I welcome you with great delight in the name of the Lord Jesus to the month of November our month of Upgrade.And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. Rev 21:1
John on the Island of Patmos said, “I saw a new heaven" if a new heaven can emerge it means even heaven can have an upgrade. Sometimes it takes deep reflections and Holy Spirit inspiration to distil some gems and nuggets from the scriptures. That is what helped me to distil that God is expecting you and I to upgrade ourselves this month.
Take time to think, listen, read be still and study the word of God and yourself, find out and identify where you need an upgrade whether it is emotional, spiritual and intellectual and go for it.
Jim Rohn said at 25 years of age he was totally broke and at 31 he was a millionaire. He said the seasons had not changed, his parents and relations had not changed, the environment did not change, even his job had not changed, so many things remained the same, BUT he had changed!
The secret of achieving many things in life is about developing our human capacity.
I am giving that a new nomenclature, which I call an upgrade, I pray that God will help you to upgrade yourself to become a newer model of yourself and be able to attain your utmost desire in life.
I hear the Lord say in this month: “Instead of bronze I will bring gold, instead of iron I will bring silver, Instead of wood, bronze, And instead of stones, iron. I will also make your officers peace, And your magistrates’ righteousness. “Isaiah 60:17
Upgrade is not automatic. It’s according to our faith to receive an upgrade, the good news is that Jesus already provided the framework at Calvary. May the good Lord upgrade you this month in Jesus name.
What is an upgrade?
Raising something or a person to a higher, better and greater standard. To upgrade is to improve an existing model sometimes by adding or replacing components. Your birth to this world was an upgrade to the ecosystem not just to your parents. The world keeps upgrading itself from one-man Adam to 7.8 billion human beings and is still counting. Every facet of humanity has enjoyed a level of upgrade: the food we eat, the way we process it, the houses we live, the cars we ride, the clothes we wear, our belief system. One major upgrade was the industrial revolution. For example, there is a chain of inspiration from waterwheel, to steam engine, to internal combustion engine. There was the creation, through the principle of aerodynamics by the Wright brothers of the first aircraft. An upgrade that has brought convenience, a journey of 21 days from England to Nigeria by Sea is now six hours flight. The development of computing technologies has led to the world of social media, Internet, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram, YouTube and others that is dictating the way we live. Every area of human endeavor farming, architecture, science, engineering, journalism, art, poetry marriage relations, religion, is experiencing constant upgrading. Writing this up now I want to suggest that there should be a field of study called the science of upgrade in our tertiary institutions, I think that will even facilitate a global upgrade!
Areas of Upgrade
Life is wide and diverse. There are almost eight billion people on earth, each person has their individual idiosyncrasies, what gives them joy and what makes them sad. Each person is at a different level of education, age, career, marital relationship, business, political interest, earning power, faith, career, personal relationship etc. In a nutshell it is difficult to predict areas where people need upgrades. So, my list may be a catalogue or yellow book of areas to do an upgrade, just pick yours and run with it.
Major Areas of Upgrade.
The major area of upgrade needed which is usually ignored is spiritual upgrade. Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3Jn1:2. God is saying your spiritual well-being will determine your health and level of prosperity. It means if you sincerely want prosperity you need a spiritual upgrade. There is a delusion in Christendom that once you say the salvation or sinner’s prayer it doesn’t matter what you do, say or think you’re good. No, that model only works for the thief on the right side of Jesus who died immediately after that invitation to heaven. For all of us here we must daily upgrade our relationship with the master. One of the ways to do that upgrade is to confess your sins. Your sin disables you and renders you obsolete and desolate before God. Just as you wake up and you need to upgrade your health by showering you need to re-soak yourself in the blood of the lamb.
Simeon the Sorcerer Experience
It reminds me of the story of Simeon the Sorcerer in Acts 8. He accepted the gospel, got baptized, but when Peter and other leaders came to see the great work Philip was doing in Samaria and baptized them in the Holy Ghost by laying hands on the people Simeon offered them money to get the same power! Which prompted Peter to say his heart was not right with God, paraphrased meaning his heart needed an upgrade. “And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.24 Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me. “Acts 8:19-24. The question you want to ask yourself at this juncture is whether your heart is in need of upgrade? Remember heart is used here metaphorically not biologically. Meaning is my attitude, prayer life, thinking, relationship marital life in need of upgrade? The interesting part of this story is that it also offered us how we can upgrade our hearts with Simeon laying a good example. Some of those principles are mentioned below.
If you have a doctorate in any field and you don’t upgrade yourself by reading current journals you will become obsolete. The story was told of a professor of chemistry who had published about 400 papers in his area of study. One day he attended a seminar in that field where a 25-year-old fresh doctorate lecturer presented a paper of which the man had no clue, he eventually committed suicide. That is unacceptable, all you need do is daily upgrade yourself from the bible and relevant books. That is why it is not optional but mandatory to read the bible daily. You need breaking news from heaven much more than BBC or CNN. I like the way Jim Rohn put it. “Your life does not get better by chance; it gets better by change.” He said further “ If you don't like how things are, change it. You are not a tree. ”
How do we upgrade ourselves generally?
