DANGER OF POSITIVE CONFESSION (I) --The Case of the Shunammite woman

Text: II Kings 4:8-37

9 And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. 10 Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall……… “Call this Shunamite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. 13 And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army? ’She answered, “I dwell among my own people.”

Life is full of ups and downs, but we are thankful unto God that He’s a God of the mountain, as well as the God of the valley. He’s on the sea and He’s on the land. He’s the Omnipresent God. Therefore, no matter where you find yourself at any point of your journey of life, God is always there. However, in John 16:33, the bible recorded that these things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” This is like someone that is already armed for the fight ahead. There will be no need for panicking.

In discussing this topic as the lord has laid it on my heart, I pray that the Holy Spirit will give you the spirit of understanding so that you don’t misunderstand me. Don’t get me wrong. It is a good thing to confess positively, especially when you know who your God is.

The Shunammite woman in this context has a record of being a kind, generous and hospitable woman who loved to do good. Thus, her act of kindness made her to show warm affection to the prophets by providing them with room on board when she perceived that Elisha was a man of God, (v 8&9). However, she had an abnormality that she had normalized over several years and due to the circumstances and situations at the time. She was without a child, and the husband too was of age.

When the prophet seem to favor her for her act of kindness, remember one good turn deserves another, her statement was like that of our so-called Christians of today who believe in the power of positive confession. She answered, All is Well. In actuality, was all really well for this woman who already figured out that Elisha was a holy man of God? Her response was not different from what we noticed in church today when brethren would neglect the idea of telling their issues to God, especially when someone whom God had sent to them came knocking, they would start quoting scriptures, all in the name of positive confession. Can they really back up their quotation by their lifestyles?

Just ask yourself, if you are presented with the same opportunity as in verse 13 when the man of God asked, “What can I do for you?” What will your response be? Won’t you be quoting the promises of God rather than just tell it the way it is? A lot of believers had lost out in getting answers to their petitions, because at the hour of miracle, they were found wanting in their request. The bible says in Jeremiah29:13-14a that “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you”

This Shunammite woman would have lost the glorious opportunity of being blessed, or singing a new song, but for her hospitality. Her generosity found her where her positive confession failed her. A lot of believers play the same scriptural game today, but they might not be as favored as this woman because of their attitude. Thus, there is nothing bad in saying I am not feeling fine, but I believe the power of the blood will heal me. I don’t know how to settle my bill, but I am of hope that Jehovah Nissi would provide.

Friends, you have to be in God’s court with your hands highly lifted up before you can expressly enjoy the benefits of the power in confessing positively. No wonder He said in Psalm 24 v 3&4 that “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart” Do you think you have clean hands and pure heart? Why then are you not placing your petition at the altar the way they are so that the one that sees in the dark and in the public will meet you at the point of your need?

Finally, another salient point that bailed out this shunammite woman was that she had touched the heart of God somehow, and that is why Elisha was obligated to see to her worries, even when the son died and God did not immediately reveal the same to the prophet. So, what are you doing for God to provoke his blessings through any of his servants or the anointed for you? Mere positive confession without knowing your God will earn you nothing regardless of how many times any prophet ask you to recite it. You need a relationship with God. You need to touch God’s heart in several ways possible to lay claim to your utterances. Remember in John 10:27, the bible recorded that “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” è(Watch Out for Part Two of this series)

WHAT SHALL I DO FOR YOU?

Text: II Kings 4:1-7

Now the wife of a son of the prophets cried to Elisha, 

Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. But the creditor has come to take my two sons to be his slaves.

Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? 
Tell me, what have you [of sale value] in the house? …..He said, 

Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons live on the rest.

If you are in a fix situation and someone comes to ask you this question, what will your response be? This was the question from the Prophet to the woman according to this text. A lot of people fail to give correct response to this simple but easy question because they were never prepared for something big in their lives and/or because they have no relationship with the questionnaire. Thus, they are challenged to answer with reasonable and direct answer that could have elevated them from whatever status they happen to live in.

It is always a common saying that preparation at the knock of an opportunity is a waste. You don’t start to prepare for what you will do when you are actually require to take action by making a decision. Just consider yourself looking for a job after several futile attempts of search and you are presented with the question, “How much do you want as your salary?” A lot of people cannot successfully answer that because they have no idea what the job actually pays and out of desperation, they underscore their abilities and shortchanged themselves.

