Dear You, you're not irreplaceable

By Leo sekoere

Stewardship is one of the greatest precepts in The Kingdom of Heaven. So much so that the bible is full of examples of men and women who failed at stewardship- these were replaced in a flash. There is a great lesson to be learned here, God wants to do a great thing in the area he has placed you but he is not going to use you if you have not taken stewardship seriously.

Here’s a simple definition of ‘stewardship’: The job of taking care of something. Taking care of something means being responsible/accountable. The connotations are preservation, protection and managing it well. A good steward goes the extra mile and treats what is entrusted upon him as his prized possession.

In Matthew 25:14, Jesus likens the Kingdom of Heaven to a man travelling into a far country, who calls his servants and delivers goods to them. To one he gives five talents, to another two and to the other one. To every man according to his own ability. See, that which you received from God is just enough for you to handle. God knew that if he trusted you with it you would be able to be responsible; preserving, protecting and managing it to His glory. Verse 15 says after he gave his servants this money, he started on his journey (this shows us how he trusted his servants). After he left, two of his servants doubled the talents they received but the servant who was given one talent just hid his in the ground. When the master returned, he was so impressed with the two who doubled his money that he called them good and faithful. He told them that because they had been faithful over a few things, he would make them rulers over many things, subsequently he invited them into the “joy of their lord”. The servant who hid his talent in the ground was called wicked and lazy and was sent away into outer darkness after his talent had been taken away.

In Ester chapter 1, we also see a Queen who failed to steward her crown. She failed to honor her title as Queen and she was replaced in a flash. Queen Vashti was said to be the most beautiful, that along with the fact that she owned the crown must’ve made her feel irreplaceable. But she wasn’t, no one on this earth is irreplaceable- DON’T EVER GET TOO COMFORTABLE AND PRESUMPTUOUS. There’s a notion called GRACE under which people get things they don’t deserve. There could be someone better than you occupying your position but instead, God opened that door for you, not because there’s something great about you but because of His Grace. You ought to be grateful in your heart, through your words and through your actions.

Speaking of GRACE: in the book of 1 Samuel we read about a young man called Saul and how he started on a desperate journey, looking for his father’s lost donkeys but instead found GRACE. A prophet of God meets him along the way and tells him that he is going to be Israel’s first king. I love his humble and modest response “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?” .Here, Saul’s eyes were open to Grace, he knew that he was being given a position he didn’t deserve.

Like many of us, Saul started off humble but once the reality of being a king became alive to him, his head grew too big and he started being autonomous-disregarding the leadership of GOD. 1 Samuel 13:13 says that God sent Samuel to set him right. Samuel told him that he acted foolishly and had not kept the commandment of the Lord therefore God had resolved to replace him with “A man after His own heart”. This “Man after God’s heart” is not someone who was just created seconds before this conversation. He was there all the time but watch how God still gave Saul a chance to lead Israel even though he had a far better option. This is Grace! Verse 14 tells us that the main reason why God took the kingdom away from Saul was because “he did not keep what the Lord committed to his trust”.

In Apostle Paul’s letters to Timothy, He keeps emphasizing on how it is important for the young leader to “guard the deposit” and honor the work of God in his life. Paul must’ve known that when a person stops honoring the things that God has given them, they lose them. 1 Timothy 6:20- Guard what was committed to your trust.

Please understand that if you fail to show God faithfulness over what he has given you, He will not give you more than what you have. You will not get that job you’re eyeing if you fail at being a blessing at your current job. You will not get an increase in your finances if all you do is use money in unwise ways. Be a good steward of your body, health, relationships, money and job- You will see a promotion in these areas.

When bad things happen to Good people

By Leo Sekoere
Mal. 3:1, "Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord [adonai], whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the Lord [YHWH] of hosts."

This was a prophecy about John the Baptist, an exciting one I imagine, but years went by without seeing the fulfillment of this prophecy, prophets died and time did not stand still.

Zoom out.....Zoom in to a little town in judea....there's a barren woman called Elizabeth. Time didn't stand still for her too because the bible says she was advanced in years, suggesting to us that she'd had to watch many women experiencing the joys of motherhood while she waited for God to answer her prayer. She was a devout woman, the wife of a priest, from the family of Aaron but she had an issue: She was barren. Some of you know this situation too well, where you're just trying , investing, giving yourself to something that's not yielding desired results. "BUT God I've been faithfully serving you and living righteous, so why am I stagnant?". Sometimes we even question God. I love something about Elizabeth, Nowhere in her story did I read about her giving up on ministry or walking away from a Godly life. She stayed there, faithful as can be.

