COVENANT KEEPING GOD – PART 3
TEXT: Leviticus 26:9 – ‘I will look on you with favour and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you (NIV). One distinguishing characteristics of God’s covenant is that it is associated with blessings. In the same manner, God’s covenant also carries with it some responsibilities. In other words, God covenant would always set out the conditions under which it would operate. The blessings embedded in His covenant do not exist in isolation; it works with the fulfilment of your own side of the contract. The story of how Noah got God to enter into an everlasting covenant with him is important to the understanding of the ways God’s covenants work. We read that God told Noah in Genesis 6: 11 -21 about His plan to destroy the wicked world and commanded him to prepare an ark with specific instructions of the dimensions and other preparations and separation. We read in Gen. 6: 22 that Noah did everything just as God commanded him. Of course, we know that a time came in Gen. 8: 21 when God entered into a covenant with Noah. Dearly beloved, what can we learn from the life of Noah that can help us to get God to smile at us and enter an everlasting covenant with us and our descendants? The first thing that we learn in the life of Noah is that he walked with God blameless. In Gen. 6: 9 we were told that Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God (NIV). God can never lie and whatever He says He sticks to and would want His children to recognise this. God cannot walk with anyone who is not prepared to live a consecrated life for Him. If you would recall, one of the conditions that God required of Abraham before the fulfilment of His covenant with Abraham was that he would walk before Him blameless. We read in Gen. 17: 1-2 that “when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” These two accounts and the accounts of Enoch tell us the importance of walking with God blameless. Brethren, there is no way God would enter into covenant with a wicked fellow. It does not matter your earthly religious position. God is not moved by your earthly religious titles or positions in the church. God has no respect for a General Overseer; He only has respect for those who are blameless. In 1 Thes. 2: 11-12 Apostle Paul wrote “for you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory” (NIV). Brethren, if you would desire God to visit you and enter an everlasting covenant blessing with you, then you must be ready to walk with God blameless. Secondly, Noah was obedient to God absolutely. In Gen. 6: 22, we were told that Noah did everything just as God commanded him (NIV). God loves obedient children and is ready at all time to reward those who are obedient to His command and instructions. As a matter of fact God honours obedience to His command and instructions above rendering of sacrifice to Him. The bible made it clear that King Saul was rejected by God because of disobedience and as recorded in I Sam. 15: 22. We were told that “but Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. There are many bible references that confirm the fact that our God desires obedience above sacrifices. Some of these references include Psalm 40:6; 51: 16; 51: 17; Pro. 21:3; Isa. 1:11; Jer. 7:22; 7: 23; Hos.6:6; Matt.12:7; Mk. 12:33; etc. According to Prov. 21:3, “to do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice” (NIV). Dearly beloved, you must determine and purpose in your heart to obey God absolutely if you want Him to enter into a covenant of blessing with you and your descendants. Lastly, Noah sacrificed quality offering unto God. Of course, God loved quality offering. We cannot overemphasise the importance of quality offerings. Quality offering/sacrifice is important and necessary but it is not sufficient, except you accompany your sacrifice with obedience. A quality offering unto God is like the icing on the cake of obedience to the word of God. Just as icing adds to the quality of presentation of any cake, quality offering would bring to prominence your perfect obedience. According to Gen. 8: 20, “then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it” (NIV). The combine result of all of these is that God entered an everlasting covenant with Noah that has remained till today. In Gen. 8: 21 we were told that “the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done” (NIV). Brethren, do you desire that God would enter into an everlasting covenant of blessings with you? If your answer is yes, then you must be ready to walk with God blameless; be absolutely obedient to His command; and be prepared to give to Him at all time sacrifices and offerings that are qualitative. I pray that the Lord would give unto you the grace to do these things in Jesus name. Shalom. Dr. Yinka Okude Pastor-in-Charge RCCG, Jesus Sanctuary, Northampton
COVENANT KEEPING GOD – PART 2
