Israel, 2019

Somewhere in Israel

INTERCESSORY PRAYERS: THE RIGHT APPROACH

Have you ever wondered why God came down heavily upon those who complained in the wilderness after they came back from their voyage of the Promised Land? Sometimes, it seems reasonable to complain or murmur and many times God forgives such and at times He did punish those who complained. Low level Christians murmur and complain when things are not right, middle level Christians stay silent, they recognize God’s sovereignty over the affairs of men and will submit to fate not faith. It takes a matured Christian not to complain, not to resign to fate but to respond to situation and circumstances through intercession.

Who is an Intercessor?

Intercessors are not primarily those who are preoccupied with their own personal lives. They are neither depressed nor anxious about their own lives as much as they desire the will of God done. Intercessors cherish the privilege of standing before God as the utmost in their lives. Such a privilege they will never surrender to anything else no matter how threatening even their lives could be. Our Lord Jesus Christ has shown intercessor in John 17 as He himself faced impending death; He decided to intercede for His disciples. There are times for personal prayers but much more there are times for intercessory prayers.

Intercessors are not only praying for few minutes and cast their mind off, no, as they attend to their daily assignments, their hearts are connected to God for petition to remind God of His word, His mercy, His power, His love etc. Nothing delights the heart of an intercessor as much as the dealings of God upon him/her. He sees God honouring him with answered prayers, divine delights and unique revelations. Intercessors are those who stand in the gap for others.

Benefits of Intercession

One of the profound advantages of being an intercessor is God’s mark on one.

Ezek 9:4-6 “ and the Lord said to him, "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it." 5 To the others He said in my hearing, "Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. 6 Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were before the temple.”  I have come to know this through a practical life experience. Intercessors are dear to the heart of God.

Intercession shows our obedience to God  

(1 Tim 2:1,3)Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. Intercession therefore fulfills the biblical mandate God has given us.

Intercessory prayers lead to revelation

As we found out with the Abraham, God knew Abraham to be an intercessor and God had to reveal to him what He was about to do. Abraham did not disappoint God, he pleaded with God concerning the righteous people in Sodom and God replied every request he made. Gen. 18: 16-33

Conclusion

Each of us must remember James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. It is the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man that avails much. Intercessor must maintain, the righteousness God gave them through Jesus and must be quick to confess their sins if they sin.  

According to William Martin, 1878, In the warfare that is raging. …God needs people brave and true: May He then depend on you?  May the Lord depend on you? Loyalty is but His due; Say, O spirit, brave and true, That He may depend on you.

We'll Understand It Better By and By - Guy Penrod Hymns (w/ Lyrics)

UNDER THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD

UNDER THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD

1 Peter 5 : 5-7

Introduction

A king in the Old Testament was considered to have done evil more than any other kings before him in Israel so God sent His prophet to tell him the punishment for his evils just as the prophet was about to leave, the king humbled himself and God called the attention of the prophet to the way the king humbled himself and the judgments were postponed to the time of his children  1 Kings 16:33 cf 1 Kings 21: 21-27. God is always interested in a humble and a contrite heart.

The Epistle of Peter is one of the general epistles. General because it was addressed to Christians generally. Specifically, it was addressed to Christians who were facing persecution and sufferings as at that time. 1 Peter 1: 6,7. If you agree with me, Christians are facing hard times. I went to an institution last week and the Christian woman was denied been the librarian position simply because she was Christian. Just this week a young lady applied for a job and the prospective employer asked her to be his girl friend, she turned down the offer. Some had been made to resign because they refused to compromised their faith, it was to this audience that God to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, take note, not just under the hand of God but under the mighty hand of God, there may be a possibility that when one is going through life's issues one may forget that the hand of God is still mighty. Never forget that the hand of the Lord is mighty and HE will manifest for you in Jesus name.

