In an old town in Ireland they’ll show you with reverence a place where four young men met night after night after night praying for revival. In Wales, there’s a place in the hills where three or four young men only 18 or 19 years old met and prayed night after night. They wouldn’t let God go; they would not take no for an answer. As far as humanly possible they prayed a revival into birth. If you’re thinking of revival at your church without any inconvenience, forget it. Revival costs a lot.
I can give you one simple reason why we don’t have revival in America. Because we’re content to live without it. We’re not seeking God – we’re seeking miracles, we’re seeking big crusades, we’re seeking blessings. In Numbers 11, Moses said to God, “You’re asking me to carry a burden I can’t handle. Do something or kill me!” Do you love America enough to say, “God, send revival or kill me”? Do you think it’s time we changed Patrick Henry’s prayer from, “Give me liberty or give me death,” to “Give me revival or let me die”?
In the 30th chapter of Genesis, Rachael goes to Jacob and throws herself down in despair. She says, “Give me children or else I die.” Are you willing to throw yourself down before God to seek the spiritual birth of spiritual children in our country?
People say, “I’m filled with the Holy Spirit.” If the coming of the Spirit didn’t revolutionize your prayer life, you’d better check on it. I’m not so sure you got what God wanted you to get.
We’ve said that prayer changes things. No! Prayer doesn’t change things. Prayer changes people and they change things. We all want Gabriel to do the job. God says do it yourself – with My sufficiency and My strength.
We need to get like this woman, Hannah. What did she do? She wept, she was grieved, she said she had a complaint, she fasted – and she prayed.
Jesus, the anointed of God, made prayer His custom. Paul, with his background and intellect, depended on prayer because he said he was weak. David, the king, called himself a poor man and cried to the Lord. Hannah prayed for a son and gave birth to a prophet. The prayers of a handful of young men sparked revival.
Brethren, when I publish a testimony about how prayer changed my life or what prayer has done for me, I have just one intent or interest, and that is for men to know that there is victory through prayers. The desire God has laid in my heart for which I testify is for men to make prayer a culture because as we wind down the clock of times, only prayer will sustain the Elects of God.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
Testimony
I was just in my final class in college (we call it Senior Secondary School 3 in Nigeria). Our school had a very religious and philanthropic director who was generous to his students. In that time he gave the seniors an opportunity to win cash prizes in three different competitions.
Among the three competitions, I chose the Bible quiz competition. I subscribed to the quiz competition and set in for preparation.
The first thing I did was to tell my mom to buy me quiz books for preparation and after that I went straight to prayers.
Even at a young age I had my praying hours having learnt from my parents ‘the art of private praying’. Every 3:00 PM of the day, I was always in my room making prayers.
I did not go into prayers because I had the need of God’s intervention for the quiz like Christians of today who only remember to pray when challenges come. The older generations and parents have not thought the youth of my God the power of praying hours. The teenagers of my God only know private prayer when they are faced with troubles. Christians of today only know prayers in church but they do not know private prayers and secret alters of tears.
During my praying hours, I would pray many prayers. And when I got to the case of the quiz, I would ask God for wisdom, knowledge, understanding and a retentive memory.
One striking prayer that I prayed was for God to lead my mom and direct her decision so that she would buy the exact book from which the quiz questions will be set. I don’t know how I knew it, but I believe that there is grace for all Christians who pray. Many times we want to pray for a particular situation in our own words, but the Spirit of supplications will give us more insight on how to pray for it by broadening out prayer scope.
I knew there were probably hundreds of bible quiz books in what was a commercial city that had more than 10 prominent markets.
The books could have been bought anywhere or in any book store, but I prayed effectively during my prayer hours for my mom to buy me the exact book.
My mom eventually bought just three (3) of them for me. I carefully studied and crammed the quiz questions and answers but I did not stop reminding God about the quiz.
The quiz date was shifted and I lost two out of the three books. I later ended up preparing with one of the books as the new event date drew closer.
On the quiz day, I entered the event only to discover that all the questions came from one of the books my mom bought me and I answered 100% of the questions I was asked and won a huge sum of money.
The questions I did not know its answers were not given me. I ended up making my fellow quiz mates look like pagans. I did not tell them that I had already seen the questions and that I got it through prayers.
Brethren, prayer is the ultimate weapon. I see Christians of today sing: “praise is where I win my battle”. I am a hundred percent believer in the power of praise. God fills me with songs like He does others, but my most felt praises have come in prayer times.
I don’t preach against praise, it is one of the keys. However, prayer is the master key. A man who prays to God has proven to God that he is incapable of helping himself and God is in dire need such men.
A Christian should not embark on any journey without praying no matter how easy the journey may look. We must never make the mistake of taking a step without praying. We ought to live by prayers and die on our knees.
We must learn the principles of praying hours. Every child of God should have a time of prayer. If we are too busy in the day time, then we must make it in the night. There is no excuse! because only prayer will sustain the elects.
I majored in Telecommunications in High School. I prayed about it and God gave me the exact sign I had asked for before I took it up as a major. Majoring in telecommunications gave me zeal to learn web designing and blogging. Although I imagined making a living from it, when the appointed time came, it was clear that God had sent me to study telecommunication so that I can write to His church. And now, in these days of the Holy Ghost, God writes through me from this blog to Christians both young and small, old and tall, to live a life of prayer; because a prayer-less Christian and a prayer-less Church is dead.
They call it the gospel of love, I call it gospel of hate. They say it is from God, I say it is from the pulpits of hell. They think it is God’s message, I think it is why the modern Church and American Churches cannot convert her youths.
