The Complete Experience

30/04/2021

WHO IS YOUR MODEL?

Models are examples to others because of their laudable achievements. I have never seen a failure that is a model to others but a reference point against unpleasant endings. Models are successful people and are idolized because of their successes. Nobody picks a failure as a model, even if the model is evil, he must be successful at carrying out his evil practices. People identify those who have gone ahead of them in a particular area and achieved what they hope to achieve and model their lives around them. Some even go to the extent of imitating their walking steps, speech pattern, hair styles, dress sense and even facial resemblance.

In 2017, a lady Jennifer Pamplona spent more than $470,000 to look like Kim Kardashian and have same curves as Kim. Kim is her model and she has taken it to another level. An upcoming artist Tobias Strebel models his life around pop star Justin Bieber and has spent over $100,000 in a bid to achieve Bieber’s baby face because he has taken his love for the pop star to another level. All these are in a bid to identify with success. People are so critical in choosing a model and a lot is considered in making this critical choice.

In the faith, we also have our own model(s). Our model is Jesus Christ and even amongst men, there are models. David was seen as a reference point to anyone who ever ruled Israel. In fact he was like the marking scheme in grading any king of Israel in his time. That was because he did well. Apostle Paul is a symbol of true apostolic work and greatness. He serves as a reference point as long as apostolic work is concerned. It was in him we saw how much God can use a man. We talk of Abraham, a man of great and unshakeable faith. There is nowhere faith will be talked about without the mention of his name. Why? This is because they did well. We can go on and on. One striking thing amongst these men was the fact that they had good reports. Thus, having a good report qualifies a person to be a reference point.

According to Apostle Joshua Selman “you cannot represent God when you are too innocent.” What will you tell others is on the way when you never passed through that way? How will you ever describe the feeling if you never felt it? The idea here is that a true model must be an experiential model; I mean practical not theoretical. And in most cases, God allows people pass through trials in a certain area because he wants to major them in it. He allows them carry the load which they will help others bring down in life. If you are inexperienced, how will you model? The best of prosperity teachers are people who suffered from abject poverty in their life time. The Greatest healing ministers are people who suffered terrible illnesses while growing up. The best teachers on church growth and expansion are people who suffered a lot with small membership.

The Charismatic Christian Author, preacher and president of Joyce Meyer Ministries, Joyce Meyer said that she was r***d at least 200 times by her father at a young and tender age. In her words “sexual abuse is so shaming that nobody talks about it. Nobody knows how to talk about it”. She recounts of how her father gave her pornographic materials to look at and will ask her “how she feels”. She also recounts of how her father will encourage her to bring home her school mates so he can defile as well. She said that despite her horrendous abuse she loves her life now; she has four grown children with her husband Dave, including 10 grandchildren. “How could that have happened to me, yet, I am standing here today. Don’t you think God is alive?” She asked her audience. “I want people to know how good God is, and that your struggle is worth it, your journey is worth it don’t give up.” These words are not fake, but from the very loins of experience. That woman runs one of the biggest ministries in the world, teaching Christ exponentially and changing her world. If you go to her with a r**e case or as a victim, she with tell you “I have been there before; I know how it feels like”. She will be in a better position to counsel and encourage that person. Little did she know that all those experiences were to prepare her for a glorious future; as an expert in her field. Like a puzzle which didn’t make sense at first, in the end, all the pieces made great sense.

What trial are you passing through? Could it be that God is laying the foundation for you to be a model tomorrow? Remember that those who faint on the way cannot be models for only over comers are models. What is your own story? Are you already giving up? Training is not sweet but like in the words of Pastor Paul Enenche, “how much you are trained determines how well you reign”. If you don’t faint along the way, a model to this generation will arise from you. The hardship, the suffering and trial are all in line with his goal to produce a model for this generation and like Joyce Meyer “don’t give up”.

18/09/2020

Apostle Selman reveals how he got HERE!

18/09/2020

LIFE LESSONS FROM ALEXANDER THE GREAT...

