Lying in a manger
Wrapped in warm clothing
Jesus the Saviour
Came as a baby
Conceived by the Spirit
Born of a virgin
Thus goes the story
That altered all history
Thus goes our story
The Christmas story
Glory in the highest
Jesus our Saviour is born
Heaven's still rejoicing
Hell's still in fury
Jesus is still redeeming
Sinners are still repenting
And Christmas is just happening
Again and again
Christmas has really happened
When our special story
Changed one life forever
We just tell about our Jesus
And Christmas won't stop happening
Again and again!
-Adeolu Olumodeji Victor 241211:355
Saturday, 24 December 2011
Sunday, 18 December 2011
GIVE THANKS!
'I just want to say
"Baba ooo, E seeeee'....
I just want to end this year on a thanksgiving note. And this is a call to as many as would read to give God thanks. I read through the New Testament and discovered not many times did people really thank Jesus Christ for the miracles He did for them. I saw a variety of reactions from recipients of Christ's miracles. Many of them rejoiced, many were amazed at His works (Luke 5:9), some went ahead to spread the news (Matthew 9:31), some would simply walk away (Matthew 9:7), some could not even recognise the Man who healed them (Luke (9:12), and while some of them glorified God (Luke 5:26) not many actually thanked Jesus Christ for His goodness. Of course, Jesus is God, and He never sought glory for Himself. Not many of those that were healed had the courtesy to thank Jesus Christ specifically for doing them good. In fact, only one 'Thank You, Jesus'- incidence was recorded. We shall take a deep look at a leper who went back to thank Jesus. As the year runs to a close, heaven is watching out for those who would return to thank God. And God told me 'Thanksgiving is the key that unlocks 2012'.
What's the big deal about a 'Thank you?'. Is it not just to say the words? Well, even at that, many find the words so hard to say. More than the words, gratitude is an attitude. One phrase that should be so much part of a cultured person is 'Thank you'. Watch someone who says 'Thank you', there is a beauty about it- both to the giver and the receiver. And if you have this attitude in your relationship with other people, you have a good fragrance on you. People like grateful people. Nobody owes you anything in life, really. You came to earth on your own. That your parent took responsibility of you- is a privilege, not a right. Be grateful to them. Many people still abort, dump their babies or at best put them up for adoption. So if any man does you good, why not thank him as though he has done the unthinkable?
Now let us talk about the One to whom you owe your very existence. God is the One who knew you before your mother did and He has followed you up till now. He formed you and ensures that you are still alive. People die everyday, and they are human beings like you and I. If we are still alive, so much to be grateful for. And you are not alive for nothing- God has a plan for you. In my book '12 Tips of Greatness', which I intent to publish on a commercial scale in the coming year, I wrote that gratitude is like that essential oxygen a mountain climber must carry as he summits Everest. Like the aborted journey of the murmuring Israelites, many of God's children would not go far in God's plan for them because they just can not appreciate little things. "Thank you" is a phrase of two words and I think that is no accident. You breathe in and out. That cycle completes each act of respiration. "Thank", "You" to God is as essential to fulfilment as respiration is to living.
So for once in the entire Gospel, someone actually thanked Jesus Christ. In fact, the word 'thank' is so scarce in the Gospel except when Jesus says it. The other time another person said it was in a parable of the hypocritical Pharisee who 'thanked' God for not being like the tax collector (Luke 18:11). So when one leper who was healed returned to thank Jesus, Jesus took notice of it. Luke 18:15-18: "And one of them ... returned ... and fell down at (Jesus') feet, giving Him thanks ... Jesus answered and said 'Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?...". Jesus took notice of the man who returned to give Him thanks. I like us to examine the question Jesus asked; 'But where are the nine?'
It is a question that needed no answer. The nine could be anywhere, but one. The nine did not return to say 'thank you'. But still, it is a revealing question- one that will expose the roots of ingratitude in many of God's children. I just hope you will not miss the chance to really thank God before this year winds up. 'But where are the nine?' I will draw three other questions from this one question Jesus asked as the Holy Spirit seeks to open a well spring of gratitude in the hearts of God's children.
1. 'Who are the nine?'
There were ten lepers that cried out to Jesus Christ for mercy. (Luke 18:12-13). Lepers are lepers until they are healed. You see, at a point Miriam the sister of Moses; she was the 'Choir Mistress' in the wilderness- at a point, she had leprosy (Numbers 12:10). That highly respected woman of God was shut out of the camp as a result of that. She was there till she recovered. Some predicaments have a way of reducing people. Status becomes irrelevant. Position becomes inconsequential. Oh, it reminds me of King Nebu (his name is too long).
Something befell him and he could not seat on his own throne. He was reduced to the level of oxen. (See Daniel 4:33). So no one worried about who these lepers were until they were healed. So let us identify the lepers as much as we can. The one that returned was a Samaritan. (See Luke 17:16-18). Jesus showed us the identity of the other nine when He said 'Were there not any found who returned ... except this foreigner?'.