TEXT: Leviticus 26:9 – ‘I will look on you with favour and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you (NIV). God’s covenants are borne out of His love for mankind. Brethren, have you ever wonder why God is interested in man considering man’s failings and unfaithfulness? For instance, after God wiped out the wicked generation in the days of Noah with flood, He promised in Gen. 9: 15 that “I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life” (NIV). This shows us that our God is a loving father who is not happy when He has to wield the big stick. If you would remember we were told in Ezek. 33: 11 that God does not take pleasure in the death of a sinner but that they should turn from their way and live. Dearly beloved, one thing that we have come to realise about our God, who is a covenant keeping God, is that you can provoke Him to enter into an everlasting covenant with you through your actions. For instance, we were told in Gen. 8: 21 that “the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done” (NIV). If you look at what moved God’s hand in this passage, it was the smell of a pleasing aroma from the sacrifice of Noah. What is special about the sacrifice offered by Noah? I believed that it must have definitely been the quality and the quantity of the sacrifice. What are the conditions that were fulfilled by Noah that made his sacrifice to bring out a pleasing aroma? One of the special things about the sacrifice of Noah is that it was a quality sacrifice. We were told in Gen. 8: 20 that Noah “then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it” (NIV). Building an altar for the sacrifice of God tells us that Noah made a very good preparation for the offering he offered unto God. It was not a careless offering. In addition, we were told that Noah offered clean animals and birds. This tells us that for God to find our sacrifices pleasing and to enter into an everlasting covenant with us, we must ensure that we give God our best. In addition, we must always go into the presence of God prepared, ensuring that the altar of our heart is in good state as for God to accept an offering from such a heart. This would confirm what our Lord Jesus Christ said in Matt. 5: 23 -24 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift (NIV). This tells us that our God is interested in the altar upon which sacrifices offered to Him are made on. God cannot accept a sacrifice offered from an unclean and unholy altar. Again, we also see that God is interested in the quality of your offering. You must offer unto God sacrifices that would cost you something. You must offer clean and quality offering that is devoid of stains. No wonder God told David in II Sam. 7:5 that he would not build a house for Him inspite of his good intention. Why? God rejected David’s offer to build Him a house because God knew that David’s hand has been stained with the shedding of blood. Of course, because David’s case was peculiar and some of the blood he shed were of God’s enemy, God recognised his good intentions and counted it for righteousness to the extent that it provoked God’s decision to enter into an everlasting covenant with David. God told David that because he willingly and cheerfully desired to build a house for Him, He would let his son that has not been stained by the shedding of blood to build Him the house. God pronounced in II Sam. 7: 12-13 that “When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (NIV). This confirms the importance of a clean hand and a clean heart. That is why David says in Psa. 24: 3-5 “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Saviour (NIV). Brethren, do you desire to provoke an everlasting covenant between you and God that would extend to the generations after you? Then, offer God quality sacrifice from a pure heart. Shalom. Dr. Yinka Okude Pastor-in-Charge RCCG Jesus sanctuary, Northampton
COVENANT KEEPING GOD – PART 1
TEXT: Leviticus 26:9 – ‘I will look on you with favour and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you (NIV). Brethren, I would like to congratulate you for an opportunity to be a partaker of this theme for the month of May (Covenant keeping God) because I believe that it would mark a landmark in your life. We often need to continually assure ourselves of the God that we serve. God, because He is our creator knows the frame of which we are made and that is why through all ages, He would always remind and enjoin His people never to forget who He is. In Gen. 17: 9 we read “Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come” (NIV). In order that they may not forget the covenant He told Abraham in Gen. 17: 11 “You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you” (NIV). With circumcision of the male child in Israel, it became a constant reminder of the covenant between them and God. Unfortunately, in spite of this, we found that whenever the children of Israel are faced with challenges they often forget the covenant that God entered with them. No wonder each leader that Israel had would always ensure that they establish a landmark that would remind the generation they are leading and those that would come after them of the faithfulness of God to His covenant with their forefathers. Let us look at examples of men of old in the bible who ensured that they put in place landmark as a memorial of the faithfulness of God to His covenant with the children of Israel. In Genesis “Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it” (NIV). This became a reference point for him about God’s covenant with his forefathers through Abraham. Similarly, when the children of Israel crossed river Jordan miraculously we are told that “Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant had stood. And they are there to this day” (Joshua 4:9). Also, when the children of Israel defeated their arch enemy (the Philistines), we were told “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the LORD helped us” (NIV). These are just a few examples of how the patriarchs of old have been able to stand on the covenant of God that have never failed. What can we learn from this? 1. Always remember that the God that we serve is the ancient of days and He is described