“And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. And Gideon said unto him,O my lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites” (Judges 6:12-13).
There are many questions begging for answers when we ponder on what our fathers have told us. Like Gideon of old, we have heard from the records as written in the Bible, how the heroes/ heroine of faith through the power of Holy Spirit did so many wonders in their days. We heard of how God parted the Red Sea and made Israel to walk on dry land, the miracles that brought water from the rock, the manna that rained from heaven and all the signs and wonders that happened through the prophets of old beginning from Moses, Samuel, Elijah and Elisha among others.
In the same vein, we heard about the new covenant brought by our Lord Jesus, which was extraordinary, through the fullness of His Spirit. We were told, how the early disciples were wonders to their world, through the power of His Spirit. Mighty revival, which brought repentance, conversion of souls and the display of the manifold power of God in deliverance, healing, and miracles were daily occurrences.
Some contemporaries, who we have tagged God’s Generals have not leave less of the fullness of His Spirit. We were told how Charles G. Finney’s appearance, caused 200 souls to weep without any sermon, he rode on a horse through a city and people went down on their knees crying for salvation. John G. Lake was a man with the tongue of fire; he healed the sick so much so that he was arrested for practising medicine without license. St. Patrick of Ireland used his signature to raise a corpse that had been buried for six months and cursed snake in Ireland and till date there is no snake in Ireland.
Francis Assisi of Italy carried God to the point he understood the singing of birds. Also, top on the lists is John Wesley, who when he was driven away from the city, while preaching, went to his father’s grave and used it as pulpit and seven hundred people came to listen to him. The young Finney Dake, who got converted at age seventeen, recited the whole New Testament off heart and through the power of the Spirit wrote annotated Dakes Bible. The likes of Jonathan Edward, Wigglesworth, Kenneth Haggins, D.L Moody, Billy Graham, Ayo Babalola, Benson Idahosa, R. A George etc. have made their prints in the sands of time.
Still living among us is what our fathers in this Mission as led by our General Overseer Pastor (Dr.) E. O.Abina told us. We heard about their passion for souls, and the value placed on the word at the inception of the church. The move of the Holy Spirit with signs and wonders following, the demonstration of the love of God among the brethren, which made them to have all things in common without anybody lacking, as obtained in the early Church.
We have been told about the godly virtues and the fear of God that permeated the Church, which made them to worship God in Spirit and truth. Our fathers who pioneered this work of God as we are told, were not school people, hence, had no might or power to rely on, but they leaned only on His Spirit.
Meanwhile in our days, which is the era of materialism, our pursuits are more for ephemeral things, and we are running after the acquisition of higher degrees in different fields of profession. Thus, this human knowledge only helps us to amplify the Scripture rather than preach it the old way. Hardly do we see sinners turning to God because of the fear of hell, but they are attracted to the Church because of prosperity and social connection.
No reasons to weep any more when the message of repentance hits us, because our affections are no longer on things above. We depend more on our might and power to accomplish the purpose for which we are created. And like Gideon said, it appears that the Lord has forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the enemies that are now thorns in the flesh of the Church of God.
Of a truth, we are in a similar time such as when the returnees from exile were laying the foundation of the Temple. The elderly ones who once saw the glory of the former temple wept with a loud voice, while the younger ones shouted aloud for joy, it was indeed, a mixed noise in the community. However, despite the challenges facing this generation as stated above, there is good news for us that our hope is not lost, ‘the good old days’, which our fathers have told us about was great and memorable.
God has good new days for us too, our spiritual and physical victories are not behind us, and rather, they are still out there waiting for us. The glory of the latter house is to surpass the former, and all the prophetic agendas of the end time, which will usher in the last revival is anchored on “it shall come to pass”. These are the days of His power and the Lord is already pouring out His Spirit upon His sons and daughters.
Beloved, just like the angel told Gideon; “…thou mighty man of valour…” we also were born with might and power. There lies in you, inner strength and ability to carry out one activity or the other.
However, as humans, we would not be able to accomplish so much for God if we depend solely on our might and power. It is against this background, we are gazing up with a willing heart for the impartation of His Spirit. Zerubbabel had all the might and power in his custody, yet the construction of the temple was brought to a halt by those who claimed to be mightier and more powerful.
Not until the Spirit of God, which is the breath of God, hovered like He did in the beginning of creation, before the work commences. Therefore, for us to fulfil our purpose and accomplish our divine assignment on earth, we need His Spirit for impartation, empowerment and anointing into a deeper realm of the supernatural, which is to last for eternity.