“Then he said to me, “This [continuous supply of oil] is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel [prince of Judah], saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit [of whom the oil is a symbol],’ says the Lord of hosts.”  

 

This is one of the greatest secrets written in the Bible. This Scripture forms the basis for every spiritual experience, exploit and fulfilment in Life. This is God reminding us that there is absolutely nothing on this earth that requires might nor power. That is why Revelations 7:12 says; “power and might belongs to our God forever and ever.”  Know that any time you try to force things to happen around you, it is not a sign of strength but a sign of weakness. It shows that grace is no longer at work but you are trying to share the excellence of the power of God with yourself, thereby taking the glory. But you must also know that God does not share His glory with any man. And you already know the consequences.

 

When you have this understanding, you won’t have to stress yourself unnecessarily in Life, just flow with the Spirit to supply all that you need and all the strength that is required to carry out every task, to beat down the mountains and make it a plain. There is no difficult task that cannot be carried out by the help of the Spirit, so why the struggles? Rather than forcing results, allow grace to work and be expressed through you.

 

Now when Jesus was about to finish His earthly ministry, He said;“ it is expedient that I go” If I don’t go, the helper will not come, you will still be doing things the crude way, you will labour hard and by the sweat of your face you will be able to accomplish difficult task, matters that are easy seems very difficult, because you have been designed to live a kind of Life and it is a Life of operating from a state of rest, a Life that should be lived not by power nor by might. That Scripture says; “but by My Spirit” Can you see the reason why you can’t do without the Father of spirits? Whatever labour you do without the help of the Holy Spirit is labouring without the approval of God. And whatever God does not approve is always bound to fail.

 

God has made every man to live a fulfilled Life and this Life is designed and hidden in our purpose and purpose is lived and fulfilled by expressing the unique gifts given to us to suit or complement our assignment. The Scripture says in Ephesians 4:8, “When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.”

 

But the reason why most men are not living up to their full potentials or living a Life of mediocrity is hidden in what Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:1 saying; "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren I don’t want you to be ignorant” I want us to note that word “I don’t want you to be ignorant” This is apostle Paul talking to the believers in Corinth and it seems as if they are filled with the Spirit of God yet they are ignorant of their Spiritual gifts. They speak in tongues, they pray fervently, they talk a lot when they appear before God, but there is something lacking. They don’t know what the Spirit has made available for them. Your wealth is in the Holy Spirit, the Scripture says we have been blessed with all Spiritual blessings in heavenly place. The secret to living a fulfilled Life is by utilizing the all the available resources That God has to offer through the Holy Spirit.

 

So, what is the gift you have? Are you ignorant of them? It is time to discover yourself and the potentials hidden in you. If you can understand the time we are in; you will discover that certificates may give you a voice but your gifts have the volume. For how many years have you been boasting and bragging about how educationally qualified you are, yet it has not shifted you anywhere. Perhaps somebody may be saying; “my certificate is paying me, what about fulfilment and satisfaction in Life?” What about the things that make for your peace? There is a vacuum, an emptiness that needs to be filled. And it will only be filled if you are found doing what God has purposed for you to do.

 

One of the secrets to dying as a fulfilled man is that you die empty. The reason why most people fear death, cry to God for more time to live, frustrated and feel less important been unable to contribute their own quota to the agenda of God on the earth is because a lot of treasures hidden in them was not unlocked and released to the world until the time of their death. And the reason is simply that they are ignorant. The key to satisfaction in Life is to discover and release every potential you have. Because you where sent as a messenger with a lot of goods to deliver and if you are found wanting in that regards, then your going back home becomes difficult.

 

If you do not want your Life to be filled with regrets and pain on your death bed you must begin to offload all the treasures you were sent to deliver to the earth before for your time of departure. One of key words God used in the account of creation is “bring forth” this word was spoken to an earth that didn’t have Life and it brought forth Life, how much more, man that was created in the image and likeness of God carrying the breath and the Spirit of the Lord God almighty. You were not created to replicate mediocrity, you were created to replicate the excellence of God and the excellence comes when you are fruitful, when you multiply, when you bring forth not by power and might but by His Spirit.

