Evangelist Paul Acquah

I hope that many believers desire, beyond everything else, to be useful to their fellow human beings. I hope that you don’t want to go to Heaven alone – you are most eager to lead others to salvation! So, with this premise that all of us who have a relationship with the Lord want to be useful, it’s necessary to take into account the need for urgency. Are you going to be winning souls? Well, then don’t delay! It’s a wonderful thing to be sensitive to Almighty God when it comes to serving Him, so that when He speaks to us, we hear His voice and respond without delaying, but taking immediate action. We do it now! There’s a time when God speaks, a time when his voice is being heard. It’s at that moment that you need to respond. When God, by the Holy Spirit, speaks to your heart, that’s the moment you respond, not tomorrow, not tonight, but now. In Luke 9:59-62 Jesus was speaking to some of his followers about discipleship and the importance of their immediate response to the call of God. “Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” 61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” This is actually a warning that is intended to stress the importance of commitment, so that we can succeed in our Christian walk. Jesus doesn’t want us to delay following and serving Him until such time as convenient to us. He made it perfectly clear that putting any person or thing first before following Him was unacceptable. Jesus’ command to His followers still applies to us today. He expects our immediate response and asks us to sacrifice everything and put His service as top priority in order to live for Him and preach His good news. No matter how hard or difficult life has been, you have to continue to recognise the seasons of opportunities that God gives you. Jesus said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4).  It’s a statement to us as followers of Christ, commending to us promptness, determination and practical earnestness. This text of scripture reminds us that we have a work to do. Again, Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:21). We are sent in the same way that the Father sent Jesus. We have the same mission of reconciling people to God (2 Corinthians 5:19-20) and the same empowering of the Holy Spirit to accomplish that mission (John 1:16; Matthew 3:16 with Acts 1:8, and 2:1-4). Inasmuch as we have but one life here on earth, we should diligently accomplish all our God given purposes in this world. This is because once we die, we cannot return, nor in the grave can we carry out any of our assignments. We should move quickly to serve the Lord, win souls, and disciple them. We are not saved by good works. We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). We cannot work to save ourselves. That is done – Our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ finished it on the cross. He said “It is finished,” and that is great for us. But now we have work to do because we are saved. We are workers together with the Lord. So don’t receive the grace of God in vain. We were not created to be idle. God didn’t choose us to be idle. He chose us to go and bear fruit. Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last – and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you” (John 15:16). We were not baptised in the Holy Spirit to be idle and we are not set apart by God’s Grace to be idle. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). We were not redeemed to be idle. The Christian life is a total commitment to God. “He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians. 5:15). The Christian life demands quality of devotion and utter self-sacrifice to God. It’s about going hard after Christ and all-out commitment and abandonment of self. That’s why the apostle Paul said his goal was that “Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:20). Every true Christian is to remain steadfast in the work of the Lord throughout his or her entire lifetime on this earth. “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). It is a total lifetime of commitment from that moment we received Christ as our Master, Lord and Saviour. Our Lord Jesus promises to praise and reward us for such faithful living. He will say: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Mathew 25:21). There is a divine work added to every believer’s plate. Not only are you a wife, a husband, a student, a labourer, or a particular professional, but you have been appointed an ambassador for Christ. The apostle Paul considered

Manifestation of God is bringing God to our physical reality. It’s the revealing of God’s power and glory through His people. It’s also a way for God to reveal Himself to His people and make His presence known. One of the ways God reveals Himself is through His children. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mathew 5:13). Our light is an indication of the existence, reality, or presence of God. The good fruit we bear is one of the most obvious manifestations of the Lord. Manifestation of God can take many different forms, such as miracles, healing, and answered prayers. These happen through the agency of the Holy Spirit. You are not a separated personality; you have a team – God the father, God the son and God the Holy Spirit. You have the power you can call on any time you need. You have unlimited power if you are a born again Christian baptised in the Holy Spirit. You have the power to send away the devil and destroy his works that are bothering you, power to resist him, and power to walk in victory. Sadly, some Christians don’t know what they have (Hosea 4:6). You can let God manifest through you to minister to other people. You have the power and the anointing of God in you, but how do you get it out to other people? There are several scriptures we can start with. In Philemon 6, Paul is praying that “the communication of your faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” The very first step in having the power of God manifest through you to other people is that you first acknowledge the good things that are inside you. It’s important to know who you are and what you have.  “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore, honour God with your bodies” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). You can’t give away what you don’t have, but once you know what you have on the inside, things will automatically begin to happen. You’ll begin to share with others your excitement, give testimonies of what God has done in your life, and automatically some people will be helped. The Holy Spirit comes with God’s power for you to manifest (Acts 1:8, Luke 24:49, 1 John 4:4, 13, 17). “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Cor. 4:7). God wants us to manifest His presence in this world. The primary manifestation of God is light because God is the light of this world. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:1-5). In His ‘I’m statements’, Jesus said “I’m the light of the world”.  He has therefore given us His light to manifest Him and to bring glory to His name (Mathew 5:13). He commands us not to hide our light under a basket. Jesus describes Himself and His disciples in the New Testament as the light of this world. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16). Jesus said “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life” (John 8:12).  We manifest God by letting our light shine. Another way to manifest God is to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. One of the main reasons that the body of Christ hasn’t made a greater impact on our generation today is because of our failure to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Without a doubt, Jesus and the first apostles used the gifts like an alarm bell, calling people to their message and confirming that God was truly the One speaking through them. There are different manifestations of the Holy Spirit through His people, and we need to desire them. One of the most important steps to manifesting the gifts of the Holy Spirit is to earnestly desire them. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:31, “But earnestly desire the best gifts.” Again, he said in 1 Corinthians 14:1, “Desire spiritual gifts.” It’s important to know that as long as you can live without flowing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, you will. You have to seek these gifts with all your heart (Jer. 29:13).  Hebrews 2:3-4 says, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?” The Lord bore witness to the accuracy of their message through miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit. In Mark 16:17-18, Jesus said all true believers would flow in the miraculous: “And these signs will follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” If a Christian’s life isn’t supernatural, it’s superficial.

At what point have I received the Holy Spirit. Is it when I first received Jesus or is there another time? I have been asked this question a few times and it’s a very relevant question. The Holy Spirit is involved in our salvation. We are born again by the Spirit of God. Jesus speaks about this in John chapter 3 that we must be born of the Spirit. In fact, there were three times in John chapter 3 where Jesus said you have to be born of the Spirit. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” So, if the Holy Spirit had not come, you could not be born again. When we make Jesus our Lord and receive salvation, we are born of the Holy Spirit. There couldn’t be being born again until the Holy Spirit came. Jesus said this a number of times. In John chapter 7, He says, 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. He is talking about what the Holy Spirit would produce in us when we believe in Him, and that will be like rivers of water flowing out of us. But it couldn’t happen until after the resurrection. So again, the Holy Spirit is involved in our salvation. The Bible says in first Corinthians 12:12 that the Holy Spirit baptises us into the body of Christ. You couldn’t be a part of the body of Christ without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is involved in us being born again and putting us into the body of Christ. Therefore, being born again, we receive the Spirit of God in the sense of being activated or reborn a new creation by the Spirit of God. That rebirth is to reproduce the nature of Christ in us. We then have the fruit of the Spirit because we have been born of the Spirit. The Bible says in Romans 8:9 that but you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. So, this is very clear that we must be born again by the Spirit. And if we are born again, we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us. The Spirit of God dwelling in us is reproducing His nature, character, and fruit in us. We find the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians chapter 5. But there’s another subsequent experience. It can be simultaneous but many times it’s after this born-again experience. We are then baptised in the Spirit. There are other phrases used. For example, we are baptised with the Spirit or in the Spirit, or we are endued with power from on high. There are many different types of descriptive words used. The power from on high comes upon us to reproduce the ministry of Jesus. The Spirit who is inside of us when we are born again is producing His nature, character and fruit. One of the reason the Spirit comes upon us is for the purpose of ministry and we find that in Luke 24:49. It says; behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” See what Jesus is saying: Tarry until you are endued with power. We may well ask, why were the disciples asked to tarry? What was it that these men lacked? What could the Holy Spirit supply that they were missing? They were asked to tarry because they needed power. They wanted the kingdom to be ad­vanced, but they lacked divine power. Christ has risen from the dead. This is the greatest news that the world has to know. The resurrection of Jesus is the most powerful thing the world must know. What a great example of the power of God to raise Jesus from the dead. Jesus had passion for the world. He wanted the unsaved to be saved else He wouldn’t have come from heaven to die for the world. He wanted the disciples to go and tell the world this important story. “The sheep are scattered. I want you to go; it is important, but before you go to preach, tarry to be endued with power. Before you go to talk about the risen Christ, tarry until you are baptised with the Holy Spirit. Before you go to win others, tarry until you receive power from on high.” The disciples had a tremendous task to accomplish. They had a message for the world. There were only a handful of Chris­tians to give this great message. The harvest is great, but the labourers are few. They saw the risen Jesus and yet Jesus said don’t tell anybody. Don’t let anybody know about this until you receive power from on high.  