Lessons In Virtue: To Build A Nation

Apostle Grace Lubega

Genesis 25:23(KJV); And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people, and the elder shall serve the younger.

Every woman who understands her mandate on the earth is capable of great accomplishments.

In our theme scripture, God tells Rebekah that in her womb were two nations; He did not define them as children or sons; He called them nations.

When these were still in the man, they were a seed but when they got into the womb of the woman, they became a nation.

Every woman must understand that what comes out of you can become a nation. This is the innate ability that God has placed inside you.

The day you conceive, understand that what is inside you is more than a child; that is a nation.

This applies to more than just biological children. It also is for the children that are brought under your care. Consider every child that comes under your care as a nation.

What is a nation? It is more than geographical boundaries as demarcated by men.

It is the foundation of a people’s belief system; it is the basis of their culture; it is their worldview; it is their aspirations to greatness.

Nations are firstly built in wombs. This is more than a physical womb, there are also spiritual wombs that God has created for the birth of nations.

This is a high calling for you as a woman of God.

May you start to look at parenting from this light and understanding.

FURTHER STUDY: Isaiah 66:8, Psalm 2:8

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Nations are built in wombs. More than physical, there are spiritual wombs also, and they are ordained by purpose and covenant. These are for the chastisement of the chosen to align to their destiny.

PRAYER: Loving Father, I thank you for this Word. I thank you for the great mandate upon my life. I choose to live and believe like a nation builder. Every day, in all the things that I do, I am laying firm building blocks. Generations to come will testify of your work through me and of the children I raised. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

To Manifest Things

Apostle Grace Lubega

Hebrews 11:3(KJV); Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

It is an infallible truth that everything that we see physically was first made spiritually. It is the things that we do not see with our physical eyes that define the things that we see in this material world.

The laws of manifestation have their foundation on this understanding.

The making of things is a spiritual and not a physical process. You make in the spirit and then assemble in the physical realm. What happens in the physical realm is merely the assembling of these things.

Until you understand this child of God, you will try in vain to assemble in the physical realm what was never made in the spiritual realm.

A man who tries to build a business and fails will fail because he is assembling what he has not already made in the spirit.

A man who wants to have the next groundbreaking innovation will fail if he tries to do in the physical realm what he did not first create in the spiritual realm.

Creation is a spiritual process. Formation is physical. This is why in Genesis 1:26, God creates. This was in the spiritual realm. In Genesis 2:7 He forms.

Many frustrated entities and institutions that are written off by history before they see the light of day are formations of things that were not firstly created.

Our theme scripture has shown us the how of creation. The Bible says that it is through faith that we understand that the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Your eyes of faith must be clear enough to behold the things that you desire in the spirit.

The confession of your lips must be steadfast in speaking forth the substance of your vision.
And your actions must be patterned in the manner of one who acts because he has truly seen.

Work hard like a man who has seen; pray and fast like a man who has seen; give like a man who has seen; take risks like a man who has seen.

FURTHER STUDY: 2 Corinthians 5:7, Psalm 48:12-13

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Your eyes of faith must be clear enough to behold the things that you desire in the spirit. The confession of your lips must be steadfast in speaking forth the substance of your vision. And your actions must be patterned in the manner of one who acts because he has truly seen. Work hard like a man who has seen; pray and fast like a man who has seen; give like a man who has seen; take risks like a man who has seen.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank you for this wisdom. I understand the laws of creation and of manifestation. My vision is sharpened, my faith is strengthened. I touch, taste and see the things which my spirit has seen. From this day, I make things appear; great ideas and innovations are coming out of me; great institutions are coming out of me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Abrahamic Blessing

Apostle Grace Lubega

Genesis 12:1-3(KJV); Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

The end of the Abrahamic blessing is to become a great nation.

It is not merely to have a good house and a good job. It is more than having a big business in a country. It is more than driving a nice car and having a wonderful marriage. It is a great nation.

Isaiah 60:22 says, ‘A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.’ By the standards of God, an individual can become a strong nation.

God wants to birth nations out of you.

