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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