The prophet also asked the woman, “What do you have in the house?” From this, it is definitely right to say before anyone comes to GOD asking for heaven and earth, one should have a relationship with the Almighty. Relationship does not mean how many days one sleeps in church by attending one program or the other. It is not about your closeness to the pastor as we erroneously think sometimes.  It does not also take into account how many crusades or seminars and/or workshops that are Christian-based that one has attended. It has nothing to do with how much tithes and offering you bring to the storehouse. It is about you realizing the fact that you truly need GOD, as you are a sinner, and with faith, you will receive Jesus Christ as your Savior. It also means that you should include God in your daily lives—Pray to Him; Study and Meditate on the Scriptures in an effort to get to know Him better.

At this juncture, turn the searchlight to yourself and if you are asked the same question, what will your answer be? Remember, the passage says the widow was once married to one of the sons of the prophet, who feared God. Can anyone say the same about you that you fear God in the way you worship Him? You, as a head of department, or a boss in your secular job, or ministry leader and/or head pastor, do you see yourself as a God-fearing someone? Do you see the people under your leadership as a problem that you are using your position of authority to threaten them? Do you ever think of how to bring up the potentials in the people that are subordinate to you and seek for ways to develop them instead of setting up innuendoes to dishonor them? If you are not having issues with several of these questions, and you are just comfortable because they speak about you, then there is a problem. How then do you come to God to seek for multiplicity of blessings or the supernatural power in your assignment or undertaking when you underrate His creation?

The woman also had something in the house that the prophet wants to use to prove the miraculous power of God. Just like the case of king Hezekiah in II Kings 20:1 where Prophet Isaiah delivered a message that he should Set his house in order, for he shall die; and shall not recover. King Hezekiah pleaded with God for more years after reminding God of his faithfulness and what he had done. Thereafter, God honored his plea, as more years were added to his day. What do you have as a reason to answer the above question successfully so that God will know that you ought to be blessed indeed? 

YOUR FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS (II)--The Story of the Prodigal Son's Brother

^{Text: Luke 15:11-32}

 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’“But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him............’

I once posited in part one of this message that "What You Practice is What You Become". To say that you know what to do but fail to do it does not mean that you will be rewarded for it. How many people would have loved to go to the moon, but would not dare to try to find out what it takes to get there? More rightly said is the fact that you cherish or detest success does not mean that you will be successful or otherwise. Everything still come back to the decision you daily make about your future.Most people have spent their lives practicing the idea to stop going forward themselves by doing what they are doing or chide away from the truth by mere excuse of "it runs in the family". Yet, when they come to Christ, their opinion never change. It still runs in the family...Then you wonder what the bible says in II Cor 5: 17 that therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

In my years of working as a law enforcement officer in the streets of New York City, I have seen people beating themselves up about doing such a good job of setting up barrier or limitation for themselves. They have become experts at not taking action and justifying their apparent failure by convincing themselves that there must be something wrong with them. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Something is sure wrong. I have come to realize that the reason people fail is not because there's something that is actually wrong with them, but it is because they fail to realize that failure is part of the process of success. How many times people complain of the color of their skin, or their ascents, or educational background for their failure? Even in Christendom where the bible says wherever your foot tread, I will give you for possession. How many christians dare to dream and exercise their God given mandate. In the book of Genesis 1:28, God commanded the first blessing unto mankind called the five-fold blessings, Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Your Future is in your hands and what you make out of it is what you become. In this story, focus has always been on the prodigal son and the passage clearly explained how the so-called boy messed around with his future by his request. Though, he squandered what he was given but he never found it too difficult to make a U-turn and go back to his father. Many at times, in our life endeavor, we must have taken certain decisions that cost us our advancement in life, but we should rather be humble in acknowledging our faults and move on with life. Inability to make a choice in life is itself a choice as well. That was the case of the prodigal son's brother who never took the risk of asking for anything, but was very angry about the warm reception that his father gave to his younger brother.

