YOUR VOICE IN PATMOS- IS IT DOING ENOUGH TO SELL THE BRAND OF CHRIST? By: Oaitse J. Bolotsang Thursday, 06th November 2014, 14:30pm Today’s message is inspired by the life of one of the very loyal disciples of Jesus who lived so long to see the work or the brand of Jesus ministry seeping through the generations-John. It was the same disciple who was sentenced to imprisonment at the island of Patmos for having been preaching Jesus Christ (Revelations 1:9). The Roman government did not want anything to do with Christians for they viewed them to be troublesome and causing havoc within their empires. So they had to find a way of destroying or banishing them completely from their empires. When you look at the nature of the island where John was sent, together with other criminals-it was that place where no life could make it. Plants, animals or any creeping creature could not live in that area- this would mean that there was total bareness in that island. A bunch of criminals, who were sent as John, died because they could not make it, but John held on to life. He survived no matter the mishaps he faced. A glimpse at the real meaning and character of the person in this precept reveals that the name John is derived from a Greek name “Ioannes” and Hebrew name “Yochanan” all meaning Yahweh is gracious. This convinces us in our belief that God’s grace was upon John- he was highly favored by God more so that he is the same John whom Jesus met by the sea shore together with his brother James invited them to follow him, the invitation that they took heed of. In other words John carried the brand of Jesus after having been His disciple and experiencing all that happened to Jesus. He was the true person to give life changing testimonies about Jesus to the nations. There are few fundamentals that are interesting here about John’s ministry. They are his (1) obsession to serve, (2) Resilience to serve no matter the challenges, (3) His stamina to sell the Jesus brand to the nations. Throughout all the persecutions leveled against Christians and himself, John displayed all of these aspects. John chose to stand on His calling without fear, no matter the persecutions. He continued receiving God’s message unto His people no matter how barren was the condition the enemy of God threw Him in. He stood up and made His voice heard that indeed the banishment was not a deterrent to the power of God’s ministry. He went on to compile the revelations God gave to him while in that state of hardships that we find today in the Book of Revelations. Indeed his was an extra ordinary combination of obsession, resilience and stamina. He made His voice heard both by the enemy and Christians- surely he did enough to sell the brand of Christ to the nations and even to convicting some of the enemies with his compilations. As Servants and people of God with the knowledge of God and Jesus- we have as well the brand of Christ to share to the nation. But we do find ourselves thrown to various Patmoses where we are crawling and struggling to stand up and walk upright; the barren lands, crowd, platforms, times and relationships in our lives by the enemy of peace. When we fall on the way, the enemy blows a trumpet to announce in mockery our fall, and even despising our very true and living God as fictional. They are those times we feel like not continuing anymore on our service as Christians, on our service as children of God because we feel we have been disappointed; we have been betrayed to believe in void salvation. What about if you allow me to tell you this? John knew very well the scripture that says “when you go through the fire I will be with you”- at that time John was going through fire, but he did not choose to lay bye on his ministry, he did not say “now I am here and where are you God?” No because he knew in his heart that it was for a purpose- a purpose to shout louder on the top of his voice so that the nations, the enemy might get to know that indeed our God exist and He is the omnipresent God, He is the omnipotent God; the purpose to shout out loud and sell the brand of Christ redemption and perfection. Apostle Paul tells us that for him to live is Christ and to die is gain. A lesson we get from this words is that Paul could only make it in the living through Christ who strengthens him (Philippians 4:13), so his life was characterized by the grace the Lord placed upon him, without which he would not live. The same was the case with John in Patmos. He was not limited by the banishment the enemy exposed him to. We are the today’s Johns in our various banishment, in those various Patmoses. The question is can our voices sell the brand of Christ well? Can our voices make the enemy understand the nature of the God we serve? Can the enemy get to understand the true Jesus we are preaching and serving? You might be appearing squeezed, torn apart, devastated, ridiculed, victimized so badly, nothing working out for you but is that enough to silence your voice in that Patmos? I believe no, I say NEVER! Never will I keep quiet for Zion’s sake neither will I keep quiet for God’s people. My voice in Patmos shall be heard louder and clear- Your voice in that Patmos must be heard louder and clear- selling the brand of Jesus Christ- the banner that flies across this earth. Daniel when he was thrown in to the den of lions he did not allow himself to lose anything because he knew his redeemer lived that is why when the King came to the den of lions in the morning shouting “Daniel servant of God has your God whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?” Daniel replied “my God has sent angels to shut the mouths of lions that they have not hurt me” (Daniel 6-19-22). It shall be so even with you when the enemy delivers you to all the hardships, you shall rise up your voice in the midst of those mishaps and proclaim the goodness of the Lord, you shall raise your voice and proclaim the Jesus brand to the nations. Be encouraged Servant of God, be encouraged child of God in that Patmos you are held in to let the voice be audible enough to the nations, for it is your voice that carries the power of the Lord that breaks the straw of a camel. We got to display the three fundamentals that John The Revelator lived up to on his situation- because we are operating under a peculiar grace, a strange anointing and covering of perseverance. Rise Saints’ rise; let your voice not be silenced by the hardships the enemy throws you into. Prayer Declaration Heavenly Father I present your servants and your people, Oh God in all Patmoses that they have been thrown into, I speak your grace upon them Lord, I speak the strengthening of their hearts into serving you Master. I declare renewal of their strengths in You Lord, I declare renewal of their resilience no matter the nature of their Patmoses, and I declare survivorship in their hardships Oh God. I declare upon their lives that for the sake of Zion they shall never keep quiet, for the sake of your kingdom they shall never be worn out no matter the hardships they encounter. I declare the fire of the Holy Ghost upon their bones, the fire of the Holy Ghost upon their hearts, the fire of the Holy Ghost upon their mouths- to breathe Your word with the consuming fire Lord. I declare and decree that their Patmoses are not a limitation for their survival; I declare and decree that their Patmoses are not an issue of worry upon their ministries in the Mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 12:35:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015