THE MIGHTY HANDS OF GOD

TEXT: EZRA 8:32 ^b, 8:31

 “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.”

^31 “On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canalto go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way.”

Our God is a mighty God that created the universe by the outstretched of His hands. The hands of God are so strong and mighty that nothing can hinder Him from whatever He wants to accomplish.

Talking about the mighty hands of God is talking about His awesome power. The mighty hands of God make the impossible to become possible- His hands are “situation changer.” This is why people say “Lord, I can see your hands in my life- that means the power of God has changed their situation for good. “The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.” (Ezra 8:22 ^b ). This verse is telling us that the hands of God have “dual functionality”- To us His righteous children; His hands will work in our favour to deliver, heal,  give blessing and breakthrough set free, fight and win our battles, make way for us, makes us to advance over adversaries and so on. On the other hand, God’s mighty hands work to bring calamity, defeat, hardship, failure, wrath and judgement on His enemies and the enemies of His children.

I said earlier that God’s hands mean God’s power- we will be considering the wonders that God did in the Bible with His mighty hands.

Our first reference is going to be the mighty hands that delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt (Genesis 14).

Pharaoh was very stubborn in the beginning; he did not want to release the children of God to be free from the age long bondage of slavery.

The wrath of God came upon Egypt when God stretched His mighty hands on the land and affected them with plagues.  The lord proved his power and might at the Red sea to the detriment of Pharaoh and his chariots.

God’s out stretched hands parted the Red sea and the children of Israel walked freely on dry land to safety- the Lord granted deliverance to His children with His out stretched mighty hands!

However, the same mighty hand that delivered God’s children was what drowned His enemies the Egyptian army.

The hands of God can be seen positively or negatively it depends on where you stand (if you are for Him or against Him).

I pray for you that you will not encounter the hands of God in a negative way in Jesus name.

Another example of God’s mighty hands at work is in the book of second Chronicles 20. It is the account of Jehoshaphat. The Ammonites, the Moabites and the rest were coming to wage war against Jehoshaphat. He went to God and asked for God to help them fight their battle. Jehoshaphat followed God’s instruction of inviting worshippers and playing, singing and dancing to the Lord at the war front.

Without them having any weapon of war, the Lord gave victory to Jehoshaphat. The Lord took it upon himself to fight the battle with His mighty hands. There are other numerous instances where God used His mighty hands to bring deliverance and judgement accordingly.

If you are against Him, He will show you His hands negatively and if you are for Him; He will show you His hands positively. May destruction not be our portion in Jesus name.

May the mighty hands of God that does wonders work in our favour in Jesus name. Amen.

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THE PUZZLE OF LIFE

TEXT: JOHN 15:4- 7

“4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.⁷ if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

Life is a puzzle and putting it together could be challenging. That is why we need the help and assistance of God.

A jigsaw puzzle can be defined as puzzle consisting of small irregularly cut pieces that are to be fitted together to form a picture. (Merriam Webster Dictionary).

I work as a childcare practitioner- a Classroom leader to be precise. My duty is to assist the children in my group to make their day in the playschool meaningful and enjoyable by stimulating learning environment and planning child centred activities- guiding them through the learning period.

One beautiful morning, as I welcomed the children as they were coming in; we planned the day and the children chose what they wanted to do at their work time (this is when each child decides where they want to play in the room). There was a beautiful girl that always starts her day by setting all the jigsaw puzzles in the room before she would move to any other activity in the room.  I sat beside her as she was setting the puzzles- I was motivating her as she succeeds in putting the right piece in the right place. I used words of encouragement like “good girl, well-done, brilliant and so on to motivate her.

At a point she got stuck and she called me for help (that was my reason for sitting beside her). “Teacher, I need help” she stated. I moved close to the board and found out that she was holding a wrong piece of puzzle in her hand and she was forcing it to the wrong place with all rigors! “I said to her “you have the wrong piece in your hand, drop it and let’s look for the right one.” She replied “NO, I want to put this one first.”

I tried my best to explain to her that she has to drop the wrong piece for us to look and place the right piece in the puzzle so that she can continue with the setting- as the wrong piece WILL NOT fit in that place that she’s forcing it to.

However, all my explanation and implorations was to no avail as she refused to let go of the wrong piece she was holding. I have to respect her will and choice; I cannot impose my will on her so I let her be. She continued to struggle with the wrong piece she refused to let go. She continues forcing the wrong piece in the wrong place while I look.

After a while, she became frustrated and got fed up with the struggle; she left the table without being able to set the puzzle to completion. Her strong self-will made her to refuse to let go of the wrong piece even though it debar her from achieving her goal of completing the jigsaw puzzle.

As I watched her struggling with the wrong piece, the Holy Spirit said to me

“This is how you human beings struggle with your maker in the issues of your life. You hold on to the wrong thing in life and you will start calling on God for help and assistance. When God tells you to drop your will for His will, you will start arguing and look for a way to manipulate God to work with your will and choice. Being who God is – Polite and gentile, He will respect your will without forcing His will on you, and He will let you make your choice. When your choice or what you decided is not working as you expected; you will become angry and frustrated thinking God has failed you.”

