The Gifts Versus The Word

Apostle Grace Lubega

1 Corinthians 14:12 Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual [gifts,] [let it be] for the edification of the church [that] you seek to excel.

The Kingdom of God does not function only by gifts.

It is good to have the gifts of the Spirit. However, for excellence to show forth, these gifts must be reconciled with the knowledge of God within you.

This means that you can only minister and function fully by the gifts of the Spirit to the extent of how much of the Word of God is in you.

Proverbs 18:16(NIV) says, “A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.” Gifts give you access to certain people and places of influence.

However, it’s only the wisdom in the Word of God that will keep you relevant among the great!

An account is given of a one Jew, Apollos who was gifted in public speech: whose eloquence in scriptures opened for him a door in the Jewish synagogues.

However; when Priscilla and Aquila heard his teaching, they took him with them, and expounded to him the way of God more definitely and more accurately. (Acts 18:24-27).

Apollos thus went on to stay relevant and of great impact to the church thereafter.

This also applies to the worshipper gifted with a beautiful voice; but only the Word of God in his or her spirit keeps his or her music relevant throughout the ages.

This applies to the Pastor whose gift may draw numbers to his church, however, only the Word of God keeps those same people coming back ten years down the road.

The Word of God is the only guarantee that your impact will last for generations. Purpose to study and give yourself wholly to it in this understanding.

FURTHER STUDY: Acts 18:24-28, 1Corinthians 14:12

GOLDEN NUGGET:

It is good to have the gifts of the Spirit. However, for excellence to show forth, these gifts must be reconciled with the knowledge of God within you.

PRAYER: My heavenly Father, I thank you for today. Thank you for your Word made flesh which now dwells in me. Thank you for the doors of ministry and the many other doors, that are opened for my sake. The wisdom in your Word works in me to sustain me in these places and it creates even more opportunities in my favour. By this truth, I move from glory to glory, from increase to increase, from multiplication to multiplication. To the Glory of your name. Amen.

To Submit Your Gospel

Apostle Grace Lubega

Galatians 2:2(KJV); And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.

The gospel has principles under which it is preached.

One of these principles is that if a minister of the gospel should have precision in the things of the Spirit, he must have certain men that he relates with.

Take the example of the apostle Paul. Our theme scripture reveals that he submitted his gospel to men of reputation because he understood that failure to do so, he would run in vain.

These men of reputation were the apostles of the Lamb such as Peter and John.

These were men who had walked with the Christ and had an understanding of the price of the gospel.

Yes, Paul was deeply anointed. God had revealed to him countless mysteries in the gospel, but it was important for him to submit his gospel to these men at Jerusalem whom the Bible calls men of reputation.

This reputation is not merely a reputation before men but a reputation in the spiritual world.

These men of reputation were not necessarily men with the full revelation of the Christ but were men that held deep authority in the spiritual realm.

Powers, principalities and dominations knew these men. Territories in the spirit knew these men.

Beloved saint, certain men introduce you into a certain glory and realm. To such men, give the honour and respect that is due to them.

FURTHER STUDY: Galatians 2:9, Acts 15:2

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Certain men introduce you into a certain glory and realm. To such men, give the honour and respect that is due to them.

PRAYER: Loving Father, I thank you for this instruction in the pattern of the gospel. I thank you for the truths that you reveal to me every day. Thank you for the abundant grace of revelation and insight into your great counsel and mysteries. Even as I walk in the spirit of revealed truth, I live as a minister whose gospel and ministry is submitted to men of reputation. In this understanding, you cause me to reap where I have not sowed and to thrive in other men’s labours. To the glory of your name. Amen.

The Wisdom Of The Cross

Apostle Grace Lubega

1 Corinthians 2:8; Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

There is a very deep wisdom behind Christ’s death on the cross. It is this wisdom that the princes of this world did not know when they chose to put him to death by crucifixion.

Our theme scripture does not mean that if the princes of this world had known that wisdom, they would not have killed Christ. Rather, it means that if they had known this wisdom, they would not have killed him ON A CROSS.

If they had known the wisdom of the cross, they would have poisoned Him, stoned Him to death, burnt Him or killed Him through some other grievous way but they would not have killed Him on a cross.

It means that there is a wisdom and a revelation in that cross.

What then is the wisdom of the cross?

In Deuteronomy 21:23, the Bible reveals that he that hangs on a tree is cursed by God. It was a curse for a man to be hanged on a tree.

In the grand scheme of the redemption of mankind, Christ decided to identify Himself with this curse so He could free us from THE CURSE of the law.

Galatians 3:13 says; Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.

This was divine wisdom at work!

