DELAY NOT DENIAL

"Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.” Genesis 7:4, And after the seven days the floodwaters came on the earth. Genesis 7:10

Today, we are examining when God makes a promise. We have all heard the bible passage that God is "not a man that He should lie", i want us to also look at the passage which says "For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry." HABAKKUK 2:3

When Noah went into the ark, people would have laughed at him from the 1st day, laughed harder the 2nd day, hardest on the 3rd day. Noah knows God promised him the rain after 7  days but as the days pass by......1, 2 ,3, 4, Noah would have been very tensed-up. Then, the appointed time and God showed up... and their laughter turned to plea for help.

When Lazarus was sick, they sent for Jesus and alas, Lazarus died. When Jesus got there, even Lazarus' sisters lost their faith.

No matter what people are saying, no matter what the realities are showing, please don't doubt God. Hold on to the promises He made to you. He makes everything beautiful in his own time. He WILL come and silence the mockers.He NEVER fails.

Concerning the second coming, He is coming back again. Brethren, be prepared.

Shalom!

PRAISE NOT IN STOCK

Lola came to hug me of her own free will today and started kissing my face. .....left, right,up, down and as I sat receiving those kisses from my daughter, my love for her filled my heart to bursting point. I know she wants to play with my tablet but I just love what she did in order to achieve her goal.

This event made me understand what praise and worship does to God. If Lola had given me gifts, it would have been from what I have her. But this expression of love is out of my capacity to measure and give her with the instruction to return some.

God cannot give us praise (it's not in heaven's store house) that we will give Him 10% back. He cannot praise Himself and He loves praise. Why don't you give God praise without ulterior motive and watch Him open heavens store house for you.

If you think you have little to thank God for, start from that little and continue with Psalm 136.
                                             
                                                Sneak peek from my book


Shalom!

TRUTH AND MALICE

TRUTH!
Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar.......When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,”...........So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.” Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. Genesis 26:1-12

MALICE!
......He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him..........So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.” Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!”.........Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also.......... Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces............. Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.  That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!”. Genesis 26:13-32

Today's bible passages buttress the point from the bible passage of the previous bible study. 1Peter2:19-21 http://olufunkeayorinde.blogspot.com/2019/04/suffering.html?m=1

Isaac had his 1st breakthrough in a strange land when his lies were exposed and he acknowledged it..... he planted during a famine and reaped a hundredfold........wow! He "suffered lack for a sin he committed".

Having a source of water is invaluable for a shepherd. Imagine Isaac's torment of being denied his own well with his large herd He probably would have to beg others to fetch from their well. He would have to agree to their terms too (fetch water after us, your boy must not come here again, your flock's faeces is disturbing is, your men must sweep the side of the wall,etc) and he kept cool.

Isaac's biggest breakthrough came because he suffered for a sin he did not commit and he did not keep malice or hold a grudge. God was busy moulding Isaac into a better man before he got a larger share of his father,Abraham's blessings.

For those of us who still have sin in our lives and we can give excuses for it like Isaac... i lie so that he will not be angry, i stole to feed my children, I'm doing yahoo yahoo because the white man stole from us, I'm doing runs to get revenge  over men, my employer also stole from the government,etc..... keept it up. You are only delaying God's blessing over your life.

Also, for those of us that can keep records of both real and perceived wrong done to us....let us learn from Isaac. He had the right to be bitter, but he chose to be better and embraced his adversaries with love. This unlocked the earth's resource for him and no one could contend with him over it.

Holy Spirit divine, help us so that Abraham's blessings will be ours. With man, it is impossible, with God, all things are possible.

Shalom! 

SUFFERING

Learnings from today's fellowship.

"For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called,because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps." 1Peter 2:19-21

The bible passage above tells us that we will suffer for doing the right thing. This does not mean the same suffering that Jesus suffered such that every one will witness it on the street; rather, each person's suffering (also called cross) is different.

As Christians who have left the "milk" of the word, the meat/bone of the word is that suffering is one of the "jewerries" of a child of God. It is a "rite of passage" to a higher level in Christ. Just like Christ, we "pass through" in order to have His power. "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death"Phil.3:10.

THE POWER COMES FROM THE SUFFERING.

These suffering is for us to be blessed and for God to be glorified. These sufferings can also be likened to the fire used to purify Gold. The heat required for low-carat gold is lower than the heat meant for a higher-carat gold, so why are you comparing your trials to your neighbours. 

Don't forget that He knows us because He knitted us in our mother's womb, so He will not allow us to be tempted more than we can bear 1Cor. 10:13 and He is ready to comfort us as Jesus was 2Cor. 1:5.

Some dirt/habits/attitudes need to be taken off permanently before we are blessed....failure to remove these filth will result into shame when we get promoted which God does not want.

