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If, by any chance, you pick a post I wrote on this blog last year (before I went on my “sabbatical”) and compared them with my posts after I returned to blogging, you would notice some remarkable changes.

Now, I won’t tell you that my writing has improved drastically (your comments would inform me of that!). However, I believe that the most glaring of these changes is the way I now write my Christian posts. Back then, I used to refer to Christians as “Children of the Light”. I remember once referring to God as the “Ultimate One” or the “Ultimate Being”. While Christians are actually Children of the Light and God is indeed the Ultimate One, my motive behind coining these terms was far from the best. I was a timid person who was looking for readers to follow…and I did not want to offend anybody with my beliefs.

However, that was to change. I believe the Holy Spirit reminded me of what I would call a miniature version of the “Abomination of Desolation” that my eyes had the displeasure of seeing 5 – 10 years ago. My family was invited for a church’s fundraising program. When it was time to make the donations, a turbaned man walked to the front of the church, requested for a microphone and quoted from the Quran in Arabic for two whole minutes. Right there in the church of God! And nobody could, or rather would do anything. To crown it all, the turbaned guy said something like,

“Isn’t it money you want? By Allah’s grace, we would give you folks the money you need!”

He all said these in Yoruba, and I’m just making a rough interpretation. But you get the point.

I’m tempted to say the story of a Christian girl that dressed as an Alhaja and entered into a mosque…

Well…I just might as well summarize the story. During the course of the Jumat service, the girl suddenly threw off the hijab and started screaming something like,

“Jesus is coming soon, repent!”

Needless to say, she was beaten black and blue.

Now, I’m not trying to start a religious war here on blogosphere. Far from it!

I’m just trying to tell myself and others who care to listen: I know who I am. I am a Christian. I represent Christ Jesus in everything I say, in everything I think, in everything I do and most definitely in everything I write.

I think the ever-eloquent Paul did better justice in penning down the emotions I feel right now,

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth… (Rom 1:16a KJV)”

For all I care, the Gospel of Christ is the POWER of GOD unto salvation to EVERYONE that BELIEVES!

I am a believer. I mean, what is there to be ashamed of?

That God saved me from spiritual death?

That God saved me from sickness?

That God saved me from poverty?

That God saved me from depressions?

That God saved me from fear?

That God saved me from failure?

Sorry sir, but I don’t think so.

And by the way, if Paul was not ashamed of the gospel, who am I to be???

Despite the fact that I am not a very muscular guy, I appreciate individuals who have taken the time and pains to develop their muscles into appropriate and aesthetic proportions. For this reason, I enjoy watching programs that feature these feature these endowed guys. Occasionally on these shows, a muscular man may decide to show off his powers. So, he ties a very strong rope about himself and attaches it to a multi-ton caterpillar. He huffs and puffs and eventually, the caterpillar starts to crawl by virtue of the enormous strength of the muscle man. It is usually an impressive sight.

Now, I don’t know what happens where you stay, but in my country Nigeria, traffic is regulated by traffic lights, as well as, traffic wardens. What impresses me most is what happens after an individual has been commissioned to wear the recognized orange shirts and black trousers of the traffic wardens. Such an individual could control hundreds of multi-ton trucks simultaneously. He does not huff and puff. All he has to do is to wave an arm or hold a hand, when he wants the truck(s) to move or stop.

Believe you me, a muscled man standing at the traffic warden’s post, with his pumped muscles bulging out in the eyes of the whole world, without the recognized uniform, is…well, just another guy.

Why would one well-muscled guy use all his strength to pull a heavy-duty vehicle while the other uniformed man only waves his hands and numerous similar vehicles move at once?

The answer is really simple and straightforward; the uniformed man has the power of the law backing him! Everything he does is done in the name of the law.

This scenario reminds me of a verse,

   “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (Matt 28:18 KJV)”

 Jesus said ALL power.

 Not most, neither some or many.

 He said ALL power had been given to Him.

 If you are not yet excited by this verse, perhaps the next verse I’m about to share with you would shake things up a bit and make you see what you have been missing as a believer,

 “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Gal 3:27 KJV)”

 WOOHOOO!!!

 Now, in case you have not done the maths, let me help you out:

 If all power had been given to Jesus Christ that would mean that there is no power anywhere else

 If you have been baptized into Christ that would mean that you have put on Christ

 And if you have put on Christ that would mean that you are a walking DYNAMO!!!

I think this is the point where the analogy of the traffic warden really drives my point home. Any regular man can control traffic in the name of the laws of the land, once he puts on the recognized uniform.

In the same vein, any man can walk in dominion over diseases, sicknesses, poverty, failure, disappointments, depressions, defeats and the works in the Name of Jesus, once he puts on the recognized uniform – Jesus Christ.

So, what would it be?

