The School of the Holy Spirit 18 of 52: Part 6 – The anatomy and Secrets of the Secret Place with God – The Secret of Shutting the Door and the Noise – What makes the Host of Heaven Rejoice that we must make part of our CORE MISSION in life? + Messages Received from the Lord in the Secret Place concerning COVID – 19 and what that means for YOU and ME!
#SchoolOfTheHolySpirit #TheSecretPlace #ShutDoor #Salvation #Souls #Evangelism #COVID-19
The School of the Holy Spirit 18 of 52: Part 6 – The anatomy and Secrets of the Secret Place with God – The Secret of Shutting the Door and the Noise – What makes the Host of Heaven Rejoice that we must make part of our CORE MISSION in life? + Messages Received from the Lord in the Secret Place concerning COVID – 19 and what that means for YOU and ME!
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Date: Sunday, 29th of March 2020
Blog Link – https://www.otakada.org/school-of-the-holy-spirit-shutting-the-door
Podcast link: https://anchor.fm/otakada.org/episodes/The-School-of-the-Holy-Spirit-18-of-52-Part-6b-ecmb6h
Quotes on Salvation, Evangelism, Secret Place and COVID-19:
“When all is said and done, we must shut the door, get into the secret place with God, and discover what an abiding relationship with Christ will look like for ourselves.” “Those who walk in radical obedience have made themselves ready for the storm, and they will overcome.” – Bob
“Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you’re not saved yourself, be sure of that!”
― Charles Spurgeon
“From the Word of God I gather that damnation is all of man, from top to bottom, and salvation is all of grace, from first to last. He that perishes chooses to perish; but he that is saved is saved because God has chosen to save him. Not that our salvation should be the effect of our work, but our work should be the evidence of our salvation. Let this be to you the mark of true Gospel preaching – where Christ is everything, and the creature is nothing; where it is salvation all of grace, through the work of the Holy Spirit applying to the soul the precious blood of Jesus. ” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon
“Salvation is from our side a choice, from the divine side it is a seizing upon, an apprehending, a conquest by the Most High God. Our “accepting” and “willing” are reactions rather than actions. The right of determination must always remain with God.” ~ A.W. Tozer, Preacher
“Surely scripture is right when it makes the sin of sins that unbelief, which is at bottom nothing else than a refusal to take the cup of salvation. Surely no sharper grief can be inflicted upon the Spirit of God than when we leave His gifts neglected and unappropriated.” ~ Alexander MacLaren, Pastor
“Christians do not practically remember that while we are saved by grace, altogether by grace, so that in the matter of salvation works are altogether excluded; yet that so far as the rewards of grace are concerned, in the world to come, there is an intimate connection between the life of the Christian here and the enjoyment and the glory in the day of Christ’s appearing.” ~ George Mueller, Missionary
“Let eloquence be flung to the dogs rather than souls be lost. What we want is to win souls. They are not won by flowery speeches.” ― Charles Spurgeon
“To attempt to pay for salvation with church membership, prayers, or good deeds is an insult to Christ, who paid the full price–and is a rejection of the gift of God’s grace.” ~ Dave Hunt
“Jesus himself did not try to convert the two thieves on the cross; he waited until one of them turned to him.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison
“Radical obedience to Christ is not easy… It’s not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. And he is more than enough for us.”
― David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
““I believe that entertainment and amusements are the work of the Enemy to keep dying men from knowing they’re dying; and to keep enemies of God from remembering that they’re enemies.”
― A.W. Tozer
“Have you ever wondered what it feels like to have a love for the lost? This is a term we use as part of our Christian jargon. Many believers search their hearts in condemnation, looking for the arrival of some feeling of benevolence that will propel them into bold evangelism. It will never happen. It is impossible to love “the lost”. You can’t feel deeply for an abstraction or a concept. You would find it impossible to love deeply an unfamiliar individual portrayed in a photograph, let alone a nation or a race or something as vague as “all lost people”.