I met an American transgender in a Christian online group who was transforming into a man. She had claimed to have heard a voice as she was drunk-driving and filled with many thoughts as to why Christians did not accept her way of life.
After that voice she decided to become a baptized transgender Church goer. I am unapologetic as to why I have not used ‘a transgender Christian’.
For a Christian is a person like Christ. Christ is not a transgender, a gay or a homosexual.
I did not believe her story one bit. I have seen people tell lies that God said one thing or the other to them, but it was all lies. I have seen one who claimed to have died and saw God and hell but had later confessed that it was all lies. Such is the state of men’s heart.
The true reason for which I did not believe her story was because she had no repentance and salvation.
I know my bible and I know the power of Salvation. I absolutely was, and am sure, that Jesus can save her from that grave sin and wickedness against God.
On that very post was another testimony by a former Homosexual. He testified that on the day that he genuinely cried out to God and surrendered, that power had come into him to overcome the lust for men. Now that is what salvation is about; that is what Jesus does when He comes into a man’s life.
Any Church goer who remains the same after coming to Jesus still needs to undergo sanctification and experience what salvation is.
I have seen Jesus give me power to overcome sins that I could not break on my own after I prayed and cried unto him. When repentance is seen in us and a genuine plea for mercy and help is heard by God, power comes to help us overcome sin.
But this beautiful lady had no repentance, penitence or salvation. And so I was convinced that she was seeking acceptance in sin.
I was concerned. I said to myself, that even if she was telling lies, I was going to help her come to the truth. And If she was telling the truth which I doubt, I was still going to guide her rightly to turn away form that sin. Perhaps God had brought her forth that I may teach her what Jesus can do for her if she genuinely cries out for mercy and repents from her evil ways.
There are many voices that men hear that are not from God. Sometimes the devil could mask as an angel of light to deceive us. We may also hear human voices who are presently in the spirit realm (children of darkness).
Whichever it was, I was in that conversation to reprove her. I was there to lend her the helping hands of Jesus Christ my saviour.
It was during that processes that I had discovered that she had no plans of changing her ways but would rather go full trans. Then I opened her eyes to the scripture in Titus 2:11.
“11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 “Titus 2:11.
One of the intriguing part of that post and comment thread and what struck me the most was that the ‘Christian’ moderators warned against any rebuke concerning her none-transformed life.
The moderators did not want anyone to tell her that we are not saved in sin but from sin. They did not want anyone to tell her that she was derailing from the truth of the bible. They shunned hurting her with the truth. Truth as it is provable from the scriptures that God will judge all Homosexuals and those who engage in unnatural sexuality.
The moderators wanted us to love instead. They wanted us to love her to her death and condemnation.
But that which they called love was wickedness in disguise. For the love of God turns a man from sin unto righteousness.
One of my American Facebook friends made a post and said: “why not we preach just love“. In other words, our message should be only about love.
Brethren, I present to you what I call ‘the gospel of love’.
It is that gospel that loves a man too much that the man loses sight that judgement is at hand. It is that gospel that puts aside the whole counsel of God and His truths but only portrays the love of God.
The gospel of love is void of the call for repentance and penitence for sin. It’s result is without the plea and cry for mercy and grace. The gospel of love does not tell a man of the power to help him live above sin that is in Christ; but rather, it teaches that as sinners we are loved by God and that even if we continue to sin, the love remains.
God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. –Psalm 7:11
I do not say that there is no love for sinners. But the love of God to a sinner is to lead them towards repentance and salvation. God’s love is not for us to remain in our sins because love will not be considered on the day that the Lord will judge all men starting from those in the Church. For it is written:
“I will forsake my house, abandon my inheritance; I will give the one I love into the hands of her enemies. My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest. She roars at me; therefore I hate her.Jeremiah 12:7-8
So you see, God loves us truly but His love does not cancel His judgments. On that day our deeds and holiness will count.
Who truly does love?
A Christian meets a man who is derailing and condemns his sin and tells him that God is willing and ready to help him change like I did to the transgender. The sinner could be an outsider or could be a Church goer because we have sinners in the church. This sinner who has been reproved and told of judgement hates this Christian man and says there is no love in him.
A modern Christian and a preacher of love meets this sinner and embraces him without revealing his sin and condemning it. This modern preacher even welcomes this sinner into the Church but does not reprimand him and tell him the truth of the bible.
When this sinner dies and comes to judgement without plea and help, having not been told that God’s love will not pardon sin and that Church goers who sin will be faced with a stiffer judgment.
If he is condemned for sin and evil as it is written: “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book“; what would be her thoughts about the Christian man and Preacher of love?
Let us judge for ourselves who truly loves this sinner. He who preaches love or He who preaches the whole counsel of God.
16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. – John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave us His son”, is love. “That whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”, is a warning for judgement and a call for salvation.
If this is what Jesus preached, what does the modern Church goers mean when they’d say: “do what Jesus would do”, “just love”?
For in truth, if we will preached like Jesus and do exactly as he did, we would have been able to turn our countries and nations upside down like Jesus did and He became a sign. Christianity would have been a sign.
Did not Jesus call for repentance when He told the harlot caught in adultery and was about to be stoned: “Go and sin no more“?
Did not Jesus tell the Pharisees: “You will die in your sin if you don’t believe and is converted”?
Did not Jesus preach and said: “repent for the kingdom of God is at hand”?
If these were the preaching and teachings of Jesus Christ, why should we not tell sinners to repent of their sins? Why should we preach ‘just love’?
