Author: Pastor Rufus Ajiboye

1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mathew, 5:3). This talks about dependency on God. Our lives depend on God. And since we realize our dependency, we must continually come to God and spend time with Him. This is a foundational step in becoming the salt of the earth and the light of the world; we must live a life that is totally depended on God!

2) Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Mathew, 5:4). Sin, unrighteousness and injustice that surround us must motivate us to pray and mourn before God, to stand in the gap for our land. It must motivate us to repent of the sins and unrighteousness of our nation. When we look at the things around us with God’s eyes, then everything that grieves God will grieve us as well. This is where passion is born and a vision for change is conceived.

As we concluded earlier, it’s impossible to please God without understanding our role and purpose on the Earth. We also mentioned that God helps us to reach such understanding through His word. Metaphors used in the Bible help to reveal what God expects from us and how we can please Him.

There are many metaphors used in the Bible to reveal to us what are our essence and our task on the Earth. The word “messenger or “ambassador” is one of them. Paul uses this word in his letter to Corinthians:

«Namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation. We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God». (2nd Corinthians 5:19-20).

Heaven is the place from which Jesus rules and reigns over everything. What God says about us in His Word is the truth which we must believe. Now we have God’s nature in us and it must be continually fed and nurtured. We must believe that now we have heavenly authority and power that was given to us in order to destroy the works of devil on earth. That is what Jesus did when He walked on the planet earth: He destroyed and undo the works and intentions of the devil. He set an example for us to follow in His foot steps:

«For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil» (1 John, 3:8b).

«Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! ’» (Matthew, 7:21-23).

It says in the Bible that God rules and reigns over everything — in heaven and in earth. When we read Genesis, we see that God created men and also we read about God’s intentions for men. God created us to rule and reign on earth as God’s ambassadors. So God’s original plan was for people to be a ruler and care-taker for God. We can read about that in Genesis (1:26-28).

If you treat the Bible as any other book and do not apply it to your life, then it will be boring and you won’t understand why you ever need to read it. In one of His parables, Jesus said that some people hear the word and do it, and that is why they become wiser. When problems or life storms come into their lives, they go through them with dignity. It is because what they read does not remain theoretical; for them it is applicable and practical.

1. Pray for God to give you great hunger for God’s Word.

2. Follow a balanced ‘biblical diet’.

3. Adhere to some order in your studies.

When I hear the preaching of God’s Word, God speaks to me through someone else. When I read the Word, God speaks to me directly. There are things He wants to speak to me personally, without mediators. God wants me to fellowship with Him so that He can teach me. When you hear the word through the other preaching of people, you can hear things that you do not fully understand or you might even say you do not agree with some things. However, when you fellowship with God through the reading of His Word and God reveals some things to you, you cannot say it is someone else’s opinion.

You and I are in the middle of spiritual battle and we need the weapon that would help us fight and overcome the enemy. God’s Word is His weapon, His sword. If the Word is in us, we will always be able to easily overcome temptation, sin and enemy.

If God’s Word abides in us, we will be able to say as Jesus said: «It is written! It is written! It is written!» But if you are not ‘in shape’ and do not know what is written in the Word, you won’t have the necessary courage to proclaim God’s Word over your life and situation.