We come into the knowledge of faith by divine revelation. As Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:3, “Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” No doubt, revelation is about becoming aware of something previously unknown. The name ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ must be revealed to you through revelation. Revelation brings conviction, and conviction brings real movement. By real movement, we mean power steps—steps of intent and purpose.
You can’t separate Christianity from power. Just because I tell you that studying the Bible is good for you doesn’t mean that I can get you to believe that studying the Bible is actually good for you. You must receive that revelation in order to believe. The challenge we have now is that we are too conditioned to believe that what we read about in the Bible was only for the people in the Bible. When you remember your weaknesses and faults, you begin to think that the plea, “Son of David, have mercy on me,” was meant only for Blind Bartimaeus. We are too conditioned to believe that what God said could happen to others cannot happen to us. That is the conditioning we are talking about. We look at our weaknesses and think, “It can happen to Abraham or Blind Bartimaeus, but because of my sin, it is not going to happen to me.” Actually, it can happen to you too, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Success or greatness is not about your weaknesses, faults, or the pitfalls you face; it is about what Jesus did for you on the Cross. If your sin has been forgiven, what follows is Jesus making you fit for God. You are a work of art. If you want to be God’s person, then you must follow His process. This is why Jesus is trying to build character in you now so that when you get to the place of your destiny, you will not crack, explode, and lose it all. Nothing good happens without discipline. If you are not following the process, you can still retrace your steps and put things right.
God wants you to prosper. He does not want you to succeed financially while your children become victims of drugs and bad gangs. Your children are part of your blessing. There is no shortcut. Life is a marathon, not a sprint; however, many people want to take so-called shortcuts. Many want to get married because of their age, yet they cannot even manage a pet at home. Jesus was able to manage His affairs; that is why we are here today. Jesus does not want any one of us to end our days saying, “I could have been this; I would have been that.”
People of God, it is not too late; you can still turn your children back to God. Nothing happens without discipline. If you are blessed without being disciplined, you will likely lose it; it will crash at the time you need it most. Whenever you are disciplined, what follows is always good. God is trying to build character now. Character is the oil in the lamp. If there is no oil in the lamp, it will go out—your business, your glory. The oil in the lamp is character; the light is the proceeds. Money, fame, and popularity—these are the proceeds. But the oil in the lamp is character. When the oil runs dry, the proceeds will soon dry up too. So, people of God, keep the oil burning in your life; be more concerned about God’s character than the proceeds.
Prayer: O Holy Spirit, continue to reveal Yourself in all that concerns me! Continue to build Your holy character in me, in Jesus Christ’s name! Amen.