John the Baptist preached: “Flee ye from the judgement that is coming.” He was hated by religious scholars just like holiness preachers will be hated by the preachers of the gospel of love. But he shook the nation of Israel and baptized many. The military trembled when they heard him roar: “flee now, for judgment is coming”!
Unfortunately for us and the kind of Gospel we preach today, our neighbors who are deep into sin, witchcraft, idolatry and wickedness are so happy to see us. They take us for a joke because we have made the counsel of God a complete joke.
And I ask again, what do modern Christians mean when they say: “Do what Jesus would do, just love, don’t condemn, just accept them the way they are”?
Oh! I know why they preach the gospel of love. It is because when they preach love no one will say they are hard on them. When they preach only love no one will call them judgmental and hateful people. Because when they preach love they will not be hated but will be accepted. Did not Jesus say we will be hated by the world? Any Christian man who does not want to be hated must drop from this boat of life. For the Church was called out to be a sign that will be spoken against.
They don’t preach the whole counsel of God because they want to grow mega churches and become bishop of big churches. They don’t want to lose that member who pay mega tithe. Men and women who don’t care about God’s will or His word; they only care about themselves and how the world honor them, but the true honor which comes from God they ignore. Such men will not escape judgement unless they repent.
My brethren, the gospel that Jesus preached, the gospel that Paul, Peter and the Apostles preached, the gospel that the prophets of old preached, the gospel that brought glory days to America and the nations, it was a hard take. It was a sign which was spoken against, a sword that pierced through our souls revealing our deepest secrets. We cried and cried because the heat was much but we found God as a result. It was not effective in causing men to like them but it was effective enough to birth revival.
The gospel of love is not effective against men who hate God.
There are so many haters of God in America, there are so many haters of the truths of God all over the world. They indeed have heard about God and His love, but they have willfully chosen to hate God.
An example of a pure God hater who is all out to destroy Jesus and Christianity.
Even in the Church are men who hate holiness and righteousness. They cling unto God’s love and live in gross sin and immorality. I see them online everyday; they bear a form of godliness but are totally sold to the flesh.
They don’t want to ever see a Holy Christian man or woman. They deride virgins and righteous people. Yes! One said to me: “I hate you” during an argument. What did I do? I reproved her of evil.
These are the kind of people we have in the society, and what they need is not just to be told about God’s love because they don’t care about God, His love or His word.
What they need is for us to put tears in their eyes exactly the same way that we were caused to weep for our sins and we experienced salvation.
A sister just gave her life to Christ some weeks ago, for she said to herself: “I can’t afford to suffer in the world and suffer in eternity”.
What changed her was not the gospel of love for she knew that God loved her. What changed her was the knowledge of the righteous judgments of God.
The American society needs fire men who will ring judgment to their ears all day long, all week long and all years long. The American society and the present world needs men who will preach repentance, salvation and the consequences of not yielding to God’s word. We need men who will teach us the power of salvation because Jesus saves from sin.
Not that we should rule out God’s love from our message, but we must also teach the consequences of not accepting it. And to those who have accepted we must teach that: “he who mentions the name of the Lord must depart from sin”. – 2 Timothy 2:19
The gospel of love, watered gospel, diluted gospel, week gospel; it is why the Church as a unit has become powerless to shake our nations for God. And it is also why we don’t have revival.
Hear this word of God as a final warning you who is guilty of causing the Church of God to lose it’s power by teaching the gospel of ‘just love’:
18WHEN I SAY UNTO THE WICKED, THOU SHALT SURELY DIE; AND THOU GIVEST HIM NOT WARNING, NOR SPEAKEST TO WARN THE WICKED FROM HIS WICKED WAY, TO SAVE HIS LIFE; THE SAME WICKED MAN SHALL DIE IN HIS INIQUITY; BUT HIS BLOOD WILL I REQUIRE AT THINE HAND. Ezekiel 3:18
Ever since the wave of visions has been on a roll that a revival is coming, there has been posts and news popping up here and there that would say that a revival is happening. Some would say “A REVIVAL HAS BROKEN OUT!” I mean, that is the normal language they use.
Then what I would do is to look and observe at the scenes of the Revival which has broken out from the pictures taken and uploaded online. And then I would read the post or write-ups to know the weight of what have been experienced.
What I have seen is remarkable.
I see that men want to work for God. There are evangelists and pastors even Christians reaching out and trying to convert people; and all this is normal.
A coming Revival does not mean that there would be no evangelistic outreach or conversion of souls.
But it pains me that what I see is not the Revival Men Like Leonard Ravenhill, Men like Duncan Campbell saw and yearned for. It is nothing close to a revival not to talk of an ‘outbreak of revival’.
I have seen men laughing and having merry times in these gatherings. Men and women having drinkable liquids in their hands and those whose phones are still very important to in these gatherings.
I have also seen them at the stream doing baptism and they’d say; “a revival has broken out!”.
Water Baptism is not a sign of Revival. What do we think? Are not almost all adults in the Churches baptized? But many in the church are without God even with the baptism of water, which is why we need revival in the first place.
If water baptism was the sign of Revival then let us get baptized again that revival may come quick.
I could baptize 100 persons in water but only one could be dead to sin while the others, dead in sin. That is because baptism of water does not kill our sins, only the Holy Spirit kills men and truly saves them. A revival which its symbol is baptism of water is not the revival America needs. We need breakout of the baptism of the Holy Ghost for a true start.
And I would also see men who are having fun and enjoying themselves. Even the men who baptize these fellows put on smile and would enjoy the show.