Last wishes of Alexander the Great on his death bed; Alexander summoned his army generals and told them his three ultimate wishes: “My first desire is that, my physicians alone must carry my coffin”, “Secondly, I desire that when my coffin is being carried to the grave, the path leading to the graveyard be strewn with gold, silver and precious stones which I have collected in my treasury”. “My third, and last wish is that my both hands be kept dangling out of my coffin.” One of his general who was surprised by these unusual requests asked Alexander the Great to explain why he will make such wishes of them. This was his reply “I want my physicians to carry me because people should realize that no doctor on this earth can really cure anybody. They are powerless and cannot save a person from the clutches of death, so shouldn’t take life for granted”. He continued, “The second wish of strewing gold, silver and other riches on the path to the graveyard is to tell people that not even a fraction of gold will come with me. I spent all my life with the greed for power, earning riches but cannot take anything with me. Let people realize that it is a sheer waste of time to chase wealth. And about my third wish of having my hands dangling out of the coffin, I wish my people to know that I came empty handed, and likewise, I go out of this world empty handed”. With these words, he breathed his last. What then is there to life, yet, man behaves as if he owns life and all there is to life. Possession indeed should never be mistaken for ownership.

Every believer must understand that all he has was given to him by God. When he realizes that all he was entrusted by God, it becomes easier to “forgive” God when he takes it away through trials or he permits the devil to do anything to it. “And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Do you know that you were born naked? The house you have today was given by God, the job, the money and everything you have today was given to you by God and the best you will return in is a pair of suit and hand gloves. Job said that “the lord gave and he had taken away”. Job said this because he knows that all the Lord had taken from him were things he was merely entrusted with and why should he challenge the owner for asking them back? Do you got angry when a person you borrowed his car to run an errand ask for his car? Automatically it amounts to stealing if you refuse to allow him access to his car.

Being a trust however, does not mean they should not be taken care of just like the parable of talents, an account will be given of them. A man who understands this trust factor understands the mind and intention of God. Such that his vocabulary is different and his approach to this trust is not a do or die affair. This person also knows that every glory associated with this trust must go to the rightful owner “I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images” (Isaiah 42:8).

A story is told of a young man who borrowed a shirt to wear to an event. The owner of the shirt also attended the event, when the owner saw him he called a friend standing by him and said “the shirt that fellow is putting on does he look good on it?” And his friend answered him “yeah, he looks nice in it”. Immediately, the owner told his friend “I gave him that shirt to wear for today and today alone.” One may wonder why the owner said that in public, maybe he felt out dressed by the fellow who borrowed his shirt and didn’t want him, to take much recognition. Take note, this fellow cannot take credit for looking good in a shirt he borrowed and that will amount to taking the owner’s glory. Now look at this, Satan told God that everything Job has was given to him by God. One of the instrumental points that enabled Job win was because he understood that all he had was borrowed and as such has no reputation of his own but upon God. He realized that building a reputation for himself upon TRUSTED things will eventually lead him into materialism and ultimately missing out. A lot of persons are killing themselves by trying to build a reputation around borrowed things. And that is why they find it very unbearable to cope during trials, because they have become “one” with the materials things.
Observe that throughout the bible, God always has issues with people that don’t recognize this TRUST factor.

The king spake, and said, is not this great Babylon, that I have but for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most high ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.”
- Daniel 4:30-32

Nebuchadnezzar saw the glory of Babylon but forgot that it was a TRUST and though it can be said that his physical energy and time went to its building, but who gave him strength and life? The owner reminded him that it was a TRUST and it’s unfortunate he was reminded the hard way “The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar; and he was driven from men, and did Eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws” (Daniel 4:33).
That is what happens when the TRUST factor is ignored; all that punishment for not acknowledging God? You will soon see that Nebuchadnezzar was even fortunate to get a light punishment. There is a wealthy man who also defaulted “And he spake a parable unto them, saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, this will I do: I will pull down my barns and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry .But God said unto him, Thou fool, the night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?”(Luke 12:16-20).

He forgot that the soul had an owner and him possessing it at a given time, does not make him the owner. God is still very much in the business of disciplining those who disregard the TRUST factor.
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
-1 Corinthians 15:10

In all we do, it is appurtenant that we recognize the GRACE and TRUST factor as they are important necessities to acknowledge in facing trials.

Excerpts of the book : The Complete Experience

12/08/2020

THE POWER OF JOY...

Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit as evident in the word of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness faith.
- Galatians 5:22
This means that there is no joy outside the Holy Spirit. He is the progenitor of Joy. The journey of joy starts at the point of Salvation. When a person embraces salvation, part of what comes with this package of eternal life is joy. In fact, joy is like the usher that serves this package. While the person is enjoying this joy, joy is also felt in heaven.
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety nine just persons, which need no repentance. -Luke 15:7

So the joy in heaven is caused by an activity here on earth, and that joy rubs off on everything he does. This is why when a person repents; you can feel this joy in the way he does everything. He is washing his plates and singing joyfully, he can even be driving and be driving joyfully. Do you still recall how much joy you felt when you gave your life to Christ? How it felt like you were already in heaven? How the world didn’t mean anything to you anymore? Indeed, it is worth knowing the Lord.

Joy was meant to be with the believer as long as the Spirit of God was resident in the believer. Then permit me to ask, do you still feel that joy that enveloped your life when you gave your life to Christ? Are you drawing back now to a place that didn’t matter to you before? David prayed a prayer;
Restore unto me the joy of my Salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit. - Psalm 51:12
What happened to the once joyful Psalmist? Who took away his joy? Does it mean a person’s joy can be stolen or taken away? And what was the implication of this loss of joy; a downcast. He prayed for an upholding, which meant that he was down. Thus, the absence of joy produces a downcast spirit. The psalmist also prayed that the Holy Spirit should not be taken from him “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11). This let us know that he still had the Holy Spirit. But remember that I said at the beginning of this paragraph that the joy was meant to be with the believer as long as the Holy Spirit was resident. But David is giving us a scenario where the Holy Spirit is present but joy is absent, this is very much possible. But what is not possible is to have true joy independent of the Holy Spirit. David was recovering from turbulent times in his life and part of the prayer he made was the prayer for his joy to be recovered. This means that in the midst of his turbulence, something happened to his joy. The Holy Spirit was present not withstanding but joy was absent.

This is the case with so many believers in the body of Christ right now. The Holy Spirit is present in their lives but there is no joy. Has your turbulence also tempered with your joy? Joy was never meant to be a feel good factor but a sustainer. Has your joy sustained you or do you need to pray that prayer of restoration like David? True joy is seen in the face of trials. David had an option of getting himself drunk in order to forget his turbulence, or better still rely on hard drugs to help me get over with it. But instead he went in search of joy. The days of trials are the days to search for joy not her alternatives.

For everything that God does, the devil also tries to imitate it. The devil also has his own version of joy which is enshrined in bottles of alcohol, drugs, women etc. This make you forget the existence of your turbulence for a while. The issue is that such a relief is only for a moment and after that, you will still go and meet your turbulence. It is common to see a person going through trials trying to find solace in alcohol. For instance if a person losses his job, the normal worldly response is to look for a beer parlor and “drink away” his problems. But did the joblessness really go away? You will actually “feel good” for that moment and forget that you lost your job but after sometime, you will wake up to the reality of this turbulence. It is not about the drugs or the alcohol nor the women but the need to find solace in something. The man drinking is not doing so because of the fact that he loves it but he finds hopes by drinking, which is the imitation of joy. The fact that there is an imitation points to the existence of an original. The original is not in bottles of beer or drugs but in the Holy Spirit. Joy does not just come to make you feel good or to make you forget your problems but to give strength to pass through trials.
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. - Psalms 23:4
The promise was not to make you forget that you are passing through the valley of the shadow of death, in fact, the promise is not that your eyes will be closed nor that you will run through this valley. You must walk through it. Every step has its valuable and indispensable lesson. No running is allowed here. But the good news is that He promised to be with us all the way. So anything coming to make you forget temporarily is surely not from God.

Joy is like a lubricant that lubricates our Christian life. The same way metals works needs oil to work effectively, Christians also need this joy daily to face trials. When last did you lubricate your Christian life? Have you started wearing out? Pray for this joy to be made manifest in your life. When James said we should count it all joy when we face trials, he was pointing to the fact that joy is vital in facing trials.

24/05/2020

THIS IS WHY DR. UMA UKPAI IS EXEMPTED FROM FASTING….