One day an angel of the Lord appears to her husband and tells him, the wait is over; Elizabeth would soon be able to bear a son. Even he doesn't believe it. Have you ever waited so long for something that deep down in your heart you become convinced that it's not coming? Even though you stay positioned in God there's a strong force within your belief that's constantly reminding you that it's too late to have it.

It's easy to think that God was being unfair to this faithful couple but looking at the story from the outside, I'm starting to see the truth. You see, Elizabeth's womb was a huge part of that prophecy in Malachi 3:1. All this time, God had located her and his divine plan concerning her was set in motion.God desired the first child that came out of Elizabeth's womb to be "The One" and so timing had to be right. God works in perfect timing, remember Genesis 18:10,14 and 2Kings4:16? Elizabeth later bore a son, "The son" who would prepare the way for "The Son of God"'. So you see, it was for a good course that she waited....in her was a seed that would change the course of the world for ever . John the Baptist was that son and today we still talk about him.

Dear Barren Child of God.
Your delay is not a denial. Your womb is being prepared to carry and deliver something that's gonna exceed your imagination. Wait on the Lord and be strong and courageous.

Isaiah 40:31, ESV But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

While waiting upon the Lord, he causes us to relax while he does all the work, the same way eagles wings get propelled by the wind during soaring. The eagle gets to save his energy and doesn't have to flap it's wings. The wind does all the work. The Lord wants us to rest in him.

Psalm 37:7, NLT Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.
It might be difficult to see other people prospering before your eyes, especially when you've been faithful to God but Know that you're on God's show, allow him to prepare your womb so that the delivery can be seen to fruition. Learn to let go and let God....

Foretaste (part 2): Desperation phase

By Leo Sekoere

Life after the “foretaste” is meant to be a time of desperation and deep hunger to get to the place where God is taking you http://thespirittalk.blogspot.co.za/2017/03/foretaste-preparation-for-fullness-of.html?m=1. You’re not supposed to allow anything to keep you away from that divinely appointed destination called “The fullness of time”. I advise that you go back to part 1 in order to understand this.

Last week I found myself thinking about that documentary I saw of the starving African boy who was so hungry that he stooped down to eat soil in order to avert the symptoms of hunger. I found myself trying to understand what was going through his mind and while I was thinking, I got a revelation from The Holy Spirit. See, that little guy knew what it felt like to have food in his stomach. This was a personal feeling that no one outside his body could fully understand until they went through it themselves. He had a foretaste and he was desperate to get to that feeling he once knew.

This kind of desperation never makes sense to others. I was secretly disgusted to see him eating soil, I even cringed and wished he could stop it but he was after the only thing that could get him to experience fullness- he was desperate.

One’s character is best prepared for the fullness of time during the “desperation” phase. the devil knows this and he will do everything in his power to stop you from desiring all that God has for you. I want to share with you some of the strategies that the devil uses to get you to abort a God-endorsed mission. A lot of people think that since its God’s promise, the devil won’t try to interfere-wrong! Every time you chase after positive change, you invite attack from the enemy.

There is a man in the bible by the name’ Nehemiah. He had totally moved on from his community and now had an important job, serving as the Persian king’s cupbearer. When he found out about the state of the Jewish community in Jerusalem, that they had no wall and gates protecting their city, he was moved with compassion subsequently availing himself to the Lord as a helping hand. He was after positive change.

The Lord sanctioned the rebuilding project but the devil hated the idea.

HOW THE DEVIL TRIED TO STOP NEHEMIAH:

