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    The Simplicity of Spirituality: An Introduction
    The Simplicity of Spirituality: An Introduction
    The Simplicity of Spirituality: An Introduction
    Ebook136 pages2 hours

    The Simplicity of Spirituality: An Introduction

    By Ebenezer Agboola

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    About this ebook

    One of the illusions today is that the things of God are complex, tedious, or complicated. From our thinking, this might seem justified because humans cannot fathom God. However, we see from 2 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe Agboola Ministries
    Release dateDec 25, 2022
    ISBN9781777502973
    The Simplicity of Spirituality: An Introduction

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      Book preview

      The Simplicity of Spirituality - Ebenezer Agboola

      The Simplicity of Spirituality

      The Simplicity of Spirituality

      The Simplicity of Spirituality

      An Introduction

      Ebenezer Agboola

      The Agboola Ministries

      Contents

      Dedication

      Introduction

      1 The Realms

      2 Come Alive

      3 Stay Alive

      4 The Growth Process

      5 Conclusion

      New Believer's Prayer

      Contact the Author

      About the Book

      Other Books by the Author

      About the Author

      The Simplicity of Spirituality

      Copyright © 2022 by Ebenezer Agboola

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      Scripture quotes marked (KJV) are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

      Scripture quotes marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

      Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

      ISBN: 978-1-7775-0297-3 (e)

      ISBN: 978-1-7775-0296-6 (sc)

      Cover Design by Shimoma Kizito.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      First Printing, 2022

      Dedication

      To my Father in Heaven. You went to great lengths to show Your love. You made the relationship and growth in You simple. Thank You for Your love.

      To my savior and Lord—Jesus. You are the Love of God in the flesh (John 3:16). The simplicity of spirituality is only attainable because You died on the cross for humanity. Without You, I will not know or experience the love of my Father in heaven. Thank You for Your sacrifice on the cross. 

      To my indispensable helper—The Holy Spirit. Thank You for being the seal of my salvation (Ephesians 1:13). My exposure and guidance through the light of this book is because of You. You persuaded, helped and encouraged me to obey even when I had no idea. You make complicated things extremely simple. Thank You for being there to lead and guide me always. 

      To the vessels of honor that God used to assist in bringing this light to fruition, thank you for your tireless and diligent effort.

      To my spiritual father, Pastor Emmanuel Adewusi, I am grateful to God for your life. The doors Jesus opened daily through you led to much content in this book. May Jesus continue to replenish you abundantly. Amen.

      To my wife, Tumininu Agboola. Thank you for being so understanding. You are a God-given treasure to my life. I love you.

      To every child of God, particularly those who have paved the way by the Spirit of God to the simplicity of spirituality, I bless the name of the Lord for you. Thank you.

      Introduction

      It was a regular evening after spending time with God; the Lord asked me a question. Do you know what has helped you to attain your current spiritual height? I thought about it and realized that I did not know. However, I was confident that it wasn't just one thing; it was a combination of many things. Hence I said, Lord, I don't know. He responded, exactly; if it were something tedious, hard or complicated, you would have known. Now, I want you to write a book titled—The Simplicity of Spirituality. From this encounter, the Lord began to guide me through some practices that quickened my spiritual growth. Therefore, this book was written in obedience to God's instruction. 

      As you can imagine, my immediate thought was, what do I know? But with the help of the Holy Spirit, I began to realize that God has taught me a lot over time. There were steps that I took in the past without fully understanding their implications and effect on my spiritual growth. As the saying goes, there is a reaction for every action—a cause is followed by a consequence.

      In the same way, the actions we take in the physical trigger spiritual effects. For example, there was a time I began to experience specific blessings that, to my knowledge, I had never asked God for. As a teacher, by calling, I became curious. So, I went to God in prayer to inquire. I said, Lord, Your word says, Ask, and it shall be given (Matthew 7:7). You are not a man that You should lie (Numbers 23:19). Also, as per scriptures, Your word is Your bond (Matthew 24:35). Father, I didn't ask for all these blessings. And the Lord said, son, when you prayed in the Spirit (Romans 8:26), you asked for all these blessings. From then on, I understood the mystery and impact of Spirit-led prayers, and I subsequently did most of my prayers in the Spirit. Other than personal declarations, I rarely pray in my understanding. Some concepts in this book were given by revelation from God; these concepts have also helped me in my times of need. Although I had no idea of its impact at the time of implementation, as I sought God and wrote this book, I began to understand its spiritual magnitude.