Under the mighty hand of God

1. Humble yourself v6 - It is better to humble oneself than to be humiliated but I tell you pride goes before a fall only those who humble themselves will not be humiliated. Christian humility consists of a due sense of our dependence on God,  God we are as nothing before Him; He is the high and lofty One who inhabiteth eternity; from everlasting to everlasting He is God; boundless in might, infinite in all His perfections.

Humility will also consist in a low estimate of our knowledge. "Be not wise," says the apostle, "in your own conceit." Christian humility also consist in the fact that we derive everything from God. The Word of God which saves our soul must be received with meekness James 1: 21

 Hear a story of Mueller

At sixty years of age Dr. A. T. Pierson was not too old to learn, and, with humility and an eager thirst after knowledge, he listened as George Müller of Bristol gave detailed testimony to show God as a hearer and answerer of prayer. In one of these interviews he asked Mr. Müller if he had ever petitioned God for anything that had not been granted.

"Sixty-two years, three months, five days and two hours have passed," replied Mr. Müller with his characteristic exactness, "since I began to pray that two men might be converted. I have prayed daily for them ever since and as yet neither of them shows any signs of turning to God."

"Do you expect God to convert them?"

"Certainly," was the confident reply. "Do you think God would lay on His child such a burden for sixty years if He had no purpose for their conversion?"

Not long after Mr. Müller's death, Dr. Pierson was again in Bristol, preaching in Bethesda Chapel. In the course of his sermon, he told of this conversation, and as he was going out at the close of the service a lady stopped him and said: "One of those two men, to whom Mr. Müller referred, was my uncle. He was converted and died a few weeks ago. The other man was brought to Christ in Dublin."

2. Under The mighty hand of God there is exaltation v6 - Exaltation comes in different forms; for singles, marriage could be exaltation, for applicants; gainful employment is an exaltation, all that made you shout or sing in exultation is exaltation. Psalm 75: 6. The Lord of Host will effect your promotion in Jesus name.

3. Under the mighty hand of God there is sufficient care for your burden. - Burden is that major concern of your heart and many times you prayer is directed at that burden most of the time.

God's care 1. Cordial and tender.2. Active and efficacious. 3. Patient and unwearied. 4. Permanent and lasting.

GOD HAS BEEN OUR DWELLING PLACE!

I love this song so much. 

William McDowel's You are God alone

William McDowel's You are God alone is my song for the moment. He alone is God and He is God alone.

AS YOU FOCUS ON JESUS (MARCH 23, 2015, NBTS, OGBOMOSO)

ALL THE WAY, MY SAVIOUR LEADS ME

MATURED FAITH

...This mature faith neither asks not for signs and tokens, but bravely believes. Look at the faith of the master mariner- He looses his cable, he steams away from the land. For days, weeks, or even months, he never sees sail or shore; yet on he goes day and night without fear, till one morning he finds himself exactly opposite to the desired haven toward which he has been steering. How has he found his way over the trackless deep? He has trusted in his compass, his nautical almanac, his glass, and the heavenly bodies; and obeying their guidance, without sighting land, he has steered so accurately that he has not change a point to enter into port… Spiritually it is a blessed thing to leave althogether the shores of sight and feeling and say, “Goodbye” to inward feelings, cheering providences, signs, tokens and so forth… to be far out on the ocean of divine love…by the direction of the Word of God.

Culled from Charles Spurgeon’s ALL OF GRACE

For those who are in Christ, no condemnation!

SOMETHING BETTER THAN LIFE

Psalm 63: 3

 INTRODUCTION

Life is a precious gift from God. It is gift given to us by its owner, God. One is obliged to praise God for such a precious gift. Being alive make the difference between those who had gone down to the grave and those allow to see the beautiful creation of God. The wisest man ever lived confessed in Eccl 9:4-5 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.  For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also, in Eccl 11:7-9 he warned, Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. I am extremely grateful to God for this gift called life. God has been extremely gracious and kind, His tender mercies are over all his creation and I am inclusive. What actually is better than life? And what is better than that which is better than life?

