Just A Stirring In My Spirit – By Rev. Frank Okechukwu
I got a message that stirred me up again, and I believe it will awake us from our slumber.
What is the time now? In other words, what is the period we are in now? We’re in the period of elevation, so we must be very sensitive in the spirit to avoid losing out or making a costly mistake that can rob us of the things that God has prepared for us. Most times, as believers, we take things for granted and go to sleep instead of keeping watch. We need to be sensitive and alive in the spirit so that we don’t repeat the error of 2015 that’s still haunting us till date.
This is election period in Nigeria. Ekiti election has come and gone, and we are all living witnesses to all that took place. Democracy was ambushed and the democratic rights and will of the people of Ekiti was raped because there’s no way that Ekiti people would have traded Fayose who enacted the anti-grazing law and to replace him with Fayemi who openly said that he will abrogate the law just to please his sponsor, Buhari, in order to get his support and backing. So, it’s obvious that we have election by imposition. Now, the question is what did we do as Christians? A lot of us went to sleep including myself; we were complacent, we took it for granted that all is well. That comes what may, Fayose, the rock will cruise to victory. Some of us might have even felt unconcerned perhaps from the wrong perspectives and judgmental errors that it’s not my State or what shall it profit me? After all, even if he wins, what can I benefit? These are wrong premises and perspectives as much as the Kingdom of God is concerned.
The greatest disservice to the Kingdom of God is the failure of the leadership of the Church to call a spade a spade for the fear of hurting some people considered to be sacred cows. Should we have respect to men and offend God? For political correctness, they keep a sealed lip and abstained from telling their flocks the right political decision to make, thus leaving the sheep vulnerable and at the mercy of the politicians and making them easy prey to be ripped off and devoured. If we fail to provide guidance to the church on the right political course, have we not abdicated our ecclesiastical responsibility and obligation to direct the church appropriately? And, while trying to save face, they end up hurting God and the Kingdom they represent.
We must understand as believers that this world is divided into two parallel kingdoms and there’s no middle ground or sitting on the fence. Therefore, our actions, I mean, our political actions determine which of the kingdom that we belong. No matter your church, your party or political affiliation, if your actions are not aimed at promoting the furtherance of God’s Kingdom, please know that you are not His. If your allegiance and loyalty is first to your political interest and party instead of the Kingdom, please note that you are not His. Or, you are rather preoccupied with your own personal and selfish interest at the expense of upholding the principles of God’s Kingdom, you need to retrace and redefine your priorities before it’s too late because you have lost your first love.
The essence of our lives and the total duty of a believer in this world is to advance, project and defend God’s Kingdom on earth using our invisible, invincible spiritual weapons that God has given us; which unarguably are indisputably quicker, sharper and more powerful than any man-made weapon. If at any time the spiritual weapons might have failed us, the fault lies with us; it’s simply means that we didn’t what we were supposed to do or we didn’t act at the right time as there’s time appointed for everything under the sun. And the consequence of delayed action or response that’s not carried out at the right season and time is deemed late in the realm of the spirit, and it takes quite awhile and painstaking measures to reverse the action to the right order. This is why we must not be caught sleeping. Jesus said while men slept, the enemy came and sow tares.
As children of God, we must be alive to our spiritual responsibility as aptly captured in the following scriptural passages: Luke 12:32, Luke 18:1-8 and Psalm 20:5-8. Prayer is key and doing the right thing is the master key. In essence, it’s within our ecclesiastical duties to guide the flocks of God to the right direction.
When we pray as we should, we stir up the heaven and the course of things, and as well as render the activities of Satan and his dark kingdom powerless and helpless as they cannot operate while we pray. So when darkness rules the horizon and we see evil stalking every nooks and corners, that’s a sign that something is amiss with the Church, the watchtower of God on earth. It means that it’s either the Church is not praying or it’s praying amiss, or praying and not living right. The Church is the light of the world and can only fulfill that essence of being a light to the world when she’s praying right and living right being mindful of the dictates and godly requirements of the Kingdom.
This is the main theme of my message. Our duty-call as believers is to know that our primary role here on earth is to project the Kingdom of God under Christ Jesus, and to understand that first and foremost, we owe our allegiance and loyalty to the Kingdom above our party, political interest and our tribe. As a politician, aspirant or electorate, our political interest and mindset should be in sync with the demands and commands of the Kingdom we are espoused to as bona fide members, otherwise we make ourselves illegitimate.
In essence therefore, to establish the Kingdom of God in Nigeria or elsewhere, we must be involved in the processes irrespective of where we come from. Aloofness is forbidden. For instance, Ekiti election has come and gone, and many of us felt unconcerned because we rationalised it’s for indigenes and people of Ekiti to decide. Wrong thinking. It’s not about Ekiti people per se, it’s about the establishment of the Kingdom of God as the scripture has said that when the righteous is on the throne, the people will rejoice. So as believers, we must see election anywhere as instrument to enthrone good leaders in the democratic setting in order to establish godly governments that will in turn usher in the Kingdom of God Matthew 6:9-10.
Therefore, let’s be on the watch out for elections in any part of Nigeria to ensure our participation. Some may ask how do we participate when I’m not from there or resident there. We participate by lifting it up in prayer wherever we are and asking God to intervene and to supernaturally elect His chosen. For instance, Osun election is around the corner and we all know what has happened to Osun State for the past four years that Aregbesola became the Governor. We know that some of his public policies were directed at undermining Christianity in the State.
So our duty call now is for us to rise up and pray for God to favour the true believers taking part in the election. That’s the Kingdom mandate and that’s the kind of mindset that God wants to see in us. Recently, we read that the opposite kingdom imported witch doctors from Gambia to come and cast spell on Nigerians to subvert their will so that the error of 2015 will be repeated. So they’re not sleeping while the children of the Kingdom who ought to know better are the ones caught napping and sleeping. This is what made Jesus to lament that the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the Children of the Kingdom. We need to put a stop to this now by being sensitive in the spirit and alive to our spiritual and ecclesiastical duties to the flocks and God’s Kingdom. Let’s end this game and unhealthy attitude of political correctness that has undermined the Church by calling a spade what it is and by telling our congregation whom to vote for on scale of preferences based on the perceived political mindsets of the aspirants towards the Kingdom mandate. We can’t leave this critical decision to the congregation and laity who may not be able to exercise their senses fully in a way it will advance the cause of the Kingdom and many can easily be swayed by undue influences and extraneous factors.
Enough is enough.
Rev. Frank Okechukwu
One Mission
25th August, 2018.
