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.

Beware of the Hireling spirit---Part 2

By Leo Sekoere
When I talk about the hireling, it is easy to think that this denotes a messenger from the devil. One who is in the kingdom of darkness, posing as a shepherd but I want to clearify somethings in this post.

Jesus does not mince His words. In John 10 there are 3 main characters that He talks about. The thief, the hireling and The Good Shepherd.

The Thief
Verse 1 makes a clear distinction. Jesus says "...he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber". This "door" He talks about is Himself. Verse 9 says "I am the door...".

 This character only gets involved in shepherding to "steal, kill and destroy" (John 10:10). This is the guy who can never have any good motive. Please note the "Never". He does not belong to the Kingdom of God. He is a lawless rebel with great contempt for God. He is of the devil.

These are the fake pastors and prophets we know about. All they wanna do is pervert the gospel for hell's gain.

The hireling
The hireling actually enters the sheepfold by the door (Jesus). He is allowed into the fold by The Good Shepherd. He is given permission and access to the Sheep. He is given authority over the sheep. Though expected to act in the best interest of the sheep, He does not own the sheep. Normally hirelings are appointed when the shepherd himself is not physically with the sheep but they have clear instructions on what they should do. David appointed a hireling when his father sent him to deliver the ten cheeses and stuff ( 1 Samuel 17:20); in this verse He is called a "sheep keeper".
Hirelings are pastors/church leaders who missed the point. They have Ineffectual shepherding methods.  Lets go back to Ezekiel 34.  The beginning of this chapter gives us the following characteristics of those kind of shepherds

* They do not feed the sheep: because they don't bother spending time in the presence of God, they have no rhema word for the sheep. Therefore the sheep enter the church with questions and confusion and they leave with questions and confusion. This doesn't mean that the pastor didn't preach the word, It simply means that he didn't address the needs of the sheep. Its like being so hungry and finally getting to the restaurant but all you're offered is water.

* They do not carry out the great comission:
Verse 4 tells us that such shepherds don't strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the broken, help the sheep to get restoration nor bring back the prodigals. All they do is exercise harsh law and order (religion), offending the sheep all the way out of the fold. This is how the sheep leave the fold. When church no longer serves the purpose. When church becomes a place of misery, the sheep start to see a misrepresentation of God and they accumulate bitterness towards God. Even though some stay, their spiritual lives are affected for the long run. That's why people are passive in church, they don't worship, pray nor give tithes and offerings.

Yes , hirelings its your fault! All of it is your fault. Lo, deliverance cometh from the The Good Shepherd, He has heard and seen the despair of His sheep. He will bring them back into the fold and give them new shepherds.(Jeremiah 23:3-4)

The Good Shepherd
In Psalm 23 David shares a revelation of The Good Shepherd. Lets have a look: 
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
When a pastor/church leader has been imparted and impacted by The Good Shepherd, He will always sense the needs in the house (Physical, spiritual, emotional..) and  the anointing of God in Him will make sure that those are met.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Church must be a place that assures people that they are safe. Not safe because of the building but safe because God is in them and with them. It should be a place of correction and a place where they receive direction (see "rod" and "staff") and look at the last line "they comfort me". When our shepherds correct and direct us it should come from the heart of God because that's the only way one can get comfort from a rod and a staff.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell[a] in the house of the Lord
Forever.
Our Churches should be places where we get annointing, more strength , more assurance of God's love and purpose for our lives and most importantly; places where we enjoy the presence of God. Church must be a place that inspires us to practice His presence.

What then can we say? Give God back His church shepherds. Let Him lead through you. The church is a mess because we have rejected His presence and our hearts are far from Him. That's the spirit of the hireling. The hireling leads the sheep independent of the shepherd but one who operates through the spirit of The Good Shepherd is one with His heart and Mind.

Beware of the hireling spirit.

By Leo Sekoere
“As ungodliness increases, God is raising up a generation that will
stand firm in Christ and dare to be holy. These are the leaders of
thousands who will be greatly used by God to keep the Sheep in the
sheepfold, feeding and taking care of them through divine
enablement.”-#SpiritTalk

One of the outstanding facets of Jesus’ earthly ministry is the motive
behind His miracles. He never sought to glorify Himself and often
spoke of Himself as a son doing the work of His father, even unto
death. Jesus’s love is so deep, there is no other person who could’ve
qualified to take our place at the cross. I love His impassioned
prayer in John 17, it testifies to all of the above.