 

God made a statement in Genesis 3:16a, He said “in pain you shall bring forth children”  This was a curse that veiled the blessings of fruitfulness and multiplication that God declared upon man in Genesis 1:28. I want you to know this fact; Because it seems as if nothing good is coming out of you  doesn’t mean that the capacity for bringing forth, fruitfulness and multiplication is not there, It is because, there is a veil or a covering or a curse of: “in pain you shall bring forth children.” That has become the problem a lot of people face. There is no how such a veil will cover you and you will live a fulfilled Life. The secret to fulfilment is hidden in fruitfulness. Have you found an unproductive man who is happy with his state of barrenness?  Since the Bible says the giftings and callings of God are irrevocable, then it means that they are always there hidden in you for maximum productivity. If that veil is removed such a person will become productive again.

 

 That was why Apostle Paul said the letter kills but the Spirit gives Life. Meaning that the flesh profits nothing, but the Spirit gives Life. If you depend on the letter or the flesh, you will get nothing out of it. Man is meant to operate from a state of rest, and without the Spirit of God, your multiplication will be in pain, in struggles and tussles. Man was not created to operate and multiply in pain, fruitfulness is meant to be an effortless process. That is why Jesus said I am the vine you are the branches. You can’t connect to the vine and not produce, your problem is to attach to the vine, and if you do, you will draw from all the available resources the vine has.

 

That was why the Lord spoke in Zachariah that it is not by power nor by might. Whatever you do and you apply power and might then your efforts will be fruitless. You will keep struggling only to have little to show for it. If the axe head is blunt much effort is applied but if it is sharp you will cut the tree easily. The Spirit Life is that which will sharpen your axe. If you are using a dull axe, it is because you have been ignorant. Get knowledge, get awareness, grow so that your fruitfulness will be evident to all. Endeavour to empty all that God has put inside of you.

 

Romans 7:6 says; “we should serve in the newness of Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”  We must reign in the newness of the Life that the Spirit makes available and not according religious dogma. What is your gift? Allow the Spirit to give it Life that it will produce fruits of righteousness, that you might be called the planting of the Lord. Don’t burry it, because an attempt to bury is an attempt to frustrate the agenda of God. Jesus received Myrrh as a gift from the wise men. A fragrance used to prepare bodies for burial. Or perhaps we can say a mixture used to manage or control odour, foul smell or decay.

 

Was this gift used on Him? I think not! At most for three days. This is what the Spirit is saying; Is deadness meant to be managed? Is mediocrity meant to be tolerated? The Scripture says if the Spirit that rose Jesus Christ from the dead is in you, the same Spirit will quicken your mortal bodies. Your gift needs to be quickened by the Holy Spirit. The quickening produces Life, not deadness, not to be managed and pampered, not that odour will be disguised with perfumes and fragrances. It still doesn’t deny the fact that the real thing is dead. And this is what happens in the church today, a lot of cover ups, and spiritual gymnastics without power and Life. We use religion and appearing in religious apparel to replace the Life that the Spirit produces.  

 

If myrrh were to be a good gift why did the angel said in Luke 24:5; “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” we don’t use myrrh here, we don’t appreciate deadness, what we do is that when we step into the tomb Life is produced, everything dead around begins to produce Life, every wilderness and bareness becomes a fruitful field. There is a Spirit that quickens what we do, and conditions everything in our environment to bow to the law of Life. See what verse 7 of this chapter says; “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”  And I want us to note that word; “on the third day rise again.” It means that I was only dead for three days, I was only inactive for three days, I didn’t allow my deadness and barrenness to continue, I align and allow the Spirit to quicken me.

 

“Rise again” shows that there was Life before it died and by the quickening of the Holy Ghost, Life came back. Always know that the manifestations of your gifts are given to you for the profit of all and until it is activated and quickened by the Spirit of Life it will not profit us all.

 

I pray that everything that seems to have died in your Life and about your gifts will receive Life in Jesus name. Amen.

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Apeh Francis Abah!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!