•      Mocking voices of discouragement (Nehemiah 4:1). The devil hates it when you’re encouraged and full of zeal because he knows that great change is followed by those two, he needs you discouraged and feeling inadequate. The devil used Sanballat and Tobiah to this effect. Sometimes these voices can even come from within your mind. Nehemiah countered the attack by prayer, please note that he didn’t fight back, he understood that this was a spiritual attack and it required spiritual weapons.
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•    Confusion (Nehemiah 4:8). Still Nehemiah prayed against this attack and set watch against his enemies.
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•    Loss of strength and a demoralizing perception of the situation at hand (Nehemiah 4:10). I love how Nehemiah responded He positioned armed men around the builders, to fight on their behalf- while they build. This is one of the core functions of intercessors. They watch your back while you are busy and they support you by fighting off your enemies. You need armed men positioned all around you, not just any kind of friends.
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•     Strife (Nehemiah 5). The devil used the Jews against each other because he is a champion of “divide to conquer”. He used a scarcity of resources (famine) in order to fan the flame of contention. The devil also uses this maneuver to get you to ask for help from the wrong sources, to get you to partner with his agents that will seemly have what you lack. Don’t enter into agreement with anyone God hasn’t approved.
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•    Distractions (Nehemiah 6). Here Nehemiah’s adversaries kept on inviting him to “meetings” where they planned to harm him but Nehemiah was well connected to the Holy Spirit who revealed the heart of their motives to him. When you’re in pursuit of the best of God, you will suddenly get invitations from old friends who don’t belong where you’re headed, phone calls, memories and dreams that are just there to deter your focus. Yield not unto temptation, REMEMBER THE PRICE and keep on saying no!
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•    In the same chapter we see more of the enemy’s desperate attempts from lying and instilling fear, to using false prophecy Yet Nehemiah did not budge. Instead, the project was seen to completion. When all the enemies of this project saw this, they were “disheartened in their own eyes”.

learn from Nehemiah today, as you chase after the fullness of God’s promise. Remember that constant communication with God will give you advantage over your enemy. You don’t have to explain your desperation to anyone (they won’t understand anyway) just keep chasing after what you know God has prepared for you.   

My Testimony

I heard an awesome author and man of God say "The only reason my name is on the books I write is that I'm the first person to read them". When you allow the Holy Spirit to have control over what you write, it is a separation of powers that is deeply felt. I've been going over what I've been writing and the Lord has revealed that I was also part of the targeted audience.

God is amazing and I'm blessed to be a witness in this. In a short period of time, I stepped into "The Foretaste". #SpiritTalk is no longer just a blog. It is also airing on a community radio station. Every time I'm on air I hear the Spirit of God saying " this is not the final destination" and when I get a bit overwhelmed I feel Him blowing air under my wings and propelling me upwards. That's how I know that he will sustain me going forward.

Thank you for being part of what God is going. You and I are going places in the Name of Jesus.

Wake up! The hour is near

1 Peter 4:7

 
By Leo Sekoere
One of the many awesome things about Jesus is His sense of time. He lived in constant consciousness of divine timing. He often broke away from natural timeframes to allude to time in the future but unlike the prophets of old, He lived in the future and in the present and the past all at the same time, knowing the exact moment when the prophecies and the actualization of the prophecies would coexist. My head hurts just thinking about it.

All the prophesies about what He was born to do were released and He knew the exact time of fulfilment. In John 2:1-4 Jesus makes reference to His “Hour”, a point in time where the people would see the fulfilment of those prophesies and if we look throughout the gospel of John we see the phrase “His hour had not yet come”. This hour was already existing in the spiritual realm and even though Jesus lived in the world He knew that a time is coming where spiritual timing will concur with timing that is in the natural. In John 12:27 we see a build-up of internal and external pressure leading up to the anticipated “hour” explained in John 13: 1. I want us to focus on the perfectly strategic preparation for the hour. Jesus prepared everyone around Him and also Himself (by teaching, equipping and praying) for the “Hour”.

Can you imagine how different our experience of the word of God would be if Jesus lived in oblivion and His crucifixion came at a time unexpected by Him? Think about it, If Jesus didn’t live awake to His “hour”, there would be no proper preparation, no proper praying, equipping and teaching. I remember meditating on time and realizing that it is important to be in sync with spiritual time because everything that happens is dependent on spiritual timing.

Sadly Jesus’ disciples were totally oblivious to the “hour”, I suggest that this could be attribute to the fact that they had not yet been introduced to life in the Spirit (I will explain this part some other time-let me not digress). In Matthew 26:40 we see Jesus under immense internal pressure, the “hour” was at hand but His disciples failed to recognize the weightiness of the moment. The bible tells us that Jesus woke them up several times warning them and advising them to watch and pray lest they enter into temptation, yet they stayed asleep. I often ask myself how the story would’ve turned out had Peter, James and John just stayed awake and prayed about what was going to transpire. The death of Jesus left them scared, traumatized and weakened against temptation because they fell asleep. Do you know that while we sleep we often lose our sense of time? Have you ever woke up in the morning and thought that it was still night?

Look up the word “asleep” and you will see the following definitions
1. Not attentive or alert
2. Inactive
3. Having no feeling, numb
4. Dead

Sadly, that’s the condition most of you find yourselves in. Jesus prepared you for your “hour” it is well on its way but you have fallen asleep. You need to wake up! Otherwise the “hour” will find you resting and you might be destroyed by the pressure that comes with the “hour”. The devil is stealing our minds and our attention, he is lulling us to sleep. Recognize his devices and wake up oh sleeper. I call all the remnants to pray for the children of God who have fallen asleep. Make mention of them in your prayers, The hour is near!