Tell me who enjoys giving birth? Revival is about conviction. Salvation is about giving birth to new souls on fire. They’d cry, children would cry, women would cry, Papas would cry. Would the ministers be with a smiling and happy face in such a scene of heart broken men? No way! What I see is an unserious and a nonspiritual revival and it is not what America needs.
Revival is a serious business, it is a spiritual affair. It does not put smile on men’s face until it has first broken them. Revival breaks hearts, it shreds souls, it devours sin, it reveals even what we think God overlooks. For who is worthy to stand on the Lord’s Day? Not even I will, because no one needs this revival more than I. I have many things to tell my God in a revival meeting with Him. I can’t afford not to experience Him more.
And I could find men taking pictures and selfies and some putting on short clothing, miniskirts and all sorts of seductive wears.
Brethren, Revival is not a party. It is not a public show to behold and be merry. It is a serious business with God the Spirit. He has given out so much grace, His watchmen have fasted, suffered, cried and prayed for years. The Holy Spirit takes it very serious; but because these gatherings of happy men is not a Revival, it is why there is nothing to show that God is among men.
It breaks my heart that these things are happening. It does disturbs me greatly because it looks like we are repeating the same things that brought us into captivity, which is- a nonspiritual walk with God. No! No! No! This is not the revival we yearn for.
A greater evil I see is the lack of tears, sorrow, pain and penitence. Lack of convictions of sin why there is no tears.
Sinners don’t stand in the Holy Ghost revival; whether it be sinners in the Church or sinners outside the Church. Oh! I tell you the truth brethren, this is not a Revival. It is not what America and the nations need.
If men are done crying for themselves would they not cry for the perishing nation of America? Would they not cry for their unsaved brethren? Would we not cry for we have divorced our spouses whom we pledged to love before God? Would we not cry when we see others crying and would say: “Oh! God is there hope for us?”.
Revival is the pure work of the Holy Spirit; It is the finest work of the Holy Ghost in the church.
Revival is creating a new heart in us. It is empowering us to pray with many passion and tears. It is bringing back the passion for missions and evangelism. It is bringing back our lost glory in Christ. It is producing a nation on fire for God. It is shattering souls and giving men an experience of God. It is forming men who can beat their chest and say: “I have found God”. It is coming to take dead men, wash them and give them life. It is pouring out grace and mercy upon us. It is coming to baptize man in Pentecostal fire. And most importantly, it is coming to forge righteous and holy men.
Brethren, we cannot be carried away by these false appearances in which men are singing outside the church, or at the river base and we call it a revival when eventual there is no proof of tears and the many workings of the Holy Spirit.
When there are no miracles happening, when there is no restoration and refreshing of anointing, when glory is not seen, when nothing is showing that a mighty being is dealing with us, when there is no strong consciousness of sin and indecency, we cannot call it a revival and it is not the kind America needs. It is not the kind I want to happen in Nigeria; it is not what the world needs.
American Churches, we must not lose sight of where we are and what God is trying to do. Which is a Revival that comes with the power of God and with all other signs, it is also marked with many tears and travail.
I am not forcing you to cry your hearts out in a Revival. If these things don’t come on their own, if tears don’t roll and that heart of stone melted by the power of grace, then there is no revival.
Finally, do we not know that the strength of a Revival is not tested in the Church? If revival does not cause the nation to obey God and sinners trooping into the church in tears, then we don’t have a revival not to talk of a ‘breakout’ that signifies an aggressive or strong move of the Holy Ghost and His fire.
America and the nations does not need a revival without tears. And we will not stop praying until the kind of revival we need is born or we die trying.
The stages of Christian sanctification are the types or levels of sanctification Christians go through, from our spirit re-birth to our eternal salvation.
Brethren, let it not confuse you when the bible says that “we must be born again” to enter heaven, and I have insisted that we must also attain sanctity to enter heaven. It is because, the same bible has also said that without holiness no eyes shall see God (Hebrews 12:14).
For we know that becoming born-again produces a true Christian, and that no man who is truly born again lives under sin.
As we gain sanctity, we become more and more holy. As we become more and more holy, we are drawn closer to God and experience Him more than those who are less sanctified.
In this Christian race, when you stop growing and working towards perfection, you will start falling. This is why some have experienced God in the past but now they can no more smell God’s presence. They repented indeed and were born again but did not continue in the grace of God. For they did not continue to pray, to read the bible, to evangelize,to seek God’s presence and work towards sanctification and living a holy life; hence they fell from grace.
Therefore let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall – 1 Corinthians 10:12.
The higher we go, the faster we run. The more work we put in to be sanctified, the more less likely we are to fall. Hence there is dire need to pursue sanctification.
We are living in wicked and terrible times. The powers that contend with our faith and tempt us to fall away from our salvation is huge. The only way we can overcome is by pursuing Christian sanctification all the days we live on earth. We must continue to grow in the knowledge of God and in holiness.
Being born again is the first stage of sanctification unto God. Anyone who is truly born again lives a holy life. There is no justification or regeneration without sanctification. But there is also, great need for more sanctification.
Unless a man is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:3
Being born again is the regeneration that happens in the life of a man when he genuinely surrenders to Jesus Christ and pursues holiness and righteousness with grace. In becoming born again we receive power to overcome sin, darkness and live a holy life. Even right before we become born again, there is the conviction from the spirit of God. This conviction of our sins and receiving power over it is the first stage of sanctification and holiness.
2. Progressive Sanctification
This stage of sanctification is the difference between two believers. One is experiencing divine power while the other is just a Christian. One is heavily being used by God and he is manifesting powerful gifts of the Spirit while the other is just a Christian.
