The Called, the Chosen and the Faithful - The Making of a Disciple.
1. The Called.
The path of one who is Called, Chosen and remains Faithful is the Making of a Disciple of our Lord and Saviour.
Not all have been elected but everyone will be called.
Even those who lived and died on earth before the advent of Jesus were called by him as is written in 1 Peter 3: 19 to 20.
The Call of Jesus Christ to mankind can be appreciated in the account of how he Called his first Disciples in Matthew 4: 18 to 20.
The account goes thus:
18. As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
19. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
20. At once they left their nets and followed him.
Everyone born into this world will be called by Jesus Christ as it is written concerning Jesus inJohn 1: 9 KJV, "That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world."
The Call of Jesus Christ to mankind is a call to every human being to experience the abundant life God foreplanned for mankind.
A call to be reconciled to God and constantly experience the cordial relationship that Adam and Eve had with Him at the beginning.
A call to be Redeemed from the curse of the Fall of Mankind and the law of sin and death and bask in the restoration of the blessings and dominion God originally planned for His beloved creation.
In John 1:4 it is written,
"In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind."
The life that is referred to as "the light of all mankind," is the heaven on earth - abundant life God initially planned for all mankind, and such supernatural existence on this earth can only be experienced as a result of one's complete confidence in Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour and God as our Almighty Father.
We are in a time war and the truth is only time will tell when our spirits will be recalled by the One who gave it. Today is all you've got. Right now is what we are all assured of.
Jesus is calling you to His service today by virtue of what you have just read. He is saying to you right now:
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If "you" hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with "you", and "you" with me," as in Revelation 3: 20.
The choice is yours but I counsel you not to forsake Him now but answer the door as He won't knock forever.
Shalom
Inspired by God, executed by me.
The case of to sell or not to sell?
To sell or not to profit from what you have been freely given, even though it cost you resources which didn't emanate from you either is an issue we need to deal with individually because God is still the arbiter of all that is right or wrong in our individual lives.
I know there's a need to fund ministries, to make an honest living to be able to indulge in the work of our hands or pastime but because someone chooses to monetize the talent God has given him doesn't mean that we all can as well, so let God be the yardstick and not your needs, greed or what anyone else may be doing or has told you.
The Yoruba adage, "má fí àgo àlágo şhere!" which means "don't use someone elses timing as a yardstick or to judge" is very apt with regards to how God deals with issues in our individual lives.
Because God chooses to deal with a person in a particular way doesn't always translate to the same blanket approval or denial to everyone else.
Our differing temperaments, level of faith and maturity comes to play in a lot of things we are permitted to do or not in God's scheme of things.
God's as in Jeremiah 29:11, knows the plans He has for us individually, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us hope and a future so let's develop the much needed personal relationship He desires we all have with Him so we can understand and fit in to His will concerning all our endeavours instead of following the way others do things because of our lack of guidance.
Are you talented with an ability that you have the potential to monetize to your benefit but are not sure if that's the way the way to go with regards to your goods or services?
Sincerely ask God to show you the way to go, seek His face concerning what He would have you do by seeking council through a prompting He may give you through searching His living word and you can be assured that He will reveal His purpose for such to you in His own time.
While you are waiting for a definite answer you may be prompted to go about doing what you believe will glorify Him and by so doing find out what He would have you do down the line.
Finally, as in Hebrews 11:6 KJV, you must go to God believing that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, that He may meet you at your point of need.
Shalom
Healing & Medicine.
Faith in Healing and the role of Medicine.
Just as in Mark 9: 40, where it is written, "for whoever is not against us is for us." I do believe everything that is not against the will of God for our life must be for us.
Our use of pharmaceutical drugs to effect our healing and wellness is by no means an indication of our lack of faith in God's transforming word to heal us when our bodies are plagued by sickness and disease.
Whether we are afflicted by one ailment or the other, God knows. It is in His permissive will.
The means by which He'll give us respite or complete healing is also in his purview and is His divine prerogative, and in truth, most of the effective pharmaceutical drugs or herbal remedies we may choose to take as well, were not discovered and concocted without His divine wisdom and input.
All God requires of us is that we take them with thanksgiving, giving Him the glory due Him for their existence and ability to give us respite when ill.