Foretaste: a preparation for the fullness of time.

By Leo Sekoere

In simple terms let me define the fullness of time as the right time for God to fulfill his promise. This time is totally kairos and not dependent of any variants in the natural time frame as we know it. Don’t be fooled by the long wait, God always fulfills what He promises and it is His desire for every one of us to be at the right place in our minds, hearts and spirits when He fulfills.

 Many chapters before Numbers 13 we see a transition from receiving a promise then waiting while developing the right character and finally getting to fulfillment. One last stop before fulfillment is a period called “foretaste”. Everyone needs to have a foretaste, that’s how God does it most of the time. During this period we see a sifting, it distinguishes the people who are ready to go where God is taking them from those who are simply complacent and unwilling to step into fulfillment. Foretaste can be defined as: a sample or suggestion of something that lies ahead.

 Joseph had many “foretastes” of leadership until he finally got to be prime minister of Egypt and it was the foretastes that catapulted him into the fullness of time. Through visions and encounters Abraham had “foretastes” of the increase that God had promised him and he believed. That promise survived generations and finally it reached Israel’s generation. The Israelites had to get their own “foretaste” of the promise land so that they can make it to the fullness of time. In Numbers 13 God instructs Moses to send out men from each tribe of Israel to spy out the land of Canaan. So Moses sends the heads of the tribes and they get to the land to discover that it is all that God had promised it would be, they even come back with fruits as evidence of the richness of the land. They also tell the rest of the people that they saw giants in that land. Now Caleb (one of the spies who got his foretaste of the land) was so excited that he couldn’t wait no longer. I always imagine crazy enthusiasm when I read verse 30, Caleb tells the people that they should just go now because they will be able to overcome. By the way this is the guy who also saw the same giants as did the other spies BUT (let the church say BUT) the “foretaste” brought out a different reaction in him.

Do you know that there are people in the church who never go past the “foretaste”? People who are satisfied with always talking of God-encounters in the past tense. Since the spies are leaders, can I just tell you of this one pastor I know? This good man of God stands before the congregation every Sunday and tells of wonders he saw when he was 17 years old. First time I realized this I felt sorry for the congregation because they probably think God died when the pastor turned 18. C’mon! There’s more after the foretaste man!

These heads of the tribes went from verse 31-33 TILL THE NEXT CHAPTER , discouraging the people and giving them reasons to be complacent, even inspiring them to go back to the land where they were slaves (as I spit on the ground). Hasn’t God showed up for Israel before? Hasn’t God proven enough that when He promises to get them through, He will deliver? Yet here is a congregation of people unwilling to trust God. Joshua and Caleb try to convince them that there is fullness of time waiting beyond the “foretaste” but the congregation would rather listen to the voice of timidity. “Stone them”, they shouted.

This reminds me of Elijah’s story, he was out there outnumbered (in the natural realm) trying to convince people to get ready for the fullness of time, giving them “foretastes” of this great God that was calling them out. Yet they rejected him. They will reject you too (some of them) but you just carry on saying what God has told you to say. Whether they listen or not, they will know that a prophet of God was in their midst. (Ezekiel 2:5-8). When they wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb the glory of God showed up (Numbers 14:10), Oh may the glory of God show up in the midst of your persecution when the Spirit of God in you is stirring up anger and hatred in others. It is right there when the sifting took place. There are some things and people that God has to sift out of your life because they don’t deserve to be there when He fulfills His promise to you. Pray for the wisdom to see who and what those things are and stop crying over them. In verse 24 God identifies a different spirit in Caleb, He acknowledges that he had followed Him fully and that is why Caleb and Joshua were to be the only ones to inherit the land.

The “foretaste” happens for you to get your priorities straight. You are not meant to live forever in the “foretaste”. Some of you had a time when God was constantly showing you what is to come and you became excited about that. Now He has stopped giving you the “foretaste” and you think He is through with you. No! this is time for you to prepare spiritually, mentally and physically for what God has shown you. You are still in the race to the fullness of time.