Progressive sanctification separates a brother from a brother. That man who is working to become more holy is definitely holier than his brother who has stopped at accepting Jesus; he is also closer to God.
Isaiah is an example we have sited regularly in our sanctification articles. Isaiah progressed in sanctification when he met the Lord in the temple (Isaiah Chapter 6).
Apostle Paul testified:
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14
Therefore brethren, we have to take advantage of the grace of God and push for progress in sanctification by reading the bible, hearing the word of God, praying regularly and evangelizing the truths of God.
3. Perfect Sanctification
No matter how hard we may try, we can never be 100 percent holy like God in the flesh we live in. For the righteousness we have had was imputed in us by the Spirit of grace, and even the holiness we have was aided by the power of the Holy Spirit. But one day we shall be like unto Him, and we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:2). This event will birth our final salvation and will perfect our sanctification. Amen!
The end product of sanctification is holiness. Anyone who wants to be holy, anyone who wants to wear a white and spotless garment, anyone who wants to see God, must first, be born-again. Being born-gain is the initial instant sanctification stage, but we must undergo progressive sanctification to be more and more like unto the Holy God.
The way to sanctification is through prayers, hearing the undiluted word of God, studying Gods word and evangelism.
Why must the church and Christians push for sanctification? The number one need for sanctification is to attain holiness without which no man shall see God. For heaven is a holy place made for holy people who have washed themselves from sin and filth.
But there shall by no means enter it anything [a]that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Revelation 21:27
Sanctity for Gods work
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
Isaiah Chapter 6:5-8
Isaiah was a normal prophet among the other prophets in Israel until the year King Uzziah died. In the year the King died, God wanted to give Isaiah a higher calling; to send him to a larger congregation, and to show him great mysteries about the holy judgement of God and the Messiah. He(God) therefore found Isaiah and sanctified him.
God could not use an Isaiah of unclean lips for the ministry he was calling him into. For Isaiah could not be full of slander or lies and also speak about the hidden truths of God at the same time; no one will believe him. Isaiah could not be using curse and violent words and at the same time speak comforting words to Israel about her Messiah; he would have been called a hypocrite. Therefore Isaiah needed sanctity for God’s work.
Isaiah’s case is the same for the church and Christians.
Show me that pastor who wants to stand out among his peers and I’ll show you a man who must be sanctified. Show me a preacher who wants to be sent on greater assignments and I’ll show you a preacher who must wash. Show me an Evangelist who wants to reach the pinnacle of his ministry according to God’s will, and I’ll show you an evangelist who must sanctify himself.
Brethren, we must understand that God is always willing and ready to give us more. Whether it be more anointing, more grace, more visions, more power, more glory and more gifts, the only way to present ourselves as vessels of honor is to pursue sanctification. For he who wants to work for God must be sanctified.
The way of Sanctification is the way of becoming more and more like unto our Holy God. Sanctification is God’s way of bringing us closer to experience more of his glorious providence. For a holy man finds God.
There are ways we ought to follow if we must be sanctified and be made holy unto God.
1. Prayer, God’s way
Prayer is as vast as God. It is a weapon of many cutting edges. We just cannot tell all about how to pray nor can we tell the wholeness of prayer. It can only be revealed by the Holy Spirit as we begin to pray more.
One of the ways to attain sanctification is through prayers. Prayer is one of the keys to spiritual growth. A praying man stops sinning and a sinning man stops praying. Any man who grows in the spirit diminishes in the flesh. And a man who is dead to the flesh lives unto God.
Sanctification through prayers can happen in two ways: Either we pray for it, or the Holy Ghost sanctifies us Himself when He sees our commitment in prayers.
Brethren, as it concerns God sanctifying us by himself; my God is hungry for men of power and fire. If He finds a boy or girl who is praying regularly, He will prune him/her to produce more fruits. Part of the pruning process is to give the praying Christian sanctity so that he/she can be of more use to God.
Also, we can pray for sanctification. There are sins that don’t lead to death (1 John 5:16), we must pray to God to sanctify us from them.
If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
1 John 5:16
In 1 John 5:16, John tells us to pray for our brothers who sin not unto death. An example of such sin is our ‘lateness to church’. One may argue that it is not a sin and another will argue that it is. That man who is convinced that lateness to church is a sin has been sanctified from lateness to church and that is why his spirit is convinced about it. And if you look at it critically, God will not want us to be late to church because we will miss a lot. Nonetheless, lateness may not defile a man. This is a true example.
Therefore brethren we must embrace prayer as a way to achieve sanctification. He who lacks grace to pray must ask from our God. For he is zealous to help us pray.
2. Bible reading
One of the reasons Christians never grow to maturity, one of the reasons why Christians don’t reach a holy status, one of the reasons the church sleeps and one of the reasons many church people don’t undergo progressive sanctification is because they have ditched the word of God.
Any believer that plays with bible reading plays with sanctification. In fact, prayer sanctifies us indirectly but bible reading sanctifies us directly. Knowing the truth about God gives us the sanctification we need. Isaiah saw the Holiness of God and cried “woe to me, I am undone”. We can also find the holiness of God when we make the bible our companion.
Jesus prayed in John 17:17:
Sanctify them by[a] the truth; your word is truth.
John 17:17
3. Hearing the word of God
Being born again is the first stage of Christian sanctification and it is born by hearing or reading God’s word. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).
When a sinner hears the word of God and believes it, the Holy Spirit regenerates and sanctifies him into a child of God, free from the powers of sin and darkness.
Another point is that Christians are expected to listen to the servants of God who teach them the undiluted word of God that is able to continue the sanctification process, leading to higher level of holiness.