In John chapter 9, Jesus healed the man that was born blind by using the resources of the earth that was created by him and for him.
Jesus simply spat on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, put it on the man's eyes, and told him to wash in the Pool of Siloam and the man came home seeing as a result.
After all, the remedy we choose to take or God's words that we confess to effect our healing all derive their potency from our faith in them or shall I say our faith in their true source.
Finally, let's be doubly sure that we are in the center of God's will concerning whatever measure or medium we choose to effect our healing and that of others, for as in 3 John 1:2, it is God's will that we enjoy good health and that all goes well with us as our soul prospers in Him.
Just as the warning, "If symptoms persist see your doctor!" is commonly seen on several drugs, as God's people we must also go back to the Great Physician when what we choose to use as a remedy is not giving us the desired result. He can never be tired of attending to us.
We don't need to book an appointment with Him nor should we see our consultation with him as a lack of faith on our part.
Shalom
It will all end in Praise.
God Almighty through our faith in His precious promises strewn throughout the Holy Writ has given us the privilege to participate in His divine nature here on earth.
One of the most important scripture He has made available to us is Romans 8:28, which goes thus:
".. in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
We have all been through patches in life and will still go through more when it seems like God just ain't there, situations in which we have sought the hand of God concerning a matter and all we experience is deafening silence without a prompting of a "Yes," "No" or "wait," that we all have been made to believe is the natural order of God's response to our needs and wants.
It can be so downright frustrating to know that God exists but seems to be delaying in bringing about an outcome we desire but as people of God, we need to keep trusting God for a favourable outcome knowing that He desires what's best for us even more than our very selves.
We all need to reprogramme our minds to understand that even if that seemingly all too important reply of a "Yes," "No" or "wait" is not forthcoming, the final outcome of the situation we have earnestly tabled before the Lord will still turn out to favour us, but more importantly it will result in these outcomes which are His purpose for us and our fellow men:
1. the saving of souls of men,
2. praise to Him and
3. blessings for us.
These 3 outcomes far outweigh the wisdom we may exhibit and our puny ideas we tend to have of how the end of a matter should be.
God as in Romans 8:28 will always orchestrate outcomes of all situations to favour us but we need to understand that in Gods scheme of things the order of priority goes thus:
1. The fulfilment of His purpose concerning a situation that He alone may be glorified, and then
2. Working out the outcome for the good of those who love him to the extent that they desire the fulfilment of His purpose above their own desire.
Let me paint a worse-case senario for you, to hit the nail on the head so that whenever we remember Romans 8:28 we will have the right perspective of it from now on.
God will allow you or another person who is bound for heaven to be maimed or even killed so that another can make heaven that His name may be praised as a result and the salvation of the new convert will be added to your heavenly reward.
God's purpose for mankind is not just that we live long or have situations go our way but more importantly that we live well by helping Him fulfil His purpose of saving others like He saved us.
So from now on have the right perspective concerning Gods ultimate purpose for every situation we face in life, which is that, people are saved, we are bleseed and He is praised and glorified. So the bottom line is...it will all end in praise.
Shalom
Time for God.
Everything we desire to do but cannot get ourselves to do begins with a sincere and heartfelt prayer to God acknowledging our inability to do it by our own and requesting that He empower us as a result.
I used to pray to God to give me time to fellowship with Him and His word before He made me understand that He has given me grace to do so, as it is His will for all men and that it was now my turn to act.
Finding time or Making out time to commune with God is a Sacrifice like many other endeavours God requires that we accomplish,not because they are easy or expedient but because they are needful, for our benefit and that He may be glorified through them.
Several times when I had hit the sack early because of an early morning meeting or to adequately prepare for an event, I would give God a litany of excuses of how He should understand the importance of what I had to do, as if He was not the one that made it possible for me to get the job in the first place.
We tend to relegate our communion with God to the background from time to time feigning some worthy venture as being a worthwhile excuse for doing so.
When I come back from waking up to go to the convenience to take a leak is the time God has hinted me about as being the best opportunity for me to have a quiet time with Him and His Word.
It was a good enough time than having the alarm on my phone wake me and still be fighting to stay awake because by the time I got back to the bed I would be actually wide awake.
