The Power in You (A Personal Testimony) — Part Four.

Made from the Same Stock:

What comes to mind when you think of the prophets? Do you think of them as some supermen or women? Do you see them as some special breed, specially handcrafted by God (as against every other person coming off the mass production line)? I don’t know what your view is, but the bible tells us, they are no different from you and me. The first part of James 5:17 reads, 

“Elijah was as completely human as we are.” (TLB)

No other place in scripture shows the humanness of Elijah as this story, of him running from Jezebel. He had the same challenges and tendencies as we all do. What differentiated him, like any other champion, include, the decisions he made, that is to say, his willpower. "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will." (Vince Lombardi)

Isn't it rather funny, when we see a lot of lost souls trying to differentiate themselves from the laity? They call themselves by various funny names and wear various attires, all trying to show a superhuman status. Fools, they don't realize how pitiable they look. Ignoramuses kicking against the goads. Guess what the Lord has to say about them. Revelations 2:15 reads,

"Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate."

Masquerades:

The word Nicolaitans is taken from two Greek words, "Nikaō,' meaning ‘conquering the people,’ and "Laos," meaning ‘to conquer.’ The doctrine of the Nicolaitans was one of clerical hierarchy superimposed upon the laity and robbing them of spiritual freedom. These people had no clue who Elijah was. They see themselves better. Their senses have been corrupted. Such are the ones spoken of in Matthew 7:21-23,

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

Be careful not to model your life after these lost souls. They are not on the way to heaven. Why do you suppose Jesus needed to be identified by Judas Iscariot. Would that have been needed if he masqueraded himself, or carried himself in such a way as to separate himself from his disciples? Not sure where today's masquerades got their wisdom from. Surely not from heaven.

Through the Eyes of Cain:

You do realize Cain was in a similar emotional disposition, like Elijah, after God rejected his sacrifice. [Genesis 4:1-16] That was a failure in his life. He felt dejected. He felt rejected. Unlike Elijah, he did not recover. He allowed his emotion to run riot until they were out of his control, and he committed the unthinkable. He killed his brother.

The funny thing is, God came to him, warned him against the path he was toeing, and how to get off the toe way. [Genesis 4:6-7] Cain did not heed God's counsel. He allowed the little leaven to leaven the whole lump, and produce after its kind. Like Cain, God always comes to each of us on the day of our visitation. He seeks to get us off the highway to hell.

God seeks to keep us on the "strait and narrow" way to heaven, and all it entails for us, both in this life, and that which is to come. The challenge is, he cannot force us. We have free agency. He gave us free will. He will not take it back. He admonishes, but the choice is ours to make. The continually cries out to us, "choose life." The choice is ours.

© 2015 Akin Akinbodunse

Links to Related Articles:

The Power in You (A Personal Testimony) — Part Three.

The Power in You (A Personal Testimony) — Part Five.

Links to Other Resources:

Rebirth (Julianna Olayode)
Saving Ourselves from Suicide (Linda Pacha)