4. Evangelism
Iron sharpens Iron (Proverbs 27:17). He that waters shall be watered (Proverbs 11:25). The power of evangelism is beyond converting a lost soul. For when a man preaches to his neighbors and friends, he becomes conscious of living a holy life.
Also, as we work for God, God has promised to prune (sanctification inclusive) us to be of greater use.
More also, the very words with which we condemn the sins of those we preach to, will also hunt us. And then the Holy Spirit will convince us against the sin of hypocrisy. This will birth progressive sanctification.
Holy Ghost revival is our last resort. Sanctification is a continuous process as no one is 100 percent as holy as God. In Holy Ghost revival, God’s spirit shows us the power of His holiness. This makes me not have doubts that the coming revival will birth many holy men and those who are already holy will attain more sanctification. Amen!
Sanctification is one of the prominent words in the Christian race. It is a word deep rooted in the Christian doctrine and theology.
According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q. 35), it is “the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.”
Sanctification is also the act or process of acquiring sanctity to become holy. It is also the process by which a man gradually attains to holiness by learning what is pleasant to do before God and receiving grace to do it.
It is the work of the Holy Spirit to sanctify a Christian and the Church. For it is written:
And you shall keep My statutes, and perform them: I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
Leviticus 20:8
Briefly, the way to sanctification is through hearing the word of God, bible study, prayers and evangelism.
Also, there are three (3) types/stages of Christian sanctification: 1. Instant sanctification (born again), 2. Progressive sanctification, 3. Perfect sanctification.
Typical examples
Isaiah’s Sanctification
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
Isaiah 6:5
Isaiah was a called Prophet of God but he was living and serving with an unclean lip. In the year king Uzzaiah died, Isaiah saw the Lord in the Temple. In the Holy Presence of God, Isaiah cried- “woe to me, I am a man of unclean lips”. And after he had cried, an angel of the Lord touched his lips with burning coals from the altar and he was cleansed. (Isaiah Chapter 6)
What Isaiah underwent that day was not salvation; for he was already a prophet. His experience was rather sanctification.
Isaiah was like the Christians of these days who say they belong to God but still have lifestyles that has prevented them from finding God. In Isaiah’s case, it was a sin he did without knowledge that is was a sin. We may not call it a sin per say; but whatever it was, it was unholy unto God and God had no delight in it. Whereby in our own times, we do exactly what we know is wrong and have refused to turn from it and go back to God.
For that man who knows the truth and has refused to do it, what he needs is regeneration. But for that Christian who does not know that what he does is sinful and does not please the Spirit of God, what he needs is sanctification. For sanctification will expose him to the nature of God and teach him truth.
Isaiah’s story teaches us that God cannot use a man who has not washed white. If He uses you, there will always be a limit to which you can go. For Isaiah was going to become the Chief Prophet, therefore he had to be sanctified to fit into that role.
God will not use a man who is not holy as a preacher to a people He wants to become Holy. Nor will God use an unholy man to instruct a holy people, lest they think God is unholy.
The holier we are, the greater chance we stand to be used by God.
Mind you my reader, God does not only use Pastors or Evangelists, even as an ordinary church member there is so much that God wants to use you for. If you will pursue holiness and sanctification, God will expose you to His glory and power and will give you spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12), because you belong to him.
My story of sanctification
I was still just about 14 years and I was with zeal and love for my Jesus. In those days I had this navy-blue short; because of the length of the short, I will normally sag it a little bit. Although I was a faithful Christian, yet to me, sagging was not a sin. God knew that I truly did not see anything wrong with that dressing; and I could argue all day, that there is no scripture condemning me.
Our church bible study classes are normally held on Tuesdays. On one of those Tuesdays, I walked in through the front door putting on my sagged short. Immediately I entered the building, something hit my spirit. For I knew something had happened but I did not see anything; but instead I felt like someone said something to me but not with audible words. Suddenly I felt guilt, convinced and convicted concerning my dressing in church. It seemed like God had touched my heart against my sagged short and I felt ashamed that a Pastor’s child who also claim to serve God dressed in that manner. I suddenly realized that God’s will for me is decency in dressing and not to be careless about what I put on.
Let us face the truth, you are addressed the way you dress. With sagged shorts or pants I cannot convince a sinner that God is expecting decency and holiness from us. For me to preach holiness, I had to learn total holiness.
It was the Holy Spirit, It was the Spirit of Jesus Christ. He convicted me, He sanctified me from indecency in dressing.
Brethren, sanctification is God’s own way to holiness and perfection. The Holy Spirit is still sanctifying men and purifying hearts.
It is wrong for a Christian to say “this is my weak point”. For God’s plan is not for you to have a weak point in the flesh. It is written: Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
There are Christians who have anger problem and unforgiveness disease. When you ask them, they’d say: “my weakness is that I easily get angry”. Others would say “my weak point is the use of words”.
That doctrine that we all have weak points, and that should live with it under the covering of grace is demonic; it is written nowhere in the bible. Grace does not cover weak points; but rather it teaches to overcome weak points. For if we believe that God transforms a sinner to a saint, then we should have no problem believing that God can help us overcome our supposedly weak points.
Brethren, indeed no one is 100/100 perfect in this world, but God’s will is that we will push for sanctification and perfection in all things by His grace. For if God’s plan is for us to be defeated by sin and weakness then sanctification is falsehood.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
May the Lord God sanctify His Church in Jesus’ name; Amen!
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 1:8
For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
Philippians :
No man, absolutely no man can address the whole person of the Holy Spirit. Nor is a man is worthy to tell His majesty. No man can ever know all about His strength. but the little He has revealed through revelations and the word of God is what I write.