When God first dropped the thought into my mind I fought it for a while because I loved my sleep, but He soon reminded me of the oath king David made to Him that I would confess by faith from time to time as a daily routine I desired.
David in Psalm 132: 3 to 5, vowed to God saying,
3. “I will not enter my house or go to my bed,
4. I will allow no sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids,
5. till I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
I was opportune to come across a word of knowledge about Genesis 1:5, where after God called the light “day,” and the darkness “night,”the first day was recorded as being from that evening till the next morning.
That revelation afforded me the opportunity to realise that my day doesn't start at daybreak but at night.
It made me understand as in Matthew 13:25 why the enemy of the souls of men was able to sow weeds among the wheat, while everyone slept.
As people of God we need to communicate with God, pray and project our confessions for what we desire for the next day before it comes upon us.
In Proverbs 8:17 KJV, God emphatically said, "I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me."
From that scripture I deduced that my love for God is equated with my seeking Him early, and after all it is to my benefit that I find Him that He may strengthen and prepare me for the day and tasks ahead.
There is a stark difference between fitting God into your plans and letting him put you into his plan.
Stop trying to fit God into your plans, instead let him put you into his plan and find out what His plan is and get with His programme.
The adage, "those who fail to plan, plan to fail"adequately captures the senario those who fail to fit their plan into God's will and His way end up facing along the way.
Are you having a hard time making out time for God?
Begin by praying about it then seize the opportunity you have when you are idle, on transit, breaktime, your time for siesta, etc to commune with Him and you'll end up having a more fulfilled existence.
Shalom
Keeping Secrets.
A secret is information meant to be kept hidden from others whether a person tells you to divulge it or not, so knowing what to do with such is really pretty straight forward.
Are you a trustworthy person?
If you are then you "may be able" to keep secrets and if you ain't you had better work on yourself so you won't lose friends, acquaintances and most importantly your integrity as a result of your lack of self-control.
As Dr. Myles Monroe of blessed memory correctly said, "If the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable."
The ability of a person to keep confidential that which he ought, especially God's people, is vital in the work God has called us into but if one does not know the importance of trustworthiness such a person will automatically not be able to keep peoples confidential information hidden from others.
The ability of a person to
identify a word or two spoken in passing as something worth keeping to oneself is very important.
In James 1: 19, we are aptly warned, thus "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,.."
Not only does speaking too much lead to unplanned utterances but as in Proverbs 10:19 (NKJV) we are warned that in "the multitude of words "sin" is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise."
Some of us may have heard the Quote from William Edward Norris, which goes thus:
“If your lips would keep from slips, Five things observe with care;
To whom you speak,
of whom you speak,
And how, and when, and where.”
To the bearer of juicy secrets who reads this, who is pushed and prodded by his big mouth and not God's prompting, I council you to not put God's people and kingdom into disrepute by learning to keep a tight reign on your tongue.
If you know that passing on an information about another will not glorify God, that it won't lead to prayer or fashioning out a worthwhile remedy to the issues of the person been spoken of, then by all means, "keep your mouth shut!"
We are reminded in Proverbs 18: 21, that "the tongue has the power of life and death,..." let's use it to bring forth life.
The thief, the ancient enemy of our souls, as in John 10: 10, works tirelessly with the sole purpose of stealing from, killing and destroying mankind, so let's not be willing pawns in his ministry by failing to bridle our tongues.
If you erroneously think your oral slip-ups only affects the person you divulge his or her secrets, then you better wake up and wrap your mind around James 3: 2, which says:
"We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check."
If you're never at fault in what you say by offending or destroying others with your utterances either directly or indirectly, you'll become a perfect man, able to control your whole body and therefore not stumble when it comes to getting your body to do what God's Spirit desires that is at war with your flesh.
This means that the errors in your speech that offend and have adverse effects on others will as well lead your flesh to acts of disobedience against what you know is the right thing you ought to do. It will lead you to falter and fall into temptation.
I'm sure you are conversant with the adage,"what goes around, comes around!" or some other variant of it, well, know that the devil leaves his unwitting as well as willing servants usually worse off than the people they help him to harm or ruin their lives.