Nations are not born merely out of years of military struggle and decades of democratization.

In Isaiah 66:8, He asks, ‘Shall a nation be born in one day? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children’

By the standard of the Spirit, It is possible for a nation to be born in a single day.

Nations are born when men start to activate the Abrahamic covenant. They are born when men rebuild foundations on the testimony of the Word of God and pay the price of faith to see the establishment of His kingdom on earth.

God wants to work in you so greatly that nations shall call you father or mother.

He wants to bless you mightily that your identity cannot be separated from the identity of a nation.

Start to think of the Abrahamic blessing as more than what can bring you material wealth. Start to think about it as the cornerstone of nation-building.

Glory to God!

FURTHER STUDY: Isaiah 60:22, Isaiah 66:8

GOLDEN NUGGET:

The end of the Abrahamic blessing is to become a great nation.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank you for your great and precious promises. Thank you because they are yes and amen. Thank you because they have been sealed by an oath and they are irreversible. I claim and live in them every day. My thinking is enlarged to look at them through the eyes of heaven, for the building of nations and for the establishment of your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Mastery Of Money

Apostle Grace Lubega

Matthew 6:24(KJV); No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Money is in the class of gods.

This is what Christ reveals when He says that you cannot serve God and money.

History has proved the verity of this statement.

Over the centuries, money has commanded the respect and worship of countless people. Some have killed for it, others have died for it. Some have sacrificed relationships for it, some have made unimaginable compromises for it.

Time has proved that money is a master to the men of this world.

But this is not the story of the child of God. You must have mastery over money.

Having mastery over money is the wisdom to know that money is your slave.

Your attitude towards money should not be a slave mentality. The slave mentality is that of the Christian who will do anything for money even if it compromises the principles and patterns that have been set by God through His Word.

The slave mentality is giving money priority over the things of God. It is neglecting the presence of God in the pursuit of wealth. It is allowing money to dictate your decisions, your responses, your aspirations, your hopes and your dreams.

When you learn to truly serve God, you master money. God must be first in all that you do, whether it is a business deal or a career.

If anything brings money at the cost of what God has dictated in His Word, it is never worth it child of God.

Live life with the attitude that money was made to serve you. It works for you and responds to you instead of you responding to it.

Exercise your spirit to detach from the control of money because when you do, money will start to serve you.

God’s name be praised.

FURTHER STUDY: 1 John 2:15-16, 1 Timothy 6:10

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Having mastery over money is the wisdom to know that money is your slave.

PRAYER: Father, I am grateful for this wisdom. I receive it with humility and walk in its understanding. I can never be under the control of money because I have understood what it means to serve God. My Lord, you are my priority in all things. I will never walk the path of compromise in the pursuit of material things because I have mastery over money. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Wealth Covenant

Apostle Grace Lubega

Deuteronomy 8:18(KJV); But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

Wealth is a covenant issue.

In our theme scripture, the Bible reveals that God gives us the power to get wealth that He may establish His covenant which He swore unto our forefathers.

God made a covenant with Abraham that He would prosper him and increase him and his seed greatly.

You are the seed of Abraham and an heir to all the promises that the Lord made to him (Galatians 3:29).

Deal and respond to wealth as a covenant.

This means that you live in the understanding that God is bound by His Word to make you wealthy. In fact, when He could swear by no other, the Bible says that He swore by Himself.

He staked His very name on your prosperity and increase.

This covenant is irreversible. God’s faithfulness can never waver because His fulfilment of His promise has nothing to do with you but everything to do with what He promised your father Abraham.

God has never changed and will never change His mind about making you extremely wealthy.

You must make the choice to believe this.

As a child of the wealth covenant, you must pattern your life in the reality that wealth is your inheritance by God.

You must speak as one under the covenant of wealth and never allow confessions of lack past your lips.

You must act as one whose wealth is guaranteed by God because He sealed this promise with an oath!

Glory to God!

FURTHER STUDY: Galatians 3:29, Hebrews 6:13-14

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Wealth is a covenant issue. You must act as one whose wealth is guaranteed by God because He sealed this promise with an oath!