This emerging generation of leaders must function in the same school
of thought and humility as Jesus, otherwise they will become like
hirelings.

The hireling
I’ve had the awesome privilege of being part of the family business
for over 5 years and I’ve noticed one thing through the years; No
matter how many meetings we have with the staff, no matter how much we
emphasise the mission and vision of our organization and motivate them
to see things as we do, we always have people who join us with
excitement only to destroy us. When the pressure increases, these are
the people who would betray us without even thinking. Why? Because
they don’t care about our business, they just came to earn money. They
are hirelings. That’s the mind-set of a hireling in a nut shell.

Jesus puts it this way: “But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd,
one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the
sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The
hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the
sheep.” (John 10:12-13-NKJV)

Then Jesus puts it on the record that unlike the hireling, He is The
Good Shepherd.

The Good Shepherd
In John 10:11 (NKJV) Jesus says “I am the good shepherd: The Good
Shepherd gives his life for the sheep”. What a contrast! The Good
Shepherd places the life of the sheep in the highest order of
importance, even above His own life. He even says in verse 18 that no
one takes His life from Him but He, out of free will and obedience to
The Father, lays it down.

The heart of God concerning humanity flowed into the heart of The Good
Shepherd, so much so that we ( the sheep) gained significance in His eyes. Jesus
loved The Father and because we were important to The Father, we
became important to Jesus. He was able to personify God’s love for
humanity on earth because of His relation to the father. He is able to
be a Good Shepherd because of His relation to the father.

The choice is yours
I don’t know if you see this, but the hireling is a selfish coward. He
only gets involved in shepherding out of selfish ambition and doesn’t
care who He hurts. At the end of the day such a man cannot please God.

The Good Shepherd is one who pleases God (John 10:17). His heart is to
only honour God. God lifts Him up and glorifies Him too.
King Solomon made his choice in 1 Kings 3:8-9. He understood that if
he operated as a hireling, he would fail at leading God’s people. He
asked for God’s own mind: His wisdom, knowledge and understanding.
Verse 10 tells us that it pleased God to hear Solomon asking such a
thing.

Would you rather be a hireling or a Good Shepherd?

It is all centred on the Godhead. One cannot lead God’s sheep without
having an impartation from the spirit of The Good Shepherd. We can
only personify God’s love for the people we lead, through our relation
to The Good Shepherd. People who have not had a divine revelation of Jesus cannot shepherd His flock. This divine revelation fosters a solid relationship with His divinity. This is why the disciples had to have individual tailor made encounters with the resurrected Jesus before they became apostles (see Luke 24)

God loves His sheep and Judgement is coming to all shepherds who do not
take care of His sheep.

Warning
Every time God wants to move mightily upon His church, the devil
strikes the shepherds and uses them to beguile the sheep to anger God.
1 Chronicles 1 tells us that Satan stood up against Israel, and moved
David (who was a shepherd to Israel) to disobey the commands of God.
God however is bringing a strong judgement upon the shepherds.

Ezekiel 34
7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
8  As I live, says the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a
prey, and my flock became food for every beast of the field, because
there was no shepherd, nor did my shepherds search for my flock, but
the shepherds fed themselves, and did not feed not my flock;
9  therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
10  Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I
will require my flock at their hand, I will cause them to cease from
feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves no
more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may no
longer be food for them.

 

Jeremiah 23
1Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!
says the Lord.
2Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who
feed my people; You have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and
not attended them: behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your
doings, says the Lord.

3But I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries
where I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds;
and they shall be fruitful and increase.
4 I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them: and they shall
fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, says the
Lord.

This “emerging generation” I tell you about is a fulfilment of God’s
promise. They are being called out to lead God’s people because their
shepherds gave in to the hireling spirit. Jesus The Good Shepherd will
be operating through them, to lead God’s people in love and truth.
Like Jesus they be endowed with willingness to lay down their lives
for the sake of the sheep. Are you ready to be a Good Shepherd?

Stay Spiritual!