Don’t wait for a feeling or love in order to share Christ with a stranger. You already love your heavenly Father, and you know that this stranger is created by Him, but separated from Him, so take those first steps in evangelism because you love God. It is not primarily out of compassion for humanity that we share our faith or pray for the lost; it is first of all, love for God.”
― John Piper
“If you alter or obscure the Biblical portrait of God in order to attract converts, you don’t get converts to God, you get converts to an illusion. This is not evangelism, but deception.”
― John Piper
“We will come out of this storm. In the coming days, we have to stay calm and confident. And for sure, we will overcome this moment of despair. How long this will last cannot be ascertained. But the one thing that we can be sure of is that we will not be the same anymore. Hopefully, we would have changed for the better. This is the way of life This is how life teaches us its lessons.”
― Avijeet Das
“Let us brace our offended solitary mindset in spite of COVID-19 as the world’s finest hour perpetual uncertainty, let us brace our hearts as the very center of our hearts is an armored supreme excellence to be victorious by an unequivocal perseverance and hope, let us brace unconditional Love, kindness and triumph to be the masters of our own chain of destiny, let us brace unity and oneness to beckon for victorious war against fear and the inherent vice of crisis at its peril.”
― Dr. Tony Beizaee
“Corona virus is not a cult, perception or religion to discuss if it is real or not.
People who don’t believe that Corona Virus is real. Are inconveniencing and endangering the lives of others. They become the carriers of the virus and spreading it everywhere. For your own sake. Stay at HOME.”
― De philosopher DJ Kyos
“COVID-19 represents the single greatest inflection point that global society has experienced. How we manage through this pandemic and its aftermath will impact the course of humanity for decades to come.” ― Tom Golway
“I see a major paradigm shift unfolding, a semi-permanent or permanent disruption to the status quo in the pipeline for the body of Christ as we know it today for those who understand the times and the seasons – I can assure you that by the time COVID-19 dust settles, some of us, like Jonah would have been supernaturally transported from Jerusalem (Cozy fellowships) to Nineveh (Present day, no-go regions) and begin proclaiming the salvation message to nations we never contemplated before the pandemic began – Get ready!” Monday Ogwuojo Ogbe – Otakada.org
Key Verses:
Matthew 6:6 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
6 But when you pray, go into your [most] private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who is in secret; and your Father, Who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.
Matthew 7:24-27 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
24 So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them [obeying them] will be like a [a]sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock.
25 And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
26 And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a stupid (foolish) man who built his house upon the sand.
27 And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great and complete was the fall of it.
Jonah 1: 1-17 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
1 Now the word of the Lord came to [a]Jonah son of Amittai, saying,
2 Arise, go to [b]Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.
3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord [as His prophet] and went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish [the most remote of the Phoenician trading places then known]. So he paid the appointed fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord [as His servant and minister].
4 But the Lord sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a violent tempest on the sea so that the ship was about to be broken.
5 Then the mariners were afraid, and each man cried to his god; and they cast the goods that were in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.
6 So the captain came and said to him, What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call upon your God! Perhaps your God will give a thought to us so that we shall not perish.
7 And they each said to one another, Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us. So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.
8 Then they said to him, Tell us, we pray you, on whose account has this evil come upon us? What is your occupation? Where did you come from? And what is your country and nationality?
9 And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and I reverently fear and worship the Lord, the God of heaven, Who made the sea and the dry land.
10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, What is this that you have done? For the men knew that he fled from being in the presence of the Lord [as His prophet and servant], because he had told them.
11 Then they said to him, What shall we do to you, that the sea may subside and be calm for us? For the sea became more and more [violently] tempestuous.
12 And [Jonah] said to them, Take me up and cast me into the sea; so shall the sea become calm for you, for I know that it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.
13 Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship to the land, but they could not, for the sea became more and more violent against them.
14 Therefore they cried to the Lord, We beseech You, O Lord, we beseech You, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.
15 So they took up Jonah and cast him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging.
16 Then the men [reverently and worshipfully] feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
17 Now the Lord had prepared and appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Isaiah 45:22-25 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
22 Look to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
23 I have sworn by Myself, the word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness and shall not return, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear [allegiance].