Imagine you saw Jesus raised from the dead after three days, and you had this news to tell everyone, but He said don’t tell anybody. Don’t go anywhere, don’t do anything until you receive power from on high. That experience of the power many times is subsequent to the initial rebirth. And so, depending on how you’ve been taught or who’s been teaching you, you have to understand that you can have both of those experiences simultaneously or the second one could follow

People think as they get older, they get sick, and things fall apart. There are a lot of people who don’t have any confidence because they see so many people fail, and they say all these happen when you are old. Or all these people started well but they never finished. So, because of that, they are comparing themselves with others. However, God’s plan is to give you an expected end (Jeremiah 29:11). God has prophesied things over you that no sickness or plague will come near your dwelling. You will not fail. Even in the Old Testament, we read about Moses that at the age of 120 years, his eyesight wasn’t dim, and his natural force didn’t evade. “And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated” (Deuteronomy 34:7 ASV). At 120 years, he was still climbing mountains. This is in the Word of God, and God is no respecter of a person. What we have today is even superior to what people had in the Old Testament time. My friend, you are destined to live a successful life, so just believe what God is saying. What we have is superior to what Moses had. I can say that this is God’s plan for my life, and I need to cooperate with Him, and that’s the right attitude for us to have. If we will cooperate with Him and believe in Him, then obviously we can have an expected end that God has set for us. Before we were born, He set before us an expected end. I don’t have to be fearful about things going on around the world. People are however comparing themselves with others. If we compare ourselves with others, we will not go for God’s best. 12 For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. 13 We, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us – a sphere which especially includes you” (2 Cor. 10:12-13) This is what the apostle Paul is saying to the Corinthian church. He said; we don’t compare ourselves to others. I see even ministers who started out good and then got caught up in embezzling money. There are some of them who abuse their power, get into sexual sin, and misappropriate money. We see so many people fail so that makes you think how am I going to make it? But you can make it because God has a plan for an expected end and if I’m willing to cooperate with Him, and have that attitude to cooperate with Him, then I can get there. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:11 KJV). This was Jerimiah writing to people who were taken captive and put into exile in Babylon. And he said God has good plans towards you, peace not evil to lead you to an expected end. The letter wasn’t for people who were prospering at that time. Maybe your situation is not good, and you look at yourself and hear a message like this, and you are saying, how can it be, I can’t see where I’m going. But Jeremiah wrote this to people who were taken captive. Jeremiah 29: 1 says, “Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were carried away captive—to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon”. So, Jerimiah 29:11 was not for people who were in a situation where everything was going on well. It was for people who were held captive. Jeremiah 29:1 is the letter. We read verse 1, and we turn to verse 11 and he is saying, don’t lose hope. These people were in a bad situation. Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem and took all the Israelites captive and brought them to Babylon. He devastated Jerusalem and it was terrible. These were the people that Jeremiah was writing to. It’s important to get this in context because we turn over and read Jeremiah 29:11 and we think this is for the people who are ministers or people who are prosperous and have everything going well. But He was writing this to people who were carried captive. They were being treated as second-class citizens. They were in a captive land, and everything in their lives was bad. However, the Bible says, God said, I know the thoughts that I think towards you, thoughts of hope and not evil, thoughts that will lead you to an expected end. And if you are reading this, I will encourage you that all is not lost. In God’s kingdom, there is nothing wasted. You can rise again and move forward and go for God’s best. You can rise again and do what God has asked you to do. And the success that he created you for, you can accomplish it. You may think you have problems, and maybe things are just bad, but the Bible says that God knows the thoughts that He has towards you. Be encouraged and go for God’s best. It’s not God’s will for us to suffer and go through evil things. It’s not God’s will for you to be sick, it’s not His will for you to be poor, it’s not God’s will for you to be oppressed. And yet people find themselves in such situations. Make sure that you are going for what God has destined for you because a life of success has been written down in heaven and you have to work for it. Just cooperate with God and everything is going to be well with you now, and even forevermore, Amen!

