such a person(1John2:22,4:3). Satan needs legal grounds before he can oppress a Christian and this occurs when we hold on to materials that project Satan’s image such as talisman, books, rings, identity cards etc. The Ephesians had to give up these materials in order to enjoy God’s provisions. Acts 19:19-20 NKJV says“.. many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all… So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.”The word of God cannot come to pass in the life of a person who holds on to books that teach about multiple ways to heaven. Jesus said in John 14:6 NIV "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Truth isn’t subjective, it is objective therefore there cannot be more than one truth. We need to ask the lord to reveal things in our lives that are a hindrance to the fulfillment of His word in our lives. God doesn’t want us to ascribe our victory to any person or group whose views are contrary to the scriptures. The Israelites suffered their worst defeat against a small army because Achan had kept occultic materials in his possession (Joshua 7,), however, victory was won when they got rid of the abominable material. Light and darkness do not mix , there are no middle grounds with God , he demands total devotion from us (Rev.3:15). As you read this receive grace for total restoration in Jesus name. Prayer, counseling +2348098536911, +2348035536911 Email: michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com