True FASTING

True FASTING. 

How one should fast has been a controversial issue for generations and still is in our time.

Some of us are conversant with the biblical account in Esther 4:16, of how queen Esther told her uncle Mordecai to gather together all the Jews so that they could fast for her. 

She commanded them not to eat or drink for three days, night or day.
She led by example letting the people know that she and her attendants would fast as they did, willing to lay down her life for her people, at all cost.

God rebuked the people of her times who had gone against the type of fasting he had laid down for them when he said according to Isaiah 58:5 thus:
"Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?"

I was brought up by my parents and the local Church I attended to believe that fasting was a time period of sacrifice when one would: 

1. Abstain from eating or drinking in order to deny one's flesh of it's natural cravings but instead feed one's spirit with the Word of God so that one's Spirit would be empowered over one's flesh, to subdue it and bring it under the control of God's Word, and 

2. Pray and meditate on God's Word in order to know Him and His Word more and gain revelation about issues that was bothering one and therefore the empowerment one needs to overcome them.

True fasting however, as God has prescribed for mankind, that goes beyond what a lot of us have been taught, made to believe and practiced, can be appreciated by going through what God prescribed through his prophet in Isaiah 58 verse 6 to 7 and verse10, so that we can understand exactly how God would have us go about fasting, in a way that is acceptable to Him, so that the inherent blessings may accrue to us for our accurate and faithful participation.

In Isaiah 58: 6 to 7 and 10, it is aptly written thus:
6. “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
7. Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
10. and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

Most of us have been erroneously taught to fast by humbling ourselves before God, merely asking for the blessings God has already promised to provide for us, while leaving out the significant role God desires we do on behalf of the needy and oppressed to obtain those blessings.

True fasting, of frequently spending out of what we own, on behalf of others who are not as privileged as we are, as prescribed in Isaiah 58 requires that we:

1.) deprive and spend ourselves on the behalf of the hungry and

2.) satisfy the needs of the oppressed at our own expense,

so that, in turn God will:
- cause our light to rise in the darkness,
and
- our night to become like the noonday;  which has to do with us getting revelations from God concerning gray areas in our lives that we are having difficulties in, and negative issues we were experiencing before being dealt with and oberturned by the Lord, as a result of our faithfulness in fasting.

Now that we have been enlightened about what true fasting is, let us ensure that when we fast by abstaining from eating or drinking in order to deny our flesh but instead, praying and feeding our spirit with the Word of God, the end result of our sacrifice will be that needs of the hungry and oppressed around us, are met by us, as God has prescribed, so that in turn God Almighty will meet our needs and wants, and bless us as he has said He would do for our faithfulness.

Shalom!

Uncommon FAITH

Uncommon FAITH

It was uncommon faith that our forefather, Abraham had, that allowed him to dare to put the faith of the next generation of his family and more importantly the fate of the promise God had made to him which was the purpose of his existence, into the hands of the senior servant in his household, with only an oath, made in the name of God from the servant as a guarantee. 

In the days of our forefather Abraham, the practice of intending couples courting themselves for a while to get to know themselves better, in order to find out whether they were compatible with each other or not, was almost nonexistent in the Jewish culture. 

Parents almost exclusively had the sole right to choose the spouses for their sons and daughters and even those who were allowed to make their choice had to get the approval of their parents for a marriage to take place.

So I believe that any one who is conversant with the Jewish tradition that existed those days can understand the gravity of the risk Abraham took in charging his servant with the life-changing task of finding a suitable wife for not only his beloved and only son, Isaac but for the only child of the promise God made to him to make him the father of all nations. 

When I first came across the account of what Abraham did in entrusting the task that could alter the future of his lineage, and indeed the nation of faith all over the earth that he was supposed to be the patriarch of, for good or for bad, and was able to grasp the magnitude of faith Abraham must have had in his servant, who was not of his blood line and was not said to have been recommended by God to Abraham, I still did not in anyway agree with what he did, talk less believe that I or any other parent in their right senses could ever fathom attempting such a mind-boggling, dangerous and potentially life-altering feat. 

However, as years passed and I came to the understanding of the enormity of the love God had for mankind and how God found Abraham worthy, out of all the men of his time to be bestowed with the privilege to be blessed and named the father of all nations because God saw his heart and his propensity to be faithful and Abraham in turn, dared to have complete confidence in God's call upon his life, to leave all he ever knew for the unknown, my shock and disbelief soon turned to admiration and total respect. 