PRAYER: Loving Father, I thank you for this Word. I thank you because you have blessed and increased me greatly. I thank you that each day of my life, I see the fulfillment of your promises because I have understood the wealth covenant. I know that lack is far from me and shall never be a part of my story. I am wealthy not just financially but in wisdom, in knowledge and in understanding. I am a blessing to the nations, to the glory of your name, Amen.

Fighting With Knowledge

Apostle Grace Lubega

2 Corinthians 10:4-5(KJV); (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

Our theme scripture exposes the faulty strategy of the enemy when he comes against the children of God.

The Bible reveals that strongholds, imaginations and high things seek to exalt themselves against the knowledge of God.

It means that the devil’s primary line of attack is against the knowledge that you have of God.

If you understand this faulty strategy, how then do you win?

Our part as Christians is to increase in the knowledge of God. The enemy can only defeat you in what you do not know about God.

When Paul discovered this, he declared, ‘…we are not ignorant of his devices…’(2 Corinthians 2:11).

The enemy keeps a Christian under poverty based on their limited knowledge of God on their finances.

The enemy keeps a Christian under disease based on her limited knowledge of God on divine health.

The devil keeps a Christian under demonic oppression based on his limited knowledge of the total deliverance that Christ bought for us at Calvary when He led captivity captive.

If you are struggling in any area of your life, purpose to study, meditate and grow in the knowledge of God concerning that area.

By the Word, you will always win.

Glory to God!

FURTHER STUDY: 2 Corinthians 2:11, Proverbs 22:12

GOLDEN NUGGET:

The enemy can only defeat you in what you do not know about God. Our part as Christians is to increase in the knowledge of God.

PRAYER: Loving Father, I am thankful for this Word. I have an unction from on high and I know all things. I know how to deal with any issue in my life because you have equipped me with knowledge. I know how to change my finances, I know how to fix my health, I know how to deal with my career, I know how to deal with my children. I know! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Things That Make Ministers: Spiritual Appointments

Apostle Grace Lubega

1 Timothy 3:1-6(KJV); This is a true saying, if a man desires the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach…Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he falls into the condemnation of the devil.

The Bible gives clear guidelines on the appointment of individuals to spiritual offices.

Giving generous donations to the church is not what qualifies one to be appointed to a spiritual office.

Getting actively involved in service is not a necessary benchmark because some people are very busy serving yet Paul calls them ‘busybodies.’

Neither should anyone be appointed to a spiritual office in order to retain and keep them within a ministry.

The Bible lays a standard and one of those standards is that the individual should not be a novice, lest being lifted up with pride, he falls into the condemnation of the devil.

I have seen novices appointed to spiritual offices only to be weighed by those very offices and found wanting.

Many have ‘limped off the altar’ and some have abandoned the presence of God because the crowns they were accorded were too heavy for them. 

Some have been appointed through church politics, favouritism games and some by sheer manipulation.

You owe accountability to God concerning the men and women you place on the altar to minister to the people of God. You are accountable to God for the lives they save or the ones they may destroy.

Every man that has been truly raised by God is humble in spirit. The Bible says that He exalts the humble (1 Peter 5:6).

As a minister of the gospel, you must be able to discern pride in a man because if you appoint any such one to a spiritual office, by that same pride, they will destroy themselves and in turn destroy many.

As a church, we must take spiritual appointments with the seriousness they deserve because, in the end, they are about the lives of the people God has trusted us with.

FURTHER STUDY: 1 Peter 5:6, Titus 1:6-8

GOLDEN NUGGET:
You owe accountability to God concerning the men and women you place on the altar to minister to the people of God. You are accountable to God for the lives they save or the ones they may destroy.

PRAYER: Loving Father, I thank you for this instruction. I receive it with humility and walk in its understanding. Your Word has made a minister out of me and as such, I know that heaven requires much from me. Because I know that I am a minister, I choose to humble myself before you in all things, to heed to your teachings, promptings and convictions. By this wisdom, I change those you have given me responsibility for. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Report Of The Elders

Apostle Grace Lubega

Hebrews 11:1-2(KJV); Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report.