If we take that to the church today, we see a lot of individuals in our places of worship who see others as unfit for God, behaving like Jonah. Such individuals felt like God must act certain way and refuse to extend warm hands to newcomers in their midst. A whole lot of people set up man-made barriers based on selfish ulterior motives instead of embracing the love of Christ. My encouragement with this prodigal son's brother who was very angry is that his father never wronged him because he never made any move in the first place. The bible says in Eccl 9:10 that Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. Your Future in Your Hands. So, make a decision today because if you don't start, you won't finish. 
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YOUR FUTURE IS IN YOUR HANDS (I) --"The Story of the Prodigal Son"

Text: Luke 15:11-32

 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. ¹⁴ But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. ....... I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, ¹⁹ and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’

²⁰ “And he arose and came to his father. 

There is always a popular saying that What You Practice is What You Become. So, in this topic, I want to emphasize the fact that your future is in your hands because you are the architect of your own future. God has given us free will and that means that our choices will give us the same benefits as once prescribed in the garden of Eden before the fall of man. In the words of Aristotle,  he said we are what we repeatedly do and that excellence is not an act but a habit.

As I was writing on this biblical universal subject, I came across the submission of one of my revered pastors, James Fadele and I felt like sharing it as well. James Fadele is the chairman of The Redeemed Christian Church of God in North America with over 700 parishes under his supervision. I so much cherish this Man of God, not necessarily for his title, but for being a true and an ardent laborer in the vineyard. He's one of the pastors that I can forgo anything to be under his ministration. In fact, I personally call him a powerpoint educator because anytime he teaches, or preaches, he always wants to give you something to work on so that you can as well equip yourself. What an astounding Man Of God. Fadele, an author, an adjunct professor and a doctorate degree holder himself submitted that almost everything that happens to you is in your hands. You are the architect of your fortune or misfortune. Every choice or decision made by you per second on a daily basis factors majorly in carving out your future. 

In essence, what you achieve is the result of what you do or fail to do, day by day and year by year. For instance, the self-orchestrated predicament in which the prodigal son found himself turned around when he made another fresh decision of retracing his steps back to His father. In verse 18 of Luke chapter 15, he said, ‘I will arise and go to my father and I will say to him…’Sometime ago, a group of unruly boys gathered themselves together one day to test and stump an old man that was highly reputed for his intelligence, sensitivity and wisdom. Their ringleader said ‘Here in my hand, I have a bird. We will go and ask the old man if the bird is alive or dead. If he says that it is dead, I will raise it and it will fly away. If he says that it is alive, I will crush it and the bird will be dead. Either way, he will at last have been proven wrong. As they approached, the old man watched them coming and noticed the eager looks on their faces. The leader stepped forward and asked, ‘old man, I have a bird in my hands. Is it alive or dead?’ The old man looked at their mischievous, expectant faces and then quietly said, ‘Boy, it is in your hands’.

Since life is a personal adventure it follows that the thinking, planning, choices, praying and the actions required to carve out your desired future is your sole responsibility. It is never transferable. Take your destiny in your hands. Accept responsibility for yourself and the result of your actions. Seek for knowledge and relevant information that will guide your choices and decisions. Mere hoping is never a strategy for success. Life is too short and important to be left to chance. Remember, the best way to predict the future is to create it. God bless you! 

Discover the tools, be certified in it, develop it and sacrifice for it and start doing it with every fiber of your being. With the submission of chairman Fadele on this topic which I wholesomely agreed with, I challenge you to ask yourself if more of your woes have been that enemy in your neighborhood, or in your office rather the enemy you see in the mirror when you hold it to your face. Your Future is in Your hands. To make the right decision in life, you need to be sold out to God and stop using mortal men as your springboard. The second part of this message will focus on the actions of the brother at home when the prodigal son returned. Don't miss it

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ARM OF THE FLESH WILL FAIL YOU

Text : 2 Chronicle 32:7-8

“7 Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah”.

The very first time I ponder over this topic based on experience; I thought the phrase was directly from the bible until I started writing about it. I later found out that it was from the song “stand up, stand up for Jesus”. However, I found out that the biblical injunction of the same phrase even made things worse. Rather than just being an advice, the book of Jeremiah painted it different as rightly recorded in Jeremiah 17:5, “Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord”.

