GIVE THANKS

TEXT: JOHN 6: 5-13
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
Let me start the year by welcoming all my readers and followers to year 2017.

 I pray that all the goodness in the year 2017 will be our lots in Jesus name.
All our unmet needs in 2016 shall be met this year in Jesus name. The Bible tells us that in all things we should give thanks to God, and we should let our Thanksgiving to be more than our request.
In this New Year, I want to encourage each and everyone of us to put on the Crown and garment of praise and thanksgiving. Let us use the remaining 363 days of this year to give thanks to God regardless of our circumstances.
Your Breakthrough, lifting, healing and deliverance are tied to your heart of gratitude to God.
In the scripture above, Jesus was able to feed five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two small fish. How was that possible? The power of Thanksgiving!
Jesus did not lament or grumble at the insufficiency of the food made available for him. Instead, he collected the small portion of the food and gave thanks to God, and the supernatural happened.
Jesus started serving five thousand people from the small portion of five loaves of bread and two fish. The multitude ate to their satisfaction and twelve baskets of leftovers were packed!
The lord has promised to crown the year 2017 for us with bountiful harvest
(Psalm 65 :11).
Do not let your heart be troubled. With the little resources in your hand, accept it with Thanksgiving like Jesus did and watch God multiplying it for you.
The lord of increase and Abundance is on your side, therefore, you will live in abundance this year and years to come in Jesus name.
Once again I welcome you to 2017 our year of THANKSGIVING AND ABUNDANCE.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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QUERYING GOD?

(JOB 9:15-19)

"For though I was right, I could not answer; I would have to implore the mercy of my judge. If I summoned him and he answered me, I would not believe that he was listening to my voice. He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason. He will not let me get my breath, but fills me with bitterness. If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him?”
God is all sufficient, the all knowing God that cannot be queried or questioned. The scripture says “God does as He pleases (Job 23:13). God can decide to promote the poor and make him sit among princes, and He can demote kings and princes and relegate them to nothing. Nobody can challenge the decision of the Lord Almighty, He cannot be taken to court, and nobody can judge Him because He is the judge of all judges. In fact, He is the chief judge of the universe!

There are some circumstances that had caused people to query where God was when their lives were in shambles. Some can even take it to the extent of saying “if God is truly existing; why are evil things happening to good people? The answer to these questions are not farfetched-   He is God of all flesh, His ways are not our ways, He decides who He wants to have mercy on (Romans 9:15).

Job was a man that did the will of God, he was steadfast and God was boastful of him. Yet the devil with the permission of God; attacked him to test his faith and loyalty in God. Job was upright and yet afflicted by the devil, however, Job did not query God, and instead he pleaded for mercy. “Though I was innocent, I could not answer Him, I could only plead with my judge for mercy.” (Job 9:15).

The lesson here is that no matter what you are going through, don’t query God, and don’t be angry with Him. All you need to do is to plead for His mercy. God cannot be taken to court, He cannot be flogged or beaten, and since you cannot fight God; the best thing to do when life is tough and difficult is to ask for His mercy and wait patiently like Job, and watch God elevating you to a greater height after your trial of faith.

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ENVY NOT THE WEALTH OF THE WICKED.

PSALM 73: 3-5, 16-19

For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. (v 3-5).

When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! (v 16-19).

The world is full of mysteries that only God can unfold, the world is full of “the good, the bad and the ugly situations.” Many are living in affluence; some are averagely okay while some are living below average. Some people are working tooth and nail to make ends meet; hence, some are acquiring wealth without having to struggle for it.

Many people that are walking in the way of the Lord; people that are living the totality of their lives to please God are struggling to survive hardship. However, those that have sold out their souls to the devil are flourishing and swimming in the river of affluence!

As human beings, we may be wondering why this is so, that is the irony of life that only God can unravel. In curiosity and maybe in anger, we may be asking questions as to why unbelievers should be flourishing in their evil ways, and why believers are wallowing in poverty despite their righteous living.

“Is the earth and its fullness not God’s? What about the cattle on a thousand hills, are they not for God? Did He not promise to supply ALL my needs according to His riches in glory? Did He not promise us the wealth of the Gentiles? Why are Gentiles flourishing while obedient believers are languishing in abject poverty?”

It is normal to feel this way because we are human. That was the predicament of the Psalmist when he wrote Psalm 73. Our God is a good God that promise His children good and expected end (Jere. 29:11). The bible tells us that it is only the blessing of God that make riches without adding sorrow to it (Prov. 10:22). The wicked that are flourishing with wealth amassed from unclean source are placed on the slippery ground (Ps 73:18). Wealth gotten from unclean source will not last, but the sorrow and trouble that the wealth will bring to the owner of the wealth will last forever! Their final destination as explained in our text is destruction, the Lord will cast them down to ruin, and they will be completely swept away by terror!