By Leo Sekoere

In the previous post I alluded that spiritual people are those who are led by the Holy Spirit. These are the “Sons” that have received a map to the heart of God; they can please God because they have divine enablement to understand what God wants, through His Spirit. In the Old Testament people settled for religion and ritualistic approaches to pleasing God because there was a veil separating them from walking in comprehensive revelation of who God is. This annoyed our God, we can see this in Isaiah Chapter 1:11-16 where He says things like “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me?”, “Bring no more futile sacrifices…”, “Your New Moons and appointed feasts, My soul hates…” , “Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear...” even in Amos 5:21-23 we hear how The Lord hated futile sacrifices and how they meant nothing to Him. This is why He tore the veil and gave us access to His Holy presence and relationship with Him (Matthew 27:51). Religion got replaced by relationship.

I’m going to attempt to go deeper, with my limited experience on relationships! Ha ha ha!, Here it goes:  When one starts a relationship with the love of their lives there is mutual understanding (tied to willingness) that they both have to play a part in pleasing each other and getting to know each other. It’s more than just saying “Yes, I will enter into courtship with you” there is a whole new world behind saying “yes”. There is proving your love, going on romantic dates, learning how to communicate, there is also affirmation of relationship status… You know this is Spirit talk! If it wasn’t, I was not going to be able to explain such things. Anywayyyyy, this is the same with our God although the difference is that there is nothing we can do to make Him love us more YET when we show our love to Him He grants us intimacy. He moves us from babies receiving spiritual milk (being unskilled in the word of righteousness-Hebrews 5:13) to being full of age, ingesting spiritual solids (being those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both evil and good-Hebrews 5:14). I hope you see what I just did there! In a relationship, one has to get to the point where they advance from being “Baby” to “Life time partner bound by marriage covenant.” When we solidify our relationship with Christ He allows us to progress into spiritual growth!

The sad thing that is happening now-a-days is that we have adults that have been “Born again” for over twenty years yet they are spiritual babies. They are spiritually malnourished! Oh My Saviour!! Let’s stay here for a while:

Spiritual Malnutrition

We have defined spirituality now let us define malnutrition. The following information has been sourced from the World Food Programme website https://www.wfp.org/hunger/malnutrition.

*A malnourished person finds that their body has difficulty doing normal things such as growing and resisting disease. Physical work becomes problematic and even learning abilities can be diminished.

In 1 Peter 2:2, the man of God exhorts the Jewish believers to desire the pure milk of the word that they may grow. As children of God, born of the Spirit we need to feed ourselves with the word of God so that we can grow and resist “disease” (the corruption from the world). Since we are Children of God we are meant to walk in power just like Christ did on earth. Like him we are supposed to be followed by miracles, signs and wonders, have a prayer life and call the work of GOD “our food”- This is our “Normal”. Spiritual Malnutrition makes sure that we have difficulty doing “Normal” things, we find praying unpleasant and we have nothing to say to God. We find fellowship boring we’d rather stay at home watching television. WFP states that malnutrition can also lead to learning disabilities and less productivity. People with spiritual malnutrition cannot understand the word of God nor any spiritual revelation. They have nothing to offer to the dying world, they are walking with stinking dead faith that James 2:14-17 says cannot save anyone.

*When a person is not getting enough food or not getting the right sort of food, malnutrition is just around the corner.

Feed on spiritual material. Hang around people that feed you. Listen to spiritual music that teaches you about who God is. Watch what you consume! I watched a missionary on television that was explaining some of the hardships that children in the poorest parts of Africa have to endure. During the program he showed us a video clip of a little boy that was so hungry that he resolved to eating soil just to fill his stomach and alleviate nausea and other physical effects of hunger. I was in tears! Even though it was working, soil contains substances and toxins that can harm that little boy. Recently God showed me that this is what His children are doing. We feel the hunger for the things of God but we end up choosing something else to fill us up.

 As born-again children of God we need to stop choosing worldly substitutes for spiritual fulfillment. It’s a hunger that only spiritual food can fill.

*Malnutrition at an early age leads to reduced physical and mental development during childhood.

Hebrews 5:12- 14 tells us that we need to first become babies then grow into adults, we cannot stay in the middle. We need proper food to aid our spiritual development.This is what I was talking about. God gives a special wisdom to the spiritually matured. It’s such a pain to see an adult that has been born-again for years walking without that wisdom, knowledge and understanding from God. They literally sound like children, talking about what they don’t fully know/understand.