The other nine were Jews- Jesus' kindred. Is it true that 'familiarity breeds contempt'? Could it be that they took it for granted that Jesus should not have done less? Is this why God's children hardly thank Him? I feel pained to see this insight. I put myself in the position of a father and imagine that my son knows I love him so much and I am also responsible for his well being. That is true. Now if my son begins to act as though I am only doing my duty as a father by meeting his needs, if my son takes it as his right (which it is) to receive from me and hardly show (God forbids) genuine appreciation for my provisions - Oh, I will feel pained.
Many of God's children mumble a few words of appreciation when God does them good, and then hands Him the outstanding items in their lists.
Could it be that the nine did not return because the were Jews? Have you taken God's love for granted because you are His child?
2. 'Where did the nine go?'
Okay, if one of the lepers return after being healed to thank Jesus, where were the others headed? Oh, may be they went to their homes to show off their healing. But if they were jews, they should know better than to go home. You see, leprosy was a serious social ailment back then (I guess, it still is). And you don't joke with it. In Leviticus 13 1nd 14, God rolled out what was termed the 'law of leprosy'. There, if any man has a boil, burn, scale, colouring on his skin, or even bald head- he must go to the priest to clarify whether he had leprosy or not. If it were leprosy- no cure. Isolation is the way to go until the person is healed- if he gets healed. And only a priest can declare a man 'clean' from leprosy. So, the nine lepers -if they were Jews as we established, would go straight ahead to the priest. The priest would examine them and certify them 'clean'. Have you not noticed that whenever even Jesus healed a leper, He would say 'Go to the priests'? (see Matthew 8:1-4). This is because a miracle was not sufficient to convince a Jew, only a priest could declare a leper as 'clean'. Is it not still true? There are diseases an evangelist will heal and still say 'Go for a test'.
Well, I have a feeling these nine lepers proceeded to the priests' place to verify. And that is okay. So what did Jesus think about the man who need no other highly 'esteemed' verification of the priests? Hear what Jesus told him; '... your faith has made you well'. Faith! Oh, that man esteemed faith above facts! With Jesus, he needed no priest to be sure. He returned at Jesus' feet to thank Him. Many of the Jews around would probably scoff him saying 'Better let the priest say first before you conclude'.
And I wonder; Is it that too many issues in our lives are pending the verdicts of men before we believe God has done them? Is this one other reason God's children are ungrateful? Society has its standards and until it calls us 'rich', we can not thank God for His provisions. Okay, just check why you have not returned to thank God. Are you on your way to the priests?
3. 'Must the nine return, really?'
You see, this was not the first time someone healed would 'glorify God'. In Luke 5:25 the paralysed man that was healed 'departed to his own house, glorifying God'. So who says the nine did not 'glorify God' as they went forth? In another account in Luke 18:43, the blind man who Jesus healed actually followed Jesus 'glorifying God'. So what was it about this ex-leper's returning that struck Jesus. You see, when he was a leper, he stood afar off along with the his colleagues. For a distance, they lifted up their voices to cry for mercy from Jesus (Luke 17:12-13). But when he was healed, he returned and fell at Jesus' feet to thank Him. He touched Jesus' feet. Now that is no small thing those days. It is an act of worship. That was what Satan demanded from Jesus at the temptation; '... if You will fall down and worship me', Satan said. As that man fell at Jesus' feet, he glorified God in a loud voice. Was he saying Jesus was God? Of course, Jesus is God- take it or take it. But Jesus Himself maintained the glory for God the Father when He said in verse 18; 'Were there not found any who returned to give glory to God...?' What is definite about this ex-leper's method?
A 'Thank you' to any man is not necessarily deifying that man. It is glorifying God. Whenever God would do you good, He more often than not, uses people. How many times have we 'commonise' these people? Oh, we give God thanks- no doubt about it. But do we really thank the people He uses to bless us? Parents, spouses, children, pastors, bosses, colleagues, friends, strangers- name them. Those are the people you should identify these few days left in the year. They are the ones God uses for you. Don't make them feel used, appreciate them.
Then, this is the shortest cut to giving God thanks, give to the poor. Need I say more?
I have a mission these thirteen days left for 2011 to end. It is a mission to thank God. Join me in these Thirteen Days of Thanksgiving. As God permits, I will be raising a Thanksgiving Point each day on this medium for the next 13 days. Just do it, and watch 2012 open all its gates for you! (Psalm 100:4; Psalm 24:7; Isaiah 60:11).
Thank you for reading. (Hmm, so this is my first time ever to thank you for reading my posts).
Thank you so much, without you my time was wasted.
"Baba ooo, E seeeee'....
