Welcome, dear friends! Grace and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ be with you on this wonderful! Yesterday, we talked about the necessity to dwell in the bosom of the Heavenly Father if we want to experience God in our life and reveal or manifest Him to other people. This will also demand from us the continuous cleansing ourselves through His word and walking in His light. In order for the light of God in our lives to shine brighter and brighter we have to consistently cleanse our lamp. The bible said we are the light of the world, so each of us is a light bearer. And as you know, light is intended to enlighten and drive away any form of darkness. We have to realize though, that we do not have light on our own. The light we radiate is the reflection of the light we have received from God. If we have a distorted perception of God, and His ways, then the light we radiate will also be distorted. Quite often so many Christian radiate distorted light because their lamp is not clean. We have to clean up our lamp, so that we can better reflect God in and through our lives or else we will become a stumbling block to other people. Apostle Paul has said his greatest desire had been to glorify Christ in his body either by life or by death. So, let’s read one passage from Paul’s letters in order to highlight few principles that helped him to reflect God in His life. We will need to apply these same principles to our lives, if we are aspiring to glorify God like Paul. These principles will also help us to understand how we can make the light of God in our life brighter.
« Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we don’t faint. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in those who perish; in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them. For we don’t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake » (2ndCorinthians 4:1-5).
What is the above passage telling us? 1) I have a ministry already. We’ve got a new covenant with God and as soon as we enter into this covenant with God, we accepted a new ministry from God, – to reveal and manifest God to this world. Before the coming of Christ, God was hidden by veil of the Law, so our mind was unable to understand Him. However, everything changed with the coming of Christ. Now, if we desire to see, hear and experience God and His power, all we need to do is to just look at Jesus, obey Him, and get to know the Lord personally. Since the time Jesus came to this Earth, all the Old Testament complicated system of offerings and rituals have been cancelled. Now God speaks and acts through Jesus. That is why the Bible said: «But to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away ». (2nd Corinthians 3:15-16).
That veil of religion and law that prevents people from seeing God and getting to know God falls at the very same moment when a person turns to Jesus. It is Jesus who gives light to everyone coming into this world. «In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (..) That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world» (John, 1:4, 9).
Jesus Himself is the true light that possesses the true knowledge of God. All other kid of light is only a reflection of His light.
« God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds ». (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Jesus came to tear down the curtain that hid God behind the veil of rituals and religion, thus revealing God to people. It is a pity that even nowadays many people are still bound with religions and complicated rituals, while trying to find God and serve Him.
« But their minds were hardened, for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains, because in Christ it passes away ».(2nd Corinthians 3:14).
Denying Christ many people have lost God and His eternal purposes, and are even fighting against His counsel and ways. That was one of the main the reason why the Pharisees plotted against Jesus, Who had come to pull off the veil from their hearts and reveal God to them. According to their understanding, Jesus oversimplified the process of getting to know God by cancelling all rituals and the customs of their fathers that were in contradiction with God’s truth. That’s why religious people killed Jesus. For the same reason Paul kept persecuting the first church for a long time. However, everything changed at the moment Jesus appeared to Paul thus unveiling his heart so Paul could see God in Christ. So Christ’s mission is also our mission now, namely, representing God to other people around us and spreading the knowledge of Him through our life so that the veil will be removed from their heart. Please remember that the accomplishment of this mission is our main ministry on the earth. Be blessed! Rufus Adjiboje, pastor
