Within Zion's Walls

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed…he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” [Hebrews 11:9-10]

Here I am, with a cup of hot cocoa in one hand, nothing short of grateful to the precious HolySpirit who is my light and my love. You know what is exceptionally exciting about Him is the fact that I can always depend on Him as my strength [physically, mentally, or spiritually]. On one thought, I really should do a post soon on the person of the HolySpirit; I am sure you’ll be blessed by it. But, until then, let’s talk about Zion – you can call me obsessed, but it’s just that I have seen the TRUTH!!!

In the opening scripture, we see that Canaan was not the Promised Land that God told Abraham about. In Hebrews Chapter 4, we see Paul arguing that, if Joshua had taken the people of Israel into the true Promised Land, there would have been no need for Jesus to come. Though God’s people entered the land God promised them [physically], they had not truly entered His rest. Zion is God’s rest. Hebrews 12:22 lets us know that the new creation [in Christ Jesus] is already in Zion. We are literally born there; we live in it and it is in us. WOW! How do we live in Zion? We live in Zion by doing God’s Word. And, how does Zion live in us? Zion takes its abode in us through our meditation on the truth of God’s Word. That same Hebrews 12 gives us a picture of Zion to be God’s dwelling place; the angels live in Zion together with God’s people. Double WOW!!

Do you realize that Jesus functioned in two worlds at the same time? He realized He was in the Father and the Father was in Him. That consciousness made it possible for Him to live a consistently supernatural life. In case you have not understood me so far, the idea I desire to pass across is that God is calling us to live a life of dominion over the circumstances of this world – economic downturns, failure, sickness, poverty, and all such things. In Isaiah 33:24 the Bible, speaking of Zion, says “the inhabitants shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity”.


Two benefits of life in Zion to note in the reading from Isaiah are:

i.)         Divine health: It is the right of every citizen of Zion to live above any infirmity of the body. Now, if you currently fall sick every now and again, the first step to living in that scripture is accepting it. Believe it and begin to confess it as the present tense of your life. It may take a while to manifest in the physical realm, but because it is already a present-hour spiritual reality, it’ll prevail over your physical circumstance [in little to no time].

ii.)        Access to forgiveness: You never need to beat yourself up over any mistakes. I hope that you get this. You have access to forgiveness by prophecy. It was written way back in Isaiah’s time. God cannot decide that your sin is too big to be forgiven anymore; His word has gone forth, and He does not go back on it. Accept forgiveness and move on, confessing God’s word that says “sin shall not have dominion over you.” [Romans 6:14]

If you haven’t understood much of what I’ve written so far, then you probably need to give your heart to Christ first because understanding of these things is contingent on a life in Christ. For those who do understand, you need to lose taste for this world. Set your eyes on Zion; live in it! I just found something striking in Hebrews 11:14-15; it says “truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had the opportunity to have returned. But now, they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly”.

In order to live in Zion and enjoy the benefits of living within its walls, we need to cease to be mindful of the world. Life in the walls of our glorious city is literally dependent on soaking ourselves in God’s word. There are two groups of people in the earth today – those who live in the world [controlled by its system of failure, sickness, and confusion] and those who live in the Word of God [controlling the system of the world around them with Zion’s principles]. Don’t give yourself an opportunity to return to where you came from, which is the world [connoted with Egypt in the scriptures]. Desire, more than ever before, to live ONLY within the walls of Zion – our heavenly Jerusalem. Be determined to, through God’s word, remove sickness, poverty, failure, and sin from your life.

Enjoy consistent access to God; it is one of the benefits of living in Zion. Relish the ability to improve the economy and security of your earthly nation through prayers of intercession; this is yet another ability exclusive to those who live in Zion. And, finally, learn to worship God with all your heart and watch Him lift you higher and higher in Him; it is the reason for which you were born into Zion!

I’ll be expecting your questions and comments. Until then, enjoy this powerful excerpt from the message - The Beautiful People of the Beloved Country - by Rev. Chris Oyakhilome. God bless YOU!!!

True Patriotism

“Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.” [Psalm 50:2]

The famous Apostle Paul wrote extensively about a new creation, a heavenly Jerusalem, and a family on earth and in heaven, to which every Christian has been called. Time and space will fail me to list the scriptural verses where those thoughts were shared, but I advice that you take a look at Hebrews 12:22-23; in it, the Apostle further expressed that there’s a new ‘nation’ to which we believers have been called. For more on Zion, take a look at my blog post titled ‘Peace within our borders’; you’ll be blessed by it.

Zion is the city of God – a spiritual Israel, and we have been called to be citizens of it. In this post, I will not be discussing the benefits of life in Zion. Rather, my desire is to challenge us to see Zion as beautiful. The strongest nations in the world are built by indoctrination; citizens are taught that their nation is the greatest. The term ‘nation’ in itself has strength in it that means much more than geographical boundaries. As I was very adequately taught by Rev. Chris Oyakhilome, a state or country can only be referred to as a nation when its citizens have a common vision and speak one language [or have one mind].