Even though Abraham made his own mistakes along the way, one of which was so monumental and world-changing, that it brought enmity between mankind that exists till this day, it takes a man who has walked with God as faithfully as Abraham had done, to have the magnitude of faith in the Almighty to trust God to use someone not of his lineage to accomplish God's eternal purposes for his family and indeed all mankind.  

Apart from the questions the servant asked Abraham with regards to issues that may arise while trying to accomplish the strange task, I believe that the faith Abraham had in his servant was partly due to the fact that Abraham had constantly taught the servants in his household the way of his God, effectively to the point that their actions showed that they had the same love for him and the God in whom he served, and as a result Abraham in turn had complete confidence in God to grant his servant the wisdom to carry out the daunting task of finding a suitable wife for his heir. 

In fact, Abrahams faith in his servant can be likened unto the opportunity God granted Gentiles like you and I to be grafted into the family of faith, which was at one point in time a privilege that was exclusively for the Jewish nation. 

This uncommon type of faith is the complete confidence God expects us all to have, with regards to what God can accomplish through our fellow men, if we would but only dare to teach them about the loving ways of our God, that they too may have the privilege we too were afforded by those who introduced and taught us the Faith. 

Receive grace for uncommon faith due to the truths of God's Word that you now know as a result of this message, in Jesus name.

Amen! 

THE CURE FOR LACK

THE CURE FOR LACK.

DO YOU NEED FISH? 

THEN CHANGE YOUR PROFESSION. 

Are you in need of anything that will provide you with a livelihood?

Are you in need of work or a business that will help you perpetually provide for your needs and even that of your family members?

Then change your profession. 

Accept the call of jesus on your life by changing your job description to the one he gave his disciples and indeed all who would dare to live by faith and follow him. 

Simon Peter's profession before he followed the call of Jesus, that he fish for men rather than for fish, was that of a fisherman. 

The account of how Simon was called by Jesus can be found in Luke 5:1-11. 

Simon's first encounter with the Lord was when Jesus used his boat to preach to people. 

When Jesus entered the boat and asked Simon to put out a little from shore, Simon agreed without any hesitation because that day he and his fellow fishermen were washing their nets after working hard the previous night, without being able to catch anything. 

When Jesus had finished speaking, he told Simon to put out, this time, into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.

Simon then agreed to the Lord's request because the Lord said so and not because he wanted to, after intimating the Lord about their inability to catch anything overnight. 

As a result, Simon and his companions obedience to the Lord's command led them to catch so much fish that their nets began to break and their boats began to sink. 

After Simon had come to the Lord in  realisation, fear and submission as a result of the miracle Jesus had just performed in their midst, Jesus changed his job description and also commissioned Simon and his companions to fish for people from then on.

In obedience to the Call of the Lord, they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything that they used to sustain their livelihoods and followed him.

When Jesus had left the seen, after his crucifixion, death and burial, it happened that one day as recorded in John 21:2-19, Simon Peter called Thomas, Nathanael, James and John Zebedee, and two other disciples to join him in their former profession as fisherman and they agreed to go with him.

That night they caught nothing like what happened the night before Jesus called them to catch men rather than fish. 

Early in the morning, Jesus had to call out yet again to them, as he stood on the shore, to throw their net on the right side of the boat with the assurance that they would catch fish if they did so.  

It happened that when they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish they caught.

After Jesus had called them for a breakfast of bread and fish he then asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” 

Simon then replied, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” 

After which Jesus then commanded him thus, “Feed my lambs.” 

The word "these" in Christ's question to  Simon refers to Simon's propensity to go fishing and resume his former job description as a fisherman rather than the new Job Jesus had given to him, of being a Fisher of men that would in turn provide for his livelihood. 

The proof that we are disciples of Christ can be seen in the times we choose to obey the call of Jesus to fish for men on a daily basis, apart from engaging in any endeavour in order to sustain our livelihoods, like catching fish or any other business we were into before we were called to the Ministry of Christ Jesus. 

In Matthew 6:32 to 33, we are warned not to run after "these" things like pagans do, having in mind that our heavenly Father knows that we need them. We are commanded to rather seek first the establishment of God's kingdom and his righteousness in our hearts and minds and that of our fellow men, and as a result all "these" things that Jesus was trying to warn Simon Peter and indeed all Christians about, with regards to how we would be able to sustain ourselves in life, will be given to us as well.

