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Dr. Joseph O'Femi Adeosun

My research on the Holy Spirit led me to conclude that HE (The Holy Spirit) is the easiest but most expensive gift of God. Yet it is cheapest on the condition that if you can wait upon the Lord for it you will just get it; it is your operations that will be expensive. The people who cannot pay the price by "waiting" will always find it a very hard gift to receive. "Oh, it';s not so easy," they always say. I mentioned before that people often have problem with the waiting time.

"And, being assembled together with them, [Jesus] commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard from me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they, therefore, were come together, they asked of him, 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 1:4-8).

The apostles had to wait upon the Lord for that very promise. What happened? Did Jesus let them down? No, because HE had never been and will never be in that class.

"And when the day of Pentecost [the day that the Lord Himself had marked for the fulfillment of the promise, which He would never disclose to anybody, whether directly or indirectly involved] was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place [in prayer, of course. No price is too high for a worthy course.] Moreover, suddenly [without information or announcement] there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, [what an embarrassment? Yes! It had to be so, because, when the Lord blesses you, he embarrasses you with the blessings. Hallelujah!] and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

"And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as a fire; and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. [Now we can know one of the reasons why it had to be that day and time. Waiting upon the Lord will make God's program for our lives to work perfectly. But, when we fail to wait, we destroy the testimony ourselves.]

"Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. [His own language! That is why Jesus said, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the entire world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matt. 24:14).]

"And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? [Amazing, Hallelujah!] Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others, mocking, said, These men are full of new wine" (Acts 2:1-13).

Note that the people who do not know the secret of your power will surely call you names.

Greater Prophets

"But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way" (I Cor. 12:31). I had put many Bible scholars to task on this verse to show me the "best gifts" or the "more excellent way" of these divine blessings, so that I could earnestly covet them, but none of those persons met my need like the Holy Spirit did one glorious day.

Besides the prominence given to the prophets in the Old Testament days, it became glorious in the New Testament time that every divinely-given ministry or commission has its birth-root in the spirit of a prophet.

Today, by the special grace of God, I have the key to a five-fold ministry (Eph. 4:11). I was commissioned in a vision with three of the Gifts in 1980, while the other two sprang up in the process of time some years later. Meanwhile, I am also into the areas of Helps and Governments (administration) with a profound gratitude to the Holy Spirit, Who has always been my guide in operation.

The Holy Ghost

The key to being alive and active.

"Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high" (Lk. 24:46-49).

In all my various overseas trips, especially those to America and Europe (to God be the Glory!), I noticed that many believers who claimed to be active Christians while in their home countries are today alive only in shameful acts. It is even worse in Europe. But, why? Because, if they can be compromised by the devil or his agents, the Holy Spirit cannot condone, and there comes a conflict which can lead to a serious separation. It will therefore affect all the necessary spheres of their Christian lives. How?

"For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire" (II Pet. 2:20-22).

Prayer And Fasting

I love this subject to my very marrow because it is something that can be secretly activated while the actor remains in the closet, and it is the manifestation that does the promotion or publicity work. Show me a prayerful Christian and I will show you a strong Christian worker or minister. In fact, strong and undefeatable. "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that HE is, and that HE is a rewarder of them that diligently seek HIM" (Heb. 11:6). Prayer is seeking the face of God. But when one does it diligently, it means to be careful and persevering in carrying out duties. People whose lives are no longer controlled by the Holy Spirit are bound to be in a confused state of life, i.e., body, soul and spirit all are confused.

Whenever I am counseling people and notice that they are disorganized somehow, be it matrimonially, financially or socially, I first examine their control center or tower, if it is Holy Ghost filled. A Christian can be persecuted and things look scattered for him/her (Mk. 10:29-30). If he/she does not lose hold on the Holy Spirit as control center, all the things that fell apart will either be replaced or brought together.

"Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore, say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And, whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: But on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" (Matt. 21:42-44).

To live a successful and undiluted Prayer & Fasting life in a compromising society, one needs to live a totally Holy Spirit-filled life. (See Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 5:18.)

Let us face the facts; I do not know how one will survive this end time syndrome without living a totally Holy Spirit-filled life, because HE is the only invisible and undefeatable combatant. Hallelujah! Any uncompromising Christian that visits or lives in any of the advanced countries (as they are called) will agree with me that the End-time Syndrome is on the rampage. Every information through the media, whether print, radio, television, or even billboards, suggests sex, while smoking of various kinds and high degrees of immoral acts have become a way of life. To some people, it is a civilization package, but I call it the End-time Syndrome (ET Syndrome). It is more prevalent in Europe than in the United States of America. In Europe today, going to church is only for the people who have problems, for old people and for foreigners.

Churches are not meant for the youths or young adults, and these are the people who have corrupted themselves with heavy drinking, smoking, and serious eyesore immoral attitudes. They got into the bondage right from the elementary school. Disco/Rap music is their choice.