The success of the wicked will only last for a short period, and they will have their portion in the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8)

“Do not fret because of evildoers or be envious of the wicked, for the evildoer has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.” (Proverbs 24:19-20)

Do not envy the success of the wicked; do not run after material things at the expense of your righteous living. Do not race against heavenly things because of earthly things that are perishable. What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and lose his own soul (Mark 8:36). The Lord knows the best thing for you, He will fulfil His promises for you, wait upon His promises, ENVY NOT THE WEALTH OF THE WICKED.

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AVOID INSTANT GRATIFICATION

TEXT: GENESIS 25: 29-34

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom)  Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.  Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.

Everybody wants to get things done without having to wait or to be delayed. We live in the world where everything is expected to be done “instantly,” nobody wants to wait any longer. The world has become a “quick fix society” where instant gratification is needed for everything.

Gone are the days of slow and steady wins the race, in fact, people finds it difficult to wait on the queue at the till, drivers are always in a hurry, pedestrians can’t wait for traffic because they want to get to their destinations within a twinkle of an eye. Everybody wants to get everything done NOW without having to wait.

The new age of technology and the advancement of science, has made people to always be in a hurry to get things done like microwave. The world is creaming “I want it done now, I must have it now, and I don’t care what the future holds; all that matter to me now is “NOW.”!

Instant gratification is the desire to enjoy pleasure or fulfillment without delay or deferment. Instant gratification has caused some people to indulge or engage in unspeakable acts that has caused them irreparable harm, due to their lack of patience.

People are getting involved in various crimes, fraud, sexual immoralities and other sinful acts in other to attain or achieve a purpose. We all need to understand that life is not a bed of roses, and nothing good comes cheap. Consequently, whatever you get cheap or easily may not last. Our text explains how dangerous it could be when we want to get our desires met instantly without waiting for the right time. If you eat your fruit without waiting for it to ripe, you are setting your teeth on edge!

Esau was hungry; he wanted food at all cost at that particular time. He could not wait to prepare his own food; he went to ask for his brother’s food. The brother demanded for Esau’s birthright in exchange of the food. Esau allowed the hunger to overrule his sense of reasoning, he did not see any importance of the birthright at the moment of hunger, the birthright was meaningless to him, after all he could not eat the birthright to satisfy his hunger; and he was dead hungry!

Esau decided to trade his birthright (his future) for an immediate satisfaction that would last for a moment. Many people are like Esau, they are interested in their now and do not mind what become of their future. They look for instant gratification (what satisfy their now) the devil will use small thing to rob them of their glorious future like Esau! They trade their glory to acquire worthless materials.

Delayed gratification will not kill you; it will only give you the opportunity to get the best, because delayed gratification is equal to greater rewards. If Esau had endured the hunger; and waited to cook his own food, he would have eaten more that what he sold his birthright for, and he would not have lost his birthright too. However, because of impatience and love for instant gratification, he lost his glorious future! The blessing that belonged to him was given to his brother.

As a child of God, don’t let the challenges of life push you out of your patience to wait for God to act. Do not destroy your TOMORROW because of TODAY. Endure hardship; wait patiently for God your time of joy is coming. If you delay your gratification you will not regret it. Instant gratification will cost you something, you may get what you want now like Esau, but you will pay dearly for it in future. “See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.” (Hebrew 12:16-17). Wait for God’s time and avoid INSTANT GRATIFICATION

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WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?

TEXT: EPHESIANS 3:20

“Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”

There is great power in our thoughts. Thought is the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the use of our senses. Thought is the perception about a thing, circumstance or situation. Thought can be positive and negative, it can be said that your thought is what determines your action; and your actions shapes who you are or what you become. Your life will reflect your dominant thought, if all you think is negative; the same will reflect in your life. If you think positive at all times, you will experience positive transformation in your life always. This is so because whatever is not present in your thought can NEVER be evident in your life!

Our text talks about how our God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than our THOUGHTS AND IMAGINATION! Therefore, if you think positively, the Lord will do unto you more than your positive thoughts and imagination, consequently, if you think negatively about yourself; the Lord will do to you more than your negative thought and imagination. The scripture says “as a man thinks in his heart so is he” (Proverbs 23: 7).  This is to buttress the fact that whatever you think about yourself, so shall God make you to be.