The call of Jesus, that we be fishers of men is a lifetime call that must be adhered to on a daily basis. 

It is the Ministry of Jesus and as a result if we choose to be his followers, we must therefore pattern our daily lives after his.

Let us refuse to live in uncertainty any longer because of our disobedience to our primary assignment in life. 

Fish for men as much as you can daily, not out of duty but out of genuine love for the lost as you once were, so that the Almighty will also make you the Supernatural fisherman He purposed you to be, to not only provide the Word of God to people around you but to also meet their material needs by the riches He endows you with as a result. 

Receive the Grace to abide by the truth that what you now know has empowered you with in Jesus name.

Amen.

Submit, Resist & Be Delivered

The road to victory concerning every negative issue we may come across in life can only be found in this 2 pronged approach as commanded in Gods Word, which is to: 
1. Submit to God's will concerning our lives and 
2. Resist the devil & as a result of our faithfulness to His provision via His word, the ancient enemy of the souls of men shall indeed flee from every situation that he had hitherto tried to steal, destroy or even kill what concerns us.  

We must understand that God's commands as found in the holy writ were lovingly written and passed down from generation to generation for all ages, for our benefit and not because God almighty rejoices in giving us strange and seemingly difficult commands, conditions and restrictions to make our lives miserable like  some erroneously think.

When God reveals Himself and His Christ to us individually, and we humbly accept and choose to submit ourselves to Him by believing in the only provision He has made available to deliver mankind from temptations allure and the unfairness of this fallen world's systems caused by the evil manipulations of Satan over them,  we are automatically strengthened to resist the devil by the empowerment we are afforded as a result by the Holy Spirit.

We can therefore be rest assured that the ancient enemy of the souls of men shall indeed flee from us concerning every situation we apply God's principle of deliverance upon.

In James 4:7-10, we are commanded by God to:
1. Submit ourselves to Him, 
2. Resist the devil, and as a result, he will flee from us.
We are admonished to draw near to God that He may in return, come near to us.
We are advised to wash our hands from our sinful ways, and to purify our hearts from our double-mindedness.
We are also encouraged to grieve, mourn and wail. To change our laughter to mourning and our joy to gloom concerning sin and all that is wrong with this fallen world we live in, and humble ourselves before the Lord, that He may lift us up.

As light will always have victory over darkness so also will the submissive relationship God has call us into with Him always strengthen and empower us to follow Him faithfully, to resist the evil one and also cause him to flee from the light of God that emanates from us because of our obedience to His mandate for our lives. 

Finally, God almighty has called us individually into a relationship with Him that He may bless us and cause us to ve blessings to others as in Genesis 12: 2-3 so let us be consistent in following Him.
Not just in our acceptance of Jesus as Saviour, that he may deliver us and merely help us resist and rebuff the devil whenever we are in trouble but more importantly as our Lord, that we may not continue to live life on the defensive but victoriously by being on the offensive, to twart Satans plans against us and our fellow men, like God has empowered us all to do in Christ Jesus.

Shalom.

LIES (3)

Lies are oh so significant an issue in the lives of men, than we could ever imagine, especially in the lives of God's people, which should not be, because anyone who chooses to use such, actually does so at his own detriment, for when a person lies, he not only consciously or inadvertently ushers the father of lies into the situation he told a lie about but also gives him inroads into other aspects of his life as well. 

There's nothing more deleterious to the child of God than fooling around with things that are exclusively in the devils domain, as such would serve as cogent grounds for one to be legally  robbed by the ancient enemy of our souls. 

Lies nowadays form a major part of the discourse of myriads of people all over the world because most believe there's just no way they can avoid them.

People of God can I'll-afford to be faithless about living lives free from lies and therefore be so casual with telling fibs as a means of deflecting another's attention from the truth or any of the other reasons anyone would feel warrants it's use, as what is ungodly is exactly what it is, and as such should not be used by God's people, period. 

The truth of God's word, spoken by faith serves to deflect the flaming arrows of temptations, doubt and deceit the devil may assault us with from time to time but playing with lies creates gaps in the armour of God we are clothed in, for the devils arrows to easily penetrate and harm us. 

Unfortunately, lies to most people are not just here to stay but are a valid part of human interaction.

Christians must however individually take a stance against the mindset that they are unavoidable, as a first step in redeeming themselves from the devils hold over situations in their lives through such intangible slip-ups, because there is no seemingly insignificant lie that does not have the potential to give the devil a foothold into situations in our lives and serve as an inroad for the ancient enemy of our souls to steal from us, destroy things in our lives and even terminate our very existence, if afforded the opportunity.