I just want to end this year on a thanksgiving note. And this is a call to as many as would read to give God thanks. I read through the New Testament and discovered not many times did people really thank Jesus Christ for the miracles He did for them. I saw a variety of reactions from recipients of Christ's miracles. Many of them rejoiced, many were amazed at His works (Luke 5:9), some went ahead to spread the news (Matthew 9:31), some would simply walk away (Matthew 9:7), some could not even recognise the Man who healed them (Luke (9:12), and while some of them glorified God (Luke 5:26) not many actually thanked Jesus Christ for His goodness. Of course, Jesus is God, and He never sought glory for Himself. Not many of those that were healed had the courtesy to thank Jesus Christ specifically for doing them good. In fact, only one 'Thank You, Jesus'- incidence was recorded. We shall take a deep look at a leper who went back to thank Jesus. As the year runs to a close, heaven is watching out for those who would return to thank God. And God told me 'Thanksgiving is the key that unlocks 2012'.
What's the big deal about a 'Thank you?'. Is it not just to say the words? Well, even at that, many find the words so hard to say. More than the words, gratitude is an attitude. One phrase that should be so much part of a cultured person is 'Thank you'. Watch someone who says 'Thank you', there is a beauty about it- both to the giver and the receiver. And if you have this attitude in your relationship with other people, you have a good fragrance on you. People like grateful people. Nobody owes you anything in life, really. You came to earth on your own. That your parent took responsibility of you- is a privilege, not a right. Be grateful to them. Many people still abort, dump their babies or at best put them up for adoption. So if any man does you good, why not thank him as though he has done the unthinkable?
Now let us talk about the One to whom you owe your very existence. God is the One who knew you before your mother did and He has followed you up till now. He formed you and ensures that you are still alive. People die everyday, and they are human beings like you and I. If we are still alive, so much to be grateful for. And you are not alive for nothing- God has a plan for you. In my book '12 Tips of Greatness', which I intent to publish on a commercial scale in the coming year, I wrote that gratitude is like that essential oxygen a mountain climber must carry as he summits Everest. Like the aborted journey of the murmuring Israelites, many of God's children would not go far in God's plan for them because they just can not appreciate little things. "Thank you" is a phrase of two words and I think that is no accident. You breathe in and out. That cycle completes each act of respiration. "Thank", "You" to God is as essential to fulfilment as respiration is to living.
So for once in the entire Gospel, someone actually thanked Jesus Christ. In fact, the word 'thank' is so scarce in the Gospel except when Jesus says it. The other time another person said it was in a parable of the hypocritical Pharisee who 'thanked' God for not being like the tax collector (Luke 18:11). So when one leper who was healed returned to thank Jesus, Jesus took notice of it. Luke 18:15-18: "And one of them ... returned ... and fell down at (Jesus') feet, giving Him thanks ... Jesus answered and said 'Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?...". Jesus took notice of the man who returned to give Him thanks. I like us to examine the question Jesus asked; 'But where are the nine?'
It is a question that needed no answer. The nine could be anywhere, but one. The nine did not return to say 'thank you'. But still, it is a revealing question- one that will expose the roots of ingratitude in many of God's children. I just hope you will not miss the chance to really thank God before this year winds up. 'But where are the nine?' I will draw three other questions from this one question Jesus asked as the Holy Spirit seeks to open a well spring of gratitude in the hearts of God's children.
1. 'Who are the nine?'
There were ten lepers that cried out to Jesus Christ for mercy. (Luke 18:12-13). Lepers are lepers until they are healed. You see, at a point Miriam the sister of Moses; she was the 'Choir Mistress' in the wilderness- at a point, she had leprosy (Numbers 12:10). That highly respected woman of God was shut out of the camp as a result of that. She was there till she recovered. Some predicaments have a way of reducing people. Status becomes irrelevant. Position becomes inconsequential. Oh, it reminds me of King Nebu (his name is too long).
Something befell him and he could not seat on his own throne. He was reduced to the level of oxen. (See Daniel 4:33). So no one worried about who these lepers were until they were healed. So let us identify the lepers as much as we can. The one that returned was a Samaritan. (See Luke 17:16-18). Jesus showed us the identity of the other nine when He said 'Were there not any found who returned ... except this foreigner?'.
The other nine were Jews- Jesus' kindred. Is it true that 'familiarity breeds contempt'? Could it be that they took it for granted that Jesus should not have done less? Is this why God's children hardly thank Him? I feel pained to see this insight. I put myself in the position of a father and imagine that my son knows I love him so much and I am also responsible for his well being. That is true. Now if my son begins to act as though I am only doing my duty as a father by meeting his needs, if my son takes it as his right (which it is) to receive from me and hardly show (God forbids) genuine appreciation for my provisions - Oh, I will feel pained.
Many of God's children mumble a few words of appreciation when God does them good, and then hands Him the outstanding items in their lists.
Could it be that the nine did not return because the were Jews? Have you taken God's love for granted because you are His child?
2. 'Where did the nine go?'