      Another significant incident occurred a few years ago. After some years away from my parents, I decided to visit. My Mom was concerned about my safety because it had been a while since I left home. So, she decided to seek prayers for my travelling mercies. She consulted a Prophet to agree with her in prayer. To my mother's amazement, the woman of God said, do not worry about your son. My Mom asked why? The Prophet responded, He is fire on his own. Upon my arrival, my Mom narrated the event to my Dad and me. I smiled and said, Mom, I am no fire, but my God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). It is imperative to state that, at this point, I had just started spending more time with God regularly. Some of the things that made me a spiritual fire in God are highlighted in this book by the Spirit of God.

      Growing in your walk with God is not a process you have to struggle with; it is pretty simple. God is not complicated, as many people may believe Him to be. Yes, God is unfathomable. However, His immeasurable love has made building a relationship with Him simple. As you read on, you will come across practical tools the Lord gave me, which have been helping me grow spiritually. Don't be a cherry-picker that chooses only what is most desirable. Be intentional as you read, and allow yourself to assimilate as much as possible. Strive to follow the path emphasized in this book consistently, and you will realize excellent results in your spiritual walk with God.

      God inspired the details in this book from the life experiences I have had. However, with God, there is always more to know and experience. You can search His depths and still only be scratching the surface. As you progress through this book, I pray that God gives you insight and understanding. May you begin to see how simple it is to grow in God continuously in Jesus' name. Amen.

      However, according to Proverbs 4:18 (NLT), the way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. This scripture implies that the information here is only a foundation. There is always more and more in God. You will draw closer to God as you walk in the steps provided. The closer you are to God, the more instructions and steps He will give you. Therefore, this is not the holy grail of growth in God but rather a starting point. God bless you.

      1

      The Realms

      Two realms are known to us—the physical and the spiritual. The focus of our study in this book is the spiritual realm. However, discussing the spiritual without understanding the physical realm will create confusion. We will briefly delve into both realms to gain a holistic understanding of our topic. It is important to note that since these two realms are connected, they are also mutually exclusive. 

      The Word of God is the most excellent tool ever given to understand the mysteries of God. It is a reliable source for grasping the truth. In John 4:24 NLT, the Bible reveals the truth that God is Spirit. Then in Genesis 1:26 NLT, we come to realize God's intention for making man, Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. Man was made to be "like" God. Therefore, humans are gods but not God (Psalm 82:6). Man is a spirit being like God, but we see a difference when the Bible further explains that God formed man from the dust of the ground. In accordance with John 3:6 NKJV (that which is born of the flesh is flesh), we can conclude that man was created to be in the likeness of God and not the embodiment of the fullness of God. Hence, there are critical distinctions between the creator and His creation. The body of man, which was made out of the earth's dust by God, gives man the ability to exist on the earth. It is essential to mention that the man here, Adam, contained both the male and the female at this time of creation (Genesis 1:27). So, this concept applies to both men and women. 

      In Genesis 1:27 NLT, we saw that God's masterpiece came to life; in one breath, a molded clay sculpture became a living being. Before the breath of God, man was simply a lifeless sculpture in the hands of God. It was the breath of God that connected man's spirit to his body. Hence man exists in both the physical and the spiritual realm (John 3:6).

      What we just explained is the biology of God's handiwork. From man's external and internal composition, we see how God designed man to be a spirit being with a soul and living in a body. A man's soul is the interface between the spiritual and physical realms. Information is downloaded from a man's spirit and transmitted to his body via his soul and vice versa.

      An emphasis is placed on the soul because of the vital role it plays. Mark 8:36-37 & Romans 12:2 helps us understand that our souls become the main focus area of development after we come to God through Jesus Christ. 

      Now that we have established how God created man, we can further advance our understanding by digging deeper into the spiritual and physical realms.

      Definition

      Everything that God does, He does with intention and detail. Through the process of creation, God intentionally created man last. In other words, He saved the best part for last. God created everything in preparation for the unique beings He would give His Spirit and breath. I can imagine God beautifying the garden of Eden while thinking about how astonished Adam and Eve would be when they finally saw the garden. It has been clear from the beginning; God created the physical realm for man!

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