The Holy Ghost is greater than life. He is greater than anything we can imagine or think of. His power is too great that we ought to tremble before Him. He is a Consuming Fire and He is the Living Water. Water and fire cannot coexist at the same place and time, but the Holy Spirit is both at the same time. Jesus reminded the blaspheming Jews in Matthew 12:32 that all blasphemy can be forgiven but not that which is against the Holy Ghost.
He does not talk too much, you step out of his plan you walk alone. You disobey Him, the consequence follows. It might not be deadly but He will make sure to teach you what obedience means to God. It has happened to me before now. He asked me to leave but I stayed. That night was very horrible, but after I prayed, He gave me victory and showed me my victory. His intent was not to punish me, but to teach me obedience.
The Holy Spirit is a Spirit that has a large heart. He loves beyond measure but his hatred for wickedness, sin and darkness in as great as Him.
Before King Jesus could do anything, He needed to be filled with the Holy Ghost and power because He cannot do without the Spirit of God. That is how we Christians cannot do without the Spirit of God. The Lord was a man of the Spirit of God; we cannot afford to be men without the Spirit of God.
The third person of God
In the beginning God said, let Us make man in Our own image. The plural pronouns “Us” and “Our” did suggest that God must be more than one or there were more than one person who answered God. However, the God of Israel has said in Isaiah 45:5 – “I am God, the only God there is. Besides me there are no real gods”. Also in Deuteronomy 6:4 it is written “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
The question is: how can the only God who has also claimed to be one use the plural pronoun “us” and “our” for himself? Does it mean that the one true God is multi existent?
In John 4:24 Jesus said: “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” This statement of Jesus implies that God whom we are trying to understand His nature is actually a Spirit being.
In Isaiah 42:1 it is written: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.”
Now, how can a God who is a Spirit also have a Spirit? Further confusion will be drawn from knowing that the servant Isaiah talked about in Isaiah 42:1 was also called Mighty God and Everlasting Father in Isaiah 9:6.
What we gathered is that God is a spirit, He has a Spirit and also has a servant who is also God. Wow!!
The only logical reasoning is that God must be three in one. He is a being with 3 existence – TRINITY. However, it was Jesus who solved the puzzle. For He said: “Baptize them in the name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”.
The Holy Spirit is therefore the third person in the God head. He is the ‘Soul’ of God if we may use human terms.
Many are drawn into confusion on the Trinity doctrine when they try to use their little understanding to comprehend the uncreated creator. They would have had no doubts if God created us three(3) in one like himself is. Or if God made us 3 spirits in one as He is.
Some have eventually said that Jesus came back in form of the Holy Spirit. Others say that the Holy Spirit is just a wind of God. Many still believe that God is one Spirit manifesting in 3 forms. All this is born from the struggle to wrap the head around ‘how a Spirit being can have a Spirit also’.
The earlier they realize that we cannot be able to wrap our head fully about a being who was never created and lived on his own until he decided to make us, the easier it will be for them. They must understand that we only know what we are given.
He is a person
Human beings are both body and soul. The soul of a man is the man himself in another real realm of existence. The Soul of man is not different from the man. The soul acts, reasons, thinks and talks like the physical man and the physical man thinks, acts and reasons like the soul. Whatever knowledge is gotten from the physical man is passed to the soul and vice versa.
God is a Spirit who has a Spirit. If the Spirit of the man he created is a real person of its own that is able to gather knowledge, think, exists and act then the Spirit of God who created the Spirit of man is a Person of His own. Jesus helped us understand it better in John 14:26, for he said:
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
John 14:26
The passage shows that the Holy Spirit is a “He”, not in gender but in person. He is real and He is God.
Other names we can call him
Holy Ghost:
Another word for spirit is ghost. Some Pentecostals prefer Holy Ghost, it is just a matter of choice.
Spirit of the Lord
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor…”.
Isaiah 61:1a
This passage is a prophecy of the messiah which was fulfilled after John had baptized Jesus in Jordan. For the Holy Spirit in form of a dove rested on Him (Jesus).
Spirit of Pentecost:
Another name of the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Pentecost. Although Pentecost initially was not a Christian word, after the out pouring during the Pentecost week in Israel, Christendom generally adopted the Pentecost word as a symbol of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Spirit of Jesus Christ
“For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,…”.
Philippians 1:19
“The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you.”
John 14:17
In Philippians 1:19, Apostle Paul calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Jesus Christ. In John 14:17, Jesus himself tells the people that He (the Spirit) who is coming to live in them is already living with them. This signifies that it is Jesus’ Spirit that is coming to be in them.
Spirit of Grace
“Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son.”
Zechariah 12:10
Prophet Zechariah prophesied that the Spirit of grace will help Israel know their God and turn back to Him at the end of days. This Spirit of Grace is no one else but the Holy Spirit who teaches all truths including to know God – John 14:20.
Another good illustration is that the Grace which a Prophet carries which makes him hear from God is the Spirit of God residing in him and giving him grace. Therefore the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of grace.
Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple.
Ezekiel 9:3
God assigns his Spirit to whatever he has. The Spirit of God left the temple of Israel when they fornicated and committed satanic idolatry. Ezekiel however noted Him as the Glory of God because the Spirit is the Glory of God.
Presence of God
God is King on the throne and he is also, everywhere. His presence and glory covers the heavens and the earth says the scriptures. When God is in the midst of His church, He has not left His throne in heaven on a trip to earth. He is still in heaven on his throne and with the crown still on His head. What we witness is His Holy Spirit.