From today, embrace your suffering and ensure you let go of the filth quickly so you don't stay too long in the fire and watch what Master-piece the Master will make of you.

To His glory and for your blessing/elevation.

Shalom!

YOU WILL BE ASKED

1,  Luke 16:20-21 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table.

2,    Matthew 25:42-43  For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ 

The two bible passages above are the two instances where scenes after death was played in the bible and in both instances, giving was a deciding factor.

Majority of us are not generous in nature. Even in tithing, we try to give as little as possible (if the government tax your gross pay, why tithe on leftover after expenses?) or justify not taking it to God's storehouse.

Our offering in church is very poor and giving outside the 4 walls of the church is non-existence.

I want us to read the whole story from the two passages above and ask the holy spirit to open our eyes to see ourselves. If there is need for a change of heart, ask God for help.

We can also read the write-up in the link for more reasons why we need to give olufunkeayorinde.blogspot.com/2018/08/who-you-epp.html

It's another end of the year and i want us to remember the less-privileged in our society. It is well with us in Jesus name. Amen.

Shalom!

WHO YOU EPP?

This is a slang in Lagos, Nigeria where an individual asks a better - off person what value his being better-off has added to his life. For the purpose of this message, I will not only be asking people who are comfortable this question, I will also ask the not-so-comfortable.....Who You Epp?

There are lots of instances in the bible where someone not-so-comfortable has helped someone else even in his/her discomfort and that action meant an outstanding breakthrough for the helper.

1 Samuel 30.told us about King David on a quest to rescue his wives and children that were captured by enemy forces. Despite his state of mind and the urgency of his mission (risk of being overthrown by his devastated men), King David stopped to help a man and this act ensured the success of his mission. He recovered all.

2kings 4 vs 8-end told us about a Great Shunammite woman. She had no child and had lost hope of having one but it did not stop her from being good to everyone. I'm sure her husband had another wife because if he is not Father Abraham and Sarah, he will marry another woman to raise heirs. How we knew she has lost all hope of having children? It was no longer on her prayer - point until someone else (Prophet Elisha ' s servant,  Gehazi) mentioned it to Elisha who wanted to reward her kindness. She gave birth.

The last example we will look at is 1Kings 17 vs 7-end which is about the widow who was preparing to cook a final meal for herself and only son to eat after which they wait for death during a famine. She was met by a prophet who requested for that final meal and she gave it..... The bible said after that action of the widow, "the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail".

Bringing us to this present century, I was out of job for a few years and my income was completely low. It was during that period I knew the value of the "little" help rendered, cash, transport fare you paid,the cup of rice you gave, etc; but It was during that period that I gave much more than I have ever given even while working (and I thought I did not have enough then)... I will not claim I had surplus in return but "the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail". There was a divine covering over my life such that God took care of my every need (sometimes by providing the money or sending someone to meet the need), no evil emergency, I gave birth with N3, 000 (labour of less than 1hour) and was discharged same day; mother and son, very fine. Jesus was (still is) my Shepherd indeed.

Looking at all our examples, we can see that there is need to take our eyes off our immediate challenge, to be the answer to someone else's prayer so that heavens will open concerning our own need.

WARNING! The parable of the sower makes us understand that some soil will never bring yield to a seed. PRAYERFULLY EPP so that your seed sown will be on a fertile soil, will germinate and yield fruits.


Shalom!

STILL DOUBTING?

" Elisha replied, “Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.The Officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen? You will see it with your own eyes answered Elisha, but you will not eat any of it!
And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria: And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died." 2kings 7:1&2,18-20


The bible text above is from the bible text from July 13,2018 RCCG devotional. The spirit of God turned this message for me to understand better.

That Officer was full of data. He knew the extent of the famine. He knew how much money, effort, help and time the executive arm of governance had spent to arrest the situation all to no avail and what it will take for the citizens to feel A LITTLE ease from the famine pains. This information made him conclude that such turn-around is IMPOSSIBLE to man in 24 hours.....he died.

Likewise Peter on the sea had data on the in-and-out of the sea. He knows how fast he can sink of covered by the waves as high as what he was looking at, he knows that location of the sea is "bottomless" he knows that to survive such storm is IMPOSSIBLE and so, as he took his eyes off Jesus, and gazed at the waves (only God knows what was going through his mind at that moment)....... he sank.

Now, you, Pastor, Deacon, Prayer Coordinator, you  "on whose arm the king  (Jesus) leans". You have so much data about that sister/brother's situation. You known how long the rot has been going on. You know how much effort has been put in for there to be restoration all to no avail. Then you got that revelation from God for him/her..... do you doubt it?