Do you want to continue in your struggles with your finances and health, while you are huffing and puffing like the muscle man in my analogy? After a lot of effort, you might succeed in pulling one multi-ton truck…with two hundred more waiting for you.

Or,

Do you want to walk in the power and authority of the Name of Jesus, effortlessly riding over your concerns and fears?

The choice is yours, but I advise you, choose Christ.

For some odd reason, I never really enjoyed reading the Revelations of John during my formative years. I remember forcing myself to read the book and how I ended up sweating profusely in my palms. The movie industry did not help matters too; their portrayal of the book of Revelations always centred on the hardships that the people on earth would face in the end-time. They always wanted to show the Beast in his power, forcing people to receive his 666 mark on their hands and foreheads (as found in Revelations 13). And yes, these film producers also seemed to derive pleasure in depicting the fate of people who refused to the take the mark.

Well, all these did not help me develop much of an appetite for Revelations. In fact, for years, most of my Bible reading was focused on the Gospels and the stories of the Old Testament and, later on, the epistles of the New Testament. Subconsciously, I avoided Revelations like a plague, all because I was scared of reading about the fate of people in the end-time.

However, all that was going to change.

At a point in my life, I believe that the Spirit of God prompted me to read the Book of Revelations. That was when, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I started seeing the book of Revelations in a brand new light.

I saw a vivid description of Heaven.

I saw Jesus Christ in His glory.

I saw the tree of life in the midst of the Paradise of God.

I saw the hidden manna.

I saw the very throne room of the Almighty God with the vast sea of glass.

Eventually, I got an eye-opener that totally turned my Religion upside down (That is good news since the Christian is called to be spiritual, not religious).

Remember how I told you that I refused to read the book of Revelations because I was scared of the vivid descriptions of the Beast and his mark?

Well, it turns out that about 6 chapters before the Beast is even mentioned, God in His Infinite Wisdom had made provisions for a mark of His Own in Revelations 7:2 – 3,

“And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea.

Saying, Do not harm the earth, the sea or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads”

From my little understanding of the English language, I know that the word “seal” could be used interchangeably with “mark”.

So, in essence, that verse is saying that till the servants of God (imagine the children of a CEO working in their Father’s company) have been sealed or marked in the foreheads, no harm would befall the earth, sea or trees. “No harm” also includes every possible for of maltreatment that would be inflicted by the Beast on whosoever does not receive his inferior mark.

From this point, I realized that if I was sealed with the mark/seal of the Living God on my forehead, I would be free from the mark of the Beast.

Why? Because the forehead is the seating place of the brain, which in turn is the organ through which the mind functions. Hence, the seal of the living God on my forehead would imply that my actions and thoughts are not controlled by my natural mind, but by God Himself. I would love whatever He loves, and hate whatever He hates. And all these would happen without me undergoing any form of discomfort.

Seeing this truth made me very excited. But I was eager to know what exactly what this mark was.

So, I searched the scriptures and found my answer in many points of the Bible.

An example is in 2 Timothy 2:19,

“Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal ‘The Lord knoweth them that are his’ and ‘Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity’”

You know what? God knows those that belong to Him. And the children of God also know that they belong to God. Romans 8:16 tells us that “the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God”. We know because of the indwelling Spirit of God within us.

In addition, in his letter to the Galatians, Apostle Paul said,

“From henceforth, let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus (Galatians 6:17)”

You know, many people have interpreted this verse in many ways. Some say that the marks that Paul was referring to were physically marks which were made on him during the severe whippings that Paul endured for preaching Christ. While this is true, I believe that Paul was also referring to the seal/mark of the living God. Note the phrase “…I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus”. Paul did not say “…I bear ON my body the marks of the Lord Jesus”. No, he said “…I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus”. I believe Paul was referring to his body as a container that’s carrying a seal/mark within it. This mark(s) is what made Paul who he was in Christ.

Furthermore, Ephesians 1:13 says,

“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of salvation; in Who also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise”

Now it becomes very clear.

The mark that comes before any other mark is the seal of the living God. And the seal of the living God is the HOLY SPIRIT of promise.

You see, God loves us so much that even before the wickedness of the beast would cover the earth, He marked every true believer with the indwelling seal of the Holy Ghost.

Take a look at 2 Corinthians 5:5,

“Now He that wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, Who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit”. Some other translations end that verse as, “…Who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee”

Do you know the gravity of that verse? The Presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of any believer is like God saying,

“Look son (or daughter), I have bought you wholly with the Precious Blood of my Son Jesus Christ. I have redeemed you totally – spirit, soul and body. I have prepared for you a wonderful home for you in heaven. Now, take a part of My very Spirit – The Holy Spirit. Yes, that is My Seal, My Mark and your proof that you have a home in heaven after your sojourn here on earth. In the meantime, live a victorious and glorious life here on earth. You have My very Nature – The Divine Nature within you. You can now live victorious over sin, sickness, poverty, oppressions, depressions and the curses of the law. You can live the exact full life that my Son Jesus Christ lived here on earth. And when you are done here on earth, you shall have your mansion in My Heavenly House”

That, my friends, is the enigma of The Mark before a mark…

Someone once quipped that there are 3 sides to any story:

Your side;

The other person’s/people’s side; and

The right side

Many times, the way we see things is totally dependent on how we are and not on the real state of whatever we are seeing.