as eternal God (Gen.21:33) and that He cannot change. In Heb. 13: 8, the bible tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (NIV). This means that just as He was faithful to His covenant in the past, He would be faithful to the fulfilment of the same covenant with you if you are indeed a descendant of Abraham by adoption (through giving your life to Jesus Christ). That is why you must ensure that you have truly given your life to Jesus. To benefit from this promise you must be a bonafide child of the true God. 2. Never forget how God has come to your rescue in the past, even when you have lost all hope. Can you recall the many accidents that you have miraculously been saved from? Can you remember many deliverance from the enemies? Can you remember many times He has taken away those things that could have caused you shame? Can you remember many times that he has miraculously provided for you? Can you remember how many times He has healed you from your diseases and sickness? Can you remember how many times he has miraculously met your needs? Can you remember how many times He has delivered you from oppositions? Brethren, the list are endless. For each of these, you need to establish a physical landmark that you can always refer to whenever you are faced with any other challenge. This would encourage you to take it to the Lord again. Brethren, you may not be able to explain how God is going to resolve the present problem, but you must believe that if He can do it in the past, He can still do it again. I believe God with you that concerning that fear of yours that the Lord would show Himself strong in Jesus name. Shalom Dr. Yinka Okude Pastor-in-Charge RCCG Jesus sanctuary, Northampton
THE MERCIES OF GOD – PART 4
TEXT: ROM. 9:15 – For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” Brethren, as we conclude our theme for the month on the mercies of God, I am convinced that you would have realised by now that it is through His mercies that you have not been consumed. In the last 3 weeks we have been looking at how His mercies have kept us, made us what/who we are and how we can initiate His mercies to endure for us and our generations. Today we shall be looking at what we ought to do at those times, situations, circumstances and occasions when it would appear that His mercies have deserted us. I am aware that some people have problems with accepting the existence of God as a result of tragedies or losses that have happened to them or their loved ones. Often, they question if there can be a God when there seems to be the presence of sufferings. Beloved, I am here to tell you that God is not God because of what happens to us, but He is God, our Creator and who has control over those things that can ever happen to us. We need to understand this if we want to walk with God. Many patriarchs of old in the bible have to come to that realisation before their miracles could come forth. A case in point is Job. Job said in Job 13: 15 that “though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him” (KJV). When God says He will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, it means that He determines whom He would have mercy on and when He would show His mercies. In addition, He went further to say in Rom. 9: 16 that “it does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy” (NIV). Notice that the bible says that it is not by our desire, or the way we feel, or how we wish or about how well we can scheme, but rather on His mercies. This is the understanding that Job had that made him to confidently and unequivocally affirm his position of absolute trust in God irrespective of his personal loss and gloom. Brethren, be it that the bad experience we are going through is as a result of our failings or not, it is certain that God’s mercy can still be made perfect in that experience. That is why the bible says in Deut. 4:31, that “for the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath” (NIV). Even when it appears that we are alone, He is promising that He would not abandon us or destroy us. Why? It is because He is a merciful God inspite of what we may be feeling or going through. In Lam. 3:32 we read that “but though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies (KJV).” This shows that it is possible for God to show His displeasure by causing misery or grief, but we are assured that His anger is not for ever but rather He would still remember His mercies as a result of His compassion towards us. I am sure that many parents would be able to relate with this. It is expected that every loving parent would not condone their children’s misbehaviour or disobedience; but ensure that sanctions or punishment are imposed on any erring child. However, this would always be out of their love for the child rather than out of hatred and a desire for the child to be permanently destroyed. Infact, in Isaiah 54:7 God says “for a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee (NIV).” It means that when God punishes or is angry towards us it is for a small or brief moment. Also, in Isaiah 54:8 the bible records His promise to us: “in a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer” (KJV). So per adventure He appears to have hidden His face from you, trust Him because it is only for a brief moment and be assured that it shall soon pass away because of his mercies that endures even at such a time. No wonder the psalmist says in Psalm 30: 5 that “for his anger lasts only a moment, but his favour lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (NIV. Is