THE MEANING OF HESED (TRANSLATED IN KJV AS LOVINGKINDNESS IN PSALM 63)

What is ds,x hesed/Chesed? Hesed is an Hebrew word,, noun, masculine singular. There is no neuter in Hebrew noun, all Hebrew nouns are either male or female in gender, hesed is male in gender. Our English Bible in most versions use only one word for that translation which to me does not captured well the meaning of that word and to prove my curiosity and my thinking, I turned to various Hebrew Dictionary to find out what hesed really means.  The word hesed in Hebrew appeared in Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) at least 247 times. The KJC dictionary lexicographers counted 247 occurrences while Strong Dictionary identified 248 occurrences. I did not count the number of times the word was used myself. There is agreement among the theologians that the same word could mean goodness, kindness, faithfulness. Hesed could also mean a reproach, shame. But, going through the content analysis it is evident that the former meaning is prevalent in the Scripture than the latter, only in Lev.  20: 17 was hesed translated it is a wicked thing and in Proverbs 14: 34 it was translated reproach. In all other over 245 occurrences  we see hesed as mercy (in fact the equivalent word supplied by the Septuagint in Greek Eleos supports this meaning), it also mean kindness, kindly, in goodness, favour, pity, loving kindness, good. AHLB dictionary added favour to the meaning earlier provided by others. A deeper study of the word hesed revealed that it has to do with kindness which is expressed as bowing of the neck, a sign of respect and kindness. Indeed God’s mercy, favour, kindness, pity, goodness is far better than life.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE WORD HESED TO THOSE OF US ALIVE

First, It is God’s mercy that has kept us and make us to enjoy the life He has given to us. That life is good is incontrovertible however, that God’s favour, pity, goodness, etc has been extended to us is better than all we have enjoyed or are enjoying. Quite a number would desire not to be alive, some due to pains and agony they are going through or they have to go through. Chemotheraphy as I have found out is not a preferred option even among the Medical Doctors. I had witnessed at least two people close to death before they died and I knew for them, death perhaps was preferred in such a state. See, how God’s hesed has made a difference in your life. The quality of life that we life is not determined by our strength or our skills but primarily by God’s hesed.

Secondly, it is God’s mercy that caused us to be saved. To be alive is good but to be saved is far better. I must add here that no one should be written off but I have lived here on earth for some time now and have seen a lot go down without Christ. Of all the earthly blessings the Lord had brought my way, none can be compared to my salvation. It assures me of my Father’s presence with me at all times and when all is said and done, I am convinced that He is more willing to see my face as much as I desire to see His face. We all desire to see the face of the one we love particularly if something had brought us together earlier. As pen friends in those days long to see their friends they were exchanging correspondence with, so I long to see God and He longed to see me too. Can you see how hesed is better than life. … to live is Christ, and to die is gain as stated by Paul in Phil. 1:21.

Third, God’s hesed is immeasurable, unfathomable and inexhaustible. Lam. 3: 22; As we are enjoying God’s mercies here sure, it will continue and can never come to an end. It is not a poor mercy, it is highly qualitative and quantitative. God is rich in mercy. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life because God’s hesed is inexhaustible.

CONCLUSION

God’s hesed has kept you and I, and it is the main reason for differences. Hesed is better than life according to Psalm 63: 3 and according to Fanny Crosby’s estimation which is in line with my thought something is better than that which is better than life. According to Crosby “Saviour is more than life to me”. Oh what a Saviour!

WONDER OF CHRISTMAS

Herein is wonder of wonders:

He came below to raise me above,

Was born like me that I might become like him.

Herein is love;

When I cannot rise to him he draws near on wings of grace,

To raise me to himself.

Herein is power;

When Deity and humanity were infinitely apart

He united them in indissoluble unity,

The uncreate and the created,

Herein is wisdom;

When I was undone, with no will to return to him,

And no intellect to devise recovery,

He came, God-incarnate, to save me to the uttermost,

As man to die my death, to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,

To work out a perfect righteousness for me.