24 Only in the Lord shall one say, I have righteousness (salvation and victory) and strength [to achieve]. To Him shall all come who were incensed against Him, and they shall be ashamed.
25 In the Lord shall all the offspring of Israel be justified (enjoy righteousness, salvation, and victory) and shall glory.
Acts 6:1-6 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
6 Now about this time, when the number of the disciples was greatly increasing, complaint was made by the Hellenists (the Greek-speaking Jews) against the [native] Hebrews because their widows were being overlooked and neglected in the daily ministration (distribution of relief).
2 So the Twelve [apostles] convened the multitude of the disciples and said, It is not seemly or desirable or right that we should have to give up or neglect [preaching] the Word of God in order to attend to serving at tables and superintending the distribution of food.
3 Therefore select out from among yourselves, brethren, seven men of good and attested character and repute, full of the [Holy] Spirit and wisdom, whom we may assign to look after this business and duty.
4 But we will continue to devote ourselves steadfastly to prayer and the ministry of the Word.
5 And the suggestion pleased the whole assembly, and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith (a strong and welcome belief that Jesus is the Messiah) and full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte (convert) from Antioch.
6 These they presented to the apostles, who after prayer laid their hands on them.
2 Peter 3:9 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
9 The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.
Ezekiel 33:11 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
11 Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
Luke 15:7-10 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
7 Thus, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one [[a]especially] wicked person who repents ([b]changes his mind, abhorring his errors and misdeeds, and determines to enter upon a better course of life) than over ninety-nine righteous persons who have no need of repentance.
8 Or what woman, having ten [silver] drachmas [each one equal to a day’s wages], if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and look carefully and diligently until she finds it?
9 And when she has found it, she summons her women friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the silver coin which I had lost.
10 Even so, I tell you, there is joy among and in the presence of the angels of God over one [[c]especially] wicked person who repents ([d]changes his mind for the better, heartily amending his ways, with abhorrence of his past sins).
Daniel 12:3 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)
3 And the teachers and those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness (to uprightness and right standing with God) [shall give forth light] like the stars forever and ever.
Introduction.
Dear friends, this is a continuation of our series on the school of the Holy Spirit. Today, we bring you Part 6, series 18 of 52 – The Anatomy and Secrets of the Secret Place with God – The Secret of Shutting the Door and the noise– What makes the Host of Heaven Rejoice that we must make our core mission in life? + Messages Received from the Lord in the Secret Place concerning COVID – 19 in the last 7 days and what that means for YOU and ME!
If you missed the Wednesday post where we discussed in Series 17 of 52 – Top Questions People are Really Asking with Answers on Spiritual Matters – Have Questions You Are Asking or People are Asking You? Find Answers on 21 Topics, please visit the link.
Before we disclose the message received from the secret place with the Lord in the last 7 days, we will first share the secret of shutting the door which COVID-19 has graciously made available to us by duress.
Last week, we mentioned that one of the best-kept secrets of our faith is the blessedness and joy of cultivating a secret life with God. In the secret place, the living word of God is laid open before you; Jesus Himself stands at your side; the Holy Spirit is gently washing your heart; your love is awakened as you meditate upon the gracious words of His mouth; your spirit is ignited and your mind is renewed; you talk to Him, and He talks to you in the language of intimate friendship.
Now, The Secret of Shutting the Door and the Noise Around Us
“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6).
Jesus Himself spoke these blessed words. All Scripture is God-breathed, but followers of Jesus always find special delight in giving particular attention to the words Jesus Himself gave us. When Jesus taught on prayer, He gave primary emphasis to the secret place. In fact, the first thing He taught concerning prayer was the primacy of the secret place. In the verses following, He would teach us how to pray, but first He teaches where to pray.
Matthew 6:6 contains a powerful secret regarding the where of prayer, but before I share it let me ask some questions:
- Do you struggle frequently with feeling disconnected from God?
- Do you strain to feel God’s presence when you pray?
- Does He seem distant to you?
- Do you long to know that He is with you, right now, drawing near to you?
