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.

Image: Google Image 

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

Image- Google Image

ARE YOU A GOOD SHEPHERD OR A HIRED HAND? (11)

TEXT: EZEKIEL 34:1-10

 The word of the Lord came to me:  “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?  You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.  So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them. “‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:  As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock,  therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:  This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.

In the first part of this message, we read about Jesus as the good shepherd, we defined the meaning of the good shepherd both literarily and scripturally. We also mentioned the characteristics of a good shepherd and a hired hand.

Today, we will continue by looking at the in-depth meaning of what Jesus said in John 10:11 that “I am the good shepherd... this statement shows that there are bad shepherds if Jesus can qualify himself as the good shepherd. The adjective “good” in Jesus’ statement made it known to us that shepherds are of different categories.

Our text above listed the attributes of the bad shepherds:

·        They only take care of themselves. They only cares for their immediate family, they live in the best houses, ride the best cars, wear the best clothes while the members of their congregations are wallowing in lack.

·        They feed themselves and not the flock (selfishness)

·        They did not heal the sick or the injured, no encouragement for the broken hearted (wickedness)

·        Clothe themselves, and eat choice food without meeting the needs of their flock (greed)

·        They did not seek the lost or scattered (lack of compassion)

·        They dominate the flock with force and severity (autocratic leaders)

Jesus as the good shepherd did not manifest any of the attributes listed above. Instead he lived a selfless life, he healed the sick, and bound the broken hearted, and minister to the needs of everybody that came in contact with him.  He looked for the scattered Sheep and brought them back to God. Above all, he laid his life down for his Sheep!

What will be the judgement of the wicked and bad shepherd? The answer is in verse 10 “this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I WILL REMOVE THEM FROM TENDING THE FLOCK SO THAT THE SHEPHERDS CAN NO LONGER FEED THEMSELVES. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.”

Now as a shepherd you know if you are a good shepherd, bad shepherd, or hired hands. Make necessary adjustments if you need to, may we not be held accountable for wrong doings in Jesus name. Amen.

Image- Google Image

ARE YOU A GOOD SHEPHERD OR A HIRED HAND? (1)

TEXT: JOHN 10:11-13

“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for the Sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the Sheep. So when he sees the Wolf coming, he abandons the Sheep and runs away. Then the Wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the Sheep.”

A shepherd is a person who takes care of Sheep, he takes Sheep to eat, drink, keep them away from danger and guide them lest they go astray. In summary, a shepherd protects guides and nurtures his flock.

Jesus Christ called his followers sheep and he refer to himself as the good shepherd. As believers are sheep in God’s vineyard; they need shepherds to protect, guide and nurture in the way of the Lord. The shepherds are the pastors that God has given the mandate to protect, guide and nurture His people. Jesus was able to say confidently that “I am a good shepherd” unfortunately, most of the pastors that are supposed to be shepherds to their flock are nothing but hired hands! They care nothing for the Sheep, they leave their Sheep to danger, and they abandon their Sheep in time of trouble and need. They abandon their Sheep because they are not genuinely interested in them, but the benefits they would enjoy as pastors.

Jesus outlined the difference between a good shepherd and the hired hand in our text: A good shepherd lays his life for the Sheep; this is because he is the real owner of the flock, and therefore whatever affects the Sheep will affect the shepherd. On the other hand a hired hand is being hired to watch over the Sheep, and he gets paid at the end of the day for tending the Sheep.

The hired hands nurtures the Sheep not because he loves them or because he does not want evil to happen to them, he nurtures them because of the benefit accrued to watching over them which is the wages he would be paid at the end of the day. Hired hand’s interest is not on the safety and well-being of the Sheep but his wages. You cannot lay your life for somebody you do not love that is why a hired hand would run away when there is danger in the midst of the flock.

Many of the so called shepherds or pastors have no genuine interest in their congregation, but so far you are still useful to them in one way or the other, they would relate with you. As soon as your services or act of kindness to them and their ministry ceases; you will be left and abandoned! This is not Christ like, because it is not written anywhere that Jesus used and dumped anybody. This type of trait CANNOT be seen in a good shepherd but in a hired hand.

IMAGE- Google Image

STOP THE CRAVING!