To illustrate that point, let us imagine a cup that is filled with some measure of water. The pessimist would see the cup as half-empty: the optimist would see the cup as half-full; the realist would see the cup as one containing water; while the opportunist would DRINK the water, especially if it is chilled and the weather is particularly hot.

From the said illustration, all the individuals were correct, in that their reaction to the situation was dependent on their state of mind rather than the situation on ground.

In the same way, our approach to the term “sons of God” is totally dependent on the individual giving the definitions. From the Genealogy of Christ in Luke 3, Adam, the progenitor of all mankind was called “the sons of God”.

What does this imply? It simply means that by the virtue of creation, all of mankind can be referred to as children of God, or better still, the sons of God. This label holds true for all of God’s creation, regardless of one’s religious background, race, sentiments, or prejudices. This can be proven by the fact that there are a lot of general benefits that all creations get from God.

For example, the rain falls on all of mankind, including the Buddhist, the Moslem, the Animist and the Christian. The same holds for spiritual laws that work for all of mankind when they are followed.

Any man who engages in tithing and giving would always experience the boons of blessings.

Any man that embarks on speaking positivity to himself and everyone that is about him would always be prosperous.

All these are just a few of the spiritual laws that apply to and works for all of mankind, because we are all Children or sons of God.

Furthermore, we can take this truth to another dimension…if you can take it:

By virtue of creation, even satan is a “son” of the Living God. Yes, and that’s why satan could pop his ugly little head into a meeting of God with the “sons of God”, as is found in the book of Job!

However, if we look from another perspective, John 1:12 makes us to understand that anybody who believes in Christ Jesus is given the power to become a son of God. This explains that there is a higher level, which is greater than the general grace that exists for all of mankind. And this grace comes only by believing in Christ Jesus.

Nevertheless, just believing in Christ Jesus is only the basic beginning of God’s perfect plan for His sons.

Once one is born again, he/she receives the indwelling of God’s Own Spirit within him/her. This Spirit is the seal/guarantee on every believer that signifies that the individual has a home in heaven at the end of his/her stint stint here on earth.

Nonetheless, amongst the sons of God who believe on Christ Jesus, there is still a higher level of grace that can be attained. The 14^th verse of Romans 8 makes us understand that as many that allow themselves to be led by the indwelling Spirit of God within them are the sons of God!

This is where it becomes all interesting…

First, there is a basic level of grace that exists on all mankind by virtue of creation based on the fact that they were (or are) one way or the other related to Adam, a son of God. This makes them qualified to be called the sons of God.

Then, there is a higher level of grace that exists on as many that believe on our Lord Jesus Christ. This is definitely higher than that which exists for all of mankind. This level is good, but it is not the best. You see, because of God’s great love for mankind he would not force Himself on any man. All mankind, regardless of whether they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior or not, have the ability to make choices. They have to choose to accept Christ or reject Him. They have to choose to be led by The Spirit of God or not.

And this is where the third level is.

The born again individuals who choose to be led by The Spirit of God.

These are the ones that Romans 8 verse 14 refers to. They are the ones that John 1 verse 17 talks about. They are the ones who have chosen to receive the fullness of God within them. They are the ones who know that they have received the exact kind of grace that operated in the life of Jesus when He was fulfilling His earthly ministry. You see, despite the fact that Jesus was fully God, while He was physically on earth, He was also 100% Man.

He sighed.

He groaned.

He slept.

He ate.

And He wept.

He was tempted in every way…

…yet He did not sin once.

Why was Jesus able to operate in the realm of grace He operated under?

Simple. Because He CHOSE to follow the leading of The Spirit of God within Him.

And as many that allow themselves to be led by The Spirit of God can live the exact way that Christ lived while He was on earth!

Now, when it comes to judging the perception of the sons of God by the sons of God, it is only one “group” of the sons of God that is permitted to do this:

Not the general sons of God…because of the sinful nature that all of mankind inherited from the first man Adam after the Fall.

Not the carnal believers of Christ…because they refuse to be led by the indwelling Spirit of God, but would rather follow their five senses and logic. Such people cannot know their covenant rights as a believer, because they refuse to follow The One who reveals all things.

However, as a son of God who is led by the Spirit of God, one is qualified to judge all things!!!

Why?

Read this excerpt from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians,

“But as it is written, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him.

But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God

Now we have received, not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ”