APOSTLE EDWARD SSEWANYANA: CALLED TO REIGN

Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name! God has once again granted me this opportunity to declare His Word to you. This generation is for those who are totally sold out. You are either totally committed and dedicated to the Lord or to Satan. This is the age when God will not tolerate anybody sitting on the fence. Just as Jesus clearly pointed out, “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad” (Matt 12:30). God will not tolerate a man who has one foot on the narrow path to life and one on the broad road to destruction. These days it is not uncommon to come across unbelievers who refer to themselves as “holy” just because they do not drink, smoke or go dancing. It is better for one to be totally sold out to the devil and do all manner of evil imaginable, knowing full well that destruction will ultimately be theirs. The worst situation to be is where you hold on to evil in secret and hypocritically pretend to be holy before men. This is a man who will receive a backlash from the devil and a thorough punishment from God as well.

God abhors anyone who is double minded. Such a person is “unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). This is a time when God commands all men, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still” (Rev 22:11). That is certainly a strong word from God which will seldom be heard from contemporary pulpits. If your life is glorifying God in holiness, continue that way. The end of the matter is better than the beginning and God will welcome you with the words “well done good and faithful servant”. On the other hand if you are totally sold out to be unjust, continue that way, knowing that destruction is going to be your partner in this world and in the world to come.

This is the time when God’s Apostles and Prophets need to stand up and declare the oracles of God. God will no longer tolerate any yellow-bellied gutless cowards in His kingdom. If God has called you to be a Prophet, do not hide behind the mask of a preacher, be and proclaim all God has called you to be. This is the right time for the righteous to literally take the devil by the horns and kick him out of our midst. Jesus prophesied that the gates of hell shall not be able to stand against us (Matt 16:18). Jesus did not at any time describe the aggressive nature of the gates of hell. Satan is described as a coward hiding behind frail gates, he is simply a deceiver who blows his own trumpet and appears to be bigger than he is. Who has ever seen gates chasing or attacking anybody? I certainly have not and don’t think you have either. So we see that the gates are there for us to overrun rather than cowering behind the walls of the church.

God is calling every believer to stand out in boldness and advance in triumph, establishing the kingdom of God and rooting out the works of the devil. “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are BOLD AS A LION” (Prov 28:1). This world is ours by inheritance. Every born again child of God is entitled to reign over this world by birth. The moment you were born again, your name was included in God’s record as a brother of Jesus and a fellow-heir of God’s promises. “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and JOINT-HEIRS WITH CHRIST; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Rom 8:17). We are truly joint heirs and what belongs to Jesus belongs to us. You are not just an insignificant statistic in a church records room. You are a mighty warrior and king born to rule and subdue the earth. Just look at what God says you are, “And hath made us KINGS and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Rev 1:6). God has made you a king, not just a door-keeper in the house of the Lord. Jump out of the Old covenant and enter the New where we are made partakers of our inheritance in God because of what Jesus did on our behalf and not what we have done. God calls you righteous because of your faith in Jesus Christ. When God looks at you he sees Jesus and not a mere sinner. Jesus was made to be sin on the cross that you might have right standing with God, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2Cor 5:21). Paul again makes it very clear from where his righteousness (read right standing) with God comes from. “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” (Phil 3:9). Paul does not say that He wants to be found in his fleshly works, rather, he wants to be found in Jesus, in Him. When you understand that you receive all God’s promises minus the law you will begin to reign as a king in this life. You can reign in every sector of life where God has placed you.

Joseph was reigning as a king from the time he was sold as a slave into Potipher’s house. He was placed in charge of everything in Potipher’s possession apart from his wife. Even when he was wrongfully accused and cast into prison, he was exalted as the chief over all the prisoners. Finally when he was released from prison, he became the Deputy to the Pharaoh of Egypt, the second most powerful man in the world. God has called you to reign over entire nations. You may not necessarily be the president, though I can’t rule it out, but you can still reign with unequalled influence in your community. In the days of Jesus Christ though He never officially entered into the political arena, He literally ruled as the King of Israel, notice the words the people spoke about Him during his entry into Jerusalem, “Hosanna: Blessed is the KING OF ISRAEL that cometh in the name of the Lord” (John 12:13). When Pilate asked Jesus whether He was a king, Jesus answered that he had correctly said it, "So then *you* are a king!" rejoined Pilate. "Yes," said Jesus, "you say truly that I am a KING. For this purpose I was born, and for this purpose I have come into the world" (Jn 18:37a Weymouth NT). We are called to reign in this life no less than our big brother Jesus. Just look at this verse, “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness SHALL REIGN IN LIFE by one, Jesus Christ.)” (Rom 8:17). We are called to reign and not be ruled over. This implies that we are supposed to be rich because the poor don’t rule. “The RICH RULETH over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender” (Prov 22:7). It is the rich who rule, not the poor. This implies again that if we are to reign in this life by Jesus Christ we need to be in charge of this world’s finances. When the wealth of this world is in wicked hands, darkness and demonic oppression will prevail. On the other hand when the righteous are in control of the finances the joy of the Holy Ghost will prevail, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn” (Prov 29:2).