We could relate this phrase to the common axiom that says, “Human Confidence is Vanity”. In every step we take, every move or decision we make in life, we should be assured that it tends to our future. So, rightly put, our actions, inactions, writings and utterances are the embodiment of who we grow up to be. Crisis is part of daily living and crisis is nothing but the distance between our expectations and reality.  How many times newly wed and even young couples feel like their happiness is dependent upon the other rather than focusing on God? The wife feels like her joy would be made complete by the man she marries and vice versa. Family members do expect a brother/sister, uncle/aunt or even cousin who is favored by nature as the lifter of their burden. Remember the bible says Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee, Psalm 55:22a.

As believers, God had given us His Invitation, Instruction and Code of Conduct. Until we are ready to adhere to what God desire from us, our dependency in man; hopes and aspirations is just another privilege wasted. In Matthew 11:28, the invitation was well explicit, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”. The instruction was in the famous Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives, and he who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened”. The code of conduct was inscribed in John 14:14, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” Jesus said

God is aware of us. He’s aware of our weaknesses as well as our shortcomings. Instead of looking up unto man, or self-made god, based on our assessment of them, we should set our eyes on the hill. If we need help in life, just as God made Eve out of Adam as a helpmate, He would as well send us help. Our destiny helpers are always available if we let Him into our acclaimed troubles and trials. The arm of flesh will always fail. How many times our fellow men help us and they want us to serve them forever? We live under suppressed oppression because someone somewhere helped us to climb the ladder of success in life. From the passage above, we should learn to be courageous and not feel dismay because our God is always willing, able and ready to help us. Do not assume your ascension in career, or your joy in life endeavor, or the peace of mind in your home to be dependent on any human being, even the so called men and women of God. Our relationship with God will always bail us out.  So. Let us trust Him and develop a relationship with Him daily, and He will always be there to see us through our supposed challenges of life.

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WEIGH YOUR OPTIONS

TEXT: Judges 9:8-15

⁸ One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. 

They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’

⁹ “But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both Gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’

¹⁰ “Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’

¹¹ “But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’

¹² “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’

¹³ “But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?’

¹⁴ “Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’

¹⁵ “The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade;but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’

God gave you freewill and we live in a world full of options, but regardless of the circumstances and the situations, I want to encourage you that we should weigh our options. In this story of the search for a king among the trees, there is a great lesson to learn and I believe it would help you as an individual as you continue on this journey of faith. You need to appreciate that whatever you have to the glory of God instead of longing after worldly accomplishments. It is evident that all the trees contacted value their products and its benefits to God and man than taking the position of being the king where they may or may not have any impact in the society. As a believer and/or worker in the vineyard, you need to take a deep look into who you are and why you are engaging in what you are doing, as well as consider its benefit of what you are about to do, or doing to the advancement of the gospel to the body of Christ, rather than running after what the bible calls perishable things like fame, wealth, position etc. How many times have you heard anointed men and women of God that are hyped up and they begin to prophesy millionaires in the congregation, as if that is the only way to live our purpose in life?

We need to continuously approach God in our daily undertakings for direction in order to weigh our options. The essence of our existence should be to glorify God as occasioned in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven”. A whole lot of people have taken the high way, the only way and the end result has been very ignoble as well as catastrophe. We see firsthand in the first few verses before the passage of what Abimelech got into for the sake of position that did not glorify God. Just as the position of the bramble, which somehow figured out that the intent of the trees seeking his ascension, as king was not real, so was the end of Abimelech. No wonder the bible says in I Corinthians 6:12a that All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable.

In our contemporary days, we have heard of several rich, famous and wealthy individuals, like the wall street stakeholders, respective political leaders etc. who enjoyed fame and affluence, having fed the public with lies, but ended up in jail where all their acquisitions would mean nothing to them. Likewise, how many times have we seen men and women of God who are gifted in certain areas of ministry where the glory of God would radiate but for title as first lady, senior pastor, bishop etc. they neglected their callings and sit on congregation where their so called anointing runs dry? As a children's teacher or a choir leader, just like the trees pointed out, the body of Christ would have been impacted more gloriously than answering the call of first lady, or first daddy, or senior pastor over no pastor, or whatever it is. As you weigh your options, I want you to always remember the counsel of brother Mark when he said “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”(Mark 8:36). Just think about that and weigh your next action in the options before you. Will it glorify God or just because of your selfish ulterior motive?

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