*There are two sides to eliminating malnutrition:

1. Sustaining the quality and quantity of food a person eats; and
2. Ensuring adequate health care and a healthy environment.

Thank God we can’t have too much of God, we simply cannot contain Him. He is bigger than our bellies can hold. We can binge on spiritual food, all the better for our growth.  We need to take care of our spirits by being surrounded with more of God- all that He is.

It’s not enough to have been baptized by the spirit, we need to grow! For this reason the Holy Spirit hi-jacked Jude’s letter (Jude chapter 1). Jude planned to write a lovely letter concerning common salvation but the Holy Spirit compelled him to tell the saints to “Contend earnestly for the faith”-verse 3. Evil times are here, satan is already moving in to the church and bringing his legions of demons with him to confuse us. he knows the power released in spiritual solids and he is doing everything in his power to ensure that we stay in spiritual infancy-undiscerning and feeble. The danger is real! Let’s heed the call of our master and STAY SPIRITUAL.

Get Spiritual!

By Leo Sekoere

This is the heart of our loving father concerning His children. This is the reason He sent Jesus who then sent The Holy Spirit. I would like us to start off with a prayer, just to invite the spirit of understanding. Proverbs 8:1 says that understanding calls out with a loud voice. She is available to us let us answer the call:

Father God,

 This is your word and it’s true! Open my understanding and prepare my spirit to understand the spiritual things of God. I yield myself to your Holy Spirit who gives understanding.            

Amen

In John chapter 3 we are introduced to a bible character named Nicodemus; a teacher of the law and a man of God. This man was a Pharisee and he lived to meet the lawful requirements of God, even if this meant living according to a strict regime. Nicodemus was seemingly content with his acquisition of knowledge and righteousness in the sight of God. He was probably convinced that he was on the right path--until he met Jesus! Now, Jesus was also a man of God and a teacher BUT Nicodemus saw something in Him that interrupted his understanding. This made him sneak out to Jesus at night so he could find out if he was really doing this whole “seeking the Kingdom of God” thing right.

Jesus already had Nicodemus figured out. In the last two verses of John 2 we are told that Jesus already knew all men, that’s why He answered a question that Nicodemus didn’t even ask. Nicodemus was over there busy asserting Jesus as the son of God and I can imagine Jesus in His mind saying “yeah, yeah cut through the toadiness I know what you’re really here for…”. Then BAAM!!- Jesus hits him straight in the face with a spiritual concept. He tells Nicodemus that he needs to be born-again so that he can see the kingdom of God. Can you imagine how confused Nicodemus must’ve felt? 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us that it is impossible for a carnal mind to grasp spiritual principles. Hol’ up Jesus! Are you telling a brother that he must go back to his mother’s womb? I mean, How?

^“5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again…^“ (NKJV)

Lol! Jesus stop it you’re killing this guy! At this point Nicodemus was lost in translation. I like verse nine: “But how?...”, that was the last thing Nicodemus said-poor guy!



BORN OF THE SPIRIT-A rebirth into Spiritual existance

The term “Born- Again” has been used so loosely that it has lost its original intent. We now use it to describe someone who believes in God, goes to church, prays and fasts, reads the bible…everything but what Jesus said to Nicodemus.

John 4:24 says that God is spirit and he is only pleased through spiritual acts of worship. Hebrews 11:6 also tells us that without the spiritual act of faith, we cannot please God. So,being Spiritual is God’s way of helping us relate to him. It is when we receive the fullness of supernatural life from His “Life-giving Spirit”. It is a new life all together and much deeper than merely being familiar with Christian ideology and attending church.

Nicodemus was an avid reader of the word, he prayed, fasted and discipled but that was not enough! We too are living in a time where it has become a norm to casually acquaint oneself with biblical literacy and we have also conformed to a ritualistic approach to seeking God but that too is not enough. God knew that religion would never be enough to keep us going when things got rough that is why he sent us his Spirit of Adoption (Romans 8:15). He knew that we needed His complete understanding and wisdom in order for us to be able to resist the devil, so he offered us His own mind (1 Corinthians 2:16); to lead and fortify us.