anyone weeping at the moment? I can assure you that your joy is at hand. It is not a word of prophesy but a statement of fact based on His word that can never fall to the ground. Are you going through what appears to be abandonment? I can assure you that it is for a brief moment. Why do I know? It is because His words say so and because of his mercies that endure for ever. May the lord grant you the grace to wait in Jesus name. What do you do while you are waiting? Keep your hope in His enduring mercies alive. It is important that your time of waiting should be with Him. The bible says in Isa. 40: 30 – 31 that “even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint (NIV). Brethren, your strength lie in waiting on Him and on His mercies. May the God Almighty teach you to wait in Jesus name. Shalom. Dr. Yinka Okude Pastor-in-Charge RCCG Jesus Sanctuary, Northampton
THE MERCIES OF GOD – PART 3
TEXT: ROM. 9:15 – For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” Brethren, one of the surest ways to enter into the unending mercies of God is by keeping His covenant. Our God is a covenant keeping God and as such would honour anyone who keeps His covenant. While the unfailing mercies of God is not in doubt, there are times when God can withdraw His mercies from whoever fails to heed His commands. You can make it easy for God to maintain His mercies for you and your generations by fulfilling His conditions. Even though our text states that the Lord would have mercy on whom He would have mercy, the bible also states in many instances that God would keep His mercies and covenants with only those who are ready to walk with Him with all their heart. According to I Kgs. 8: 23 the bible says “And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart.”(KJV). What does it mean to walk with God with one’s heart? On one occasion, an expert in law came to test our Lord Jesus Christ in Lk. 10: 25 – 37 about what he has to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus Christ asked him what was written in the law. He answered our Lord Jesus Christ by quoting Deut. 6: 5 and Lev.19:18. According to Lk. 10: 27 “He answered: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”. Jesus Christ answered him in Lk.10:28 that “You have answered correctly,” … “Do this and you will live” (NIV). Dear reader, do you want to live? I am sure that you know there is a difference between living and mere existence. If you desire to live, then I would encourage you to love the Lord with your whole heart. Why is it important to love the Lord with our whole heart? Or why is God interested with our heart? God is interested in our heart because it is from the heart that sins begin. Both hatred/wickedness and love begins from the heart. The bible says in Prov. 23: 7 that as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. In Prov. 26: 24 the bible says again “A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbors deceit (NIV). Brethren, what is in your heart? The bible warns us in Pro. 4:23 that “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (NIV). A bible commentary explains that the heart is crucial in the battle between wisdom and foolishness, between righteousness and evil. So, by implications, the heart is crucial in the receipt of either the mercy of God or the judgement and punishment from God. Brethren, what would you choose today? The mercy of God or the judgement of God? Again, if you desire that God should keep His covenant and mercy with you then you must do His will by ensuring that you love him with all your heart. When the Pharisees and the teachers of law came to ask Jesus in Matt. 15: 1- 10 about why His disciples were breaking the traditions by not washing their hands, Jesus answered them in Matt. 15: 8 – 9 by quoting Isa. 29: 13 “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men”. Brethren, God does not see as men sees. Why human knowledge is limited to sight, God sees beyond the physical. Also, another way by which you can enter into a permanent and enduring mercy of God is by fearing Him in your words and actions. Luke 1:50 says “And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation (NIV).” How do you fear God? Deut. 10: 12, 20 – 21 gives a very good summary on what the fear of Gods entails. It reads: “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 20 Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. 21 He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes” (NIV). As has been explained, the fear of God is not seeing God as a terror whose intention is to harm or destroy or that of a bully that would strike without a cause but “rather, God wanted His people to recognise their finiteness and unworthiness in His divine presence”. The fear of God is a reverential fear in which we recognise His awesomeness and majesty. So, when you see God in this way, you would be positioning yourself for His mercies. A relevant case in the bible is that of the Centurion recorded in Lk. 7: 1 – 10. We were told in verse 6 – 7 “So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed” (NIV). This is the kind of reverential fear that the Lord requires of us. Of course, the Centurion received the Lord’s mercy and his servant was made whole. Do you want to receive the Lord’s mercy? Do you want to be made whole spiritually, physically and financially? If your answer is yes, then you must love the lord with all your heart, guard your heart and fear the Lord your God. May the Lord be merciful unto you this season in Jesus name.