Spirit of Truth
But when He the, Spirit of truth, shall come, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak from Himself, but whatever He may hear, He will speak.
John 16:13
The Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth as testified by the Lord himself in the book of John.
Our first attempt towards understanding the work(s) of the Holy Spirit is by defining His name. The Holy Spirit is simply defined as a Spirit that is Holy. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Holiness. A Spiritual being that is absolutely pure. He is the source of holiness; the direct opposite and only antidote for sin and darkness. He is a Spirit which radiates glorious light; light too bright for darkness to comprehend. Oh! What a being!!
You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness.
Habakkuk 1:13a
Works of the Holy Spirit
1. Makes us Holy
The Holy Spirit is the only source of Holiness. Anywhere He enters becomes holy. Any life he enters becomes holy. Whatever He touches becomes Holy. It is Him that makes man a born again child of God.
The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
John 3:8
He is the one that Sanctifies and cleanses a sinner. There is nothing holy in this life that has not come in contact with Him. Purification is His primary work. His work is to remove anything that does not fit into Gods plan for us such as sin and darkness.
2. Salvation
The work of the Spirit in salvation can never be over emphasized. In-fact, no one can accept the message of Christ without the power of the Holy Spirit. Even the evangelist will find it hard to convert a sinner if the Spirit is not working in him.
And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.
John 16:8
It is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict, convince and draw a sinner to God. Also, the grace to live a saved life is given through the Holy Spirit.
3. Grace giver
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.”
Zechariah 12:10
The Holy Spirit is the giver of Grace, He is the Spirit of Grace. According to Prophet Zechariah, the Spirit will be poured out unto the Jews and they will look upon their messiah. In other words, grace in form of a Spirit (Holy Spirit) will move to the Jews to help them know their God and be saved. This will happen when the time for judgment of the gentiles comes.
4. Darkness destroyer
So many do not know this yet hence many still do not know why and how they are in darkness and why they are children of the night. Men whose souls rise at night to perform wicked deeds. Others are entangled in astral projection, soul travel, flying in the spirit world and swimming in dreams. There are people who have purposefully put themselves into these things without knowledge of how deep dankness is. There are also men who go through the dimensions of spiritual existence and many have seen and dinned with the devil. Many will want to get out but they don’t know how.
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith.
1 John 5:4
Brethren, it has not been given anyone to overcome darkness but born again Children of God who walk in the Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit overcomes darkness. He shines glorious light greater than darkness can comprehend.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.
Isaiah 60:2
“Brethren, this then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all”.
1 John 1:5
Christians who want to make heaven must grow to heights of power and become fire flames in the Spirit. Christians who want to overcome darkness must be born again, live a holy life, be prayerful and be full of the Holy Spirit. We also have to seek to be filled and baptized by the Holy Spirit. The power he offers us by His full manifestation in us is what overcomes sin and darkness.
4. Power giver
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 1:8
Talk about power to destroy the works of the devil, talk about empowerment for service to God, talk about power to preach, talk about power to perform miracles, signs and wonders, talk about power to pray and about power to evangelize, the holy Spirit is the giver.
Experts in knowledge say that experience is the best teacher. But we know that as long as day and night remains, the Holy Spirit is the only best teacher. He teaches experience to teach. Experience is His student. He teaches you even what you are yet to experience.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you…
John 14:26
For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”
Luke 12:12
6. Revealer of God’s secrete
For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
1 Corinthians 2:11
The Holy Spirit reveals the secrets of God to the people of God through visions and dreams. Daniel and the Prophets saw visions about the future. All that was from the Holy Spirit of God that worked in them.
7. Revealer of truth
But when He the, Spirit of truth, shall come, He will guide you into all the truth…
John 16:13
The Holy Spirit is the revealer of the secrets of men. He reveals what is true and what is false. Ananias lied to Peter that he had sold his land for such amount as he had brought. But the Holy Spirit revealed to Peter that it was all lies. Rev. Ogba Onyeije narrated of a Pastor who was telling lies on the altar about miracles that never happened. The pastor continued until the Holy Spirit revealed that all those testimonies were lies.
When a man is a man of the Spirit, truth is easy to understand and believe. For He will guide us into the truth. Some of the things we believe as Christians, when we preach it to the world, they have a hard time believing it. The reason is that they lack the Spirit of truth that teaches truth and gives word of Knowledge.
8. Fruits of the Holy Spirit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
9. Gifts of the Spirit
7 The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way. That is for the good of all. 8 To some people the Spirit gives a message of wisdom. To others the same Spirit gives a message of knowledge. 9 To others the same Spirit gives faith. To others that one Spirit gives gifts of healing. 10 To others he gives the power to do miracles. To others he gives the ability to prophesy. To others he gives the ability to tell the spirits apart. To others he gives the ability to speak in different kinds of languages they had not known before. And to still others he gives the ability to explain what was said in those languages. 11 All the gifts are produced by one and the same Spirit. He gives gifts to each person, just as he decides.
1 Corinthians 12
10. Holy Ghost Revival
One of the greatest work of the Holy Spirit is revival. Or we can just say revival is the pure work of the Holy Spirit. There are many men of God who claim to be revivalists. I saw a musician who also claimed to be a revivalist. There are people popping up on social media with claims to be revivalists. It is laughable because the Holy Spirit is the only revivalist that I know period.
Finally brethren, The Holy Spirit is the C.E.O of the Church. He is in charge. We must desire his presence if we must be what God wants us to be both individual-wise and Church-wise. From being born again to Holy Ghost baptism and power, we must be men of the Spirit. Amen!