Being spiritual is allowing Christ to live in us so that we are never myopic in our perception of reality instead we always see the bigger picture.  The biggest enemy to our relationship with God has always been our flesh. Even Jesus said so himself in Matthew 26:41- There’s a willingness in our spirits to do the will of God but the flesh is always weak. Listen to what Paul says “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells: for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.” (Romans 7:18-NKJV). When we become spiritual, the power of the flesh is put to death-we automatically are enabled to do the will of God and enjoy it.

Why you need to get spiritual:

• You do not belong to God if you are not spiritual-Romans 8:9, 14.
• You can never be able to please God in the flesh –Romans 8:8
• It is the only key by which you will know the things that God has freely given you-1Corinthians 2:12
• You will no longer be led by the constant urges of the flesh! This is power against ungodly addictions- Galatians 6:8
• The Spirit of God will help you in your weakness- Romans 8:26

There are more reasons but I found these to be sufficient encouragement. When you become spiritual you will start to experience the persona of God and the sweet communion of His Holy Spirit. This is enjoyable life. While in the natural, bad things might happen but in the Spirit you will always receive strength to overcome. Things around you can be discouraging and depressing but in the spirit you will gain inner peace to trust in God. Don’t get me wrong you will feel the impact of disaster as it happens in the natural but deep inside you will know what to do next. Allow God to come alive in you, become a “son”-GET SPIRITUAL!!

 

                                                                                                                   

 Coming up next….”Stay Spiritual”

The Journey to God-Given purpose---Part 2

By Leo Sekoere

There’s something amazing happening all over the world. The Holy Spirit has set God’s people on fire, they are being empowered with yoke-breaking anointing to do great exploits for the kingdom of God.

God is raising a generation of holy men and women who are fearless and ready to be different for His sake. We can trace this back to Genesis 1:26, He made man in His likeness and image but they allowed sin to get to them and they disappointed God. Genesis 6:6 says because of the wickedness they condoned, God was sorry that He made man. Noah was saved and his family saved through him, because of his righteousness before God in his generation (Genesis 7:1). I could go on and on recalling the stories of other righteous men and women in the bible but God has made it plain in these days that He is bringing revival through His remnants; A peculiar people fore called and foreknown to be conformed into the image of His son Jesus ( Rom 8:20, Eph 1:4…).

In “Journey into God-given purpose-part1” I shared about the hardships that prelude God-Given purpose. The following phases MUST take their full course after the purging and redirection phase discussed in Part1:

             1.       ANOINTING

This is the pouring of oil on someone important, as a sign that God has chosen them for a task. It signifies divine enablement to carry out any mandate given by our heavenly father. As children of God it is impossible for us to take on any Kingdom assignment without the anointing. 1 John2:27 says The Anointing is our teacher, it teaches us all things and It is the truth that makes us abide in God. The same words chosen to describe The Anointing in that verse are the same words that Jesus uses to denote the Holy Spirit (John16:13 and John 14:26). I cannot recall any man/woman of God in the bible who served God without first being endowed with the Holy Spirit, He is the anointing.

·         The apostles-Acts 1:8

·         Saul-1 Samuel 10:6

·         David-1 Samuel 16:13

·         Samson- Judges 13:25

·         Joshua-Numbers 27:18

·         Bezalel- Exodus 31:3

·         Othniel-Judges 3:10

(I’m getting a little carried away but I hope I have substantiated sufficiently.)

2.       TRAINING: Mentorship/practicals.

In Joshua’s case he started off as Moses’ assistant (Exodus 24:13) and he remained faithful till God promoted him. He had to get an impartation of leadership from Moses so that he can be a successful leader. This was the case with Elisha and Samuel. Respect the person God sends to impart anointing into your life. David and Samson had to fight lions as part of their training before fighting their ultimate adversaries. Many people start complaining when God sends them into obstacle courses. They start telling God how much He doesn’t love them forgetting what James chapter 1:2 says. God will never give you more than you can bear, if he gives you a lion or bear, you go ahead and deal with that.

3.       BECOMING DEPENDANT ON THE ANOINTING.

 A lot of people fail in their God-given missions because they start to get conceited. They start to feel gifted and depend on their gifts instead of the self-sustaining anointing. Samson is a great example of this. On the day he was finally apprehended by the Philistines he didn’t see it coming. Judges 16:20 tells us that he said “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free” But He didn’t know that the Lord had departed from him. When you get used to winning every battle and getting every praise you will start to depend on your skill, it’s a natural thing. But God wants us to be totally dependent on Him, He is the omnipotent God. When we depend on ourselves we quench His desire to manifest His glory in our lives.