He destroyed the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. Now, as a believer, you live curse free, whether from ‘generational curses’ or ‘family curses.’

The wisdom of the cross has made you free. Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: Deuteronomy 21:23, Galatians 3:13

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Christ destroyed the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. Now, as a believer, you live curse free, whether from ‘generational curses’ or ‘family curses.’ This is the wisdom of the cross.

PRAYER: My loving father, I thank you for the cross! Thank you for the great sacrifice at Calvary, the greatest moment in human history. By the cross, I was redeemed from the curse of the law and walk in freedom every day. Thank you for removing the cause for any curse to stand by becoming a curse for my sake. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Wisdom Of God

Apostle Grace Lubega

1 Corinthians 2:6-7; Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory

It is an infallible truth by God that the wisdom of this world comes to nothing eventually. It means that it has a limit to what it can do.

Take for example education; it is an example of the wisdom of this world but it has a limit to it.

What is its limit?

One of its limitations is the fact that it prepares a man to live in this physical world that we see.

However, it does not prepare you to live in the world within you, that which God has placed in your heart.

That is why, at the end of it, one’s qualifications are reduced to a “curriculum vitae”, whose latin etymology is “course of my life.”

When a person is before an interview panel with this CV, they are in essence saying, “this is the course of my life” thus far.

But what about your eternal course? What are the defining milestones that let you know that you are on course?

Only the wisdom of God can prepare you for the world within you; the eternal world.

Education is a very good thing. It is important to study hard and excel in one’s academic exams.

But, if you can invest countless hours reading for an exam, you ought to invest more in the wisdom that has no end.

You are an eternal being, which is why you ought to invest in eternity. Praise the Lord!

FURTHER STUDY: Ecclesiastes 3:11, 1 Corinthians 1:30

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Only the wisdom of God can prepare you for the world within you; the eternal world. You are an eternal being, which is why you ought to invest in eternity.

PRAYER: Loving father, I thank you for this Word. I stand in the great assurance that you have placed eternity in my heart. There are worlds within me and every day, I choose to live from the inside out. I study the Word diligently because I know and understand that I am an eternal being. Your Word dwells richly in me. In this wisdom, I run my course and race perfectly, to the glory of your name. Amen.

The Wisdom Of The Church

Apostle Grace Lubega

Matthew 13:11(KJV); He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

The Church of Christ has the divine instinct to discern the wisdom of God.

It is our great privilege to know what and how God thinks.

There are those that distance themselves from this reality by claiming Isaiah 55:9, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

In the New Testament dispensation, He says, “For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.” (1 Corinthians 2:16 AMP).

This is why our theme scripture reveals to us that it is given to us to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God.

God is not a mystery to you; He has revealed Himself to the Church.

You know His plans and thoughts; you know His ideas and counsels. You know! Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: 1 Corinthians 2:16 AMP, Ephesians 3:10

GOLDEN NUGGET:

The Church of Christ has the divine instinct to discern the wisdom of God. It is our great privilege to know what and how God thinks.

PRAYER: My lovely God, I am most grateful for this knowledge. What a great privilege to hold your very thoughts. I am perfectly aligned to divine counsel because I have the mind of Christ. I execute divine purpose on the earth because I walk in this understanding every day, to the glory of your name. Amen.

The Wisdom In Rebuke

Apostle Grace Lubega

2 Timothy 3:16(KJV); All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness

It is wisdom to take rebuke.

The Word of God was not given to us by God to only encourage and excite us; it is also profitable for reproof. The Amplified Version of our theme scripture says, it is ‘profitable for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience…’

Some Christians want to merely be ‘smeared with Vaseline’ after they ‘fall in the dust.’ They can walk away from the ministry and the gospel simply because they were chastised.

That is immaturity!

Sometimes the voice of counsel might appear harsh but it is what will save you from some of the biggest mistakes in life.

Proverbs 15:10 says that correction is grievous unto him that forsakes the way: and he that hates reproof shall die.

There are Christians that have died because they ignored the voice of counsel!

No chastisement is joyous for the moment, but how can there be a crushing of the olive for oil without pain?

If you find that you resist rebuke from the Word of God or by your spiritual authority, it is not because of how hard the Word is but how hard you are.

Learn to heed to the voice of counsel even in rebuke because by this wisdom you grow in the things of the Spirit Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: Proverbs 3:11-13, Hebrews 12:5-8

GOLDEN NUGGET:
If you find that you resist rebuke from the Word of God or by your spiritual authority, it is not because of how hard the Word is but how hard you are. Learn to heed to the voice of counsel even in rebuke because by this wisdom you grow in the things of the Spirit.