Elders in the scriptures are not those who are mature by age or have been around the church for a long time. They are those that have matured in faith.

For this reason, the Bible reveals that it is by faith that they obtained a good report.

Spiritual growth is not tagged to how long you have been saved. It is defined by your walk of faith in the God you believed.

How do we grow in grace? It starts with faith.

How do we grow in the miraculous and demonstration of power? It begins with faith.

How do you increase in the anointing and increase the anointing over your life? You must first believe it.

How do you grow in knowledge, wisdom and understanding? You must first believe.

Even in the imitations of those that have gone ahead of us, the Bible tells us that we must imitate their faith.

It is not the miracles that we imitate, it is not the teaching style that we imitate, it is their faith that we imitate.

You can never grow and mature in the things of the spirit above your level of faith.

It is faith that gives you access into the graces of the realm of God.

Do you want to grow in God? Start by making the choice to believe.

FURTHER STUDY: Romans 5:2, Romans 4:16

GOLDEN NUGGET:
You can never grow and mature in the things of the spirit above your level of faith. It is faith that gives you access into the graces of the realm of God.

PRAYER: Loving Father, I thank you for this Word. Your Word says that whosoever comes to you must know that you are, and are a rewarder of those that diligently seek you. I believe you with all my heart and walk the path of faith in every area of my life. By faith, I have access to knowledge, to power and glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Architects Of The Church

1 Corinthians 3:10(KJV); According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

Christ is building His church and He has entrusted us with that responsibility as co-labourers.

Paul laid the foundation and with it, a caution that every man (not some men), take heed how they build.

WE ARE ALL ARCHITECTS.

Each and every one of us is contributing to raising the edifice of the church and we must be careful how we build.

You are not merely a church attendant, you are an architect.

You are more than the person who cleans the chairs, you are an architect.

You are not just the one who preaches on the streets, you are an architect.

You are not just the one who mops, who follows up on new converts, who visits prisons, you are an architect!

How do you prophecy as an architect? How do you evangelise as an architect? How do you pastor as an architect? How do you teach as an architect?

In Ephesians 4:11-12, when God speaks of the fivefold ministry, He says that it is ‘For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…’ The Greek Word for edifying is oikodome which is translated to mean building.

Whatsoever you do for the gospel, have the mind of one who is building, one adding an extra block to the structure.

FURTHER STUDY: Ephesians 4:11-12, Matthew 16:18

GOLDEN NUGGET:

We are all architects of the Church of Christ.

PRAYER: Loving Father, I thank you for this Word. Thank you for the great responsibility of building the Church. You have made me an able minister of the New Testament and equipped me with all the tools that I need to build. The wisdom to build is mine, the understanding that establishes is mine and the knowledge that brings increase is mine. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Life Without Reproach

Apostle Grace Lubega

Joshua 5:9(KJV); And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.

Gilgal was not in the Promised Land, it was in the wilderness.

However, something significant happened at Gilgal. At Gilgal, the children of Israel were circumcised by Joshua and when he did so, the Bible says that the Lord rolled away from them the reproach of Egypt.

There are Christians who are in the wilderness and have the reproach of Egypt.

There are Christians who are in the Promised Land and still bear the reproach of Egypt. There are Christians who are in the wilderness without the reproach of Egypt and there are Christians who are in the Promised Land without the reproach of Egypt.

The difference between these kinds of Christians is whether or not they were circumcised. This circumcision is that of the heart.

When the heart is circumcised, it hears God distinctively. A circumcised heart in the wilderness is better than an uncircumcised heart in the Promised Land.

It is better to hear God through your wilderness experience than fail to hear Him when you are enjoying increase and abundance.

In the wilderness, God will separate you from anything and anyone you might depend on, you may feel abandoned, tried and tested but it is important that your heart is circumcised, that you continually hear and discern God’s voice.

What makes any wilderness experience critical to your life are the things that God will minister to your heart when you are alone, in solitude and away from the crowd.

