The Emergence II

Sound the alarm in Jerusalem! Raise the battle cry on my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear because the day of the Lord is upon us.

It is a day of darkness and gloom, a day of thick clouds and deep blackness. Suddenly, like dawn spreading across the mountains, a great and MIGHTY ARMY appears. Nothing like it has been seen before or will ever be seen again. Joel.2:1-2 [NLT]

Very crucial to the long anticipated day of Christ's second coming is the preceeding display of God's Power and Glory. In these latter days of the end-time, God is set to make His Sovereignty known in this world, across all facet of human endeavors. This, God intends to achieve through a host of His reserved armies. The death and resurrection of Christ is fundamental to God's plan and agenda, but that was not all that needs to be done. If it were so, then all things should have come to an end the very moment Christ resurrected from the grave. Probably He would have ascended with the few who believed in Him. You may then be wondering why there has to be a continuity in time since the physical departure of Jesus.

Prophetically, the mandate to subdue and take Dominion upon the earth was and is still for man (Gen.1:26, 28) not Jesus. The office of Christ was introduced by God's Wisdom to bring man back to the position where he can fulfil his assignment when the entire human race failed and fell in the first man - Adam. So, Jesus was successful in His mission by a toning for man's sin though the payment of His Blood to secure for man an eternal redemption in God (Isa.53:5, 1Pet.2:24, Eph.1:7, Heb.9:12). Now therefore, the new man in Christ (the second Adam) is at a better position to fulfil his obligation without fail. The first Adam was made a living being but the second Adam (Christ) was made a Life-giving Spirit of whom we are partakers together of Divine Nature  (1Cor.15:45, 2Pet.1:4). God made this so, so that it is now impossible for us to be defeated. The only option we now have in Christ is VICTORY! (1Jn.5:4).

Then, we need to understand what we are up to so that we may know our role in the game for adequate engagement. The conception of and God's declarations concerning Jacob and Esau is a dramatic picture of this present world and the end-time agenda...

"And the children struggled together within her; and she said, if it be so, why am I thus? and she went to enquire of the Lord.

And the Lord said unto her, TWO NATIONS are in thy womb, and TWO MANNERS of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the older shall serve the younger." [Gen.25:22-23].

The scripture above shows us the existence of the two sets of people captured in the same physical territory but of different spiritual realities. One is Jacob (the spiritual Israel) loved by God while the other is Esau (the enemy) hated by God (Rom.9:11-13). Everyone born of God are God's elect and spiritual Israel but the people without God in the world are the spiritual Esau who are always at rebellion with God's commands. Furthermore, the Bible clearly showed us the Prophetic destinies of these two nations...

"Jacob will be a fire and Joseph a flame; Esau will be stubble, and they will set him on fire and destroy him. There will be no survivors from Esau. The Lord has spoken.

Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the LORD'S". [Obad. Vs 18, 21]

There is the Emergence of a Mighty Army of God. The people in this army are breeds of Fire. They are in a rage to consume the house of Esau which is the symbol of this world of sin and wickedness. The house of Esau, Babylon, Edom and the likes which are in consistent rebellion against the agenda and ordinances of God will be judged by God's end-time army. We are in a very sensitive time and season when God is strategically unveiling and revealing His sons/daughters who have been trained, tested, trusted and found fit to emerge as Saviours upon Zion to judge/govern the mountains of Esau.

The account of Prophet Joel describes the picture of what the army of God will be like. They are men with strange strength and speed (Joel.2:6-7). They are men who stick to their designations and specifications, extremely good at what they do (Joel.2:8). They don't miss their target because they will be accurate in their approach, cutting across every sphere of influence (Joel.2:9). They are world shakers, earthquakers and men that causes heavens to tremble (Joel.2:10).

Christ Himself is the General Commander of these fearless armies of God. Watch it, in every areas of man's endeavor, these mighty armies will Emerge. They will not be tossed to and fro by the prevailing circumstances of their fields. But they shall fight the good fight of Faith,  subdue the oppositions by Divine Power thereby taking Dominion, that Christ may be Crowned King upon the kingdom. We EMERGE! [To be cont'd]

By: Philip Ibiyemi 

FOLLOWERSHIP PRINCIPLES

Jesus said to them, "COME with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass." (Matthew 4:19) MSB.

“GO out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) MSB.

When someone lacks control, it’s often said that such an individual only hears 'go', but that he doesn't understand 'come'. This illustration aptly summarized the situation of most Christians. Putting the two scriptures quoted above side by side, it becomes very clear that the Master, basically, gave two simple instructions to all His followers;
1. Come.
2. Go.
Now, “come with me” is a followership concept. It focuses on learning and training while “go out” is targeted at leadership. It focuses on the trained who are now being saddled with leadership responsibility to go out and train others. Jesus said, “come with me...”; and then, he said, “go out...”. We have somehow turned these simple but very vital instructions the other way around for lack of knowledge and self-centered reasons. Some people “go out” first and do the “come with me” later on when issues arise or they may choose to be doing the “go out” and “come with me” concurrently. For this simple error, we have a nation that is awash with many ministries and churches but with much unrighteousness and corruption.

Actually, an average Nigerian is fiercely independent and will prefer leading, albeit poorly, to following excellently. Not too long ago, a BBC correspondent described Nigeria as a nation of leaders (sounds good on the surface) and not a nation of followers (how do we become leaders if we are not a nation of followers?). Take the last presidential elections for instance; how many presidential candidates vied to be elected as President from the over ninety political parties registered at that time? I lost counts. Incidentally, the vast majority of those candidates were greenhorns and political neophytes who ought to be learning the ropes as interns under political veterans. But like I said earlier, Nigerians are fiercely independent people. We are leaders and not followers.

