Things That Make Ministers: Open Doors

Apostle Grace Lubega

Acts 16:6(KJV); Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia

As a minister of the gospel, you will receive countless opportunities to preach the Word of God. As you grow in the things of the spirit and the circumference of your influence increases, the invitations to minister will increase and so will the places you will have to go.

You must appreciate the responsibility that comes with preaching because all these opportunities are altars, these altars define covenants and these covenants define destinies.

When I understood this reality, I realised that I could not go EVERYWHERE I was called but I could go ANYWHERE I was called.

As a man or woman of God, you do not go to a place because of the numbers of the people you are going to preach to, the impressiveness of the building in which you will preach, the name of the ministry to which you have been invited. You minister in a place because God has sent you there.

There are places the Spirit will forbid you to go yet everything seems to suggest that you should be there instead. You might think that the more people, the more reasonable it is that you appear before them because your heart cries for souls. God loves them more than you do, never forget that.

If God has instructed you to minister to a fifty people congregation yet there is an opportunity to minister to a ten thousand people congregation, you must always ensure to go where the voice of God has led.

That is what demonstrates respect for the altar. That is the maturity that distinguishes a mere preacher of the gospel from the minister of the gospel.

This same wisdom extends to the businessman, not every deal is yours to take no matter how lucrative it sounds.

It applies to the career person, not every job opportunity is yours even if you may qualify and the pay is wonderful.

It works in your relationships too because many will seek to associate with you as you grow in influence but not everyone qualifies to be within your circles.

Let God’s voice define the doors through which you walk.

God’s name be praised!

FURTHER STUDY: Acts 16:7-10, 1 Corinthians 16:9

GOLDEN NUGGET:

You must appreciate the responsibility that comes with preaching because all these opportunities are altars, these altars define covenants and these covenants define destinies.

PRAYER: My Lord, I thank you for this Word. Thank you for the doors that you continually open before me. I know that not every door is mine to walk through and this very wisdom preserves me in the assignment upon my life. My heart is open to heed to your instruction in the places that I must go and the choices I must make. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Heart Of A Nation Builder

Apostle Grace Lubega

Genesis25:29-33(KJV); And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day, and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.

Men who sell their birthrights can never build nations.

When Rebecca was pregnant with her boys Esau and Jacob, the Lord told her that in her womb were two nations.

However, there is a reason why the nation of Israel that came out of the loins of Jacob has left its mark on the books of history and the pages of eternity while what came out of Esau has not.

There is a reason why the scriptures speak of the twelve tribes of Israel but it does not speak of the tribes of Esau.

Why did what came out of Jacob become the great nation that it is?

Jacob had the heart of a nation builder.

The most important character of a nation builder is the respect they have for the birthright and inheritance. Because such men value inheritance, what they leave behind for the generations to come is more than just a story, it is a heritage.

Men that value inheritance can never barter the future of a nation at the tables of cultural and moral compromise.

Men that value inheritance look beyond the personal and selfish needs of the now to what kind of nation their children and grandchildren will live in.

Men that value inheritance build with a vision of the future. These are the things that make a nation builder.

FURTHER STUDY: Genesis 12:2-4, Romans 9:13

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Men who sell their birthrights can never build nations.

PRAYER: Father, I thank you for this Word. You have placed the responsibility of nation-building upon me. My eyes are set on the mandate to make this world a better place by the patterns of the kingdom of God. I will never sell my nation at the table of compromise because I understand the price of the future. In everything that I do, I am laying an accurate building block to the progress of my nation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Things That Make Ministers: The Servant Son

Apostle Grace Lubega

1 Kings 1:17-19(KJV); And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the Lord thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not: And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called.

Sonship is not the guarantee of inheritance: not every son gets to walk and live in what was apportioned for him.

In Galatians, God speaks of a place where an heir who has not matured does not differ from a servant even though he be Lord of all (Galatians 4:1).

I have known heirs that have lived as servants all their lives because they did not understand the principles that grant them access to the inheritance.

Some, have forcefully sought inheritance only to squander it like the prodigal son because they thought that mere sonship was enough for them to secure an inheritance for as long as they lived.

God teaches us an important principle in our theme scripture.

When Bathsheba went to King David to remind him of his promise to make Solomon king, she spoke of the other children of David as ‘sons of the king’.

When it came to Solomon, she called him the ‘servant of the king’.

Solomon had been raised as a son with the heart of a servant while the rest were merely sons of the king.

