Re-Created for Greatness: The Quest for the Promised Glory

By Evangelist Francis Boafo

Many people seek Gods Heaven and His promised glory but are ignorant of the demand it places on them after their redemption. The attainment of the promised glory requires submission to Gods dominion, power, and authority in Christ Jesus now. Your submission prepares and makes you ready for your eternal destiny in heaven, where the all-consuming presence of God dwells. The Bible says that without holiness, no one will see God. The infinite Lord constrained Himself within our finite body to give you the opportunity to share His infinite nature and glory in heaven. What is your response? Are you correctly oriented toward this divine destiny?

Do not be like people whose lifestyles, relationship with people, and with the things of this evil age show that they are oblivious to the demand of their eternal destiny. Many people have their hearts inordinately oriented toward their now needs, with little regard for their eternal destiny. If you truly are seeking your promised glory in heaven, journey through the pages of this book to discover some of the things you need to know and practice to ensure your promised glory.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 23, 2011
• ISBN: 9781449724207

Evangelist Francis Boafo

Evangelist Francis Boafo is an international evangelist, a conference speaker, and a teacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the founder of WorthyLamb Ministries International based in Austin, Texas. This is an evangelistic ministry reaching to villages, towns, cities, and churches and nations. He functions with the healing and deliverance anointing.

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Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1

Interacting with the Source of Life

Chapter 2

The Kingdom of Preparation

Chapter 3

The Jesus Generation

Chapter 4

Kingdom Mindedness

Chapter 5

Convergence

Chapter 6

Kingdom of Heaven and Change

Chapter 7

Why the Kingdom Demands Change

Chapter 8

Handling the Fears and Pains of Change

Chapter 9

The Kingdom of God and Heaven

Chapter 10

Approach to God’s Kingdom

Chapter 11

Kingdom Anointing

Chapter 12

Mundane Religious Christianity

Chapter 13

The Power of Love

Acknowledgments

I give glory to the Lord who provided me the grace to receive from His Spirit what you are about to read in this book. He enabled the eyes of my heart and the spirit of my mind to receive spontaneous thoughts, and to understand what the Lord was saying to His people in this day and time we live. His name alone deserves praise forever. Amen!

I want to acknowledge the churches all over the world where I had the opportunity to teach portions of the insights in this book. Pastor Shules Hersh for reviewing the manuscript for scriptural integrity. I also want to acknowledge Paul Roddy and Lana Bird who edited this book.

Introduction

For the people of God under the New Covenant, true greatness is not defined by the abundance of our religious work, material and financial successes or by our status in society or by the educational degrees we possess. Jesus Christ is the greatest man who ever walked this earth. He was full of the Spirits of God His Father. In fact, the fullness of God dwells in Him bodily (Colossians 2:9). The goal of God is the creation of the fullness of Jesus in our inner person. Therefore, greatness in this era of the kingdom is defined by the degree the nature of Christ abides and influences our inner personality. It defines the level of our greatness today and in the new world to come.

The creation of Jesus Christ in our inner personality is the hope of attaining to the promised glory in Heaven. What then is God demanding of us, in our daily quest for the promised glory of Christ’s greatness? God has called us to submit to His processes of change, which will daily make room in our inner person for more of Christ’s nature. The goal of this book is to help bring awareness to our greatness here in this world, and in Heaven, which is a pursuit we must not take lightly. Since our greatness begins in the world, we must gain a revelation of our identity in Christ, and God’s ownership of our lives. We will then come to know, the Kingdom of God dwells within us.

The Kingdom of God within is the presence of the King, His authority, and dominion, which gives us the ability to expand His dominion in the world. Revelation of God’s ownership of our lives, places a demand on us to serve Him with our total mind, soul, spirit and strength. It demands the renewing of our minds, the offering of our bodies as holy sacrifices, the working out of our salvation, and the pursuit of righteousness, peace and holiness. These divine lifestyles, provides the divine strength to do the business of the kingdom, while we wait for the glorious return of Jesus Christ.

We must learn faithfulness, through a life of obedience, and to serve the God, who creates our greatness through His processes of change. Heaven demands purity of our body and spirit, and our maturity in holiness through the fear of God. The children of Israel enjoyed God’s miraculous deliverance from Egypt, and through the Red Sea. However, in their transition to their greatness in the Promised Land, they had to endure God’s test of loyalty and obedience in their wilderness. With God’s strength, David transitioned from a lion and a bear killer, to a giant killer. However, his transition from a giant killer to his greatness as the king of Israel, he had to endure God’s testing in his wilderness.

The transition of Jesus from the spiritual realm, into our human body in the earth realm was orchestrated by God’s Spirit. However, to be perfected, to receive His greatness as a representative and a Savior of humanity, to receive life for all, He had to endure the wilderness and Calvary cross. Our transition from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God was by God’s grace. We come to Jesus just as we are, with a repentant heart. However, to possess our promised glory and greatness in Christ Jesus, we have to submit to God’s processes of change in our inward and outward natures.

