One of the good things about God is His counsel, which will always stand. Jesus counseled the church at Ephesus to:
‘Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent’
Revelation 2:5
It was a simple obligation or requirement which they needed to fulfill in order to supplement or balance the good they were already doing. It was an instruction they had to obey to add to what they were doing already. It was an order issued or commanded by the commander of all commanders.
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This instruction was meant to be received by the church without addition or subtraction. But today, many ministers are modifying the gospel to suit their purposes and sound pleasing to their members. For this reason, God has removed the candlesticks of many ministries without their knowledge. It can be likened to what happened to Samson after the Spirit of the LORD had departed from him.
When genuine repentance is no longer being exhibited in any church, such a church is dead and cold before God, no matter the amount of noise they make. A ministry without a true and sincere testimony of repentance by sinners is worthless before God. Christ told the Ephesians to remember where they were and repent of their lack of love.
Many churches are filled with florescence or shining bulbs when, in actuality, darkness has taken over them. The Word of God is very explicit and if we continuously refuse to listen to God, then we can be sure that He will not listen to us in the time of our calamity.
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God’s promise to every believer who obeys this command is restoration, spiritual awakening, understanding, and renewal of relationship. The ultimate goal of warning us is to bring us back into fellowship with Him so that He can release His blessings in exchange for our obedience. For those who wish to ignore this command, charge, and order, they can be sure God will not help them in their time of need.
‘Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you’
Proverbs 1:23-27
God is omnipotent and omnipresent, but He will not manifest in the absence of your obedience. Instead, he will laugh at your calamity and mock you in times of your destruction, desolation, distress, and anguish. Many people have become discouraged, confused, disillusioned, and disappointed that, in the midst of surplus prayers and deliverance ministries, things are still not getting better. Despite the abundance of Christian activities in the country, prayers are not answered.
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Many deliverance ministers ordained to deliver others are not obeying God’s command. Likewise, deliverance candidates seeking deliverance are not obeying God’s command. Many prophets, prophetesses, intercessors, and church leaders are not obeying God’s command.
This is why when people call upon God in their calamity, fear, desolation, destruction, distress, and suffering, the answers refuse to come. They hear God’s counsel every now and then, but they do not heed it. Instead, they prefer all-night prayers and continuous deliverance programs.
It is foolishness to disobey God’s command, set His counsel at naught, ignore all of his report, despise his knowledge, refuse to be afraid of His word, and then turn around to pray for forty nights or live in the church seeking for His deliverance. When you choose to do things your own way, why worry about God or force Him to deliver you when you are filled with your own devices?
If you chose the prosperity of a fool, then you must be ready to reap the destruction attached to it. Therefore, if you want deliverance and answers to your prayers, you must obey God’s command, charge, and orders.