PRAYER: Loving father, I thank you for this Word for today. I heed to this great wisdom and by it I grow. I know that if we despise chastisement then we are bastards and not sons. I am a son and I humble myself to the words of counsel, both from the scriptures and from my spiritual authorities to your glory. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Scales On the Eyes Of Victory

Apostle Grace Lubega

2 Samuel 11:1(KJV) And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.

There is a Christian brother who used to pray unceasingly before he got a job; when God blessed him with a prestigious position in a Fortune 500 company, prayer lost its place of relevance in his life.

There is a beloved sister who served God with all her heart, whether it rained or the sun beat down upon her bare head, but when she got married, God was shoved into a small corner of lesser priorities.

These were victories somewhat but they placed scales on the eyes of these blessed saints.

Such was David’s error in our theme scripture.

David had just recently defeated the Syrians (2 Samuel 10). He was the very contented victor who had the luxury of time on his hands. So what did he do?

The Bible says, he stayed back in the times when kings go to war. After all, what was the need, when he had just trumped the Syrians?

It was while he languished in the false comfort of his short victory that he sighted Bathsheba on a roof top. This started a series of events that left a dent in his testimony; he killed a man for his wife and lost a child to divine judgment.

As a believer in Christ, never let victory divert you from the course of purpose. Never ever allow it to place you in the wrong place at the wrong time.

If it is time to pray, pray, whether you have a job or not. Let your work colleagues and business partners understand, in no uncertain terms that you do not compromise when it comes to prayer because you knew God long before you got the job.

If it is serving God, do so, whether you are married or not. Let the man or woman understand that you and God are an inseparable duo because you were serving Him long before you got married.

Our victories should never be the reason why we abandon the course of truth because true victory in Christ is defined by us being aligned to the perfect will of God concerning our lives.

FURTHER STUDY: 1 Corinthians 15:57, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

GOLDEN NUGGET: True victory in Christ is defined by us being aligned to the perfect will of God concerning our lives.

PRAYER: My loving Father, what a great and wonderful truth to know that I have perpetual victory in you. You have surely blessed me and every day, I stand persuaded pertaining to the things that accompany salvation. These victories are all but tools of the gospel and by them, I can only attract more to your grace and truth. My eyes are set on you Lord and not the things that follow me because I believed. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Written For Our Learning

Apostle Grace Lubega

Romans 15:4(KJV); For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

The scriptures are full of experiences of men and women that walked with God; they defied odds, performed wonders and awed their generations.

However, not everything that is written of them is for your experience.

Indeed, you may learn, that is, draw the rightful lessons from them, but you do not necessarily have to experience everything they experienced.

Take the very common example of Paul the apostle’s life. He speaks of how a messenger from satan, a thorn in the flesh, was sent to buffet him, to check his inclination towards pride because of the abundance of the revelations that he had received from God (2 Corinthians 12:7).

The irony is how often this experience of the man of God is used by some to justify pain and affliction in the flesh. A Christian suffering with a chronic illness may call it his thorn in the flesh, the messenger sent to buffet him.

Another may call his physical disability his thorn in the flesh.

But here is a question, have you received the abundance of revelation that Paul has received? Have you been to the third heaven and heard words that a man is forbidden to utter? (2 Corinthians 12:4)

What Paul went through was not for your experience but for your learning.

The greatest lesson we draw therefrom is that the more we know God, the humbler we must become.

You don’t need a messenger to buffet your flesh as you launch deeper into the experiences of God, you only need to break and humble yourself before the Almighty God as He unveils the secrets of His heart to you.

FURTHER STUDY: omans 4:23-24,1 Corinthians 10:11

GOLDEN NUGGET:

You don’t need a messenger to buffet your flesh as you launch deeper into the experiences of God, you only need to break and humble yourself before the Almighty God as He unveils the secrets of His heart to you.

PRAYER: Father, thank you for your precious word. In it are the patterns for living, a manual with which to live my life. I learn what I must learn and walk in the experiences that you have ordained for me. I am humbled before you God, even as you take me deeper in your truth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The School Of Christ Vs The School Of Law

Apostle Grace Lubega

Matthew 23:23(KJV); Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Our Lord and Master once vehemently rebuked the religious leaders of His day for omitting the WEIGHTIER issues of the law, judgment, mercy and faith.

When He used the language ‘WEIGHTIER’, it meant that there was more to the picture than the zealots of His day strived to observe.

There has been a polarisation in the very body of Christ along the sharp lines of the proponents of the grace and those of the law.

But all this has been because some have ignored the ultimate truth that there are indeed WEIGHTIER issues in the law.

Sadly, the spirit of religion [which Christ undoubtedly was dealing with at the time] can never allow you to have the fullness of this revelation.

