The Audacity of God's Grace: 10 Strategies To Living Your Best Life Now (17 page)

“Ironically, many people will not make it into God’s kingdom because of poverty and the spirit of poverty.”

Poverty and the spirit of poverty make people to take short cuts, to cheat and deceive, and to falsify information or to be engaged in fraudulent activities. Many ladies and gentlemen that are into prostitutions were exposed to poverty disproportionately, due to disenfranchisement of economic opportunities, by society, their parents, mentors, cycle or friends or simply by themselves. There is no legitimate reason to be a prostitute or a criminal. Even if you feel that you have been denied or disenfranchised of economic opportunities, you can innovatively make use of your God-given abilities and talent to create a better economic opportunity for yourself. You must not drag through life in poverty or prostitution. Most prostitutes thought that their biggest asset or capital was to use their sexual organs to do business. This will cause them more harm than good. In the criminal justice system and in my area of specialization—community health, we know that crime and disease are endemic in poor neighborhoods or communities. This is why effective political policies and dividends of democracy must not neglect to empower every community evenly. Doing well in life is one of the reasons why Jesus came and died. God wants you to do better than you have done in the past.

Who is Feeding You Mentally?

In our world today, spiritual mentors, eloquent and motivational speakers are needed to energize, motivate and strengthen God’s people and communities to activate their faith, automate their mind and forge a strong belief system in success in order to continue living their best life now. Humans are emotional and psychological beings. Without proper attention and meeting our mental, emotional, physical, and psychological needs, people will act like animals and not be able to perform at their fullest human potentials and make the most out of everyday life opportunities. For this reason, if you want to become a success story in the pursuit of happiness and have the ability of living at your best life today, it is imperative that you watch carefully who is “supplying” you as well as your children, the mental food you are feeding your minds on.

I decided long time ago to become a person that champions success and significance when God called me to creatively become a part of his network in the movement of Christianity. Once I was privileged to receive this call to serve, I dedicated myself and my mind to serve God as a minister, an educator, and an entrepreneur. What people fail to understand is that ministers or religious leaders have powerful influence in people and in communities. Although I have endured hardship, health hazards, financial disasters etc., I have stayed committed to my goal for life. Consequently, by working steadily with God and not letting anything stand as barriers against my success, I have gradually and steadily walked away from poverty for life! This is why I mentor my church members and my audiences to serve Christ, but also to pursue opportunities and avenues that will enable them to become materially successful, so we can become a powerful force for good in this generation and finance the work of God with distinction. Majority of my church members or those who have been opportune to grace my audience are always empowered. They come in with a different mindset, they live for the rest of their life with a differently mentality that empowers and ensures their success through the grace of God.

One day, I was discussing with one of my business partners who has achieved greater success as a registered nurse-turned business woman, she mentioned to me that in the past, her problem was majorly that she feared becoming stupendously successful. She was used to thinking that it is “illegal” for her to be very wealthy as a child of God because of her religious upbringing. As a minister, an entrepreneur and a scientist, I always try to balance the equation, even though I didn’t have to think the way I think now, several years ago. I feed my audiences with the word of God, prayer and mind-liberating reality from the spiritual front, cultural, social, political, financial, and health. How can church members stay away from running for political offices or stay home and away on Election Day? Why will believers abstain from exercising their civil right to democracy when they need to go and cast their votes which will usher political policies that help them to live their best life now? Why should a minister of the gospel neglect teaching their congregations about the need for physical exercise and the need for healthy lifestyle choices when obesity has become endemic and kill church members and people in our society? Why should a minister fail to include teaching about wealth creation, social and individual responsibilities to be our neighbors keeper and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves when gun violence, kidnapping and terrorism has become a painful and rampant occurrences? The reason why I do so is that we, as global citizens living on earth and not yet in heaven, cannot run away from these areas of life. They make our individual and collective lives on earth livable or miserable.

Life is Not a Funfare! Don’t Take Life Easy

Times have changed significantly with the innovations and new technologies ushered to us by new information technologies and the internet. The era of innocence is gone. Evil abides and now endures in our towns and neighborhoods. The Christian scriptures admonishes us in (2 Corinthians 2:11NLT) that: We should be careful not allow Satan to outsmart us [some other versions says be ignorant of the devices or strategies of the enemy—the devil], lest Satan should get an advantage of us. The Greek translation for devices as recorded in 2 Corinthians 2:11 are thought, mind, schemes, designs, and plots. The implication is that, there never should be a time when we should become ignorant, carefree, or forgetful of the enemy’s abilities and interest over our lives. The person who wants to do better in life should constantly understand that the thoughts of the enemy is to make people drag through life; his mindset and goals for our lives is to kill our goals and dreams and the perpetual destruction of our happiness and joy. These are the enemy’s design, his schemes and plots.