You as an individual, even if your Pastor does not have all the details, you know what you have battled with for years. You know the extent of the rot/destruction and you know what you have done....prayer mountain and dry fasting all to no avail. You know where the rot had gotten to and what it will take to make just A LITTLE change/impact.......  then that prophesy came....."in 24hours" he said.... will you doubt it?

We are to be like little children in our Christian faith. Children don't have data that kills their faith; their thought is "Daddy said it? Then it is so".

Oh Lord, I believe, please help my unbelief Mark 9:24

PARABLE OF THE SOWER 2.0

Looking at the parable of the sower of Matthew 13 in another dimension: see the seeds as new converts being ministered to

1, Some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

These are the souls who were told about the love of Christ and their "friends" came and distract them saying "don't mind those holier-than-thou people" or "have they been to heaven, how did they know who will enter?" . These ones will be given one of his old vices (cigarette, sex, alcohol, etc) as distraction.... they finish by saying "don't mind them".

2, Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth. And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

These are the converts that received the word and was passionate about it....they join "a bible believing" church and such word-deprived churches interprete the convert's activity/passion to mean being-rooted and make them leaders....but when trials come to test the new faith, because they are not continually fed as babes in order to grow in faith...." ...they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away."

3, And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

These are converts who join churches full of strife, malice, jealousy and chaos... this type of environment will choke the convert's  passion for the things of God and will cause some to return to the world

4, But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

These are converts who join a bible believing church and is nutured as a baby christian and tended as such.... get the right word as at when due and exposed to the right athmosphere....they grow to be great and will flourish with eagerness to win more souls for the body of Christ.

So..... These is more to be done when the word has taken root,

Let every church endeavour to be a good ground for new converts.

Let all Christian ensure we are not stumbling blocks in the path of these new ones either by words, actions or inaction.

Let all soulwinners direct our converts to the right places and pray for our converts to be planted on good soil.

Remember... He who win souls is wise.

Shallom!

WONDERFUL, EXCELLENT, MIGHTY GOD

Today I had another view of God Almighty. I experienced His humility…. Not of Christ becoming man but of a born-of-Christ-man having the abilities listed below and more;
1. Being given God-like power (bind, loose, create, e.t.c).
2. Man calling on God day or night… not having to wait on queue.
3. God honouring the wish of man, His creation.
4. God honouring His word no matter His anger at that point. Just repeat it to Him.
5. His total acceptance of you ANY TIME you decide to follow Him (early life, mid-life or even on death bed)

 We, at one time or the other has been made to feel less than human after our encounter with some individuals who feel they are more superior and so have the “right” to Lord it over us…
1. Some parents/spouses/landlords are dictators in civilian uniform.
2. Some sponsors will remind you of ALL they’ve ever done to help you.
3. Some pastors will not attend to you until you pay a fee.
4. Some Managers, MDs, CEOs, Politicians will make you wait for days even if you have an appointment.

When my eyes got opened to see how God has come to (and He is still at) my level so that I can walk with Him, I can only sing…

You are great….great (x6)
Everything written about you is great.

My brethren, if you say that you are spirit-filled and some people are still categorised as “beneath your level”…. You still need to go back to Calvary and begin again. I am not saying you should leave important things and mingle with people so that you won’t be seen as arrogant but don’t intentionally make people wait/suffer while seeking your attention. It is not Christ-like.

For those who men has cast aside as lower-class….. Rejoice! Because to my God, you are worth the precious blood of His Son and He is not finished with you yet.

My God! You are humble as You are holy. It is who you are, I bow in awe of You.

Shallom!

ONE COUNTRY, TWO ECONOMY

After the death of King Solomon, 2Chronicles 10:1 says “And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for to Shechem were all Israel come to make him king.” After this, all Israel (2Chronicles 10:3) said to the new king (the dead king’s son) in 2Chronicles 10:4 “Thy father made our yoke grievous; now therefore, ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father and his heavy yoke that he put upon us and we will serve you”

This is weird to me because I expected Israel to be in wealth because of their wise and Godly king and also the report of 1Kings 10:27 that “And the king (Solomon) made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones and cedars made he to be as the sycamore trees that are in the vale for abundance” but clarity came when my eyes were opened to the fact that despite ALL ISRAEL being in “grievous servitude”, only Jerusalem (where the king resides) was in abundant abundance!

This is like what is happening in Nigeria, despite the hardship with increased taxes, levies, inflation, job loss all over the country, for those who are where the Lord resides, reigns and rules, they will not be in servitude but will be in abundant abundance such that it will not be as if they live in the same country!

One country, Two Economy.
Jesus Christ’s Economy or President Buhari’s Economy.
Choose Christ.

Shalom!