THE MERCIES OF GOD – PART 2
TEXT: ROM. 9:15 – For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” We have a God who is rich in mercies and generous in compassion. The extent and dimension of the mercies of God cannot be fathomed and conceptualised by any human mind. It is immeasurable and beyond description by any human word. In addition, His mercies cannot be bought. Also, no one can deny the existence of the Mercies of God. That is why God has not destroyed man inspite of his numerous sins. Psa. 78: 38 says “yet He was merciful; He forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time He restrained His anger and did not stir up His full wrath” (NIV). No wonder in Rom. 9:16 the bible says “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy” (NIV). In Lam. 3: 22 – 23, we read that the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (ESV). From this passage we realise that the steadfast love of our God is everlasting and His mercies is constant. Unlike men, He never gets tired of doing goods. No matter how close you may be to a person, if you continually go to the same person for all your needs, a time would come when they would get wearied and start avoiding you or start giving you what is known as promissory notes (a sign that they are tired of you). Even, when some may not say it through their words, they may begin to show it in their actions. If you are someone who has a pride or who has some dignity, that would be the time for you to recognise the fact that you are no longer welcome. This is where God is different from man. The bible informs us that our God promised that He would have mercy on whom He would have mercy upon. The bible also says that His mercy never come to an end. Why is this possible? This is possible because His mercies are new every morning. What does that tells us? It means that God never count His mercies of yesterday when He is dealing with you because they are new every morning. This means that when you wake up on any morning (which in itself is an act of His mercies) you wake up to another day of His unlimited mercies. That is why it is also important that each time you wake up, you make sure that you renew your covenant relationship with Him. As it has always been said, you cannot go to God on yesterday’s righteousness but rather on new and everyday righteousness. No wonder David said in Psa. 103: 1 “O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good and His mercies endures forever. Brethren, are you ready to give thanks to the Lord? Do you think He has shown you His mercy? Can you see His mercies in where you are today? Dear reader let us begin to count His merciful acts in our life. You may not yet be where you hope to be or the best you can be but I am convinced that God has been merciful to you and me. His mercies have endured in your life. Beloved, I enjoin you to join the Psalmist today and declare according to Psa. 89:1 that “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations” (KJV). May the mercies of God not depart from you in Jesus name. Amen. Shalom. Dr. Yinka Okude Pastor-in-Charge RCCG Jesus Sanctuary, Northampton
THE MERCIES OF GOD – PART 1
TEXT: For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” This month we shall be looking at the theme the Mercies of God. My prayer is that the Lord would have mercy on you and your household in Jesus name. I enjoin you to ensure that you walk with us this month with faith and with expectations. I know that our God whom we serve, the God of heaven and earth, whose mercies endure forever, would smile on you this season in Jesus name. The word mercy can be described as meaning any of these words: compassion, forgiveness, kindness, generosity, benevolence, leniency, and so on. Therefore our attempt at looking at the mercies of God throughout this month would be from the context of these various listed meanings. From the above, we may conveniently describe the mercies of God as the result and the effect of God’s goodness and grace. It is therefore a result of God’s divine personality and nature . If you look at the text, you would observe the use of the word “I” in the verse. We are told in the bible that God introduced himself as the “I am that I am”. God through this is showing that He is the self-existent one; creator not created. Because He is the self-existent one, that is why He can and is at liberty to do as He wills. For instance, He declared in Exod. 33:19 that “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion”. I pray that as you go through this month of June the Lord would cause all His goodness to pass in front of you in Jesus name. He would proclaim His name on your behalf in the presence of your enemies in Jesus name. Because He is God, He is unquestionable. He decides whom to bless, whom to show kindness to and whom to show His goodness unto. Of