In Numbers 14 when the children of Israel were complaining in the dessert, they said “If only we have died in Egypt or in the dessert… this utterance came as a result of what they had in their mind (thought) - they were “thinking aloud.” The lord replied them in verse 28 “As surely as I live declare the Lord. I will do to you the VERY THING I HEARD YOU SAY, in the dessert your bodies will fall…” Their thoughts caused them to utter words of destruction into their lives! The scripture says “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34) either you are thinking it or you go a step further to confess it with your mouth, the Lord is ready to do beyond your thought, confession and imagination.

On this note, if you have been thinking negatively before, it is high time you changed your perspective. Even if the situation shows negative and unpleasant, your positive thought and confession can change the situation for good. Change your thought and your world will change, once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you are on your way to positive result and great success. Your thoughts create your future, THINK POSITIVE!

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MAINTAIN YOUR INTEGRITY

TEXT: JOB 2:3-9

“Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”

 “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give all he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.”  So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.  Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”

Integrity is the act of doing the right thing at all times and in all situations, whether or not anyone is watching. It takes discipline and determination to live a life of integrity, it takes years to build integrity but it can take a second to destroy what has been built over a period of lengthy years. The world has become a place where there is no regard for integrity, instead the popular slogan by Niccolo Machiavelli “The end justifies the means” has become an acceptable norm!

There are some situation we find ourselves that makes us wanting to doubt the power and the wonders of the name of God. Most of the time afflictions come after you have decided to walk uprightly with God, and have forsaken the way that leads to eternal damnation. Are you asking why this is so? Well the reason is not farfetched; Satan is a liar and a deceiver. He wanted to deceive you to believe that God is not a custodian of every good and perfect thing. He wants you to think and be convinced that he is the only one that can give you all that you would need to be happy, and enjoy the best in life. Satan deceives his victims by enticing them with “perishable blessing” to make them forget the giver of “imperishable blessing”- the only living God.  The lesson here is that dishonesty may give you instant gratification, but it won’t last. At times you wonder why sinners and unbelievers should be flourishing while believers are languishing in lack. Satan blesses his victims with quick blessing because he is sure that his time and that of his victims are limited (Revelation 12:12). He wants them to enjoy their short lived blessing, before they will end it up together in Hell.

It is when you have make up your mind to walk uprightly with God that Satan will be bringing afflictions your way so that you can change your mind against God, he is doing this to win you to his kingdom. Beware!

The text shows how Job was affected by Satan so that he would sin against God. God was pleased with Job for being upright and He was boasting about him to Satan. Satan detests when God is boasting about any of His children, he will make all effort to cause the person to compromise and sin against God. Hear God- “And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him and ruin him without any reason.”  God was impressed by Job maintaining his integrity despite all he was going though. “Job made up his mind and determined not to compromise. “I will maintain my integrity until I die” (Job 27:5^b). One good lesson here is that, no matter what is happening to us, we must maintain our stand in God. Do not throw caution into air, always maintain your integrity even in the face of affliction, be rest assured that God will come to your rescue; He will not leave you alone in the mess.

Job was afflicted with painful sores, the wife got fed up and told him to forget about his integrity, and instead “curse God and die” she advised! (Job 2:9).

Many times we go through tribulations and afflictions that “advisers” would be coming with different counsels and “solutions.” Be very careful to select what and who you listen to when you are in any difficult situation. Your closest people can be used by the devil to make you compromise your stand in Christ, and cause you to lose your integrity- like the devil wanted to use Job’s wife to cause his downfall.

If you maintain your integrity at the time of trial like Job did, the lord will bless you the way He blessed Job. “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first… (Job 42:12^A). After the cross comes the crown, endure affliction to get the blessing. DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO DO SOMETHING THAT WOULD DAMAGE YOUR INTEGRITY. May the Lord grant us the grace to maintain our integrity in Jesus name. Amen.

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COME LET US REASON TOGETHER

TEXT: ISAIAH 1:18

“Come now, let us reason together says the lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they are Red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

The scripture made us to know that the eyes of the Lord are too pure to behold iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13) yet God did not hate sinners but the sin in them. Sin is a stumbling block that deprives man from enjoying quality fellowship with God.

