Easter: The Message of Liberation

Dear reader, CFVL wishes you a Happy Easter and many more years of celebration. The message of Easter is a message of redemption, liberation and pardon.

But wait a minute: What does this message of Easter really mean to us? Abraham Lincoln’s encounter with a slave girl many years ago vividly illustrates the message of Easter.

One day, Lincoln saw a plantation owner bargaining to buy a slave girl. Realizing that the man was going to abuse her after buying her, Lincoln paid the price and set girl free.

After being set free, she asked Lincoln, “Does it mean I can go wherever I want to go?” Lincoln replied: “Yes,” the girl asked again,

“Does it mean I can say whatever I want to say?” Lincoln replied: “Yes” Tears running down her face, she replied, “Then, Sir, I will go with you. I will serve you forever. ” This story illustrates the redemption work at Calvary which Jesus accomplished for humanity. We are like the slave girl whose price was paid and was set free from bondage.

Since the fall of man, we became slave to sin, sickness and satan. We practically lost all the privileges that we were entitled to. God loved us despite our fall and did not want us to remain slaves to sin, sickness and satan forever. He, therefore, designed a redemption plan to be accomplished ONCE AND FOR ALL. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). We have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. We are no more slaves, but sons. May we all celebrate our redemption with great appreciation to Him who purchased and freed us with His precious blood!

Totality of the Redemption

The message of Easter is a message of liberation, freedom, liberty and redemption. Easter represents TOTAL redemption. “IN WHOM WE HAVE REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, ACCORDING TO THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE” (Eph. 1:7).

Claim the Redemption

We cannot enjoy Jesus’ redemption until we ACCEPT AND BELIEVE HIM. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).

Eternal salvation is the ultimate goal of our redemption and because the price has already being paid by Jesus, we are not required to pay any price. We are, however, required to BELIEVE that Jesus died for our sins. “He that believeth on the son has life: and he that believeth not the son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on Him” (John 3:36).

Go and Sin No more

The purpose of the redemption is deliverance from sin, sickness and satan. When we are delivered, we are no longer required to continue living in sin anymore, because “Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.”  THE ONLY THING THAT CAN MAKE OUR REDEMPTION NULL AND VOID IS SIN.

Easter can only be meaningful to us when we realize that we are no longer slaves to sin, sickness and satan. We have been redeemed ONCE AND FOR ALL and so, we should pursue HOLINESS and run away from sins.

Easter is a message of victory – victory over sin, sickness and satan. Jesus’ victory over death at Calvary is our victory. If you believe in Jesus’ redemption work at Calvary, you will be victorious as you put your trust in Him.

Happy Easter!

            

How to Grow Where You Are Planted (2)

Welcome to part 2 of this article. Let me begin by asking you a question: how long are you willing to remain planted on your chosen soil? Your answer to this question determines the extent of your growth or retardation.

Perennial plants like the oaks, the irokos, the mahoganies, the cocoas, the palm trees, etc are planted for the long haul. You need to realize that to achieve great success in life, you must be in for the long haul.

One reason many businesses remain very little or die off is not really because there are no prospects in such businesses. There are prospects of course. After all, there are people making lots of fortune from the businesses. I think one reason for business failure is our inability to focus on the long haul.

Many people are after what they can do to succeed overnight. If they can’t find instant success in a particular field, they would uproot themselves and seek another field to plant themselves and grow into maturity overnight.

The keep on uprooting themselves and planting themselves and in the end, they never plant themselves long enough to take root and grow.

Like the tree, when you keep uprooting yourself from one soil to another, you deprive yourself of the opportunity to grow. The length of time the roots remain in the soil matters because until the roots spread and become firmly established, no growth can actually take place and it takes time for the roots to spread and be firmly established on the soil.

TO ACHIEVE LONG LASTING SUCCESS, YOU MUST PLANT YOURSELF FOR THE LONG HAUL. People who focus on the short term or who want instant success cannot go far in life. This is because if things don’t work out as fast as they expect, they would be discouraged. They would start questioning themselves whether they have actually planted themselves on the soil that is suitable for them. In the end, they would uproot themselves from the suitable soil and start looking for soil that would earn them instant success.

There is nothing like instant success. TRUE SUCCESS IS NOT INSTANT. TRUE SUCCESS TAKES LONGER TIME THAN YOU EXPECT. For this reason, you must stop focusing on the short term (instant success) and prepare your mind for the long haul.

Most successful farmers are farmers who focus on the long haul. Such farmers go for crops that they can plant once, which will continue to deliver value even long after they have died. Farmers that are focused on the long haul plant such perennial crops as cocoa, palm tree, coffee, cashew, etc.

Now, this is not to say that farmers who focus on short term crops are not successful. Many short term-crops farmers are also into crop planting for the long haul. Year in year out, they are busy with their farm work and because they continue with their job, they get firmly rooted and established.