For days, I reflected on the illustration of the Holy Spirit and the scenario that happened at work. Permit me to ask you readers “do you see yourself in this illustration? Are you in anyway struggling with the will of God for your life? Are you holding on to the wrong piece of life’s endeavour or task to complete the puzzle of your life? Trust me, it will not work. You have to drop any wrong thing that you are holding on to, the Lord is set to give you the right piece that will compliment and complete your life. Without the right piece of puzzle that the Lord wants to add to your life, your life cannot be complete. It may be in the area of business, career, and life partner and so on. Take an inventory of your life and see where you are struggling with the will of God. The Bible tells us in Jeremiah 1:5 that God knew you before He made you, He is the only one that has the right piece of puzzle that will make  the picture of your life to be complete- Not your pastor, parents, or your career guidance counsellor!

He will not force His will on you, therefore, you have to be willingly let go of your will for His will.

Like I couldn’t help the girl in the story as much as I made myself available to help her, in the same way; God will not be able to render any help if you are not willing to let go of your wrong choice.

For you not to be frustrated, drop that wrong piece and allow God to give you the right piece. that will bring about the perfect picture for your life.

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THINK BEFORE YOU TALK.

TEXT: PROVERBS 15: 28

“The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.”

The scripture tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that whatever we do, we should do it to the glory of God- that includes the way we talk or respond to conversations with people.

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:6).

As believers, we should be careful how we talk either during formal or informal (joke/gist) time. Some get carried away during informal conversation; they let down their guard and talk recklessly throwing caution into the air that people will be wondering if they are genuinely saved!

Professing Jesus as your lord and saviour has given you some unpaid “watchdogs.” Their Eagle eyes watches every step you take without you knowing. They listen to verbal and non- verbal expression you make, they want to scrutinise you to find errors to accuse you with.

The devil is an accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10). Therefore, do not give him a foothold in your life.

Speak gracefully; let people see God in your conversation. Worldly slangs are not for genuine believers (that is conformity to the world).

Before you speak or utter a word, think “will this utterance glorify God?”

Some people are saints until there is a reason for them to be angry.

When anger takes over, you will marvel at their utterances- Let not your righteousness be evident around the church vicinity alone, show your righteousness EVERYWHERE and at all times (either at formal or non-formal setting).

If you are in the midst of unbelievers and they cannot see your light or righteousness in your conversation, if you flow easily with their “norms” then, there is a problem with your salvation.

Do not question the existence of God in your life with your utterances- think before you talk, make sure your conversation will bring glory to the name of God whenever you open your mouth to talk.

Be very careful to choose your word, be disciplined with word- do not talk carelessly thinking that “they will understand that I was joking or they will understand that I was being provoked to say what I did not mean.”

“How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life.” (James 3: 5-6).

In the same vein, do not let God down with your utterances when you are angry- lean to control your emotion. The scripture says in Philippians 1:27 that “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” In your anger do not sin, talk less when you are angry so that you will not utter what you will regret later.

I will leave you with this verse of the Bible “Patience is better than power, and controlling one’s emotions, than capturing a city.” (Proverbs 16:32).

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BE OPEN TO CORRECTION

TEXT: PROVERBS 9: 7-9

 Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.

8 Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you. 9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.

One popular says is “no one is an island of knowledge.” Another one says “Only a fool knows it all.”

Nobody is too “small” to learn from if you really want to learn. If the Lord can instruct us to learn from the Ants (Proverbs 6: 9-11) one of the smallest (if not the smallest) creatures on earth, then you have no excuse not to learn from your fellow human being.

If you are not open to correction, if you believe you have known it all, you will be limited in wisdom and knowledge.

You will only be able to perform in the level of the wisdom and knowledge you acquire.

We need to learn from each other so that we can add to what we know- for your knowledge and wisdom to increase and not become obsolete, you need to constantly learn from others.

Wisdom and knowledge can come to you as a form of CORRECTION. When it comes like that let your heart be open to receive it will joy and gladness, so that you can add to your wealth of wisdom.

We need to learn from each other so that we can add to what we have already known. Nobody is hundred percent complete- that is why we need to rob minds so that we can exchange ideas, knowledge and wisdom.

Your area of weakness could be someone’s area of strength. If you are not open to correction, how will you be able make amends and work on your weakness?

Would you prefer to continue in the act of foolishness rather than accepting to be corrected in love?

 People that are not ready to be corrected are proud people. Their pride is what hinders them from adding to their wisdom and knowledge- Pride has made their mind to be closed from all great ideas, wisdom and knowledge that they could have gained from others.

They become narrow minded because they refused to inculcate into their lives Romans 12:2 which says we should be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Your mind can only be transformed and be renewed from its original state when you are open to correction.

Our text says “Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. The Bible refers to those that are not open to correction as mockers, wicked and foolish people. The text says they hate you when you correct them- when you want good thing for them, they want evil for you- they take you as their personal enemy!