Culled from Arthur Bennett’s The Valley of Vision: Edinburg, The Banner of Truth Trust, (1975) p. 16

  

Victory In JESUS

Enjoy this!

I pledge allegiance to the Lamb

This is for all of us particularly for brethren facing persecution just because of their faith.

RAINBOW AND CHRISTIAN CHARACTER

"After that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." — 1 Peter 5:10

When you see a Rainbow, it is beautiful its colours are glorious but observe that it fades away quickly. The fair colours give way to fleecy cloud and the beauty disappear from the sky, it is not established. How can it be? It is a glorious show made up of transitory sun-beams and passing rain-drops.

The graces of the Christian character must not resemble the rainbow in its transitory beauty, but, on the contrary, must be stablished, settled, abiding. Seek, O believer, that every good thing you have may be an abiding thing.   

May your character not be a writing upon the sand, but an inscription upon the rock!

May your faith be no "baseless fabric of a vision," but may it be builded of material able to endure that awful fire which shall consume the wood, hay, and stubble of the hypocrite.

May you be rooted and grounded in love.

May your convictions be deep, your love real, your desires earnest.

May your whole life be so settled and established, that all the blasts of hell, and all the storms of earth shall never be able to remove you.

But notice how this blessing of being "stablished in the faith" is gained.

The apostle's words point us to suffering as the means employed—"After that ye have suffered awhile." It is of no use to hope that we shall be well rooted if no rough winds pass over us. Those old gnarlings on the root of the oak tree, and those strange twistings of the branches, all tell of the many storms that have swept over it, and they are also indicators of the depth into which the roots have forced their way.

So the Christian is made strong, and firmly rooted by all the trials and storms of life. Shrink not then from the tempestuous winds of trial, but take comfort, believing that by their rough discipline God is fulfilling this benediction to you.

I read this on the 7^th July 2014 and it blessed my heart! It is culled from Spurgeon's Morning & Evening, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 1999, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.) (paraphrased)

Brethren We Have Met To Worship-Lyrics

LIFE AS A GIFT

James 4:13-16

“Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.”

Gifts comes in different sizes and so their values and worth. Our life is a gift from God, a very special gift. The idea of how to make a gain, where to go how to execute a plan can never see the light of day without this gift. How should we receive it? What should be our disposition to this gift? And what are the implications of this gift of life? Let us look at the passage above from the book of James.  

A Little Background To The Book Of James

James, the author of the book of James is truly a humble man, he was the brother of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, he was the first leader of the church in Jerusalem, he was an apostle, and an elder. He humbly introduced himself as ‘a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ’. You will appreciate this when you look at the Greek word translated servant in the text, the word translated is ‘doulos’ which is more often translated ‘slave’ but could also mean ‘servant’. This is the reason NLT, The Message, CJB and some others translated the word ‘slave’. The author was contented to be addressed as a slave of God and slave of Jesus Christ. To me, a true servant rejoices in his positions for so many reasons. I would not want to be found guilty of eisegesis so, I will remain with the text and say what it says and apply. The book contains marks of true religion.

James in this book challenges those who so much ‘trust’ in their planning as if they know what will happen tomorrow and how it would happen. Sometimes ago, at a Hospital in Fugar, Edo State in Nigeria, I saw the body of one our brethren being taking to the mortuary for embalmment and such a sight had constantly reminded me of how unpredictable the next moment could be for anyone, just few minutes ago, he was alive, full of life and a road accident just snuffed life out of him. Some of you who are reading this would remember the brother and that accident in 2002/2003.