course, He also has the prerogative as to whom to show His wrath. My prayer is that you would be a candidate for His mercies and compassion in Jesus name. Indeed, God’s mercy is a result of His benevolent divine nature. For instance, one of such nature of God that He manifests through His mercy is Love. The bible says in 1Jn.4:8 that “God is love”. This tells us that the mercies of God is borne out of who He is (Love). So, when He says I would have mercy on whom I would have mercy, what He is saying implicitly is that His mercy is shown to men not because they deserve it but because He is love. God’s love nature is clearly stated in 1 Jn. 4: 9 – 10. Here we read, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins”. That is why salvation call is unto all men, irrespective of how far you have gone away from Him. He accepts everyone who comes to Him as they are. God is ready to save anyone who comes to Him. He is no respecter of persons but would save anyone and everyone who accepts His invitation. That is why it is important that you accept His invitation today if you have not yet given your life to Christ. All you have to do is to confess your sin unto Him and accept Him as the Lord of your life and decide purpose not to go back to your sins again. Today is an opportunity for you to key into His mercies by accepting His invitation. Beloved it is dangerous to delay His invitation as tomorrow may be too late. I pray that you would not miss out on His mercies in Jesus name. Shalom Dr. Yinka Okude Pastor-in-Charge RCCG Jesus sanctuary, Northampton
ADAM WHERE ART THOUGH? – PART 5
TEXT: GEN. 3: 9-10 – And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Brethren in this last of the series on our theme Adam where art thou, we shall be looking at the similarities between Adam sin and King Saul sin and the punishment they both received for their sins. We would also look at the differences in the punishment each of them received. In Gen. 2:15 – 17 God commanded Adam not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God also told Adam the consequences of not obeying this commandment, which is death. Surprisingly, despite knowing the consequences of disobedience, Adam still ate of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. What does that say of every one of us? Like the first Adam, many of us are still in the same habit of committing sins or disobeying God’s commandment even when the bible tells us that the soul that sin must surely die (Eze. 18:20). Compare this with the word of God again on the blessings associated with righteousness. In Isa. 3:10 the bible says “Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds” (NIV). Brethren, if I pray that you would enjoy the fruits of your deeds as promised in the bible, would it be a curse or a blessing to you. This is because that verse can be a dangerous curse if your deeds are evil. That is why following immediately in the same chapter; in verse 11 the bible says “Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done” (NIV). Dear reader, which would you choose from these 2 verses? Reward or sanctions? I am convinced that none would want to choose disaster. So if we do not want to choose disaster why then do we still disobey God? For instance, the bible says in Eph. 4: 26 “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger” (NIV). Similarly, in the same chapter in verses 31-32 the bible went further to state “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (NIV). Beloved, if you do not want disaster to come upon you as it happened to our forefather Adam, why do we still hold grudges against one another? Dear readers, it would amount to double jeopardy for someone to hurt you and for you to let that hurt make you to disobey God and be punished by God for their actions. You may not have control over the behaviour of others, but you have control on how you react to their behaviour. That is why it is important for us to decide within ourselves that we would not permit anyone to make us to offend God. Perhaps the fellow is not even aware they have offended us or have repented of their sins and have been forgiven and pardoned by God and already on their way to heaven (as in the case of Apostle Paul) while the offended is on their way to hell because of their unforgiveness. Therefore, as much as possible try to talk over any issue between you and anyone that may have offended you. In I Sam. 13: 12 – 14 we read about the first act of disobedience by King Saul. Here King Saul committed the disobedience against the order that God set up as to who should perform sacrifices/burnt offerings unto the Lord in Leviticus chapter 1 – 7. This led to a pronouncement of judgement by Prophet Samuel. It was not quite long from that moment that he disobeyed God again in I Samuel 15: 1 -23. Here King Saul committed another act of disobedience against God, which seals his fate irreparably. In I Sam. 15: 2- 3, God was very specific about what King Saul should do to the Amalekites – to totally destroy them. However, in verses 7 -9, we were told that King Saul spared everything that was good. 7Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, to the east of Egypt. 