Okay, if one of the lepers return after being healed to thank Jesus, where were the others headed? Oh, may be they went to their homes to show off their healing. But if they were jews, they should know better than to go home. You see, leprosy was a serious social ailment back then (I guess, it still is). And you don't joke with it. In Leviticus 13 1nd 14, God rolled out what was termed the 'law of leprosy'. There, if any man has a boil, burn, scale, colouring on his skin, or even bald head- he must go to the priest to clarify whether he had leprosy or not. If it were leprosy- no cure. Isolation is the way to go until the person is healed- if he gets healed. And only a priest can declare a man 'clean' from leprosy. So, the nine lepers -if they were Jews as we established, would go straight ahead to the priest. The priest would examine them and certify them 'clean'. Have you not noticed that whenever even Jesus healed a leper, He would say 'Go to the priests'? (see Matthew 8:1-4). This is because a miracle was not sufficient to convince a Jew, only a priest could declare a leper as 'clean'. Is it not still true? There are diseases an evangelist will heal and still say 'Go for a test'.
Well, I have a feeling these nine lepers proceeded to the priests' place to verify. And that is okay. So what did Jesus think about the man who need no other highly 'esteemed' verification of the priests? Hear what Jesus told him; '... your faith has made you well'. Faith! Oh, that man esteemed faith above facts! With Jesus, he needed no priest to be sure. He returned at Jesus' feet to thank Him. Many of the Jews around would probably scoff him saying 'Better let the priest say first before you conclude'.
And I wonder; Is it that too many issues in our lives are pending the verdicts of men before we believe God has done them? Is this one other reason God's children are ungrateful? Society has its standards and until it calls us 'rich', we can not thank God for His provisions. Okay, just check why you have not returned to thank God. Are you on your way to the priests?
3. 'Must the nine return, really?'
You see, this was not the first time someone healed would 'glorify God'. In Luke 5:25 the paralysed man that was healed 'departed to his own house, glorifying God'. So who says the nine did not 'glorify God' as they went forth? In another account in Luke 18:43, the blind man who Jesus healed actually followed Jesus 'glorifying God'. So what was it about this ex-leper's returning that struck Jesus. You see, when he was a leper, he stood afar off along with the his colleagues. For a distance, they lifted up their voices to cry for mercy from Jesus (Luke 17:12-13). But when he was healed, he returned and fell at Jesus' feet to thank Him. He touched Jesus' feet. Now that is no small thing those days. It is an act of worship. That was what Satan demanded from Jesus at the temptation; '... if You will fall down and worship me', Satan said. As that man fell at Jesus' feet, he glorified God in a loud voice. Was he saying Jesus was God? Of course, Jesus is God- take it or take it. But Jesus Himself maintained the glory for God the Father when He said in verse 18; 'Were there not found any who returned to give glory to God...?' What is definite about this ex-leper's method?
A 'Thank you' to any man is not necessarily deifying that man. It is glorifying God. Whenever God would do you good, He more often than not, uses people. How many times have we 'commonise' these people? Oh, we give God thanks- no doubt about it. But do we really thank the people He uses to bless us? Parents, spouses, children, pastors, bosses, colleagues, friends, strangers- name them. Those are the people you should identify these few days left in the year. They are the ones God uses for you. Don't make them feel used, appreciate them.
Then, this is the shortest cut to giving God thanks, give to the poor. Need I say more?
I have a mission these thirteen days left for 2011 to end. It is a mission to thank God. Join me in these Thirteen Days of Thanksgiving. As God permits, I will be raising a Thanksgiving Point each day on this medium for the next 13 days. Just do it, and watch 2012 open all its gates for you! (Psalm 100:4; Psalm 24:7; Isaiah 60:11).
Thank you for reading. (Hmm, so this is my first time ever to thank you for reading my posts).
Thank you so much, without you my time was wasted.
Saturday, 3 December 2011
ENLARGE YOUR HOPE!
December is here! I can smell Christmas already. Whao! Now it is certain 2011 is on its way out. I hope it has been an exciting year for you like it has been for me. I am not about to tell you all the events that made the year such a delight for me. Let us just be grateful whatever 2011 has dealt us so far. And there are still a few days left, are there not? You are still alive, are you not? Did He not complete creation in six days? Oh, then rejoice in the remaining days of the year. There is hope. I am going to tell you about 'hope' today. The coming year and the years that follow are so promising that you can not afford to wallow in the cesspool of disappointments and regrets any more. We must learn to venture into the horizon of our future with the windbreak of hope. For God did not say in vain 'I ... give you a future and a hope' (Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV). This is the month to enlarge your hope. This is the Month of Hope; Hope that does not disappoint. Hope that does not make ashame.