Several cases like that have happened, people die unexpectedly through accidents, war, natural disaster and such likes. Some are struck down with some diseases and illness. None can boast about what would happen even in the next few moment. As we have trusted the Lord who is faithful to keep us, we should continue to trust Him, He never sleeps He never slumber and ‘He is never tired of hearing our prayer’. To therefore boast ‘I will do this or that’, ‘go to so and so places, without adequate recognition of the Sovereign will of God is evil. (vs. 16)

The Gift of Life

James tells us “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes”. Each of us must have a correct evaluation of life, this would eliminate pride, generate appreciation to the Giver of this gift called life, and infuses in us a sobering and diligent preparation for our home beyond the sky knowing full well that our flight can come up any moment.     

Scripture has told us in Hebrew 11: 13 that ‘we have no continuing city here’ and that ‘no one has the power to keep their spirit from leaving or stop their death’ (Ecc. 8:8 ERV). It is either we meet Him in the sky or He calls us out of the grave at His coming. It is certain we are leaving this side of eternity someday and no one knows how soon. This is my thought on how to receive the gift of life.

Gift should be received with appreciation.

David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel wrote: “It is good… to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night” (Ps. 92: 1-2). It is indeed a good thing to be grateful to God. “Because of the LORD’S great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lam. 3: 22-23). If you have survived an accident and perhaps you were terribly wounded, remember those who died in the accident. If you are coping with a kind of sickness, remember those who had died suddenly who were healthy. Perhaps you are poor think about those who were rich and had died. God is good to everyone, no matter what. That you have waited for your marriage for years and it is yet to come or that you that you have waited on God for a child that you are yet to have cannot disprove God’s faithfulness. He goes through your pains with you (Isai. 43: 2) What pleases the Lord most is a life lived for Him in appreciation of His goodness.

Gifts should be treasured.

Do you treasure this gift of life giving to you? Do you harm this body which is the ‘container’ of your spirit? Do you cherish this life? Some through their carelessness cut short their life. Some would even chose to die for a worthless cause. Some kill others in the name of abortion – taking a life that you cannot create! Some commit suicide. Some in disregard for the Giver of life inflicted abominable marks on themselves called ‘tattoo’. God’s gift should be treasured and must be treated and used only in ways pleasing to Him alone.    

Due acknowledgement is required.

To pretend as if one is responsible for his own life is hypocrisy. Our intellects and abilities have a subtle way of engaging our planning without due acknowledgement of our God. We must constantly say like David to ourselves ‘forget not His benefits’ God expects that we acknowledge Him. In His word we read “in all your ways, acknowledge Him” (Pro. 3: 6). God deserves to be acknowledged. Let this be a deliberate act by you. Let your word be seasoned with grace.

CONCLUSION

People had been planning their life without God. Thinking that they had the best of plan but the most important part of any plan is the God’s factor, without God in our plan, we are not even sure of our own life. The rich fool in Luke 12: 16-20 is a biblical example. He thought he could plan without God. All God did was to withdraw the gift of life extended to him. You should never plan without God. Then appreciate His gift of life to you, treasure it and acknowledge it. Here is a story you will like to read, it is titled “Going Under”

Last November, Coast Guard rescuers lowered their helicopter basket and pulled in a drowning family of four.

A man was taking his family from Norfolk, Virginia to Bermuda. Normally, it was a short and pleasant excursion. But he failed to notice Tropical Storm Gordon descending upon his path. They endured 19 hours of 20-foot waves and 50-mph winds. Their sailboat was tossed like a toy. Many of those hours were spent in prayer for survival.

When it was over, did they thank the one who answered their prayers? Surely they thanked the Coast Guard, and most probably the medics who tended to them on shore. But what about their Ultimate Rescuer? The Bible describes such a scene with: "He rescued them from the grave. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love" (Ps 107:20,21 NIV). Are you quick to thank God for the hundreds of times He has rescued you? No matter what method or person became God's instrument for your deliverance, God was the "Conclusive Liberator." Thank Him, right now!

Remember: When you forget to thank God, you "miss the boat."

(from Heartwarming Bible Illustrations Copyright © 1998 by AMG International, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.) You are blessed. Thank you for reading.