What you hear through your wilderness experience will define you when you are launched into abundance, it is what will humble you when blessings start to follow you and will continually keep you before God when the anointing upon your life starts to attract thousands of people.

God’s name be praised.

FURTHER STUDY: Colossians 2:11, Romans 2:28-29

GOLDEN NUGGET:

In the wilderness, God will separate you from anything and anyone you might depend on, you may feel abandoned, tried and tested but it is important that your heart is circumcised, that you continually hear and discern God’s voice.

PRAYER: Father, I thank you for this Word. Thank you for the experiences that you continually take me through. Thank you for those moments of separation. My heart has been circumcised by the Spirit and you deal with me on matters of eternity. I hear you with distinction and clarity. These words are the echoes and signposts on the path of my destiny, pointing me to the end that you have designed for me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Of Mantles

Apostle Grace Lubega

1 Kings 19:19(KJV); So he departed thence and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing with twelve yokes of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.

Mantles are grown into.
Elisha did not receive the anointing, glory and responsibility that came with the mantle simply because Elijah cast it upon him.

Scripture reveals that he served Elijah to the letter. He followed him even when he was denied because he knew the price of what he wanted to receive.

What about David? He was anointed by Samuel to take the place of King Saul. But it was not obvious, that because he had received therefore he had acquired the office. David served Saul.

The Bible reveals that even when Saul sought to kill him, David behaved like a son toward Saul, he honoured the office and the anointing.

There are also people on the other side of this pendulum.

Take the example of Gehazi. He was meant to carry the mantle of Elisha but because of indifference to the things of the Spirit and to the mandate on Elisha’s life, he failed to grow into it.

When hands are laid upon you and words are spoken over your life, it is a confirmation of the designs that eternity and heaven have upon your life but it is not the guarantee that you will walk and live in the full manifestation of God’s blueprint for your life.

You can never grow into what you do not submit to. You can never attract what you do not honour.

FURTHER STUDY: 1 Samuel 16, 2 Kings 5

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Mantles are grown into. You can never grow into what you do not submit to. You can never attract what you do not honour.

PRAYER:  Father, I thank you for this priceless wisdom. I receive it with humility because by it I grow. I know what you have placed upon my life and understand what was cast upon me. I look to those who you have set before me with honour and reverence and learn from them as patterns. In understanding, I imitate their faith, to the glory of your name, Amen.

Separation By The Sword

Apostle Grace Lubega

Luke 12:53(KJV); The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

When Christ spoke of a father divided against the son, a son against a father, a mother against a daughter and a daughter against the mother, He was not making reference to physical fights, arguments and disagreements.

Rather, He meant separation by the sword.

The Bible speaks of the sword of His Word and says ‘For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.’(Hebrews 4:12).

When the Word sets you apart, you will start to look different from those around you: your friends, family and past acquaintances.

This separation is because it starts to differentiate your preferences from theirs. In the past, you may have loved to hang out and drink with your friends but as the Word continues its work in you, you find that you prefer solitude.

In the past, you may have loved to watch television all night long but as the Word continues to work in you, you will find that you prefer the presence of God.

This is not a separation that makes you rebellious. It is a separation that makes you more conscious of the need to number your days and apply your heart to the wisdom of God.

The separation of the sword will also separate you from fellow Christians who do not feel the way you feel about the things of God. You may be bothered by a lame man and they are not. You may have an urge to seek the face of God and they do not.

Embrace this with humility and allow God to work in you. Even if you may feel misunderstood, love must prevail through it all.

His name be praised!

FURTHER STUDY: Hebrews 4:12, Matthew 10:34-36

GOLDEN NUGGET:

The separation of the Sword makes you more conscious of the need to number your days and apply your heart to the wisdom of God.

PRAYER: Lord, I thank you for this knowledge. I know that you are at work in me because of the assignment and mandate upon my life. I choose to seek your face with all my heart because when I do, the Bible assures me that I will surely find you. I do not want to live an ordinary life Lord. I cannot be a normal man. I have purposed to see all that you have planned that I see and experience. To the glory of your name, Amen.