Isaiah. 43:18-19: Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
Matthew. 4:19: and He said unto them, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men”
Welcome to the third month of the year. The number three is a significant number in the Bible. Jesus prayed three times in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest. He was placed on the cross at the third hour of the day (9 a.m.) and died at the ninth hour (3 p.m.). There were three hours of darkness that covered the land while Jesus was suffering on the cross from the 6th hour to the 9th hour. Three is the number of resurrection. Christ had been dead three days, as per Jewish understanding, by the time of His resurrection on Sunday morning. This month, the renewal project of God in your life shall be completed, and everything dead inside of you shall come back to life, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
God remains in the business of “Extreme Makeovers.” That is, transforming the lives of people who have surrendered their lives to Him. The LORD picks up a person, regardless of how bad they have been, works in them, fills them with His Spirit and transforms them to the most wonderful person they can ever be. This process itself brings glory to God.
Extreme Makeover was an American reality television show that aired on ABC for four seasons, starting in December 2002. The show depicted ordinary men and women, who thought they were ugly, undergoing “extreme makeovers.” These makeovers typically involved plastic surgery, exercise regimens, and image modification by hair dressing and wardrobe experts. At the conclusion of the process, the participant is brought out of seclusion and reunited with family members, who were always awed by the transformation that took place. The highlight of the show was always the amazed look on the faces of the family, friends and loved ones. It is, however, important to note that the Almighty God, through the LORD Jesus Christ, Is the original Extreme Makeover artist. He transforms His subjects from the inside out into the likeness of Jesus Christ, through the work of His Holy Spirit.
The fall of man into sin messed up God’s original design, causing the spirit of man to die and be disconnected from its source, God. God gave man the gift of salvation, which is God’s solution to bring about a regeneration of man’s dead spirit. The salvation experience is but the opening of the door into eternal life, while the required transformation, to attain to the fullness of the image of Christ, is a lifelong process.
The soul is the life of man. However, man only becomes a living soul when the breath of God, which is the spirit of man, comes into man’s physical body. You can liken this to how a light bulb works. The physical bulb needs an electric current to work. When the electric current goes into the bulb, the light comes on. The electric current represents man’s spirit. From a practical standpoint, the most desirable thing about the light bulb is the light itself. However, the light only comes on when current comes into the bulb. There is no light without the bulb and the electric current. Light only comes when the current goes into the bulb hardware; it stays on only with an uninterrupted supply of current.
Salvation is God’s process (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:5). At salvation, only the spirit comes alive but the soul (mind, will and emotion) and body remain unchanged. However, without the regeneration of man’s spirit, he cannot experience God’s divine “extreme makeover.” Please understand that the makeover process, transformation, occurs from the inside out, and is never imposed or rushed (Romans 12:1-2). It is a gradual process by which man puts in the effort to get his body and soul/mind to begin to cooperate with his regenerated spirit. It is a return to God’s original design of having the spirit control one’s mind and actions. Ezekiel 36:26-27 says, “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My ordinances and do them.” This may seem challenging, but it is the responsibility of man to learn that process of becoming Spirit-controlled and Spirit-led; becoming trained in the way of righteousness. It is a sign of maturity. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).
Genuine transformation is what brings glory to God when people see it (Matthew 5:16). Transformation doesn’t occur automatically. As God is doing His work, we must also act correspondingly. Our work begins where God’s ends. Our efforts are secondary to the primary work done by God. However, it is a necessary accompaniment, and when this is done, the result is a transformed life that brings glory and honor to our Father in heaven. That is the real “extreme makeover.” The finished product of transformation is Christlikeness. God wants to produce Christ in every one of us. May God give us the understanding and appropriation of His grace in our lives to become His intended end product – little Christs.
Examples of people in the Scriptures that had an Extreme Makeover:
- Jacob: His battle started even before birth. The name, Jacob, was given to him to depict the kind of life he lived in the womb with his twin brother, Esau. “And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them” (Genesis 25:26). Jacob became a wanderer in the wilderness of life. Life was harsh on him. Everything he accomplished was through intense struggle. However, he met the God of Extreme Makeover (Genesis 32:27-28). The day God met him, his struggle ended, and a new name was given to him – Israel. God will give you an encounter that will end all your struggles, in Jesus’ Name. This encounter was significant because he could have lost everything from the attack, destroying everything he had struggled for in one day by the hand of Esau. Let God locate the source of your fears, reprogram the heart of man towards you, and change your name. I pray that you will have a peace-provoking encounter with God this month, in Jesus’ Name.