Disobedient life: many people live in disobedience to the word of God (both nationals and foreigners) at times; the foreigners are worse, including those who claim to have been good Christians in their home countries. Little wonder, then, why the spirit of disobedience to parents (II Tim. 3:1-6) is going strong daily. Children who were brought from third world countries (so they say) get acclimatized as soon as they landed in the "civilized" society and at times grow worse than the nationals. On several occasions, I have wept in my prayer closet concerning the situation.

Have the audacity to query God if my children are rebellious to me while I am faithful to God the supreme Father. "God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, that thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged" (Rom. 3:4). We just need to check our lives. Some of us are not loyal and honest to our God and His words. They reference the same way that I reference the supreme Father, and that means I am not a terror to them. NO, God is not a terror to me. HE makes me to feel welcome any day and any time. Hallelujah!

At a secular course which I attended in Europe, our lecturer one day directed to me a question which a fellow student from Asia asked her: "Why did Jesus have to die like that?" The student had asked the lecturer during a coffee break, but the teacher felt that I would be a better person to answer the question. I asked her why she could not, since she also bears a Christian name. "Joseph, don't blame me; my parents didn't teach me," she responded. I bled in my heart, because that is the true picture of many parents and children in Europe. Most of the churches that could assist are dead to the Holy Spirit but alive to various forms of religiosity, which cannot help the people's spiritual growth.

Having attended to the student as requested, I then asked the lady professor if she would give her life to Jesus Christ. She said, "Yes, but I need to ask my boyfriend." O Lord, please have mercy on your creatures. The response of this educated lady quickly reminded me of our experience with the village women in my home country whenever we went for evangelism. These women would listen to our preaching very attentively, but in response they would say, "Well, we heard you, but we have to pass the message to our husbands when they return, before we can decide." Of course, the case of the village women is understood because they are illiterates. But, what shall we say to the lady professor with all her education, degrees upon degrees, when there is no guarantee that the boyfriend will make a happy married life with her? What a misplacement of priority!

If we can prioritize rightly, our headaches will be minimal and in no time disappear. "...But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:32-33). "All" means everything, whether husband, wife, money, fame; it is inclusive of all that God wants for you.

Fellowship

In continuation on the topic of the importance of the Holy Ghost to man, I have been drawing the point that if anything is to be done to the glory of God, the Holy Ghost has to be the originator and at the control center; otherwise, everything done without him will go haywire. He is an embodiment of God's glory. AMEN.

"Jesus answered, and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter" (Jn. 13:7). There have been various schools of thought on the dramatic show of footwashing, which occurred on the last night of the Lord's life on earth (Jn. 13:1-20). Apostle Peter had earlier objected to Jesus' act of footwashing. Little did Peter know that the Lord was injecting the spirit of fellowship into their lives. And because he did not catch the vision right, "... Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? ... Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me" (Jn. 13:6, 8).

When Jesus comes back, will HE find this spirit of fellowship in our lives or in our congregations (Lk. 18:8)? Then what is our faith, faith without works? Mark you, Apostle James also knew the purpose of the footwashing for "hereafter" and was not addressing non-Christians when he wrote, "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food [not spiritual needs this time], And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding, ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" (Jam. 2:14-17).

In all my years of overseas mission experience, the people that God had used to meet my material needs most are not my tongue-speaking brethren. "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and will show thee my faith by my works" (Jam. 2:18).

I know of some brethren who can put all the angels in heaven to work when they begin to pray, but in the area of care for the brethren they are nil, and more so if the person in need is not from their own church ministry or denomination. Oh, their "antennas" will begin to knock the ceiling the moment you ask them to help or assist such a fellow. Fellowship, by my own understanding, is, getting every fellow on board the ship. Now, tell me if they ever asked the Holy Spirit to give them the in-depth knowledge of the footwashing. This is important! The Bible says, "He [Jesus] riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded" (Jn. 13:4-5).

I pray that God will through His Spirit open our eyes to the significance of the footwashing and not allow us to become entangled in its religiosity. No wonder the true love no longer exists in our churches, ministries and fellowships today, in spite of all our beautiful programs which are just full of festivities. Lord have mercy!

Beloved, it is time for us to do away with ego-religion-centric attitudes which have beclouded or blurred our vision for God's kingdom. Jesus said it is then that His joy will be in us, ours will be full, and we will be His friends (Jn. 15:11-14). Oh! What a great privilege! Jesus Himself demonstrated it with the act of footwashing. "He riseth from supper, and laid aside His garments.... after that He poureth..." (Jn. 13:4-5).

"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham, our father, justified by works, when he had offered Isaac, his son, upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the friend of God" (Jam. 2:19-23).

Faith minus works is equal to (=) imperfect faith. Period.

"Ye see, then, how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab, the harlot, justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (Jam. 2:24-26)

From the foregoing, we can note that there is a dividing line between religiosity and fellowship. Fellowship is community, Holy Spirit-controlled community, of course.

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