David won his fight against Goliath because he was solely dependent on God and His ability to faithfully give him victory over any adversary. When Saul told David that He was just a young man, incapable of defeating the Philistine champion, David simply replied “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear…will deliver me from the hands of this Philistine”. Know your God! God loves it when we declare His faithfulness and our trust in Him during our difficulties, moreover David proved his trust in God when he refused to wear Saul’s armour. He went as basic as he was and took the name of The Lord as his main weapon (1 Samuel 17:45) I like how He says “The Lord will deliver you into my hands…”for he was confident that the hand of The Lord will move on his behalf. David conquered Goliath with a small stone empowered by the power of God!

4.       RIGHTEOUS LIVING- walk worthy of your call (Ephesians 4:1)

When you realize that you are approaching your God-given Purpose, you better be ready to be a new man created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. The devil hates your purpose therefore he wants you away from the presence of God. 1 Samuel 18:12 tells us that Saul was afraid of David because the Spirit of God was with him but had departed from Saul. Everything that does not have the Spirit of God will come up against you. I therefore urge you to put off anything that gives the devil entry into your destination. Many have gone out with zeal only to be defeated by the devil along the way. Do not be afraid, says the spirit of Grace. Follow my commands and keep them for I am the Lord your God who makes you Holy. This is a journey designed for man and his/her God—It’s  a journey into God-given purpose.

The journey to God-given Purpose

By Leo Sekoere

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before-hand that we should walk in them.”-Ephesians 2: 10. This is our God-given purpose!

 

 God-given refers to anything given or created by God. Purpose, in this context, refers to the main function of an individual i.e. what you were born for. Every created thing has a purpose and it gets this purpose from its creator. Think of it this way now; when a person creates a toy he gives it a purpose and releases it to be sold in retail outlets. Before an eager child gets to buy it (to fulfil its purpose) sometimes it has to undergo a period of dormancy; being left in the storage, stored on the shelf etc. the fulfilment of its purpose will only begin when it is in the right place at the right time -all the while the toy is oblivious of this.

Like this toy, we as individuals were created by God with a special purpose but then we had to grow up and experience life and its woes. While some have found what they were created to do and are doing it, a majority of people are clueless. They are still “waiting on the shelf” or accumulating dust in the storage.

 Unlike the toy in the analogy, our time and our creator’s time are not the same. While our purpose has already been fulfilled in the spiritual realm, in the natural realm there has to be a waiting period. Evidence of this can be found in Genesis 18:14

The fulfilment of Godly Purpose will not wait for you to feel ready; it only comes because you are ready. When it comes, it comes to shake every foundation you think you were built on and Christ becomes the cornerstone. It comes to bury every past identity and every identity given to you by your circumstances and it comes to magnify God above all your shortcomings.

I’m inspired by Apostle Paul’s journey to the fulfilment of his God-given purpose. In 1Timothy chapter 1:13 we are introduced to Paul’s identity as given to him by his past and choices he made under that false identity. I bet at the time, he felt like it was his purpose to be a Pharisee and a persecutor of the church. Little did He know…In Acts chapter 22 the divine Hand of Jehova Tsidkenu grabs a hold of him and pushes him straight into God-Given purpose.

Most times a confusing period of depression or uncomfortable change precedes this journey into God-given purpose. Sometimes you just go through a time of purging where God will start moving things and people out of your life. Paul lost his sight and had to be lead by his subordinates right before God-given purpose was fulfilled. Ruth had to lose a husband and live in poverty, Ester had to lose her parents and live with her cousin, Jochebed, Mary and Hannah had to lose their sons too. Research prominent ministers of the gospel of Christ and you will hear about the difficult processes that lead to their discovery of God-given purpose.

When purging happens it is often to make our purpose sure. The mistake we often make is walking away and/or building over the same foundation Christ is destroying for our sake.