When Adam and Eve committed sin in the Garden of Eden, there was separation between them and God. They were unable to continue the privilege of God coming down to them in the dawn of the evening to “gist” with them. Despite their sin, God was still protecting and providing for them. This shows that God loves sinners, He does not want them to die in their sin but repent and turn away from their sinful way, and then He would embrace them and adopt them into His kingdom as children. If your child soiled him or herself with chocolate and was coming to you in your flowing white attire, you would not embrace the child; instead you would move back so that your white apparel would not be soiled too. If the child cleansed herself and ran toward you to embrace you, you would not move back but embrace the child to show your love to him/her. This illustration is applicable to us and God. When our clothes are soiled with sin, God would not embrace us, but when we are clean without any blemish; He would be willing and happy to embrace us. Moving away from your child that soiled himself with chocolate; does not mean that you hate the child, but because you wouldn't want to be stained with chocolate. For God to keep sinners at arm length does not mean He hate them, but he wants them to do the right thing- to clean up their “mess” so that He would be able to embrace them.

Our text is giving the assurance that no matter how deep you are in sin, God is ALWAYS ready to cleanse and forgive your sin. It does not matter how far you have travelled with the devil, if you can make a U turn and follow the right route by confessing your sin and depart from it, He is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness( 1 John 1:9). Don’t continue in sin, don't allow the devil to rob you of your salvation, don't fall for the lie of the devil that your sin are too grievous to be forgiven.

Like the prodigal son, make a U turn today; go back to your maker, ask Him to wash and cleanse you of every iniquity. Rededicate your life to Him and make every effort to live for Him alone.

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GIVE AND TAKE

PSALM 18: 24-26

“The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.”

Who you are determines who God will be to you, our God is capable of changing from being a Lamb to a Lion. He can change from being a fountain of love and rivers of life to the consuming fire. Your attitude and your behaviour will determine the side of God that He will show to you.

The Lord showed the side of favour to the Israelites at the Red sea, and they walked on dry land. At the same time God showed His side of vengeance to the Egyptians, the Lord did baptism of destruction for Pharaoh and his chariots at the Red sea. What an awesome God we serve!  Though our God is a merciful God, yet He is a God that stands His word.

Our text can be used to drive home the fact that whatever you sow you will reap (Galatians 6:7). The Lord will reward each and every one of us according to what we do and who we are. If you are kind; you will receive kindness, if you are mean and cruel; you will drink from the same cup. If you are faithful; the lord will not forsake you, He will remain faithful to you in all your ways. If you live to bless others, the Lord will bless you beyond your imagination. If you use your wealth to oppress others, you will be oppressed in return.

If your work is blameless and you live pure, the same measure will be used for you. Search yourself today, take the inventory of your life, do genuine examination of yourself. “Let everyone examine himself; and let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” (1 Corinthians 11:28). Only you can genuinely examine yourself, no one else can. Do the soul searching today and make necessary amends. 

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THE SECRET OF SUCCESS

TEXT: JOSHUA 1:8

“Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Prosperity has nothing to do with your efforts, hard work or your hard labour. It has nothing to do with your intellectual knowledge or your academic achievements, it does not matter how many degrees you bagged in famous universities. True prosperity is of God, there are people that are well educated; yet they can barely meet the basic needs of their lives. Many are working tooth and nail with nothing to show for it.

The scripture says in Deuteronomy 28:12^b that “I will bless the work of your hand...” Except the lord blesses you, your struggle, efforts, and hard labour may yield nothing, this is because hard labour is nothing without God. The secret to great success is obedience to God’s instructions or His commandments. Our text shows the commandments that God gave to Joshua, “the book of the law should not depart from Joshua’s mouth; he should meditate on it day and night. He must also obey and do all that is written in the book of law, then God will bless him and make his way prosperous.”

Likewise, as children of God if you desire success; the book of the law (the Bible) must not depart from your mouth. You must study and mediate on the word daily. You must diligently follow the instructions in it, then the lord will open His bounty to bless you more than you can ever think or imagine.

The word of God is rich with “prosperity nuggets” for all areas of profession. The word of God is capable of giving you insight to what will launch you out to limelight even more than what your qualifications or university degrees would do. Examples of this fact are the mighty men of God all over the world that are doing great exploit for God. Some of them are highly educated while some are averagely educated. Yet these people are globally known not because of their university degrees or by their professional achievements. Their success and fame came when they surrender their totality to God; they decided to make the word of God their number one. The way of God and His commandment became paramount in their lives.

If these people had decided to stay in their field or area of professions, I can tell you that their fame may not spread all over the world, they would only be known in their lines of professions and not globally.

The lord may have a secret that will make you a household name worldwide. This will only be possible if you allow the word of the lord to dwell richly in your heart, when you meditate on the word and diligently obey all that is written in it, and then the revelation of what will bring you into limelight would be given to you.

You don’t need to be running around looking for success and prosperity, if you make the word of God your number one and make all effort to walk in obedience; the lord promise that He would make you the head and not the tail (Deuteronomy 28:13). Don’t look for success look for God and success will come looking for you!