Now, should the Christian community suffer from this same illness too? There seems to be this deliberate attempt by everyone to be in the leadership role. This is killing the church and causing the church's revival to lose its cutting edge. Everywhere you turn, it's one shade of leadership conference or the other. Where are the followership conferences to help the people to be honest, loyal, focus, tenacious and happy while they are still following? Followers always outnumber leaders. Shouldn't we be making greater efforts toward followership development, or if you like, call it discipleship programs? Leadership and followership are two sides of a coin. If there are leadership skills to learn, then there must be followership skills to learn as well.
The prophetic relationship between Elijah and Elisha provides a good template to learn key followership principles. In this case, Elijah being the leader and Elisha being the exemplary follower would be our focus.

Elisha began from Gilgal:
“And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal” (2Kings 2:1).
To be a successful follower, the journey must begin at Gilgal. Gilgal is a place of freedom and liberty. Even if a man was born into Christianity, at Gilgal he will personally reestablish his relationship with God and rededicate his life. Gilgal is that place where new converts are circumcised and welcomed into the new covenant life. Gilgal is the basis of our beliefs. Those simple teachings that first introduced us to life in the spiritual. Those teachings that we revisit as we fight our early battles for reformation, trying to find our feet and putting our life in order. Gilgal is that first place of camping when one’s journey to the promise land begin. It is a place of reference. It is a place of separation, cutting, bleeding and healing. It is a place of definite decision. A man without a definite starting point will most likely fall by the way side. A man whose followership did not begin at Gilgal may not be big on loyalty. At the slightest ‘provocation’, he may find another leader to attach himself to and then begin another journey without the Gilgal experiences.

Elisha was at the place of His presence:
“And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel” (2Kings 2:2).
Bethel is a place of power. It is a place of prayer and enquiry of things from God. It is a place of revelation. Bethel is the house of God and the gate of Heaven. It speaks of God’s presence. Bethel is a place where desire to know God more will be birthed. Encounters and transformations happen at Bethel. It is that place where God teaches our hands for war and fingers for battle. Here, a follower will see things. He will see the heavens open. He will see God’s angels ministering to him. It is also a place of marks. Unlike Elisha, most followers stop following from this point. What else does he need after all? He has learnt the art of prevailing prayer. He sees things and he is kind of marked now with a touch of God. This stage of followership comes with a huge temptation to think that one can stand alone or even start a ministry. Wise followers should be wary of this pitfall.

Elisha survived Jericho:
“And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho” (2Kings 2:4).
Jericho is a place of raw spiritual warfare and inexplicable victory. Jericho represents miracles and healings. Hardened sinners are won over for God at Jericho. It is a place where the power and revelation gifts become very prominent. A place where the captain of the host of the Lord comes out to assist in battle. Jericho is a place of deliverance. Jericho is a place of learning to walk by faith and not by sight. It is a realm of unwavering trust in God. At Jericho, a follower will witness raw power of God at work. If he hitherto has had any doubt about his master’s ministry, such will be perished at Jericho. It will feel as though Jericho is the climax because the exploit at Jericho will be published and noised far and near. Followers who survived Bethel hardly survive Jericho. Jericho is a moment of glory and many followers become entitled and push for more recognition. Only the Elishas survive Jericho.

Elisha dare to cross
“And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on” (2Kings 2:6).
Jordan is a place of no return! It is a place of crossing to the other side. A place where all personal ambitions are perished. Jordan is the final hurdle to the promised land. Jordan demonstrates the laying down of our lives. It is a place of willingness to lose one’s life for His sake (Matthew 10:39). Jordan is that place where even the sons of the prophets “stood to view afar off” (2Kings 2:7). Jordan is a place where only the Elishas who stayed absolutely loyal to their Elijahs cross into. Only dogged loyalist who served without an iota of ulterior motive dare to cross over to Jordan. The sons of the prophets dwell at Bethel and Jericho but the dwelling place for elite prophets is across Jordan!

Elisha demonstrated unflinching loyalty and acquired a servant's heart by knowing and following the unspoken wishes of God and the man He put over him. Without this qualities, no one can effectively follow and ultimately serve as God's representative. One last thing. Never be fooled into thinking that it is the job of your discipler or mentor to pursue you all around. If this happens, it only shows how unserious you are. As the biblical account about Elijah and Elisha reveals, Elisha's success was found in his relentless pursuit of Elijah and his determination to follow him to a logical end.
By: G. O. Philip Bamiteko

THE EMERGENCE

In a land full of confusion and devastation, where every effort to bring order, balance and progress has proved abortive and resulted into frustration, there is only one thing required for our expected desire-The Emergence.

God's strategic pattern of bringing rescue to man's predicaments is by sending a man He has thoroughly equipped and furnished for the task. Examples are the likes of Joseph appointed to preserve the generation of Israel(Gen.45:5,7), Joshua to take the Israelites to the promised land(Josh.1:2), Elijah to turn the heart of the people back to God and other judges in the Bible who rescued God's people from their enemies and administered justice on God's behalf in the land.

Moreover, in every facet of man's affairs, God places a saviour to address the challenge of that particular sector deliberately. We are not waiting for the arrival of the saviours anymore because the sons of God are here. What every challenge here on earth needs is the Rising, Heralding and Emergence of kingdom minded men who have been fortified, prepared and approved by Grace in Christ Jesus to stand as fathers in their respected territory.

It is therefore expedient that every sons and daughters of God be spiritually minded and responsibility conscious. Also that we be diligent to yield ourselves to the dealings of the Spirit.

It is patience, consistence and obedience in the school of the Spirit that speeds of and qualifies kingdom giants for Emergence as saviours of the land.

(Texts; Obad. Vs 21, Joel. 2:1-11, Jam. 1:4)

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