The choices we make, and the lifestyle we pursue after our redemption will prove whether we desire the promised glory in Heaven. Grace is now available in abundance to help us abide in Jesus Christ, in whom we have God’s ability to walk in our greatness. It is, therefore, very important to daily examine where we are in our quest for the promised glory in Heaven. We never have to go to sleep spiritually at any time, and the return of Christ comes upon us like a thief in the night.

He, who is love, eternal, infinite and glorious, constrained Himself in our finite body to redeem us and to give us the opportunity to inherit His infinite and glorious nature in Heaven. What is our response? Are we walking in the fear of the Lord? Are we correctly using His grace to yield to God processes of change? Are we learning obedience to Jesus Christ? We have the greatest opportunity today and we must not receive God’s grace in vain.

Chapter 1

Interacting with the Source of Life

And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it—Matthew 10:38-39.

The greatness of every believer and for that matter every human, is only found in the Source of life Jesus Christ. Without His life in the human soul, nothing we do can produce the greatness Heaven approves. Greatness does not come from the abundance of material, or financial resources we accrue to ourselves. Greatness is not even found in the abundance of our religious work. These are basis of the world’s definition of greatness. Jesus Christ, the Source of life must be formed in the human personality. God does this, Heavenly treasure in earthen vessels, to show the transcendent power belongs to Him alone (2 Corinthians 4:7).

Jesus Christ alone, formed in our humanity, defines our greatness here in this world and in the new world. Therefore we must embark on a life-changing interaction with Jesus Christ, the Source of life. To interact with Jesus Christ, we must lose our lives in His water of Life. To do so, we must learn to take up our cross of self-denial and self-sacrifice, pursuing a daily life of obedience to Him. Then we learn daily to take baby steps of faith and trust, resting on our confidence of His plans for our lives.

No one falls into a river without being drenched with water. No one drowns in a river and is not filled with its water. So if we have fallen into the water of the Source of life, His anointing must be all over us and in us. If we have truly drowned in Him, His fire and Water of Life must be streaming out of our inner person. Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life and no one can attain to greatness and the promised glory in Heaven except through Him (John 14:6).

Jesus, the Source of life, said in Luke 12:49, I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! They killed the Source of life, the Prince of peace, but death could not hold Him. He rose triumphantly to kindle His fire in the earth. His divine fire will stream through anyone who is drowned in His water of life. If we are truly drowned in His water of life; the power of His Spirit in His Water of Life will triumph over sin, ungodliness and worldly lust in any area of our lives. The Spirit of His Water of Life will orient us for an unfailing life of obedience filled with passion for more of Him.

Therefore, it is time to prepare our minds for action, to live focused lives and to set our hearts completely on the hope we have of sharing His greatness and glory in Heaven. Let us orient our inner person towards Jesus, the Source of life, because correct inner orientation toward Him produces an outward expression of His character. We also become the vessels He will use to carry His fire in the earth. We become the true salt and light for the benefit of people’s troubled lives.

Our outward expression of Christianity that deviates from Christ’s character is ungodliness. Ungodliness always has its causative factors. High on the list is our human tendency toward presuming God’s Word. By this, I mean many Christians claim the great promises of God and yet maintain a life that lacks divine focus and purpose. This is an unfortunate mix, which has its root in an unrepentant heart. We must not be deceived into thinking we have what God’s Word says irrespective of our lifestyle or choices. Everything we have in Christ Jesus is an opportunity—a chance given to possess what God says we have and re-created to become in Christ Jesus. This is why God wants us to be drowned in Jesus Christ, the Source of life, and not substitute His grace for doing His will.

The Spirit of God’s grace needs our interaction with the Source of life to help us along the path that leads to Christ’s promised glory. Apostle John said, Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 3:2-3).

In the wilderness, Satan tried to trick Jesus to presume on God’s promise about Him. He took Jesus to the pinnacle of the Temple, and asked Him to throw Himself down because He was the Son of God, and it is written, He shall give His angels charge over You (Matthew 4:6). Jesus refused to presume on God’s promise.

Others on the list of causative factors are the inordinate pursuit of material and financial gain and the deceitfulness of worldly pleasures. These are forces, and enemies, that seek to distract and diminish the fire of God we need to pursue the Source of Life. Our interaction with the Source of Life is the only way to develop the Christ character, which is spiritual growth. Oftentimes, we get ourselves into multiple activities we presume are needed to provide for our daily needs. In many instances, the time we have left to pursue the Source of Life is little or none. Some of us go to work every day of the week, yet we come to church and doze off during the preaching. We seem to have no time to do what God expects us to do—to develop our relationship with Him, which enhances our spiritual growth in our quest for our divine destiny.