Many preachers and teachers who try to undermine broadening their teachings to be holistic and deal with life realities will become straight-jacketed with a pious religious tradition, or agenda and nurture church members who will significantly be ‘religious’ but with limited knowledge, skills, and financial resources to meet the needs of their everyday lives and their familial responsibilities. They find it impossible to lift up others, who are struggling through life in the community, or even to pay the Pastor and meet the Church financial obligations. While I respect Sola Scriptura—the Latin word for “scripture alone” I perceive that we need to balance Sola Scriptura which has helped Christianity as a movement to stand out from traditions and errors of men in the defining days of Christian history. Sola Scriptura is the doctrine that the Bible contains all knowledge necessary for salvation and holiness. Sola Scriptura is not a denial of other authorities governing Christian life and devotion. Rather, it simply demands that all other authorities are subordinate to, and are to be corrected by the written word of God. Sola Scriptura was a foundational doctrinal principle of the Protestant Reformation movement, held by the Reformers and is a formal principle of Protestantism today.

Now, what many “Shepherds” feeding the flock has too often forgotten is that the key themes of Sola Scriptura are: the Bible, salvation and Christian devotion. There is nothing contradictory to God, when a pastor or Shepard therefore, uses a business model, health principles, Statistical analysis, Anthropological pedagogies, Agricultural principles, Political science principles and Sociology; the knowledge of public health, nursing science, the principles of medicine, engineering or aviation principle to help their congregants understand better, how they are able to live their best life now.

While the world in which the Bible and Sola Scriptura were written have changed significantly, it is our task as pastors or Shepherds, teachers and mentors to contextualize the message of Jesus; adapt to every inspiration we have acquired skills to use to advance the work of God and maximize our redemptive capital. At best, the Holy Spirit, the best teacher has abilities to direct us to new things or higher understanding that ushers us to newer power and fresher anointing to lead and teach our congregants, since the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is linear, and did not end with the last apostle or at the last verse in the book of revelation. This is why I have always advocated that pastors and motivational teachers should come from diverse disciplines, educational or occupational backgrounds and not just by receiving a ministry degree or seminary training.

In the Christian Scriptures, according to the gospel of (John 14:12) just before Jesus ascended to heaven he empowered his follows and reminded them that they can do better things than they have done in the past. The 14
th
chapter of (John 14:12 NLT) recounts Jesus saying that: “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” In (1 Corinthians 13:9), Apostle Paul exposed us to understand that the inspiration, revelation, and workings or the Holy Ghost is continuous. He warned us about the finality of inspiration by saying that: “Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture” (1 Corinthians 13:9 NLT).

The Word Still Speaks

We must watch out the things that now define our environment and bring those things in our teachings to the subjectivity and captivity of the word of God. The word of God does not begin in Genesis and end in Revelation. God has spoken before Genesis and continues to speak to us through the abilities and power of His Spirit who teaches us all things and give us the ability to think successfully. The Christian Scriptures recorded one of Jesus’ last admonitions to his disciples while Jesus prepares to leave for heaven. John the beloved confirmed that Jesus promised this to all who believes: But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he (the Holy Spirit) will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you (John 14:26 NLT).

Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible stated that He (the Holy Spirit) shall teach you all things—(in John 14:26 teaching you all things meant that) If in the things which I (Jesus) have already spoken to you, there appear to you any obscurity, the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, Counselor, and Instructor, will take away all your doubts, free you from all embarrassment, and give you a perfect understanding in all things: and this Spirit you shall shortly receive. Wesley’s Notes about John 14:26 states thus: In my name—(i.e. in Jesus’ honor) for my own sake, in my room, and as my agent, he (the Holy Spirit) will teach you all things—necessary for you to know. Here is a clear promise to the apostles, and their successors in the faith, that the Holy Ghost will teach them (continuously) all that truth which is needful for their salvation. In my understanding, there are ten primary salvific assignments that Jesus gave to those who will mentor his followers so that they can do better in life. These salvific assignments centered on the following:

•
Investigation & Evangelization
—this means to find the people (Matthew 28:19-20, Psalm 126:6), and teach them to become winners and victorious in Christ and in their everyday life.

•
Exhortation
—this means to help discover and develop the people’ talents, motivate, inspire, and equip the mind of the believers to think big, dream big and win big (Ephesians 4:11-12).

•
Identification
—this means to hold the people responsible and accountable; to give them specific tasks and assignments, lead them to become born again; baptize them both in the water (immersion baptism) and by the Holy Ghost and persuade them to identify themselves and their values in Jesus Christ by loving their neighbor and treating everyone as you will have them treat you. For this will enable people and communities to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (John 3:1-18; Acts 2:41; Colossians 3:1-11; Matt 22:36-40; Matt 7:12).

•
Information
—this means to build the knowledge base of people which will give them the abilities to develop their minds and be successful (Romans 10:17; Philippians 4:8). It means to provide the people with the skills, strategies and trade they need to live their best everyday life.

•
Sanctification and Transformation
—this means purification—holiness, a total cleansing on the inside. The 12
th
chapter of (Romans 12:2, NLT) states: Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you (renew your mind) into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. This is a gradual process. It means that if you must do better than you are doing right now, you need to allow the spirit of God to “fill” the inner you by emptying every inner trash that entangles and prevents the Holy Ghost to come in and help you think, live, and become successful (Ephesians 5:17; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

•
Utilization and Conservation
—this means selfless service, to embrace the Barnabas service model because you are saved to serve. To use the people who are now doing better than they have done in the past as an encourager, mentors, and motivators and service men and women to others (Acts 11:24; Acts 4:34-37; Hebrew 3:13).