I am now addressing a particular person who is going through depression. You are overwhelmed by everything around you and you often feel like it is better to die than live. You are constantly battling suicidal thoughts and no one seems to have a solution. God hasn’t given up on you, He is rearranging your life in order to fulfil His plans regarding your life. There are some paths He is closing, some relationships He is destroying. You can trust him! He doesn’t intend on hurting you, everything will work out for your good because you are called according to His purpose. Find refuge in God. Rebuild your relationship with Him and in no time, He is going to release you into your God-given purpose!!

The ones you’re rolling with

By Leo Sekoere

A while back I heard a punchline from a gospel rap song: “Life is like a pair of dice. So, watch the ones you’re rolling with”. I know this sounds a bit like overthinking but I wondered why the rapper would say that. The first and reasonable answer I gave myself was that he was making reference to the unpredictable nature of LIFE. Every time a person rolls a pair of dice they have no idea which side it will land on, all they have is hope that they will achieve a high roll. If life was so unpredictable why would he advise: “watch the ones you’re rolling with’’? .What difference does that make if you still can’t predict life?

 What if I told you that "watching the ones you're rolling with" has great effect on the numbers you roll? I’m serious! Ask people who gamble, there is a whole regime of how they treat dice in order to control the numbers they roll. This includes choosing the “right dice’’, forming a solid bond with the dice, respecting it and keeping it away from ‘’negative energy”. Gamblers usually talk to the dice and even chant before they roll. If you’ve watched dice games in South African townships you might find the exclamation ‘’Op-op!” familiar in this regard.

All this dice talk! What’s this rapper saying? Let me rather tell you what I’m hearing. If you’re lyrically conscious you might have picked up on the pun in “rolling”. It is colloquialism for “following, agreeing with or sharing experience/experiment with. In biblical terms, this is called “being yoked”. This term is derived from the ancient act of pairing oxen or any beasts of burden together by a wooden implement, in order for them to share a heavy load. For yoking to work, the two have to be of the same breed, height, strength etc. (you can google that one for more information). In conclusion: LIFE IS UNPREDICTABLE, SO IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO AGREE WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE.

Let us spiritualize it ‘cause that’s what we came here for. There are many biblical accounts of people who were destroyed for rolling with the wrong people. They plotted their own demise when they allowed the wrong people to influence them i.e Samson and Delilah, Adam and Eve, the Man of God in 1Kings 13, Israel and Baal of Peor (Numbers 25:3)…the list is too long. Paul understood this so well that he also advices the Corinthians not to be yoked with unbelievers.

2 Corinthians 6:14 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁴ Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

A lot of people think this means that we must hate people that are different from us but they’ve lost it. The Apostle uses the term “Yoking” to talk about partnership and unity in mind, body and soul. He is talking about a relationship of counsel and weight sharing. If a strong ox is yoked with a shepherd dog, the load they are pulling will definitely destroy both of them. If you don’t believe this, try carrying a heavy load with a two year old.

1 Kings 12 also shows us that it is important to “watch the ones you’re rolling with”. Here we meet Rehoboam, a new king who was met with a simple request. King Solomon had just died and his people requested a lightening of the hard service in exchange for loyal servitude. That’s cue for a wise king to give consent BUT verse 5 says that Rehoboam wanted to think about it first. He sought counsel from old men who recommended that he shows kindness to the people and grant their request as this would indemnify eternal servitude. In verse 8 the king does the unthinkable, he disregards the guidance of the old men and turns to his peers for guidance *are you kidding me, Rehoboam, man?*. These young men instruct him to do the total opposite…’long story short; this decision culminates in a splitting of the Kingdom into two.

Rehoboam was rolling with people who were in full contrast to the character he needed to be, as a leader of God’s people. I know a lot of people who are modern day Rehoboams. God has given you a task to do but you cannot rise to the occasion because you have surrounded yourself with people who are unequal yokes. As a result you feel the weight on your shoulders more heavier than it would be if you were around people who have the same interests, I’m talking kingdom interests. I know a lot of people who should be far spiritually, people with dormant spiritual gifts, people who have been going to church for years without any notable change in their spiritual growth. Such people settle for religion because relationship with God becomes utopian in their minds.

Listen here, God wants you to know Him. He wants relationship with you. He wants to make His dwelling among you and be YOUR GOD. There’s a call right now in the spirit! God is calling his children out from poisonous relationships, this is a call of separation and dedication unto the Lord.

2 Corinthians 6:17-18 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁷ Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

¹⁸ And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty

WILL YOU ANSWER THE CALL?