- Naaman: The story of a Syrian General who was a great man with his master and honorable, and a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper (2 Kings 5:1). By God’s orchestration, he was brought into contact with Elisha, a prophet in Israel, an agent of the God of “Extreme Makeover.” In 2 Kings 5:11, we were told that Naaman was angry because what he expected is not what Elisha told him to do to get his miracle. However, after much persuasion, Naaman obeyed the divine instructions issued, and experienced a miracle beyond his own imaginations (2 Kings 5:14). I decree that every BUT in your life – physical, spiritual, emotional – will be tackled by the God of extreme makeover. May He heal you, remove the stain of sin and shame, and make your heart like that of a Kingdom newborn, in Jesus’ Name.
- Peter: Jesus saw two brothers, Simon and Andrew, by the Sea of Galilee, “and he said unto them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men’” (Matthew 4:19). Jesus is in the business of turning failures to success, turning shame to fame, and bringing out of obscurity into the limelight. The Apostle Peter followed Jesus all the way for three and a half years to attain to the fullness of God’s blessings. He went to the Upper Room with other disciples and was baptized with the Holy Ghost. As he continued in the transformation process with God, thousands were converted each time he preached. He didn’t rest on his oars though, he persisted in pursuing God, and before long, his shadow started healing the sick. What a life of adventures and Christlikeness. He died crucified upside down because of His testimony of the God of Extreme Makeovers. This God will make you: a fisher of men; a winner of souls, a helper of the helpless and a deliverer of captives, in Jesus’ Name.
- Paul: A renegade–persecutor of the early church met Jesus on the way to Damascus, and his life was transformed from the inside out. Paul the Apostle, after he had been baptized in the Holy Ghost, went to the third heaven and came back with great revelations for the body of Christ. I pray for you, as the LORD lives and as my soul lives, you shall not die unknown, uncelebrated, unappreciated, unsung, unnoticed, uninvited, unimportant and unremembered, in the mighty Name of Jesus!
- The Samaritan Woman: Men thought she was a plaything, women felt threatened by her, and she was despised, but her season came. Jesus, Who Is in the rehab business, looks for treasure in the trash, and by the end of the day, she was redeemed, re-commissioned and granted 2 privileges no one else got. Namely, she was the first person ever to introduce the gospel to Samaria. She was also the first person to whom Jesus introduced Himself as Messiah. God loves to take the lost, the last, and the least, the lowest and make something beautiful. He is inviting you today to make you whole. Touch three people today, and tell each one, “I am ready for an Extreme Makeover!”
Philippians 2:12-13 says to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. However, it is important to note that when it comes to pleasing God, when it comes to experiencing genuine transformation, there is no way to accomplish anything without God’s grace (Titus 2:11-14).
In summary, please understand that:
- True transformation begins in the spirit (inner man). It starts at the moment of salvation, and continues through a process whereby Christ is being formed in you.
- True transformation only continues, and is maintained, in God’s presence. That is, spending time in the study of the Word and prayer, and appropriating the grace of God.
- True transformation ends in Christlikeness.
- God is ready to do a new thing. Are you ready to work with Him?
PRAYERS:
When the trigger of the divinely loaded and implosive truths found in Isaiah 43:18-19 is pressed, through prophetic declaration and warfare, heavenly artilleries and missiles are released to dismantle, scatter, and shatter the strongholds of stagnation, status quo and evil occurrences in your life. From that moment on, you will begin to see new things emerging and springing forth – what has never happened before, the uncommon and unexpected pleasant surprises become your portion, in Jesus’ Name.
- Begin to thank God for January, February, March and today; thank Him for His faithfulness and mercy.
- Thank Him for answering your prayers
- Read Isaiah 43:19 and decree that the door of new things, which creates excitement, delight, joy and rejoicing, open wide unto you in all areas of your life as from today, in Jesus’ Name.
- Every program designed in the spirit realm to make this day, this week, this month, this year like the previous old ways and old systems of failure into sin and disgrace, scatter now by fire, in Jesus’ Name.
- I decree that in the wilderness, highways will open for me, rivers will flow into my desert, and God will furnish a table for me in the wilderness as from today, in Jesus’ Name.
- Oh God, open the door of the uncommon, the door of unusual occurrences and experiences of transformation from the inside out unto me as from today, in Jesus’ Name.
- I command the doors of amazing wonders and testimonies of new life to open unto me as from today, in Jesus’ Name.
- Oh, thou my destiny, begin to respond to and move in the direction of the God of Extreme Makeovers, as it is written in Isaiah 48:19 as from today in Jesus’ Name.
- Begin to thank the God of Extreme Makeovers for answered prayers!