These causative factors also diminish our inner willingness to bear the cross for which we are called. This cross-bearing lifestyle requires the Lord’s divine fire within to help us remain consistent. The cross-carrying lifestyle forms Christ’s strength within our inner person. If we lack this divine strength from Christ, we have no defense against ungodliness and lust in this evil world. Receiving grace for salvation is not the end of what God’s Kingdom requires. We must daily pursue the Source of Life: Jesus Christ.

The new birth provides the platform for a godly, fruit-bearing lifestyle. Unfruitfulness takes away the craving for more of Christ Jesus. It is like coming to the Source of Life and throwing away the passion needed to take a daily drink from His Water of Life. No amount of worldly pursuit or mere religious works or traditions, can replace the daily fellowship needed to drink from the Water of Life in Jesus Christ. If we attend church or run a ministry, we must have a daily thirst for more of Christ. To lack this thirst is an indication that we are not truly drowned in the Water of Life.

We must not let much religious or gospel work take precedence over the bending of our knees for close contact and fellowship with the Source of our new life. Failure to have constant fellowship with the Source of our new life, serves as dissipation of the spiritual opportunities for strong spiritual life. If we stumble upon water in a desert oasis, and the throat is dry with thirst, it will not require sophistication to take a drink. Immediately we bow the knees and fill our belly with as much water as it can hold. Even then, after that initial filling up, we must return for more water.

We live in a desert; an evil world. Jesus is our oasis in this evil world. Lack of constant and true fellowship with His Water of Life is focus and priority out of order. It is an indication of a life with other presumed pleasurable alternatives other than the sweetness of daily fellowship with the Source of Life. We must maintain a daily fellowship with Jesus through a daily life of prayer and Bible study. When we do not allow the fire of the Lord to place us constantly on our knees at the banks of the Water of Life, we will always find ourselves distracted by other presumed pleasures than the sweet fellowship with Jesus. This is how we become tempted to live outside of our place in Jesus Christ.

Today, many of us have busied ourselves with multiple life pursuits such as pursuing educational degrees, having a ministry, and conducting life’s business. These are good in themselves, because somehow they develop the intellect and provide the needs of life. However, they do not transcend the need to ensure we daily make time to bend our knees at the banks of the Water of Life in Jesus. In Him alone is the strength we need to cut off all that can draw us back to our old affinities and lifestyles. We have to be bolted down in Christ onto a solid foundation of truth, humility, righteousness and holiness all through a life of obedience. These qualities are more important than gold, silver, pride of educational degrees, or religious titles, duties and traditions.

To be bolted down in Jesus is to lose our lives to Him. A life lost to Jesus will be divinely oriented toward the things of God and His Kingdom. A life lost to Jesus will always abide in Him with an inner willingness to submit to His demands. We learn to obey Him; no matter our life difficulties and without regard to any religious or social status we may hold in this evil age. Submission to Jesus is how we gain the Holy Spirit’s strength to stay true to God in our quest for the greatness of His glory in Heaven. We overcome the temptation to shift from the childlike attitude to evil and prideful lifestyles in this world.

The abundance of Christian works is not necessarily an indication of active pursuit of God’s Kingdom or of the drinking of the Lord’s Water of Life. Neither is walking in any Spiritual gift. In that day, the Bible assures us, many will pride themselves in great religious works and the use of Spiritual gifts but Jesus will say to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness (Matthew 7:23). Lawlessness means we do our own heart desires, irrespective of God’s desires or His will. Not everyone who says Lord, Lord, shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven but those who do the will of God will become part of the Kingdom.

The born-again experience introduces us to the Kingdom of God. When we are born again, we are hid with Christ in God. But to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, we have to interact with Jesus and learn to do God’s will. The will of God is our sanctification through a life of faith or obedience to His Word. Obedience matures us in holiness through a life marked by the fear of the Lord. It is usually easy to say someone loves God based on the abundance of his or her outward religious works. However, in the realm of the Kingdom, obedience to God’s voice or His Word defines our love for God (John 14:15, 23). Obedience is the foundation upon which the Kingdom of God influences our lives to produce change in the inner personality. Obedience maintains God’s fire in our inner person!

The pursuit of an abundance of religious works and duties without an inner ongoing change is an indication of interference with the flow from the Source of Life. Apostle Paul cautioned us to note the kindness and the severity of God and to stay in His kindness to avoid being cut off (Romans 11:22). Paul overtly warns the believer with this truth. Why is that? It must be hard so Christians who are hard headed will get it while those who are softhearted will delve more deeply into the Source of Life.

Power Point Lesson: If we have been in church for any length of time and we still play games with our salvation, I warn that we must sit up. We must cry to the Lord to deliver us from the things that hinder His fire in our lives.