So, we see Adonijah seeking inheritance merely on the ground of sonship yet Solomon was entitled to it by reason of his servanthood to his father.

You cannot seek an anointing you have not served. We do not work for our inheritance but service unlocks doors of access.

As children of God, we are heirs and joint-heirs with Christ. However, there are things that will never come to you until you learn to serve God because service is one of the things that qualify the son as mature.

God’s name be praised.

FURTHER STUDY: Galatians 4:1, Luke 15:11-32

GOLDEN NUGGET:

As children of God, we are heirs and joint-heirs with Christ. However, there are things that will never come to you until you learn to serve God because service is one of the things that qualify the son as mature.

PRAYER: Father, I thank you for this Word. I receive this priceless wisdom with humility. I choose to serve you, God, with all my heart, body and soul. May each day find me doing something for the sake of the gospel and the expansion of the kingdom. May my heart continually pant to add a building block to the great edifice of the church. May the zeal of my father’s house consume me totally. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

To Catch Divine Vision

Apostle Grace Lubega

Genesis 3:4-6(KJV); And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Eve was deceived by the serpent. That much is true.
However, often times, we look at this story from the perspective of the weakness of the woman and ignore that in there, God wants us to see what is actually one of her greatest strengths.

Our theme scripture says, ‘the woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes and desired to make one wise…’

This was a spiritual vision. The man did not see what she saw.

This means that when certain words are spoken in the spiritual realm, the woman will receive them much quicker because her vulnerability in itself is her submission to the realm of the spirit.

Women by their very nature will receive spiritual instruction much more quickly, will be more spiritually sensitive and more open to the convictions of the spirit.

Think of the woman as the Church of Christ. Think of words that are spoken, not by the enemy but by God.

The Church has the capacity to catch spiritual vision faster. God desires this kind of sensitivity from us.

For example, Pharaoh, does not have to dream for the world like it happened in Egypt in the time of Joseph. A Christian can dream for the world.

Today, we see the men of this world attempting to access the realm of the spirit and to live by its principles. As such, some are doing exploits that belong to Christians by right.

The church, as the woman, must catch these visions because your access to the spiritual realm is an entitlement.

Innovations and great creations are in the realm of the spirit. God wants the church to catch these visions and start to manifest them on the earth because it is in our nature to be constantly attuned to the operations of the realm of God.

FURTHER STUDY: Luke 16:8, Genesis 41

GOLDEN NUGGET:

The Church has the capacity to catch spiritual vision faster. God desires this kind of sensitivity from us.

PRAYER: Father, I thank you for this Word. I thank you because my eyes are open to see what I must see; my ears hear what I must hear and my heart responds to the things that I must respond to. I am quickened in the realm of the spirit to understand what you are up to in these times. By this wisdom, I pioneer great things, to the glory of your name, Amen.

Lessons In Virtue: To Wean A Child

Apostle Grace Lubega

1 Samuel 1:22(KJV); But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide forever.

As a woman, you have the ability to deal with whatsoever comes out of you.

In our theme scripture, the Hebrew Word for ‘weaned’ is gamal which is translated to mean, ‘to deal fully with…’

More than accustoming the young child Samuel to solid food, in the more spiritual sense, she dealt with her son on matters pertaining to his call and his destiny.

In weaning the child, she spiritually dealt with his character, his integrity and his attitude towards the things of God.

Samuel grew up under the influence of Eli whose sons did very unpleasant things in the sight of God: they defiled the altar and abused the sacred things of God’s presence. Why didn’t Samuel fall prey to these habits when he was living under the same roof?

It was because of a mother who understood what it means to wean a child.

Woman of God, there are things that a child that has come from your womb should never do because you know how to deal with him or her.

For example, if he dares to stray into drugs, you have the divine authority to speak and declare change over his life because he came out of you.

No one with a praying mother can fail.

You have no excuse for having rebellious children. You have no excuse for raising failures. You have no excuse for having mediocre children.

Glory to God!

FURTHER STUDY: 1 Samuel 2, Proverbs 22:6

GOLDEN NUGGET:

As a woman, you have the ability to deal with whatsoever comes out of you. You have no excuse for having rebellious children. You have no excuse for raising failures. You have no excuse for having mediocre children.

PRAYER: My God, I thank you for this Word. Thank you for the ability you have given me to lead a child in the way they should go. I have the wisdom that weans a child for greatness. Mine shall never be swept by the perversions of this world, mine shall be instructed and kept in the paths of righteousness, mine shall serve you in their day, mine are for signs and wonders because they came out of me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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.