Hope is one word so grossly misunderstood and misapplied. To define it is to further confine it. The Scripture says in I Corinthians 13: 13 'And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest is love', Love being the greatest does not in any way diminish the value of the other two. Let me just profile Abraham as we appreciate the place of 'these three'; faith, hope and love. Okay. It was God who sought Abraham. Abraham was a pagan, was he not? Else why would God tell a man to vacate his country, his family and his fathers house? (Genesis 12:1). So when God called Abraham, He opened an account for Abraham. And for many years the account was not 'funded'. Until one day God showed Abraham the stars of the heaven and said to him, "So shall your descendants be". Abraham believed God and God deposited righteousness into that account. (Genesis 15:1-6). That is the story of many Christians. They have been saved many years but they have not believed. They still try to earn the reward of their salvation. "I am your exceeding great Reward' God told Abraham. Our God is our unspeakable Gift (2 Corinthians 9:15), our exceeding great Reward. (Genesis 15:6). Well, God showed Abraham the stars to illustrate the descendants with which He would bless Abraham. Abraham believed God. Two chapters after, when Abraham was about a hundred years, God told him He actually meant that Sarah would have a child. And Abraham laughed. Why did Abraham laugh? Did he no longer believed God? There was no record that the laughter debited what was earlier credited into his account. So, he did not disbelieve God by that laughter. Many of us would not laugh. We will form some pseudo-believing, forgetting that God is not mocked. Oh, you think faith is that mind-conditioning, possibility-thinking exercise that motivational speakers talk about? I know the power of a man's mind, but faith in God is a supernatural wavelength. Once you hook on it, God takes over. At the point Abraham laughed, God was already in full force. I will like to understand why Abraham laughed. He was 99 years old and Sarah was 89! As far as Abraham was concerned, he had a child already. Ishmael was a teenager and very strong boy, too. When God insisted it was through Sarah the promised child would come, Abraham braced up. He was face-to-face with the reality of his situation; he was standing in the terra firma, not just seeing the 'stars of the firmament'. Abraham at this point began to add hope to faith. And then to add hope to hope..
Hope is the sustainer of faith. Hope keeps faith alive. Listen to this '...faith is the substance of things HOPED for..'. Faith sees the evidence the way Abraham sees the stars and believed. See, unless you have seen, it is extremely difficult to believe. Thomas had to see the Resurrected Jesus to believe; all the apostles saw 'infallible proofs' of Christ resurrection. (Acts 1:2); there is no apostle since Christ ascended that has no evidence that He resurrected. And Jesus said 'Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed." (John 20:29). He knows that many like us will not see Him physically, yet believed. Our own faith has the hope-dimension; we are expecting Him back. No one can believe except he sees. Faith is seeing the supernatural, take it or keep forming 'pseudo-believing'. Faith has evidence. Hope is the one that amazes me. Hope sees nothing. Faith believes because he sees, but Hope believes when the seen is yet to manifest. Ah, hope is not a cheap word. You cannot hope in God unless you have first believed Him. Let us return to Abraham and see the role Hope played in his story.
Scriptures say that Abraham, contrary to hope, in hope he believed God. I like Paul, he calls a spade a spade. Paul said Abraham's body was dead at that age. And that Sarah's womb was dead too! (See Romans 4:17-19). Genesis 18: 11 tells us Sarah had passed the age of child-bearing and verse 12 tells us she could no longer even have 'pleasure' because her husband was old. Now I know what Paul refered to as 'Abraham's body', do you? It was dead! At that age, you don't start hoping a man's 'body' will rise. Oh it was 'contrary to hope' for Sarah's womb to even conceive at that age. But Abraham hoped against hope. That is the hope I am presenting today. You have really started believing God when you do not have reasons to hope; and I mean hope against hope .I will talk more about hope today, but let me show you from Abraham's story why love is the greatest. When the promised child was born, God told Abraham to sacrifice that child to Him. If I were Abraham, this is the time I will laugh. I will laugh very hillariously at the whole idea. I mean, think of it; You called me from where I was, I was doing fine doing my own things. I obeyed you and have been a stranger in the land you promised me and my descendants. You promised me not just a child, but children like the stars of the heaven. I waited till I was practically unable to make babies. Now by Your miracle I have this boy, and now You told me to kill Him? It is a joke, is it not? I would probably tell God that. But Abraham obeyed. No record of complaints, no record of questioning God. He just obeyed. And he was actually about to kill that boy when God shouted twice 'Abraham, Abraham!'. And for the very first time ever God swore. God needs not to swear since no one is greater than Him, but He was so moved by the love Abraham had for Him above all else, above even his only son- and God swore to Abraham. My friend Lanre once told me he felt that was where God tested the giving of His own only begotten Son. Oh he might be right because Mt Moriah where that event took place was the same mountain range Jesus was crucified. God must have said 'If Abraham could love me this much, I must go all the way'. This is how love supercedes faith and hope. Love is able to sow again all that faith and hope have laboured for. These three abide; faith, hope, love. Okay, let us now get down to Hope.