God’s Kingdom is not a game of cuddling people who refuse to submit to its demands. We, however, do not reject anyone. Only God rejects! We have received the kindness of God and we must passionately pursue the life in Jesus Christ, drinking from His Water of Life daily to keep us alive in Him. He wants us full of Himself (Ephesians 3:19).

Revealing the New Divine Era

The moment Jesus began to preach repentance and the soon coming Kingdom of Heaven, there was a spiritual shift. That shift introduced a new era, which led to a dynamic spiritual relationship with God. This dynamic relationship thrives on the platform of truth and love. This relationship is made powerful by the baptism of God’s Spirit and His fire, which ushers us into a dynamic life of obedience.

The ordained encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well was significant. The broken, the bruised and the wounded of the world found their healer and redeemer—Jesus, the source of the real Water of Life. Jesus revealed the new era to this woman, bruised and broken by life: The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him (John 4:23). It is interesting to note that after Jesus rose from the grave, He revealed Himself to another woman He had healed from spiritual oppression.

Power Point Lesson: Is any one area of our lives broken or bruised by the world? We must look up because our redeemer is ready to heal us if we would let Him.

The broken and bruised humanity have depended on fetching from the world’s wells. Jesus revealed to the woman from Samaria that whoever drinks of the world’s water would be thirsty again. Jesus’ water is the real deal. It quenches the thirst in the human soul. It becomes a fountain of water welling up to everlasting life (John 4:13-14). Not only that, His water produces divine fire in the soul of those who drown themselves in its waves.

The cry of humanity has echoed through the universe since Adam. We constantly look for something worth living for. This was the heart cry of the Samaritan woman: Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water. This must become our heart cry if we desire the divine life and fire in Jesus. This heart cry usually resonates deep within the human soul and words alone cannot sing the rhythm of its dryness. Thanks to the Water of Life and the blood that flows from Immanuel’s veins, there is life in Jesus’ blood! He said, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you (John 6:53).

Like the Samaritan woman, many people ‘Come here to draw water’, but the here they choose ends up being the wrong places. These places have no fulfillment for them. No matter how much they drink of the world’s water of abundance and pleasures, they remain dry and thirsty. Some come here to chase after money. Some come here to pursue business. Some, unfortunately, come here to seek satisfaction in mere religion and others for philosophical prowess and political advantages.

These things in and of themselves offer no problems. However, they have little influence on the real inner spiritual dryness of man. No matter the number of times people come here and no matter the amount of the particular water they draw, the inner spiritual dryness never goes away. The time they expend in coming here takes away the indispensable time needed to interact with the Source of Life. This is the reason why some rich people feel miserable.

The satisfaction and fulfillment humanity needs is the real Water of Life in Jesus. We need constant fellowship with His very person through His Word and Spirit. In his pursuit of the Source of Life, Apostle Paul said, That I may win Christ and be found in Him. How important! Jesus is the Kingdom of God waiting to come into our lives if we would open our hearts’ doors to Him. We do not even have to be mature and elaborate in Christian jargon and clichés. We just have to open our hearts and tell Him, Jesus, I need you. Have mercy on me. Help and heal my brokenness. The spiritual energy from Jesus alone can provide an inner healing/ restoration to make way for our divine fulfillment.

The Samaritan woman, who was never able to hold onto a lasting marriage, saw something different about the man Jesus. Though she was puzzled, her honesty and her open heart allowed her to gain an illumination that Jesus had something special for her troubled life. She saw in Jesus something that could quench the dryness in her life. Jesus’ ability to heal is independent of where we are or have been. A drink from Jesus’ Water of Life can quench our soul’s dryness and orient us toward the real life of God.

Jesus can heal our troubled lives if we would let Him. Do we truly believe that? If we do, let’s stop here, bow our heads and say this prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe you can make me whole again. Have mercy on me. Forgive me of any part I have played to bring about my current situation. Touch me and restore my life to wholeness again. Strengthen my inner person with your Holy Spirit to help me live tough for God. Thank you Lord Jesus.

At the River Bank and Still Thirsty

Ministry or church attendance alone cannot remove our inner spiritual dryness. There are some Christians who attend church yet are addicted to pornography and other despicable lifestyles. Many in our churches are still oppressed by the world and evil spirits. Therefore, it is important not only to attend church but we must daily drown ourselves in the Water of the Source of Life. Consider going to a house that has a swimming pool. Going to the house does not necessarily mean we are in the pool. We must attend church by all means. However, we have to consciously drown ourselves in the Lord of the church. Just a little taste of Him will grow passion for more of Him.

Despite our level of Christian maturity, there is always dryness in some hidden areas of our lives. We cannot ignore these dry areas, covering them up with church or religious work. This dryness can often show up in our interpersonal attitudes, life pursuits or how we handle ministry and money. It can also show up in our view of self, of people and in how we handle God’s