If your answer to any of those questions is, “Yes,” then I have some wonderful news for you. There is a guaranteed way to get into God’s presence. There is a sure-fire 100% guaranteed way to have instant intimacy with the Father, and Jesus Himself gave us the key. Jesus gave us this secret in the above verse when He said, “Your Father who is in the secret place.” Jesus is saying, “Your Father is already in the secret place. He has gone ahead of you; He is waiting for you. The moment you get to the secret place, you are in the immediate presence of your Father.”
Jesus affirmed this truth twice in the same chapter.
He says it the second time in Matthew 6:18, “‘So that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.’” Jesus says it twice for emphasis, so we know this word is absolutely certain. Our Father is in the secret place! Furthermore, Jesus gives us the key to finding this secret place. If you’re wondering what you must do to place yourself in the secret place, Jesus made it clear. To get there, all you have to do is shut your door!
When you enter your room, and shut your door, you are in the presence of your Father. Instantaneously! It matters not how you feel. Regardless of your soul’s climate at that moment, you know with absolute confidence you have stepped into the chamber of your Father in heaven.
The Secret Place is your portal to the throne, the place where you taste of heaven itself. Receive this word and you have gained one of the greatest secrets to intimacy with God. Because when you know you are in the immediate presence of your Father, your spirit and soul will often respond to that knowledge with heartfelt connectedness. The knowledge of this truth will set your spirit free to soar.
When you build your life on the blessed intimacy of a secret place relationship with God, you are building on the rock. You’re getting your foundations in order. That’s not simply my opinion, that’s the explicit teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. The principles Jesus gave in Chapters 5-7 of Matthew’s Gospel were all given at one time, in one great sermon- That is the constitution of the Kingdom of God. Jesus said that in this sermon He was laying forth the foundation stones of a disciple’s life. Here’s how He expressed it:
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” (Matthew 7:24-27).
Jesus’ message is unmistakable. He is saying, “If you will hear and do what I have taught you in this Sermon on the Mount, you will build foundations into your life that will survive the harshest storms of life, like the Corona virus pandemic or some other earthshaking phenomena that takes everyone off balance” And believe me, friend, storms will most certainly come! There are some storms that have yet to hit your life. The question is, will you have the foundation in place to survive the storms?
One of the most essential elements of that foundation is to have an intact secret life with God. Those who hear this word and do it will not only enjoy intimacy with the Father on a daily basis, but they will also be equipped to sustain the greatest storms—whether they originate from hell’s fury or the world’s distractions or the floodgates of heaven’s blessings.
Jesus did not say, “Dream about your Father who is in the secret place,” but He said, “…pray to your Father who is in the secret place….” Prayer is an effort of the will. After we have entered our secret place and shut the door, the most difficult thing to do is to pray. We cannot seem to get our minds into good working order, and the first thing we have to fight is wandering thoughts. The great battle in private prayer is overcoming this problem of our idle and wandering thinking. We have to learn to discipline our minds and concentrate on willful, deliberate prayer.
We must have a specially selected place for prayer, but once we get there this plague of wandering thoughts begins, as we begin to think to ourselves, “This needs to be done, and I have to do that today.” Jesus says to “shut your door.” Having a secret stillness before God means deliberately shutting the door on our emotions and remembering Him. God is in secret, and He sees us from “the secret place”— He does not see us as other people do, or as we see ourselves. When we truly live in “the secret place,” it becomes impossible for us to doubt God. We become more sure of Him than of anyone or anything else. Enter into “the secret place,” and you will find that God was right in the middle of your everyday circumstances all the time. Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything. Unless you learn to open the door of your life completely and let God in from your first waking moment of each new day, you will be working on the wrong level throughout the day. But if you will swing the door of your life fully open and “pray to your Father who is in the secret place,” every public thing in your life will be marked with the lasting imprint of the presence of God.
Don’t forget the secret: shut your door.
What makes heavenly Host Rejoice that we must make part of our CORE MISSION in life?