Finally, are you a bearer of sensitive information someone has told you?
Then by all means, "Keep it to yourself!"
You have been warned!
STOP ASKING GOD FOR MONEY
A lot of us have gotten into the bad habit of asking God for money with regards to almost everything we desire He provide for us. We have unconsciously gotten to a point in our lives that we believe with enough cash we can buy just about anything we need.
The system of this fallen world we live in has surreptitiously crept into our actions, reaction, language and prayer life to the point that we have become used to asking God for the middleman (money) between Him and what we really need rather than asking Him directly because of how Almighty He is to meet us at the very point of our need.
We have been brainwashed into forgetting God's specific provision for mankind that if we ask for what we need in the name of Jesus and do not doubt, we shall receive what we asked for as inJohn 16:24, and not the purchasing power to get it.
Money is a middleman, a go between, a valid medium of exchange in the contemporary world we live in but before money existed, men were accustomed to exchanging goods and services with each other. Things and services rather than money in a trade-by-barter system.
When the use of money first began it was amedium of exchange that men chose to give value and peg it's value with that of gold bullions they had stashed away in the vaults of their bank but before it existed men would barter (exchange) things for their face value based on simple demand and supply.
Banks were made to be secure repositories, reserve for valuable items men would take there for safekeeping.
God's provision by prayer or favour withoutasking, however doesn't usually involve any trade at all. God can use other men or any of His creation to freely give men what they need or want, no matter how lavish it may be.
Like a bank, God Almighty has a repository of blessings in heaven and in earth that He can endow men with, so ask for your specific needs and wants and trust Him to show Himself mighty on your behalf.
Shalom
Hearing God (4)
It is interesting how we tend to call on God only when we are in need like a genie in the bottle of some sorts, that we only beckon upon when an issue arises at our whim, to do our bidding.
This erroneous attitude is actually born out of our incomplete knowledge of who God is an how we ought to relate with Him. While God desires to save us from situations that are beyond our comprehension and ability, His purpose in our lives is far more than the mundane things we usually think about and desire.
God's desire for all mankind can be understood in the words He spoke to Abram in Genesis 17:1 to 2 and 7, where He said to Abram,
1. “I am God Almighty ; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
2. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
7. "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you."
God's overwhelming desire with regards to how He wants to relate with His creation, is to have a loving Father to son relationship with us all in which He will be our God and we will be a people that would walk faithfully and blamelessly before Him all our days.
Do you lack the ability to hear God as you would your earthly father?
Prayerfully work on developing a relationship with Him and learn to fellowship with Him and His word like you would any other human being you are closest to.
Relate with His Holy Spirit as you would a friend that is closer to you than a biological brother.
Practice being conscious of His presence and His Almighty ability to guard and guide you through every situation in life by talking to Him concerning everything in life, no matter how seemingly trivial or mundane the issue may be and by all means, take time to listen, and you will definitely see a turn-around in your relationship with Him.
Shalom.
Hearing God (3)
The question you must ask yourself now is, Do you have ears to hear? or better still, How do you qualify to hear what God's spirit says to His church?
In John 10:3 to 5, we are made to understand that the sheep listen to the voice of the good shepherd and that when he calls his own sheep by name, goes on ahead of them, and leads them out, his sheep follow him because they know his voice and that they will never follow a stranger but run away from such because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.
The gospel truth is that you must be a member of God's flock to listen to him, to the point of considering what he says like the disciples of Jesus did or you will just be like one of the members of the crowd.
As in Matthew 13:11 and Mark 4:10,
the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given only to his flock, that is, those who choose to follow him as his disciples and ask him about the meaning of the parables but not to those who are part of the crowd, who follow him only for material gain and are not really bothered about understanding what he has to say, talk less adhering to it.
There is only one message that rings out throughout the new testament concerning God's heartbeat, that He desires we fulfil. This message is always the summary of what the Spirit says to His church and the message simply is this: "go and make disciples of all nations,.." (Matthew 28:19).
This message which is God's command to the church, is born out of this resounding desire of Jesus as recorded in John 10:16, which goes thus:
"I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd."
If you have ears then I believe you have heard what God's spirit says to His church. With the measure you obey it, it will be measured to you - and even more.
Shalom