God designed you for success. He made you a winner, and this is true for every person regardless of what has happened in the past. God has never destined anybody to live a mediocre life. The Bible tells us pointedly that God wants us to prosper in all things and be in health. He wants you to experience success even in the seemingly insignificant things of life. Today, perhaps you see roadblocks to driving in certain areas of your life. Instead of growth or increase, you see lack. Or perhaps you’ve lost something, it could be your job, an important relationship or your health. My friend, remember that the Lord cares about every matter that troubles you and He wants you to experience wholeness and success in those areas. This newsletter Biblically redefines what success really means and shows you the simple but powerful Bible secrets of having good success. There are attitudes you need for success. First, you must believe that success is possible. God not only heals, delivers, and prospers, but He also created us to succeed. God wants us to succeed my friend. He purposefully created us for success. God has never made a failure; nothing is wasted in God’s kingdom and so God has never destined anybody to a mediocre life ever. He made you to be a winner, so trust His word. There are a lot of voices out there telling you that the structures of society are aligned against you. There are voices telling you that the government hasn’t done enough to provide the opportunities you need to succeed. There are voices telling you that someone has hurt you so badly, you can never make it in life. These are all lies. You may even think that your past is holding you back. I can however assure you that for every person that God created, it doesn’t matter what has happened in the past, it doesn’t matter how you may evaluate yourself or even how people have evaluated you, God made you for success. Dear friend, it’s important to believe in yourself and your ability to succeed. Don’t let external factors like society, family, or past experiences hold you back from achieving your goals. Keep striving for success and have faith in yourself. While there may be obstacles and challenges in our path, it’s important to maintain a mindset of resilience and determination. Remember that you have the potential to overcome any adversity and achieve success. So, you’ve got to have a success mindset or success attitude. You have to believe that success is possible. God made you and me for great things. He created every one of us to be something special and we need to be motivated to press towards that goal and seek direction from God. The apostle Paul said that ‘I press towards the goal’. We need to press forward. Nothing can prevent you from achieving success. We live in a culture today that has totally misrepresented what success is. How do we know that you have to succeed in life? How do you know that you were created to succeed? The Bible tells us so. After creating Adam and Eve, God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28). How can such people be failures? It’s the same way God has given us the power to do so. We are to dominate the earth and subdue it. You cannot be a failure. You will need to go for the word of God. Take Him at His word: His word is so powerful. Don’t doubt because of the situation that you are in, or circumstances that you find yourself in. God’s word says exactly what He means. God always says exactly what He means. He never lies, and He never says, “I’ve changed My mind.” He said, “I give you authority and dominion,” He gave absolute dominion to Adam and Eve. He has given us the power to rule, control and subdue the earth. See how victorious and successful we are supposed to live. We are to take dominion. Whatever He says is like a contract that cannot be broken. “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? 20 Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it” (Numbers 23:19-20). So, when God says anything, He means what He is saying. Hebrews 1:3 says, “Upholding all things by the word of his power.” And Psalm 89:34 says, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” So, you have to believe what God is saying and don’t let circumstances dictate to you. This entire universe is being held together by the power of God’s word. His word is powerful and will accomplish whatever He sends it to do. So, if God says you are successful, believe that you are successful. Believe and have that attitude. You see, it’s the mindset that we have. Let’s turn to Jeremiah 29:11. This is a familiar text of scripture most people know. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end”. ‘An expected end’.  That’s very powerful. Most translations will say ‘hope and a future.’ However, the old KJV says, He will give you an expected end. So, the end that you expect, God has already set it up.  So, how can you fail? You are to succeed in life. Expected end: meaning, instead of going through life and hoping that you finish your course well, you can look back and be encouraged like the apostle Paul who said, ‘I have run the race, I have