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Dr. Joseph O'Femi Adeosun

There is nothing as dangerous as claiming to be a Christian and having no knowledge of the Word of God. Prophet Hosea said, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). Apostle Paul said to Timothy, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Tim. 2:15). If any Christian lacks the knowledge of the Word of God, he will always find himself in the corridor of shame. I have met some Christians who were mutilating the Scripture, probably because they had been indoctrinated that way or because they themselves had not ever taken the time to study the Word.

Here we find the work of the Holy Spirit very indispensable; else, one will always swallow poison, I mean wrong stuffs, whenever the Word study is minus the Holy Spirit. The Sadducees and the Pharisees are good examples of such dangerous studies. Our Lord Jesus said to the Pharisees, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Matt. 23:23). The Pharisees were very studious but far from the Truth.

Paul was warning about the apostasy in the last days, that some men would be ever learning and never able to come to knowledge of the truth (II Tim. 3:7). Yes! Moreover, the Holy Spirit is the only teacher approved by our Lord Jesus Christ (Jn. 14:26, 16:7-13). Somebody asked me how the Holy Spirit could teach him the Bible, and I answered, "You do not read your Bible without inviting your teacher; you can only do this in prayer and make sure you walk in His obedience, because no student can receive anything from the teacher whose instructions or orders he flouts indiscriminately.

If our Lord had not known the Word, the enemy would have floored HIM. Of course, He is the Word Himself, and all the words of God are about HIM. That means we as believers are expected to know the Word of God and to live by the words of God (Matt. 4:1-10). Satan thought he could use just a portion of the God's words to defeat Jesus, but Jesus made him realize that the words had been written because of HIM, JESUS. Saints, since the words were written for our sake, why then do we fail to take the advantage? The early Christians had only the Old Testament books to read. The New Testament was still in process when most of them went to be with the Lord; yet we are too busy or too occupied to read both the Old and New Testaments, which have been conveniently put together for us. Oh! Lord, have mercy on us! Please!

Get God by His Word

I remember a time during the trial of the Apostles when they had to compel God into an unusual action. Apparently, this is a pattern for us to follow if we also expect an unusual thing to happen in our time.

"For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened them, they let them go. ...And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is; who, by the mouth of thy servant, David, hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ".

"For of a truth against thy holy child, Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings; and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child, Jesus. And, when they had prayed, the place was shaken [the unusual] where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they spake the word of God with boldness" (Acts 4:20-31).

The apostles got God by His Word and compelled Him into an unusual act. My dear friend, you can do the same thing today, but you must find time to study God's Word, the Holy Bible, so you will be well equipped with references to bring before God. He will surely honor your prayer because HE can never go against HIS word. He says, "I AM THE LORD, I CHANGE NOT;" (Mal. 3:6) and, "JESUS CHRIST, THE SAME YESTERDAY, AND TODAY, AND FOREVER" (Heb. 13:8).

The Holy Spirit

"When they, therefore, were come together, they [the Apostles] asked of him [Jesus], saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:6-8).

There are some glaring facts in these verses. Two major forces are in control on earth, the forces of darkness and the forces of Light. These two major forces each have their own strong organs. But let us focus on the major organ of the Light, which is THE HOLY SPIRIT.

In the book of Genesis, chapter one, we are made to know how prominent the darkness was on earth until the Light came and made a show of them openly. We also need to note that darkness had all the organs of its own forces in every part of the earth, but praise God for triumph by the Light. Beloved, the fact that these forces of darkness are still in existence today should be enough for us to always remember to put on the whole armor of God:

"... be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand" like a soldier (Eph. 6:10-13).

Verses 14 through 18 confirm that one must stand armed, and not loosely.

I have been attacked at various times both within and outside the church; I mean, by both the brethren and non-brethren. Just like Apostle Paul, I have been a victim of unholy church politics, but God always delivered me from these brethren. I thank the Holy Spirit, Who was always my Comforter and Teacher in all these experiences.

Vain Repetitions

"But, when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking" (Matt. 6:7). In this verse, Jesus tells us of a class of people. The people who are not controlled by the Holy Spirit cannot present a prayer influenced by the Holy Spirit, and that will amount to a sheer waste of time. Any prayer that is not guided by the Holy Spirit will lack substance, hence the repetition. In fact, Jesus calls it "vain repetitions" meaning the Holy Spirit may repeat the same prayer point but it will be for a purpose because HE is a Divine Person like the Father and the Son.

Our Lord also affirmed that the Holy Spirit will tell us the requirements of God concerning the situations of life when we talk about sin, righteousness and judgment. "And when He is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

"I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you unto all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you" (Jn. 16:8-15).

Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is also our Helper when it comes to prayer.

"Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. For we know not what we should pray for as we ought. But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Rom. 8:26-27).

How to Receive the Holy Spirit

Without any iota of doubt, you must have read in my preamble on this subject the purpose of the Holy Spirit on earth. Let me tell you further that God knew this since the time of the creation. For, the Bible says: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness" (Gen. 1:1-4).

Looking at verse 2, we see the major and active role played by the Holy Spirit; there was no way God would have worked further. In Hebrew, "Spirit" is "Ruah," which means "wind" and "breath". The Spirit prepared the ground for the light. You will understand better the role of the Spirit in creation whenever you visit a church where the Holy Spirit is not given his due prominence. The organization, the system or operation in that kind of church will be without form and void. Although they may have some forms of social, political or academic activities, I tell you the darkness will be as prominent there as in the world. You cannot see the difference between them and the worldly people because they are still "carnal" (Rom. 8:6-9). I used to know some so-called preachers who could not preach unless they had sipped some shots of wine or hot drinks. I mean, these folks would preach under the influence of a spirit, not the Holy One but a spirit of alcohol. Beware!

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