The opening scripture shows us how God feels about Zion; it is the perfection of beauty. He wants us to be indoctrinated; God wants us to know that there is no nation or country in the earth greater than ours. Yet, many of us are consumed by a love for our earthly nations at the expense of a love for Zion. In Romans 9:8, the Bible says "they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed." To be a child of the flesh is to be carnal enough to primarily identify one's self by physical or earthly nationality. In Romans 9:8, Paul shows us two types of children - those of the flesh and those of the promise. The 'promise' here refers to God's Word. Do you see that your origin is from God's word? Or, do you still identify first as Nigerian, American, British, South African, Korean, or Australian? If you are a Christian, that should not be the case.


This topic is so important, because our earthly nations have become more beautiful to many of us than Zion. We identify as Ugandan Christians, Brazilian Christians, and the likes instead of ‘just being Christians’. In our churches, some of us even form factions based on ethnicity or nationality. There are ‘Black’ people who will not attend ‘White’ churches and vice versa. I put the words Black and White in quotes, because in reality, once you become a Christian, you are neither White nor Black; you are a new creation [Galatians 3:28].

Learn to appreciate Zion TODAY! See Jesus in the eyes of every Christian, whether or not they speak your earthly language. Embrace them like you would Jesus if He lived in your house. Like Abraham [under God’s instruction] abandoned his earthly kindred, abandon yours also for Zion. This does not mean that you should not still love your earthly nation. It only means you should love Zion more. If someone asked you “where are you from?” let your answer first be Zion. Or, say to the person “do you mean in the flesh or in the spirit?” Either way, the person’s answer may lead to an opportunity to share Jesus with them.

If God Almighty could shine out of Zion, then you should be proud of your citizenship in this beautiful country!

Your Case for Christ

“Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man…I have a greater witness than that of John.” [John 5:33-36]

Christianity is not a religion and should never be regarded as one [except when we fill out forms, of course]. I appeal to you to listen to the rest of it before leaving this site; it is okay to challenge your knowledge every once in a while. We all agree that there is a religion that is an aspect of Christianity, but to define Christianity completely as a religion will be a fallacy.

With very elementary analysis of the subject, we can see that Jesus did not bring a religion called Christianity, since He never called us Christians; we were first called Christians by people who weren’t necessarily believers in a city called Antioch several years ago [Acts 11:26]. On the contrary, Jesus said He brought life [John 10:10] of a different quality – life like God has it. That life is what Christianity is about; it is the reason for every other aspect of our service to God.

I will not be going into other reasons why Christianity is not a religion in this post; you can read James’ definition of religion in James 1:27 and determine for yourself if Christianity fits solely as a religion. I only touched on Christianity not being a religion in order to set the stage for today’s subject. Religions need to be defended, because they are based on philosophy (searching the way), but Christianity, on the other hand, is based on the way [Jesus] not a searching of the way. The finality and absoluteness of Christianity shows us that it does not stand by reason of men’s defense or ‘nondefense’ of it. It stands anyhow!

The purpose of this post is to re-establish the Deity of God in the hearts of believers. “What do you mean by that”, you may ask me? Many times, we Christians are tempted to play the defense attorney for God in very unnecessary places. For example, some of us have found ourselves spending hours convincing an atheist of the existence of a God that does not need any man’s testimony [according to the opening scripture]. Have you ever thought of the fact that, regardless of whether you believe in Him or not, He is [Isaiah 43:10]? Think about it; before we were, He is – not was [John 8:58]. Many of us only talk about God when an argument ensues; after such times of heated discussions, we feel like we have defended Him well. No, God is not pleased by that! Rather, He is pleased by the faith we demonstrate when we talk about Him to people who did not raise an argument or ask us what church we go to [Hebrews 11:6].

I think I should mention that I believe that nobody could believe in God more than an atheist. Atheists believe in God more than they care to admit; they only resist the thought of a Being as sovereign and omnipotent as God is. If they didn’t believe, why would they fight so much against Him? If they truly did not believe in God’s existence, they would not care to waste breath, ink, and paper on Him and those who believe in Him. So, quit talking about God only when there’s an argument. Talk about Him everyday; He is the way, the truth, and the life [John 14:6].

Make your case for Christ when no one asks you to. Live your life as an epistle, ever making a statement about the nature, reality, death, and resurrection of the Christ to mankind [2 Cor. 3:1-4]. Two days ago, I saw a young man express certain gestures towards a friend of his; those gestures [of heartfelt love] would convince any passer-by that the two young men were either in the same fraternity or cult of some kind. And, for a second, I thought “thank God we Christians fit into society so well unlike these folks”. Immediately, the Spirit of God stopped me and said “that’s the problem…you blend in with society”. Immediately, I changed my heart and thought to myself that how else will Christ be made known if we do not stick out [like a thumb] in the same way as those young men.

In this Easter season, realize that Jesus did not make His case for you in hiding; He was humiliated and crucified, not as a martyr but as a sacrifice for you in the open. Make your case for Christ where it counts. Make it before the sick, weary, and hopeless. Declare your faith before the meek and humble; announce Him before friends, foes, and family. Your case for Christ is not primarily an argumentative one; it’s a life you owe the Master!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

P.S: As you comment, please enjoy this song. It’s my favorite Easter song, and it reminds me of the precious blood of Jesus that was the price for my atonement.