The seriousness of the issue of controlling our tongues can be understood from James 3, verses 6 - 8, to the extent that it was stated that," no human being can tame the tongue..." a glimpse of hope was however given in verse 3 that,
"When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal."  

It is indeed an important analogy we must consider in that it gives us an idea of the type of solution we need to adopt in order to reign in our tongues and therefore force ourselves to desist from telling lies or better still, to stop talking too much, in that we cannot by our own intuition or physical strength bridle our tongues.

Finally, praying to God for grace and imbibing the word of God that the resident Holy Spirit can work with, to serve as the bits needed to rein in our tongues, is the only solution that exists for loose lips and lies. So let's take full advantage of the provisions God has made and stop telling lies.

Shalom.

Lies (2)

Choose to be Responsible.

God commands us to be perfect as He is perfect but unfortunately a lot of us don't believe it's possible and as a result make ourselves useless to Him because of our lack of faith in the impossible that we ought to have in Christ.
We however due to our lack of faith, inadvertently limit God's work in our lives and make ourselves useful pawns for the evil one as a result.

Indeed, while we can't attain perfection in anything by our own willpower or flesh, God has made it possible for us to do so through the Holy Spirit's empowerment.

When we choose to put to death our flesh and feed our spirit and by so doing, follow the promptings of His Holy Spirit that is resident within us, then perfection pertaining to various aspects of life and godliness, that seems impossible becomes possible.

It is said that when the root of a problem is identified then to proffer a solution is made easier.

We must understand that our propensity to tell lies emanates from our inability to want to accept responsibility for our actions.

If you want to stem the tide of lies you tell then you need to be desperate and deliberate about it.

We've all heard the adage, "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time" but most of us want to eat our cake and have it.

When a man chooses to be responsible for what he does, such a person is ready to start to kick out lies from his life.

If you are expected to go on an errand for your boss and return at a specific time but then decide to deviate from the task to do one or two personal things that makes it impossible to return when you ought, the next truthfully logical thing to do is to choose to own up to what you have done, however, failure to do the right thing will surely give rise to shame and the opportunity to lie in order to try to cover up one's wrong actions.

So, the first steps for kicking out lies from your life are:
1. Be a Christian, and as such, dare to believe in the impossible, that you can kick out lies from your life,
2. the next time you foolishly choose to be disobedient or do things your own way rather than the way you ought pertaining to any situation, make up your mind to be Christ's Ambassador rather than the devil's side-kick by choosing to be responsible for what you have done rather than lie about it.

Shalom.

Lies

A lie is what it is ...a lie.

A lot of us speak the truth only when it serves our purposes but we must stop fooling ourselves and desist from bringing God's holy name and His work of salvation in the lives of others into disrepute because of the sloppy, self-centered services we render to our fellow men and to God Almighty as well.  

No one is an exception to His word; His commands, precepts and consequences for disobedience. 

A lie is what it is ...a lie.
"...When the devil lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44 ), so if we habitually do the same are we not his children? 

God is a respecter of no one and as such we cannot exempt ourselves from His principles and the consequences of willfully disobeying them, vascilating between lies and the truth and expecting grace to abound. 

If you can stand in the midst of people, ignore His Spirit of Truth within you and willfully tell a lie and try to pass it off as the truth or even a joke and your conscience does not prick you, or you don't have any qualms that your utterance won't encourage others to speak the devils native language, which is opposite and opposed to God's mandate that we speak the truth in love always, then you should be gravely concerned about the state of your heart, and you better check yourself and repent of your ways.

For example, If you happen to be in a vehicle and you indicate to the person you are discussing with on phone that you are in a location where you really are not, to try to make the person feel that you are closer to him than you really are, what does that make you, and how do you want the people around you to perceive you and the faith you claim to profess?

The seemingly little things that we tend to overlook are usually the ones that the enemy of our souls uses with time, to shipwreck our faith and that usually have a ripple effect on others who are looking to us as authority figures and role models.

Are you having a hard time not spicing up your conversation with a lie, here and there? 

Admit to yourself that you have a challenge in this area, pray for grace to desist from such and as in Proverbs 10:19, think before you talk and try to keep your utterances few, knowing that usually when words are many, sin is not absent and finally, "be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,.." (James 1:19).

May God's grace avail for you immensely on this issue.

Shalom