The text said on the other hand that when a wise person is being corrected, he will take your correction on board and make amends; and add to his wealth of wisdom and knowledge to become wiser. Wise people accept correction with gladness of heart and love you for correcting them. What a big difference between the wise and the foolish.

“Rebuke the wise and they will love you. 9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.” (Prov. 8b-9).

The conclusion of today’s message is that you should not be too “big” to be corrected- have a receptive heart to corrections, good ideas and advice – if you want your wisdom to be relevant at all times, learn new wisdom from others.

For you not to be a mocker, a fool and an evil person, you must be receptive to corrections. God bless.

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GET UP AND WALK!!!

JOHN 5: 1-15

“Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.  Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. ³ Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.  ⁵ One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

⁷ “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

⁸ Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” ⁹ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, ¹⁰ and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

¹¹ But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”

¹² So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

¹³ The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

¹⁴ Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” ¹⁵ The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.”

At a point during the cause of our lives we are faced with situations that are overwhelming. We find ourselves in a place where it seems we are stagnated, we are not making progress. We feel that we need help and assistance which is not forthcoming.

There are periods when we struggle to breakout of hardship and unpleasant situations, we tried all possible means but all into no avail.

Many looks for help from friends and families but help refused to come from them, because the families and friends need help themselves.

Many times we look for help in the wrong direction- and when we don’t get our desired result because we look in the wrong direction, we become frustrated and we give in to fate without making effort or trying harder.

The disappointment that many people faced in life has made them to be “handicapped” and become “crippled” to every good things of life. they have chosen stagnation over progress, and failure over fruitfulness.

In our text, the blind man at the pool was expecting help from the people around him to help lower him into the pool so that he could be healed. He felt disappointed when help did not come from them as he expected. The blind man accepted his fate and stayed at the pool for thirty eight years without any effort; before Jesus came to rescue him!

The blind man was helpless and hopeless because he looked in the wrong direction for help.

The word of God for you today is “Do not allow the situation of life to make you become hopeless.” Look in the right direction for help- Jesus is the help of the helpless and the hope of the hopeless. Do not accept the negative situation to overwhelm you.

Jesus is your sure hope and your ever present help in time of trouble. Call upon his name today, he is ready and willing to help you to get up from failure and stagnation, and walk you to your place of breakthrough and abundance. DO NOT EXPLAIN IT AWAY LIKE THE BLIND MAN- DON'T GIVE EXCUSES-DON'T JUSTIFY  YOUR STAGNATION. GET UP AND WALK!

Do not let any problem stagnate you. With Jesus there will always be a way around your problem- Nothing can hold you bound if you don’t allow it- Get up and walk out of stagnation!

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YOU WILL BE TESTED TO BE PROMOTED

TEXT: DAN 3:8-21, 28-30

 At this time some astrologers or Chaldeans came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us. Or If the God we serve is able to deliver us, then he will deliver us from the blazing furnace and from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace….Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

There is no promotion with test or examination. For you to be promoted to a greater or next level, you must go through a test. Nobody gets promoted without having to face some trials or challenges.

For example, when students wanted to be promoted from one class to the next higher class, the teachers will conduct some test for them to test their ability to that they will know if they are fit enough to be promoted.

In the same vein, for God to elevate you and promote you to the next higher level; your faithfulness and your steadfastness will be tested. God may decide to bring a challenge your way to know the extent of your love and your commitment to him.

You know it is easy to serve God when things are working well for you. You may find it easy to profess your “unending love” for God when the line is falling in good places for you. When the tide turns in “not so good” or in a very messy situation, can you still be steadfast in your commitment to God?

In our text, the three Hebrew boys were having the challenge of renouncing their God by bowing down to worship the image of gold of king Nebuchadnezzar. Failure to bow down for this image would cost them their lives. If they refuse to bow down to the image of gold, they will be thrown into the extremely hot fire prepared at the instruction of the king. The period can be referred to as the period of their test that would get them promoted to the next level.

The Hebrew boys faced the “promotional test” and they came out victoriously. The boys proved their love and steadfastness to God by standing their ground not to bow to the image of gold.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king

“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us 17 Or If the God we serve is able to deliver us, then he will deliver us from the blazing furnace and from Your Majesty’s hand. 18But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Dan 3: 16-18).

The king was filled with rage and ordered that the boys should be thrown into the extremely heated furnace. The boys were thrown into the fire but the lord took out the heat from the fire and made the fire to become “air conditioner” for them and they were not burnt!

God does not allow those who trust Him to be put to shame. When the Hebrew boys refused to trade their God for any man made gods, the Lord came through for them by rescuing them from the plot of the enemy.

If you stand your ground in the face of problem and affliction, the Lord will not forsake you. He will rescue and deliver you from the plot of the enemy and you will triumph and be promoted like the Hebrew boys.

“And the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.28Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”30Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. (Dan 3:27-30).

Be encouraged that God will not leave nor forsake you. You will be tested to be promoted, make sure you don’t fail the test if you want to go to the next level of greatness. Failure to pass the test means repetition until you pass that level gloriously. NO PROMOTION WITHOUT TEST!

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