8He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calvesb and lambs—EVERYTHING THAT WAS GOOD. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed (NIV). Brethren, most of the things that are good are destructive. This account of King Saul is similar to what we read in Gen. 3: 6a. According to the bible “when the woman saw that the fruit of the tree WAS GOOD for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it”. Eve saw that the tree was good and ate, just as King Saul spared everything that was good. When King Saul was confronted by Prophet Samuel, his excuse was that he spared the good things so that he might use them to offer sacrifices unto God (I Sam. 15: 15). In I Sam. 15: 22 – 23, 22But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” Brethren, you cannot serve God or sacrifice unto God with a disobedient heart. You cannot deceive God. God is more interested in our obedience and would not permit any excuse for our disobedience. For instance, you cannot use the excuse of been in the developed world, such as the UK as a reason for
ADAM WHERE ART THOUGH? – PART 4
TEXT: GEN. 3: 9-10 – And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Dear reader, I would like to welcome you to the 4th in our series on the theme of the month which can be summed up in one word; appraisal. Brethren, I would like to ask you if you are still hearing from God. Or better still, have you been hearing from God? In our passage we read that Adam said, I heard you in the Garden. This tells us one thing which is that inspite of the sin committed by Adam; he was still able to hear from God. The fact that he was still able to hear from God means that God is still interested in him and that he also still has the Spirit of God in him. If we look at Adam’s response to God’s question, it would confirm to you that Adam still have some level of reverence for God which is why he was afraid. There are some people that would commit sin against God and yet would not have any iota of regrets and reverence for God. In other words, they commit sin with impunity; without any remorse. They have gotten to a level where they no longer fear God or his prophets. They are totally deaf and can no longer hear Him; rather they now hear from the devil. Their case have become like that of King Saul, who totally lost his ability to hear from God. Of course, if you do not hear from God then you are most likely to seek communication with the devil. One of the things that King Paul had in common with Adam is that just as fear took over Adam after he committed the sin against God, King Saul also was taken over by fear. According to 1 Sam. 28: 5, the bible records that “When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart” (NIV). This is similar to what we read in Gen. 3: 10, where Adam said “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid” (NIV). However, while Adam was still able to hear from God, King Saul was no longer hearing from God. We read in I Sam. 28: 6 that King Saul “inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets” (NIV). Of course, how terrible it must be for anyone who has been hearing from God to suddenly loose such an intimate relationship. Because God has always ordered his steps in the past, it means that King Saul is now on his own and with associated consequences. Of course, that is the same situation that Adam found himself. While God was his Source of sustenance before his sin, his punishment from God is that Adam would now have to take care of himself. God would no longer supernaturally meet his needs as it was in the past. God pronounced judgement upon the Serpent, Eve and Adam in Gen 3: 17 – 19. We read, To Adam he (God) said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (NIV) I pray that you would not be cursed in Jesus name. The ground would not produce thorns and thistles for you in Jesus name. I am sure you know that thorns and thistles (plants with prickly stems and leaves; that is, full of thorns) is not comfortable to hold. It suffocates and harms anything that comes in contact with it, and as such it is generally not loved by humans; and so people avoid any fellow whose life is full of thorns. I pray that your life would not put away people from you in Jesus name. Amen. You would not toil painfully before you can eat in Jesus name. Amen. But these are just some of the few things that can come upon a fellow who sin against God. However, comparing the experience of King Saul and Adam, you would find out that Adam’s punishment was still with