Hope is a word so commonly used. In fact Job tells us 'There is hope for a tree' (Job 14:7). There is hope for you. So let me say at this point that the hope refered to here is 'Hope in God'. Let us do some Bible Study. In Psalm 39:7, David said 'And now Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You'. Psalm 38:15, he said 'For in thee, O LORD, do I hope...'. In Psalm 43:5, David said for the third time in two consecutive chapters 'Why are you cast down, O my soul? ... Hope in God'. It is important therefore to establish where your hope is set. (See Psalm 78:7). How does one set his hope in God? By hoping in His word. (See Psalms 119:9, 114, 116; 130:5). Mercy comes to the hopeful. (See Psalm 33:18,22; 147:11). I can go on and on to draw out Scriptures on hope, but the one that hit me like a punch in the eye is Romans 5:1-5. Let me paraphrase; Paul said we were justified by faith. by this we have peace with God. Paul said Jesus grants us access to the grace of God while we hope for the glory of God. He said all our present realities will only establish our hope until we experience the 'hope that doest not disappoint'. When you experience this kind of hope, you have experienced the love of God. Read it yourself and see if I am right. See I have believed God for some things. Now I have hope in God and His word for me concerning those things. And it does not matter what is going contrary to my hope, I stiil have hope! Let me keep personal things personal. But I will give you an idea how strange my hope can be.
1. I HAVE HOPE IN GOD THAT ONE DAY A MOUNTAIN WILL MOVE INTO THE SEA AT THE WORD OF A BELIEVER.
In the old testament, strange things happen. We read about them and somehow we manage to believe them. The Red Sea was parted and a whole nation of people passed. Now how do you comprehend that? Jordan was parted. Jericho's wall crashed by the blowing of trumpets. The sun stood still till Joshua ended a battle (Really it was the earth that stood still, for the sun does not move, abi?). So if all these things really happened, why don't they anymore? I am not crazy about miracles, but I just happen to serve a God that does wonders. Jesus walked on water. Peter also did, so Jesus promised that we would do greater things and He gave us an idea when He said in Mark 11:23 "For assuredly I say unto you, whosoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says'. Some will laugh in derision at my hope, soem will even rationalise and try to explain what Jesus was saying and in what context He said it. Mind you, He said it after the fig tree dried up at His word! See, it is not about me. I have the hope that one day, one believer will bring it to pass in my own generation. Jesus does not speak empty words. I heard the story of some children in Asia who prayed about a mountain and next day government came to level that mountain. Plausible as that may sound, I mean something more graphic. Like Moses, you stand in front of that mountain and command it to be uprooted and to go into the sea, and it obeys you. It is contrary to hope. Wait for it.
2. I HAVE HOPE IN GOD THAT ONE DAY MEDICINE WILL FIND CANCER'S CURE.
I believe God heals any disease. Jesus paid for all sicknesses. I have had the privilege to pray and beieve God on two occasions for two women who had cancer. They both died. Pastor Seye, do you remember? Pastor Andy was there. And Lanre was there too. The second instance was the mother of a beloved friend. She was the friend who I told you introduced me to Watchman Nee's books early in my walk with God. On these two occasions, the patients died. Maybe my faith was not enough, but I am sure several men of God did pray for them too. Cancer is a waster. Cancer is a mocker. It mocks the wealth of the wealthy and ridicules the power of the powerful. And I know God has used people's prayers to heal some cancer patients. I am not satisfied yet. I want the ridicule of Cancer. Oh Malaria still kills rapidly especially in Africa. But nobody takes you too seriously when you have malaria. That is what I mean. I hope in God for a medical breakthrough that will find a cure as commonplace as panadol for Cancer. I do not know yet what profession my child will take -I only know his calling (Oh yes, I do)- but even if Daniel becomes a medical doctor, this is not about him. let the cure come from Lesotho, let it be Nevada; but I hope in God for the days in my generation when Cancer becomes a laughing stock. It is contrary to hope. Wait for it.
3. I HAVE HOPE IN GOD THAT AIDS WILL TOTALLY DISAPPEAR FROM THE EARTH
Some days back, AIDS clocked 30 years on earth. And they said over 30 million people have the disease already- 10 million for every decade. It occurred to me that I was only a few years on earth when that dreaded hydra-headed monster first stepped on planet earth. And just may be my generation came in handy to flush it out in due time. Now where was it before that time? All kinds of theories exist. Fela said it was 'America's Intention to Discourage Sex'. Funny. People even say it is God's wrath on a reckless generation. But seriously, I know all the sentiments that greet AIDS when it is being discussed. We easily assume that every one who has AIDS was sexually reckless. That is not true. Way back in School, I had to shake hands with some full-blown patients, and I still was not so sure it was right. I have an idea what the fear of AIDS could do to people. Four years ago, I had applied for a job and everything went well. I was called for the medical test as the final step before getting the appointment letter. Lo and behold, everyone was being called and I was yet to be called. I was devastated. 'Could it be...?' That day I told my mum I was yet to be called. She seemed to immediately assume the probability too. She went flat on the ground in fear. And almost immediately, the text message came in that I had the job. Well, I married about a year ago. And I got wedded in a very serious minded church. We did all the tests. And I saw the result. Negative. Still, the period of waiting was threatening. What is it about this killer disease? The stigma, the shame. Now, unlike cancer, AIDS had not been around before the eighties. Where did it come from? When will it be time to return? So it is not a cure for the victims that I hope for. It is an extinction of the vicious disease itself. Statistics say too many people have the disease and do not even know. How do you convince people to go for such test? To many, ignorance is bliss. But AIDS will have to return to where it came from. And I have hope in God that it will happen in my generation. It is contrary to hope. Wait for it.
One more Scripture; ' My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him' Psalm 62:5.
These are few among the things and the kinds of things I have believed God for, and hoped for, and now hoping against hope for. I serve a very big God, and He has not told me there is anything impossible for Him. Did He tell you that? Come on, keep that hope alive!
Hope is one word so grossly misunderstood and misapplied. To define it is to further confine it. The Scripture says in I Corinthians 13: 13 'And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest is love', Love being the greatest does not in any way diminish the value of the other two. Let me just profile Abraham as we appreciate the place of 'these three'; faith, hope and love. Okay. It was God who sought Abraham. Abraham was a pagan, was he not? Else why would God tell a man to vacate his country, his family and his fathers house? (Genesis 12:1). So when God called Abraham, He opened an account for Abraham. And for many years the account was not 'funded'. Until one day God showed Abraham the stars of the heaven and said to him, "So shall your descendants be". Abraham believed God and God deposited righteousness into that account. (Genesis 15:1-6). That is the story of many Christians. They have been saved many years but they have not believed. They still try to earn the reward of their salvation. "I am your exceeding great Reward' God told Abraham. Our God is our unspeakable Gift (2 Corinthians 9:15), our exceeding great Reward. (Genesis 15:6). Well, God showed Abraham the stars to illustrate the descendants with which He would bless Abraham. Abraham believed God. Two chapters after, when Abraham was about a hundred years, God told him He actually meant that Sarah would have a child. And Abraham laughed. Why did Abraham laugh? Did he no longer believed God? There was no record that the laughter debited what was earlier credited into his account. So, he did not disbelieve God by that laughter. Many of us would not laugh. We will form some pseudo-believing, forgetting that God is not mocked. Oh, you think faith is that mind-conditioning, possibility-thinking exercise that motivational speakers talk about? I know the power of a man's mind, but faith in God is a supernatural wavelength. Once you hook on it, God takes over. At the point Abraham laughed, God was already in full force. I will like to understand why Abraham laughed. He was 99 years old and Sarah was 89! As far as Abraham was concerned, he had a child already. Ishmael was a teenager and very strong boy, too. When God insisted it was through Sarah the promised child would come, Abraham braced up. He was face-to-face with the reality of his situation; he was standing in the terra firma, not just seeing the 'stars of the firmament'. Abraham at this point began to add hope to faith. And then to add hope to hope..
Hope is the sustainer of faith. Hope keeps faith alive. Listen to this '...faith is the substance of things HOPED for..'. Faith sees the evidence the way Abraham sees the stars and believed. See, unless you have seen, it is extremely difficult to believe. Thomas had to see the Resurrected Jesus to believe; all the apostles saw 'infallible proofs' of Christ resurrection. (Acts 1:2); there is no apostle since Christ ascended that has no evidence that He resurrected. And Jesus said 'Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed." (John 20:29). He knows that many like us will not see Him physically, yet believed. Our own faith has the hope-dimension; we are expecting Him back. No one can believe except he sees. Faith is seeing the supernatural, take it or keep forming 'pseudo-believing'. Faith has evidence. Hope is the one that amazes me. Hope sees nothing. Faith believes because he sees, but Hope believes when the seen is yet to manifest. Ah, hope is not a cheap word. You cannot hope in God unless you have first believed Him. Let us return to Abraham and see the role Hope played in his story.
Scriptures say that Abraham, contrary to hope, in hope he believed God. I like Paul, he calls a spade a spade. Paul said Abraham's body was dead at that age. And that Sarah's womb was dead too! (See Romans 4:17-19). Genesis 18: 11 tells us Sarah had passed the age of child-bearing and verse 12 tells us she could no longer even have 'pleasure' because her husband was old. Now I know what Paul refered to as 'Abraham's body', do you? It was dead! At that age, you don't start hoping a man's 'body' will rise. Oh it was 'contrary to hope' for Sarah's womb to even conceive at that age. But Abraham hoped against hope. That is the hope I am presenting today. You have really started believing God when you do not have reasons to hope; and I mean hope against hope .I will talk more about hope today, but let me show you from Abraham's story why love is the greatest. When the promised child was born, God told Abraham to sacrifice that child to Him. If I were Abraham, this is the time I will laugh. I will laugh very hillariously at the whole idea. I mean, think of it; You called me from where I was, I was doing fine doing my own things. I obeyed you and have been a stranger in the land you promised me and my descendants. You promised me not just a child, but children like the stars of the heaven. I waited till I was practically unable to make babies. Now by Your miracle I have this boy, and now You told me to kill Him? It is a joke, is it not? I would probably tell God that. But Abraham obeyed. No record of complaints, no record of questioning God. He just obeyed. And he was actually about to kill that boy when God shouted twice 'Abraham, Abraham!'. And for the very first time ever God swore. God needs not to swear since no one is greater than Him, but He was so moved by the love Abraham had for Him above all else, above even his only son- and God swore to Abraham. My friend Lanre once told me he felt that was where God tested the giving of His own only begotten Son. Oh he might be right because Mt Moriah where that event took place was the same mountain range Jesus was crucified. God must have said 'If Abraham could love me this much, I must go all the way'. This is how love supercedes faith and hope. Love is able to sow again all that faith and hope have laboured for. These three abide; faith, hope, love. Okay, let us now get down to Hope.