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ASK FOR THE ANOINTING

TEXT: ACT 10:38

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.”

Before Jesus Christ could start his ministry, he waited to be anointed by God. Without God’s anointing in a man’s life; his efforts may yield little or no result.

Anointing is the drive power that enable believers to work and walk in the real m of the supernatural. Anointing empowers you beyond your human efforts and wisdom. What you cannot do ordinarily; when the anointing of God falls upon you, you will continue to do them. Peter was a coward before he got anointed on the day of Pentecost. After Peter was anointed, he received boldness to stand up and preach the gospel among multitude and many souls were saved! Anointing gives you courage to do exploit.

Another advantage of the anointing is that it gives you speed and accelerate your progress to outrun people that are doing things with human efforts and wisdom. This can be seen in 1 King 18:45-46. When Elijah told Ahab to go on his chariot because it’s going to start raining, Ahab had gone before Elijah, but when the spirit of God (anointing) came upon Elijah he outran Ahab on his chariot while he was running on his feet! It takes the supernatural power of God to do that not with human strength.

Anointing also breaks the yoke (Isaiah 10:27) When God anoints you it breaks every yoke of limitation, affection and barriers. Anointing gives you the power to do things with ease and achieve greatly where others are struggling.

Anointing goes beyond being ordained as pastor, deacon or deaconess, you may be an ordinary believer without any title and have anointing to do better than what other title holders in the church will do. Anointing equips the anointed for spiritual assignments that human strength and wisdom cannot do.

Another benefit of the anointing is seen in Psalm 18:50^b “He shows unfailing kindness to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.” God showed David His unfailing kindness because he was God’s anointed vessel. He committed a lot of sin; but God did not discard him and his generation from His presence.

Anointing makes your talents to make launch you out to greatness. If you have talents and you lack anointing, you won’t be able to make impact with your gift. Your talents with the anointing of God launch you to a height that you cannot think of getting to.

God’s unfailing live and kindness will be for you if you are his anointed. Without God’s anointing; believers will not be able to fulfill their God’s original plan for their lives. No much success can be recorded in ministry, business, work life, marriage and in the entirety of existence. Ask God to anoint you today for supernatural breakthrough and greatness.

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AVOID PROVOCATION

TEXT: PSALM 106:32-33

“By the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord, and trouble came to Moses because of them, for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and harsh words came from Moses’ lips.”

The Israelites had been a bunch of problem on Moses right from the time they left Egypt, as soon as the Lord parted the Red sea for them and drowned their enemies in the sea, they forgot how powerful the Lord God is. All the wonders that the Lord did in Egypt for Pharaoh to release them, all the protection God gave to them by becoming fire by night and cloud by day to shield them, the Manna and Quail supplied for them in the wilderness were forgotten by the Israelites.

As soon as they wanted something, they started grumbling and complaining making reference to the life they lived in their land of slavery, regretting leaving Egypt.

Their attitude shows that of the ungrateful hearts that appreciates instant favour or help. As soon as the period of the favour or help is over, they don’t see any reason for appreciation again. This can be very painful and disappointing.

Moses knew what he went through before he could come to face Pharaoh for the release of the Israelites, he knew how hard and difficult it is to single-handedly lead a multitude of people, men, women, children and their animals out of slavery, through the Red sea, the wilderness, to an unknown destination (promised land).

Moses exchanged Royal robes for rags to deliver the children of Israel, yet the people refused to appreciate or have the heart of gratitude to God and Moses. Instead they complained bitterly about God and launched their anger on Moses as God representative that they could see. The Israelites wanted water and they started their usual complaint. Maybe Moses that had been condoling their complaint and their excesses got fed up; he reacted by uttering harsh words to them in anger.  Moses was too provoked that he missed the instruction that God gave to him, God became angry with Moses and vowed that Moses would not take the Israelite to the Promised Land.

Despite Moses’ efforts and struggle, he missed it all at the last minute. Provocation made him to miss God’s plan for his life even though he was not at fault!

Many believers have been provoked to leave their place of assignment, either by their pastor, pastor’s wife, or other members of the church. It is prevalent these days that people you are helping in their ministries will end up not seeing what you are doing, instead of appreciating the calling of God upon you and thank God for bringing you their way to lift their hands up in the ministry. All you would get from them is insult, complaint, and abuse. The scripture admonishes us in Galatians 6:9 that we should not become weary in doing good... don’t let anyone provoke you to leave your place of assignment. You will reap the reward of your good work in due season if you do not give up (Galatians 6:9).

You must run this race to the end, you MUST finish well. Fight the good fight of faith, AVOID PROVOCATION

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