THE KEY TO LASTING SUCCESS IS HAVING A STRONG BASE. HAVING A STRONG BASE IMPLIES STAYING PLANTED IN YOUR FIELD FOR THE LONG HAUL. You have to decide how long you wish to remain relevant in your field.

Do you know that one reason many companies are successful is because they have been in business for a long time?

Under Nigerian law, every company duly incorporated is required to publish in her annual report her five year financial summary. I think this requirement is meant to put the companies in the mood that they are in business for the long haul and that they should not think of shutting down their factories.

If companies are in business for a long time, they would thrive. And if companies are thriving, the economy would thrive and government would benefit greatly by way of taxation.

Like companies, you need to realize that you are in your field of specialization for the long haul. The implication of this is that you must plan ahead. You must plan to remain in your business for five years and more. You must have a detailed plan of where you want to take your business, profession, project or trade to in the next five years.

Staying in your field for five years and more requires patience because the first few years of your starting will not be rosy. Customers/clients will not start coming yet. It takes time for them to know you and the business you do.

You also have to go round and do some constant marketing. So you see, all these take time. For these reasons, you have to give yourself five or more years to grow roots, spread roots and be firmly established. It is only then that you will begin to grow into greatness.

Until I come your way soon, go and plant yourself on your chosen soil for your growth into greatness!

NB: Part 3 of this article will come your way soon. Watch out for this article. You can’t afford to miss it! 

Stand By the Written Word

The written Word is for the benefit of us all and so if we are going to be victorious, we must rely solely on what God promises us in His Word, the Bible.

Going by the written Word, failure, defeat, poverty, sickness and ill-luck are not our portion. For this reason, we are to resist them and struggle to free ourselves from their stronghold.

It does not matter whether you are experiencing any of these vices at the moment. The truth is that God does not promise us trouble-free life. Failure, defeat, poverty, and sickness may come, but what God promises us is victory, success, prosperity, sound health and abundance.

And that is why we should never stop focusing on victory, success, prosperity, sound health and abundance. CFVL (Centre for Victorious Living) is not about living in ivory tower. CFVL is not preaching that it is strange to have problems; what it is preaching is victory over those problems.

Note that when you talk about victory, you are also talking about problems to overcome. For, if there are no problems, you don’t talk about victory over those problems at all.

And if God promises us victory, it would be unwise not to claim the promises. The important point to note here is that WE MUST NOT STAND ON WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES TELL US OR WHAT ANYONE SAYS, BUT ON WHAT GOD ‘S WORD SAYS.

This is the success secret of Jesus’ life and ministry. It is by the written Word that He overcame satan’s temptation. It is also by the written Word that He confounded the hypocritical religious leaders of his days.

Now, how can you triumph by the written Word? Below are four steps you can take to win by the written Word.

1. Read the Written Word

Make it a habit to read your Bible. If you don’t read the Bible, you can’t know God’s promises for you. You should see the Bible as spiritual food you must eat to grow stronger and fatter spiritually. Study the Bible the way you eat and you will understand God’s great promises for you.

2. Memorise the Written Word

This is very important as it will come in handy whenever satan puts doubt in your mind. Jesus understood and memorized the Scriptures. That was why He was able to cite them copiously to defeat satan and the hypocrites.

Memorizing scripture passages also helps to strengthen your faith. In his book, Prosperity – God’s Will for Your Life, miracle preacher, Andreas Huebner narrated how he asked a woman to recite certain portion of the scriptures at least 500 times before she developed faith to obtain her healing. As you study the Bible, endeavour to memorise God’s promises on success, prosperity, healing and victory.

3. Live By the Written Word

The Bible is God’s manual for mankind and victorious living is anchored on it. Instead of living our life the way we want it, we should strive to live by the instructions, commandments, precepts, principles and practices contained therein.

God’s condition for our victory in every area of our life is obedience. It is not enough to study the Bible and memorise it. We are also expected to do what the Word says. It is only then that we can make our ways prosperous (Joshua 1:7-8).

4. Overcome By the Written Word

The written Word is the Sword of the Spirit. Use the Sword   of the Spirit to overcome every battle of your life. The way to use the Sword of the Spirit is the way Jesus used it to overcome the onslaught of satan. Jesus effectively quelled every onslaught of satan by citing: “It is written…”

When satan says you will not succeed, reply him thus:

• “It is written, I am born of God, I therefore overcome the world.”

• “It is written, no weapon that is formed against me shall prosper. And every tongue that shall rise against me in judgment, I condemn.”

• “It is written, anything I lay my hands upon to do shall prosper. I am the head and not the tail.”

Dear reader, when you stand by the written word and not by what the circumstances or any person tells you, you are on the path to victorious living. Follow that path and you will be up and victorious all your life!