For example, it is a weightier issue that the law was not made for the righteous (1 Timothy 1:9). It is a weightier issue that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes (Romans 10:4).

It is of tremendous spiritual weight that the law was only a school master that led us to Christ (Galatians 3:24).

Those under this school master are not mature in the things of the spirit. Like the scripture strongly puts it, they are but ‘babes, unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness.’ (Hebrews 5:13).

But Christ is the FULLNESS, COMPLETENESS and BENCHMARK OF MATURITY. Christ was and is a ‘Hious’, that is a mature one, never in need of a school master. It is in Him that we grow up into all things (Ephesians 4:15).

We are not in a ‘school of law.’ We graduated to the school of Christ.

When you have a full and true understanding of the law, you will have a full understanding of Christ.

FURTHER STUDY: Galatians 3:24, 1 Timothy 1:9, John 5:46-47

GOLDEN NUGGET:
We are not in a ‘school of law.’ We graduated to the school of Christ. When you have a full and true understanding of the law, you will have a full understanding of Christ.

PRAYER: My loving father, I thank you for the great depths of truth in which you launch me every day. I thank you for the clarity of revelation in my spirit. The eyes of my understanding are flooded with light to see the fullness of the weightier issues of the law. I know and understand Christ in His fullest revelation and grow up into Him in all things. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

To Conceive The Word

Apostle Grace Lubega

Hebrews 11:11(KJV); Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

In the scriptures, the Bible reveals that Sarah was barren (Genesis 11:30).

But what was Sarah’s true barrenness? Our theme scripture says that through faith she received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of a child.

Therefore, what Sarah lacked was the strength(power)to conceive seed.

In Luke 8:11, the Christ relays the ultimate mystery that the SEED IS THE WORD.

Think about this beyond the mere fact of physical barrenness. In the mind of the Spirit and through the lenses of revelation, we understand that Sarah did not have the power to believe the Word of God.

She clocked the great age of ninety years childless because she had not received the faith to believe for a child.

So in correcting this great anomaly, God did not merely give Sarah a child, He gave her the power to conceive the Word [Seed] and this same power delivered her a Child.

Sarah’s experience shines insight in the lives of many Christians searching for answers yet lacking the power to conceive seed.

Yours might not be the fruitless search for a child. It might be endless job hunting, a dying marriage or a failing ministry.

Beloved saint, your problem is not your need, it is not that child you are believing God for, that job you have been seeking for the last few years or that business deal you are pursuing. Your problem is the need to believe that with God, all things are possible.

Only believe.

FURTHER STUDY: Matthew 19:26, John 6:63

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Your problem is not your need; it is not that child you are believing God for, that job you have been seeking for the last few years or that business deal you are pursuing. Your problem is the need to believe that with God, all things are possible.

PRAYER: Father, I thank you for your Word. It framed the earth, gave life to all that I see and created the worlds. I believe it with all my heart, in its limitlessness, its ability, its strength, its power to do the impossible and its inherent work in me. With the Word, I always win. In Jesus’ name. Amen

To Lift Up The Christ

Apostle Grace Lubega

John 12:32(KJV); And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

The greatest mandate of ministers of the gospel is to lift up Christ. We don’t lift up our ministries, we don’t lift up our gifts and callings, we don’t lift up our names, we lift Christ. Only Christ!

What is the mystery behind lifting up the Christ?

Our theme scripture uses the language, “If I be lifted up from the earth…”

The first Adam was made and formed from the earth. The Bible says of him that he was of the earth, earthy (1 Corinthians 15:47).

To lift up Christ is to never place Him on the same level of men because He is God. It is He that shed His blood for humanity; it was not any minister of the gospel. It is the flawless blood of divinity that purchased eternal salvation and saved men to the uttermost.

Every time you minister, you must leave the ultimate impression in the spirits of men that it was Christ that spoke to their hearts and not just yourself; that it was not your gift and your oratory skills that were exalted but it was Christ that was exalted.

That is to lift Him up and as you do, He will draw many to Himself

FURTHER STUDY: 1 Corinthians 15:47, 2 Corinthians 5:16

GOLDEN NUGGET: 

To lift up Christ is to never place Him on the same level of men because He is God. It is He that shed his blood for humanity; it was not any minister of the gospel. It is the flawless blood of divinity that purchased eternal salvation and saved men to the uttermost.

PRAYER: My great Lord, I thank you for this knowledge. Lord I see you as you really are, in your majesty, glory and splendour. You are the anointed and exalted one of God. This revelation consumes my spirit. When I minister, I only seek to lift you up my Lord. And by this, you draw many to yourself. To the glory of your name. Amen.