YOU ARE ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED
Dearly Beloved, welcome to the month of April, the month wherein we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; Jesus a gift with a lift, Jesus our redeemer, Jesus our healer, Jesus our deliverer, Jesus our resurrection and life. Oh thank God for Jesus! I’m filled with great expectations for this month and even this quarter, because our God is able. Beloved, the resurrection of Jesus is why Christianity exists; therefore, you can depend on Jesus to resurrect whatever dead things might be present in your life. This month you will testify, whatever that long-standing issue is that seems to be proving difficult to bow, must bow this month in the name of Jesus.
This Sunday, I come to remind you that in-spite of the pressures you may be going through; you are still God’s beloved. God loves you in-spite of what may be coming against you. God is not indifferent about you. Look at what the Apostle Paul wrote in his epistle to the Ephesians:
EPHESIANS 1: 1-5 {KJV}
‘’Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.’’
First and foremost, one key to enjoying your Christian experience in-spite of the contradictions and shakings all around is never to lose sight of the fact that you are a child of God. You are not going to be a child of God, you are already. As a child of God, understand that you are entitled to the vast resources of Heaven. As a child of God, you have a portion in the land. Settle it in your heart that as long as your Heavenly Father has no lack in Heaven, you also will not suffer lack on the Earth. Don’t let the devil deceive you into thinking you don’t count. You do count. You may not qualify by human standards, but rejoice in the fact that God has qualified you. You have been accepted in the beloved in-spite of your shortcomings and there is nothing the devil can do about it.
Secondly, you need to understand that you are already blessed because God says so. You have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. If God says you are blessed, then it follows that everything that concerns you is also blessed. It doesn’t matter what you are going through in your marriage right now, if God says it is a blessed union, then that settles it. You must therefore learn to agree with God that everything that concerns you is blessed. In like manner, settle it in your heart that your finances, health, promotion and family are blessed.
Beloved, another revelation of being accepted in the beloved you must have is that you pre-existed this world. That means you were chosen before the foundation of the world was laid and you are without blame. Men may say you don’t qualify, but God already chose you before the foundation of the earth was laid and there is nothing anyone can do about it. You were chosen in Him, and so if Christ is strong, rich, holy, healthy, then you are that also. If you are His beloved according to the scriptures, then you are His favourite, the apple of His eye and His pet. That means He respects you, dots over you and is concerned about you. Because He loves you, He is favourably disposed towards you. He is ready to fight for you when you are backed up in a corner.
I therefore come to challenge you this morning to receive what God has done for you in Christ. Beloved, in Christ you don’t do but receive. You must learn to rest on the finished work of Christ. That is the beginning of obtaining your miracle. When you believe right, your miracle has no choice than to gravitate towards you. I declare to you by the authority of the word of God that this year, you will not see shame neither will you be dismayed. You can’t serve God and see embarrassment. This year, I prophesy that you will not struggle with your finances because God will cause you to have more than enough. You will be Above Only in every area of your life in Jesus’ name, Amen,
As you go into this week, as always, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. As a father in the house, I bless you.
Maranatha!
In His Royal Service
Dr Mike Okonkwo
The Presiding Bishop