"I am Raising up The King"

By Leo Sekoere A while back I had a dream about serpents invading the house of God. It was the most horrid thing I have ever seen. The worst thing was that the pastor of the church just stood by indifferent to what was happening in the church. It was so scary that I knocked myself back from sleep. I was pulled back into a deep sleep and this time I saw a long black and white snake, jumping into swampy waters and I woke up. I instantly grabbed my phone and googled "Black and white snake" and found out that it is called a KING Snake. It eats other snakes and it is immune to their poison. Thus says the Lord "I am raising up the King". This king is not actually a person but a spirit of authority. Ecclessiastes 8:4. God is going to put His authority in His children and give them power to introduce His Kingdom in the regions and territories He has placed them in. He used the singular noun "The King" because they will be one with Him. It will be God Himself operating through them in the same Spirit. Let’s go to Exodus 4. So, in the beginning of this chapter Moses asks God "What if they don't believe me or listen to me...?" Which is our struggle as God's anointed. We often stress about how we will be received and we often fear rejection so much so that we really want to be sure that it is God with us and not our emotions. As a response to Moses' fears, God instructs him to throw his staff on the ground. Now, a staff represents leadership OR authority. Why is God telling Moses to throw His earthly symbol of Authority down? This symbolized a shift of the realms of authority. From leader of sheep to leader of God’s first born son operating in the realm of the spirit. Look what happens next in verse 4, God tells him to take it by the tail (dangerous move, what if it twists and climbs back to bite your hand Moses?). I am told that it takes experience and a special technique to be able to handle a snake in that manner. Moses had none of those two qualities, in fact Verse 3 tells us that he ran when he saw the snake. In perfect obedience Moses picked up the snake and it became a staff again, a display of total control and God says “This is so that they may believe that the Lord…appeared to you”. God is going to require the seemingly impossible from you, even dangerous acts and you have to be in total obedience (even when it doesn’t make sense to you) so The King can manifest through you. Bear with me, I’m getting to my point (slowly but surely). The conversation between God and Moses goes from lukewarm to heated in a few seconds. Moses starts to doubt the Authority that God has given him and God says in verse 17 “ Take this staff in your Hand so you can perform the signs (that I am the One who sent you) with it. After all this Moses is still in doubt, “do I have enough authority to address the king? I only have authority over sheep, I mean that’s what this staff in my hands is telling me”. When God says “Its show time” stop doubting and embrace the moment because it comes with divine enablement. Exodus 7. God tells Moses that He has made Him as God to Pharaoh and Aaron as his Prophet. Meaning that Moses has been given authority over authority and Aaron is given the privilege of being the mouthpiece, speaking the very mind of The King, manifesting the very mind of the King. Verse 8: Moses and Aaron hear from the Lord, He tells Moses to instruct Aaron to throw his staff on the ground and it will become a snake. This show was supposed to be starring Moses but because he was too afraid Aaron stepped up. So right now Moses is in the background (as a director) and all eyes are on Aaron who throws his staff and it becomes a serpent. Pharaoh is not too impressed, he calls his wise men and the sorcerers and they also did the same with their secret arts. Verse 12 says they each threw their staff onto the ground and they became serpents BUT AARONS STAFF SWALLOWED UP THEIR STAFFS. Thank you for your patience: Here’s my point. We are at a time of confusion there are so many churches springing up using the name of Jesus but being not of Jesus. Prophets and “Christian” movements that have nothing to do with Christ. They have been copying the way we do things. When we throw our staffs to the ground and they become snakes, these false teachers do the same. BUT God says “enough is enough!” He is raising up an unprecedented move of authority “The King” who is going to swallow up the other snakes. The King is going to manifest in the true sons of God and He will carry on demonstrating signs and wonders until the heart of Pharoah becomes soft as flesh. There will be a distinction! But remember that there has to be training, obedience and submission to God. The King doesn’t bow to any other king, stop trying to blend in (dry religion) when God is making you different. Stop trying to follow the crowd when it gets too lonely. You’re not alone. One of the traits of The Jezebel spirit is to make sure that you get too frustrated for your mission. This spirit will convince you that you’re no better than the ones who came before you (1 Kings 19:4 and 2 Kings 9:30) He did it to Elijah and Jehu. jezebel compared Jehu to Zimri insinuating that Jehu was just a commander who got a promotion to be king and , just like Zimri, wouldn't last as king. Yes, there are people who tried before you and failed, YOU ARE NOT THEM. YOU ARE OF A NEW GENERATION. The prophets have seen and exposed the spirit of Jezebel but it is the mandate of The King to kill her! the spirit of religion and the spirit of python will not escape the authority of The King "I have seen your loyalty, I have seen your struggle and how jealous you are for my house. How grieved you become when my temple is defiled. I am raising in you The King"-says The Lord.