Now I ask you this simple question, “what makes the Father, The Son, The Holy Ghost and the innumerable number of angels rejoice? What made God’s Son – Jesus Christ come to the world to die – John 3:16? What made God transport an unwilling, running and suicide happy prophet called Jonah to Nineveh? What made the apostle of old die violent deaths in the hands of humanity? The answer is in joy that one sinner repents – The power of one soul.
We must ensure that whatever we are or do for the kingdom must of necessity translate to souls who genuinely repent and come back to their creator. We must make this our core mission in life. If we don’t, God himself will unsettle whatever has become a distraction to the core mission for every born-again believer in Christ. Our secret place engagement should be about thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven Ezekiel 33:11, Luke 15:7-10, 2 Peter 3:9 John 3:16, Jonah 1:1; Isaiah 45:22-25
Messages Received from the Lord in the Secret Place concerning COVID – 19 in the last 7 days and what that means for YOU and ME!
In the last seven days, I ask the Lord in the secret place to give clarity to COVID -19 pandemic. Is he responsible, the devil, someone or something else and to what intent?
His response will shock you. Here is it and what I saw in the spirit realm. Here they are itemized as follows:
- You should not be concerned about whether I did it, the devil did it or someone else – Look for how I create or use circumstance – Good or bad to achieve my eternal purpose in your life. My Son died through the work of the evil – Mankind was delivered. Persecution in Jerusalem – My people were scattered throughout the whole earth to spread the gospel. Romans 8: 16-39; Isaiah 45:5-19;
- Your concerns should be your stand with me. Your walk and work with me have to be perfect. Are you satisfied? If you are not, amend your ways and rekindle what has died. Rev 2:1-end Rev 3:1-end; John 6:38
- I have a specific plan and a purpose for all of my children. Are you fulfilling your specific purpose for which I called you into the kingdom? Jeremiah 1:5; Galatians 1:15; 1 John 3:8; Matthew 26:39
I saw in the vision that so many of God’s children are struggling to give birth to God’s specific purpose upon their lives. The enemy is accusing them and rendering them impotent. Use Isaiah 54:14-17 and 2 Corinthians 10:4 to silence the voice of the enemy and take every thought and imagination captive, praying forth the plans and purposes of God for your life. Confessing, speaking forth what He has deposited inside of you for this time and season.
Prayer:
Our Father, thank You for the privilege we have to engage with You in the secret place. Thank You for revelations that brings direction, peace and joy to our hearts. Thank You for the special gift of access. Help us to make this a habit powered by our love to be with You in the secret place. We pray that You use the current COVIT – 19 pandemics to rekindle our secret place relationship with You to a whole new level Lord God. Propel us into Your specific plans and purpose for our lives Lord God. Holy Spirit of the living God, use this period, where there is less distraction to speak mysteries to us and convict the world of sin so that they can receive our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Draw them to Yourself Father. Thank You for You always hear us when we pray. Especially salvation for the lost. Thank you for helping us to make this our core mission in life to direct and disciple the lost to You by Your help. Grant us grace to do this always as we are willing this time around to propel this desire forward in Jesus name. We silence every accusing voices from the realm of wickedness that is sapping us of the willingness to give birth to that which You have deposited in us. We bring forth that vision, that dream by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit in us. We come against the arrows of fear that the evil one is sending our way and we decree and declare that we are continually heed in Christ in God, as we remain the apple of Gods eyes in Jesus name, Amen
Now, experience all round-success this week and beyond as You are led by your closest friend – The Holy Spirit!
Remember, we are one in Christ Jesus – Only in unity we can have lasting and far reaching impact – Engage!
Ephesians 4:4-6 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) 4 [ There is ] one body and one Spirit—just as there is also one hope [that belongs] to the calling you received—5 [ There is ] one Lord, one faith, one baptism,6 One God and Father of [ us ] all, Who is above all [ Sovereign over all ], pervading all and [ living ] in [us] all.
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Shalom!
Monday Ogwuojo Ogbe
e-discipleship at Otakada.org
+13022686313; +2348032835348; info@otakada.org
Originally posted on March 28, 2020 @ 6:34 pm
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