According to C.S Lewis “the death of a beloved is an amputation.” Looking at this quote, you can imagine the level of amputation done to Job. The bible records that only his wife survived. It is said that people rarely recover from such loss.

As believers, we face trials in this area. Sometimes prayers are made for loved ones that are sick, yet they died. Sometimes, we promise to give God something, probably our lives as a sacrifice if the loved one doesn’t die, yet, nothing changes. This leaves us with a lot of questions in mind as to whether God was not interested in the promise we made or if our serving Him is in vain since he still took away such a person from amongst us. This period, a lot of thoughts begin to go through the mind of such a believer.

I recall when a friend of mine lost her younger sister. It was not an easy experience at all. The girl in question had been sick for a very long time before she eventually passed on. Prior to her death, my friend prayed to God in different patterns she knew, countless vigils and seeds were sown to preserve her life. In fact, my friend promised God her unreserved devotion for the rest of her life if only He will answer her prayers. But in the end, her little sister still passed away. This particular experience left my friend very devastated and tired of life herself. At this juncture, she began to wonder if there was any gain in serving God at all; she suddenly became adamant and careless towards the things of God. This was a sister that was the first to arrive for choir rehearsals and cleans chairs before others arrived. This same person cancelled attending church or anything that had to do with church. Because according to her, she didn’t find any gain in serving the Lord.

The fate of many believers right now is not any different from that of my friend who lost her sister. They have abandoned the ways of God because they encountered trials in this area. One of the negatives that the devil brings to the hearts of believers is to make them begin to count their losses and see God as one who does not answer prayers, thereby making sure that the believer slacks in doing the things of God. These kinds of persons have succeeded in building in their hearts strong resistance and anger for God. When you go to admonish them, they seem to know the scriptures even better than you and what is making them angry and unchanging becomes a mystery to you. You begin to wonder why and how one can be so knowledgeable about the scriptures and yet carry such bitterness and carelessness towards God.

Dr. Uma Ukpai was on his way to preach in his village, lost his two children. While he stood shocked like Job, someone came to tell him that the 50-sitters bus carrying his band caught fire and the numbers of lives lost were yet to be ascertained. What baffled me was his response “all that I had and will ever have is given to me by God.” These kinds of responses are hard to come by. He further proceeded to minister at the crusade. Many people were asking him what his message was going to be since he earlier encountered loss. But if such a man tells you that God is good, you will know that there is something about his life that cannot be interpreted using human wisdom. In the eyes of a man, he was going to do the work of God, and shouldn’t have even experienced any challenge. He didn’t send himself there, God did. Secondly, he still proceeded to preach on that same very day at the crusade. These events which unfolded were enough to deter him from preaching but he didn’t allow it stop him. For the fact that you are working for God does not mean that you will not encounter trials. And trials should not take you away from your God given assignment.
Looking at the above events that took place in the lives of two believers, it is obvious that we respond to trials differently and our responses determine the outcome of it.

And I like to reiterate that though trials may seem different in scope, the aim is one. In the case of Job, he encountered many trials all in an attempt to get him to deny God. The variations in his trials didn’t undermine the aim of it. To Satan, he had a point to prove and to God he has a student in his classroom. My friend fell for this trial by moving away from God and embracing the world from where she was delivered from because of the fruit it produced in her.
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall await, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. - Hebrew 6:4-6.

I can hear Satan say “I told you Lord”. But for Reverend Uma Ukpai, God told him while he was preparing for a crusade in 1982 that for handling his trial well, he had being detailed 100 angels to be with him wherever he goes. Added to this promise was the freedom not to engage in fasting anymore as a reward for “handling his trial well”. Thus, “handling” a trial well provokes God’s reward system. Then permit me to ask, what fruits have been produced in your life because of trials? Has it taken you closer to God or has it taken you farther from God? Is your heart nursing bitterness against God? If this is so, the negative side of trials has manifested its fruits in your life. When a person is under trial, he is at leverage to decide what kind of fruits he will bear, and this fruit is a product of the person’s reaction to the trial.

The bible however is clear on the fruit that a positive response to trial should produce “knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James1:3-4) anything short of this is not proper.

Excerpts of the book; The Complete Experience

16/05/2020

Everything answers to power...

12/05/2020

Must watch!! Power vs power

12/05/2020