mercy because Adam can still hear God and God was still mindful of him. For instance, we read in Gen. 3: 21 that “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (NIV). I pray that God would not allow you to be naked in Jesus name. I am sure that you know that anyone who is naked is at the mercy of the weather and nature. The fellow is prone to attack and can easily be harmed. Brethren, what is the message of today? Our message today is found in Rev. 3: 2 “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I (Paul) have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God” (NIV). May the Lord found your deeds complete in His sight in Jesus name. Shalom. HYMN: GUIDE ME, O THOU GREAT REDEEMER Dr. Yinka Okude Pastor-in-Charge RCCG Jesus Sanctuary, Northampton
ADAM WHERE ART THOUGH? – PART 3
TEXT: GEN. 3: 9-10 – And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” Dear reader, I would like to welcome you to the 3rd in our series on the theme of the month that is about self-appraisal. When God asked Adam where art thou, as we have discussed in earlier series, it was a question that has to do with God’s interest in hearing from Adam on how he would appraise his spiritual position/location as against his physical position/location. Of course, often your spiritual location and position would determine your physical location and position. I want to believe that you will agree with me that our God, whom we serve, is an Omnipresent and Omniscience God, who knows all things. He knows the spiritual and physical location of Adam before He asked him the question. This tells me that anyone today who erroneously assumes that God is far away from him/her is only deceiving him/herself. Beloved, if you agree with me that the question of God from Adam is that of his spiritual location than physical location, then you would like to agree with me that the question God asked Adam is still as relevant to you as it was to Adam. God asked the question because of his expectations from Adam, just as He has certain expectations from you. Brethren there is a saying that you can run but you cannot hide, which has a biblical confirmation. When it comes to God, no matter how much you tried to run from Him, you are not far from God. In Psa. 139: 7-12 David wrote about the Omnipresent nature of God. David said, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me; your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you” (NIV). David came to this conclusion when the sins he committed in the secret came to the open. David, who believed that his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband (Uriah), was not known realised how wrong he was when Prophet Nathan brought him the word of the Lord (2 Samuel 12: 1 – 14). Brethren, God is not far at all from you as you assume. He is as near to you as your breath. God Himself spoke to Prophet Jeremiah in Jer. 23: 24 thus, “Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD”. Similarly, Apostle Paul also declared in Heb. 4: 13 that “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (NIV). Beloved, we would all give account now or in eternity. My dear reader, having established the fact that we cannot hide from God, may I then ask you what your answer would be if God were to ask you the same question He asked Adam today, where art thou? Are you going to hide or you would boldly come to Him. The bible says in Heb. 4: 16 “let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (NIV). If you are not able to come to Him with boldness, but have to hide like Adam, then you need to cry to Him for His mercies right now. Now, let us look at some of the things that God can call you to account for at any time. First, God says in Rom. 10: 25 “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (NIV). How well are you doing in this area? Would God accept your excuses? The excuse that Adam gave to God was that the woman that God gave him was the cause of his disobedience. Just as God did not accept Adam’s excuse, He would not accept the blaming of your boss or employer, spouse, children and anyone for your disobedience of His command to you on ensuring that you do not forsake the assemblage of the brethren. If you are comfortable to be at work every Sunday morning, particularly by choice and not out of compulsion, then you would need to examine yourself. My prayer is that you would not have to seek God in tears in Jesus name. There is a Yoruba (Nigerian) fable about the Monkey that refused to say Amen in peace but has been compelled to say it continually ever since when the evil day came upon him. I pray that you would not have to run back to God as a result of trouble or evil in Jesus name. Also, in Malachi 3: 9 – 12 the bible says “You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty” (NIV). Have you been obedient in bringing ALL your tithes unto the Lord?