- Repent- change your ways- change your master-change your soul controller from Satan to Jesus. Stop that act of sin. The good news is that Simeon repented: Pray to the Lord for me,” Simon exclaimed, “that these terrible things you’ve said won’t happen to me!” Why don’t you pray that prayer now?
- Refine your thought process. Thinking begets inspiration. Inspiration gives birth to ideas; idea is the mother of upgrade and upgrade is the father of development. “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” Prov 23:7. One of my colleagues when I was in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation went to Japan. He said at one of the companies, he saw day after day one person in a glass office who had a plain table with only pen and paper. He asked for the role of that individual in the company and was told that is the think tank of the company. All the new models of the company is generated by his thinking. The bible teaches us what to think about for a heart upgrade: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Phil 4:8
- Refine your Listening capacity. You are a product of the information you have. Where you are today is a function of not just what you heard but what you listened to and understood and you acted upon. Most times we are too noisy and important information that could lead to our upgrade is missed. The reason why many Christians are at the peripheral level of Christianity is not that they did not go to church heard sermons attend bible study or prayer meeting but they failed to listen. Why do people fail exams? They went to class, heard the lecturer but they did not understand. Listening entails hearing an information, understanding and acting on it by faith. The day I heard about Chemical Engineering, the person was not talking to me, I eavesdropped but I listened, took interest in it researched into it sought admission to the university to study that course, eventually earning a doctorate degree in that discipline. One day I went to Babalola Memorial Camp in Nigeria to pray and hear God’s mind on a certain matter. After fasting and praying and I was getting frustrated that God had not spoken to me, I met a lady who told me that God is speaking but I was not listening. She directed me to read -Psalm 19: 1”The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge” Whether you are in the bathroom or driving God is speaking. Look at psalm 19:1
- Turn adversity to opportunity. You have heard “Necessity is the mother of invention” Maybe that precarious, unpleasant, unbearable situation is what must open doors for your upgrade. The story was told some centuries ago when two Americans went to India. They saw many people trekking without shoes. One was mocking them, the other one realized this is an opportunity to upgrade his financial and business status. He sent a telegraph to America “there is a huge market for shoes” When they exhausted shipping, he started what is now known as ‘Payless Shoes Company. “ It’s quite possible that the unbearable snow and the cold weather of Canada was the reason they upgraded from wood and coal fire places to other heating systems.
- Read books. Everything you need for better future and success has already been written. And guess what? All you have to do is go to the library.” – Jim Rohn. “Successful people have libraries. The rest have big screen TVs.” – Jim Rohn
- Take Necessary Action(s). The normal process of upgrade is by doing further research on existing models, like apple and iPhone for example, they think of what could be added that will make it more usable even though it may cost consumers more money. Apple will look for the materials to do the upgrade and actually produce the upgraded model. That is what we need to do. Use the processes shared above to find out what level you are, spiritually, physically, financially, mentally and academically. Read. Use the information, discipline, focus, hard work, prayer and all you need to produce your new upgrade.
- Pray. Another area of spiritual upgrade is your prayer life. Prayer helps you to get direct info hel and spiritual strength from our heavenly Father. You know father means source. Daily communication with the direct source keeps you up to date. Particularly during this COVID-19 the Christian version of many in January is not what they are this October. If no upgrade is urgently undertaken many may never recover by the end of the year. If by now you are no longer interested in returning to regular church services in-person but you are stuck to zoom or other social media, you need a prayer upgrade. Maybe you are swimming in all kinds of sin, addiction, alcoholism you need an upgrade. Maybe your grace version is adulterated. Maybe you are always having bad dreams, constant challenges or sick. Maybe you are no more active in God’s house, serving God fervently, then you need a prayer upgrade! Another positive side of upgrade is asking God to meet you need, spousal, immigration, academic, marital needs God will grant you. He will upgrade you from a wife/husband to parents from bachelor/spinster to husband/wife status in Jesus name.
Conclusion: My motive this month is to inspire you to engage in an upgrade, as individuals and as a group. If God can constantly upgrade heaven you must constantly upgrade whatever is upgradable in your life. This month we want to open our eyes to the World Wide Web of upgrade. Don’t be static, aloof or indifferent. Find a field of human endeavor you can upgrade. Don’t think there are some people specially created to upgrade, all of us are given medulla oblongata (the part of the brain that helps in sneezing and vomiting) there is something wired to your brain you must vomit to the earth to cause an upgrade that will make the world better. Your birth to this world is an upgrade. You increase the number of the people on earth. If you are just a nominal Christian you have not had an encounter with God, you need to upgrade your Christian life. God upgraded the spiritual life of Paul on the way to Damascus then he asked what must I do? The evidence of an upgraded life is being active on the field doing God’s bidding. God wants me to challenge you to upgrade yourself and upgrade the world around you. I have done my job! Act today. Shalom