TEXT: PSALM 106:13-15

“But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for His counsel. In the desert they GAVE in to their CRAVING; in the waste land they put God to the test. So He gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them” (Psalm 106:13-15)

Many times we tend to have forgotten where God started with us, all He did for our sake (sending His only son to die in our place). The seen and unseen battles He won for us, previous evils He averted for us, unmerited mercy and favour showered on us, providing for us in the midst of scarcity… the list is endless. Instead of giving thanks to God for all these unmerited blessings, people give in to craving and complaining about the things they don’t have. They compare themselves with others, and they ask why unbelievers should be flourishing while they are struggling. God knows you more than you know yourself, those craving may be the things that He knows that could cause problem, destruction, unfaithfulness, even separation from Him! God does not want to lose you to blessing that will destroy you, to avert problems; God may ignore such cravings (request) to preserve your life.

So many people have put God to test and God has been “forced” to GIVE THEM WHAT THEY ASKED FOR, and what did they get in addition to their request? HE SENT A WASTING DISEASE UPON THEM! (V 15).

Many have gotten the blessing that have sent them to their early grave; some have traded their glory because of their craving. Stop that craving and wait patiently for the counsel of God. He has your best interest at heart; He will not forsake or disappoint you if you wait for Him.

Image: Google Image

 

MAKE THE MOST HIGH YOUR DWELLING

TEXT: PSALM 91: 9-13

“If you make the most high your dwelling, even the Lord who is my refuge, then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the Lion and the Cobra; you will trample the great Lion and the Serpent.

The best place to be is the presence of God, because in His presence there is no sorrow, danger, evil occurrence or any negative circumstance. A dwelling is a home or a place of shelter where you can have access to some basic needs that gives comfort. The safest place to be is the presence of God; making the almighty your dwelling guarantees your safety. There is no amount of trained security men that can guarantee safety, the scripture says in Psalm 127:1 that “unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman wakes up in vain.” We have heard of great and powerful men around the world being killed despite the maximum security they put in place. This buttresses the fact that no amount of gadgets or trained security men can give you assurance of safety. The bible tells us in Psalm 16:11 that in the presence of God there is fullness of joy. Why? Because our God is the custodian of unspeakable and unending joy, joy never ceases from His presence! Hence you should make the presence of God your dwelling so that you can enjoy all the benefits abound in His presence.

This brings us to the point of analysing the benefits of His presence. The first benefit is security, if you make the most high your dwelling; no harm will befall you. Secondly, no disaster will come near your tent because you are dwelling in His presence; this makes your tent to become God’s habitation. The third point is that the Lord will make His angels to guard you against evil; you will be untouchable for the devil. The fourth point is that the Lord will command the host of heaven to lift you up in their hands, far above principalities and power, the Lord will cause the angels to pamper you that you will not strike your foot against a stone (this means that you will be well attended to that you will not experience a moment of hardship or pain).

Making the lord your dwelling entails mutual relationship with God, having close fellowship with Him, following His leading and listening to His instructions and warning. Anybody that is living in disobedience cannot make the lord his or her dwelling. Proverbs 1:33 says “whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease without the fear of harm.” Absolute obedience to God is what makes us dwell in the presence of God, and when we make the lord most high our dwelling our safety is guaranteed.  

Image- Google Image

KEEP THE FIRE BURNING (2)

TEXT: LEVITICUS 6:12-13

¹² The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it. ¹³ The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.

If you refuse to flame the fire on your  Spiritual altar, it can be taken over by ashes. If ashes takes any Spiritual altar; it denote that there is no more fire or heat on such altar, therefore the altar can become an  abode for any creature  in as much as there is no heat coming out from the altar any more.

In the book of Acts 28:1-5, the scripture recorded an account that Paul was putting bush wood in the fire made for them by the people of the island of Malta because it COLD. As he was putting the sticks in the fire, the HEAT of the fire drove out a Viper that has been hiding. The snake was able to hide when the place was cold and there was no heat, but when heat came, the Viper could not stand the heat! This illustration shows what happens when your Spiritual is hot and when you allow your altar to be cold and full of ashes.

Ashes can be caused by the situations of life. What are ashes? They are problems that can make you to abandon your Spiritual exercise; it may be any of the following:

·        Unanswered prayer

·        Sin

·        Confusion

·        Death of loved ones

·        Depression

·        Anger and bitterness

·        Problems in marriage/ breakup

·        Hopelessness

·        Unrighteous living

·        Worldliness

“The priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it” (Leviticus 6:12). You can keep your fire burning by adding your “Spiritual firewood” which is prayer/ daily devotion. You can also keep your fire burning by doing the following: repent of your sin, give God the totality of your life by allowing Him to lead while you follow, forsake worldliness, study His word, become a living sacrifice by living in holiness, fellowship with other believers, and lastly everything (ashes) that can hinder or quench your fire must be removed from your Spiritual altar.

 IMAGE: GOOGLE IMAGE