Hope is a word so commonly used. In fact Job tells us 'There is hope for a tree' (Job 14:7). There is hope for you. So let me say at this point that the hope refered to here is 'Hope in God'. Let us do some Bible Study. In Psalm 39:7, David said 'And now Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You'. Psalm 38:15, he said 'For in thee, O LORD, do I hope...'. In Psalm 43:5, David said for the third time in two consecutive chapters 'Why are you cast down, O my soul? ... Hope in God'. It is important therefore to establish where your hope is set. (See Psalm 78:7). How does one set his hope in God? By hoping in His word. (See Psalms 119:9, 114, 116; 130:5). Mercy comes to the hopeful. (See Psalm 33:18,22; 147:11). I can go on and on to draw out Scriptures on hope, but the one that hit me like a punch in the eye is Romans 5:1-5. Let me paraphrase; Paul said we were justified by faith. by this we have peace with God. Paul said Jesus grants us access to the grace of God while we hope for the glory of God. He said all our present realities will only establish our hope until we experience the 'hope that doest not disappoint'. When you experience this kind of hope, you have experienced the love of God. Read it yourself and see if I am right. See I have believed God for some things. Now I have hope in God and His word for me concerning those things. And it does not matter what is going contrary to my hope, I stiil have hope! Let me keep personal things personal. But I will give you an idea how strange my hope can be.
1. I HAVE HOPE IN GOD THAT ONE DAY A MOUNTAIN WILL MOVE INTO THE SEA AT THE WORD OF A BELIEVER.
In the old testament, strange things happen. We read about them and somehow we manage to believe them. The Red Sea was parted and a whole nation of people passed. Now how do you comprehend that? Jordan was parted. Jericho's wall crashed by the blowing of trumpets. The sun stood still till Joshua ended a battle (Really it was the earth that stood still, for the sun does not move, abi?). So if all these things really happened, why don't they anymore? I am not crazy about miracles, but I just happen to serve a God that does wonders. Jesus walked on water. Peter also did, so Jesus promised that we would do greater things and He gave us an idea when He said in Mark 11:23 "For assuredly I say unto you, whosoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says'. Some will laugh in derision at my hope, soem will even rationalise and try to explain what Jesus was saying and in what context He said it. Mind you, He said it after the fig tree dried up at His word! See, it is not about me. I have the hope that one day, one believer will bring it to pass in my own generation. Jesus does not speak empty words. I heard the story of some children in Asia who prayed about a mountain and next day government came to level that mountain. Plausible as that may sound, I mean something more graphic. Like Moses, you stand in front of that mountain and command it to be uprooted and to go into the sea, and it obeys you. It is contrary to hope. Wait for it.
2. I HAVE HOPE IN GOD THAT ONE DAY MEDICINE WILL FIND CANCER'S CURE.
I believe God heals any disease. Jesus paid for all sicknesses. I have had the privilege to pray and beieve God on two occasions for two women who had cancer. They both died. Pastor Seye, do you remember? Pastor Andy was there. And Lanre was there too. The second instance was the mother of a beloved friend. She was the friend who I told you introduced me to Watchman Nee's books early in my walk with God. On these two occasions, the patients died. Maybe my faith was not enough, but I am sure several men of God did pray for them too. Cancer is a waster. Cancer is a mocker. It mocks the wealth of the wealthy and ridicules the power of the powerful. And I know God has used people's prayers to heal some cancer patients. I am not satisfied yet. I want the ridicule of Cancer. Oh Malaria still kills rapidly especially in Africa. But nobody takes you too seriously when you have malaria. That is what I mean. I hope in God for a medical breakthrough that will find a cure as commonplace as panadol for Cancer. I do not know yet what profession my child will take -I only know his calling (Oh yes, I do)- but even if Daniel becomes a medical doctor, this is not about him. let the cure come from Lesotho, let it be Nevada; but I hope in God for the days in my generation when Cancer becomes a laughing stock. It is contrary to hope. Wait for it.
3. I HAVE HOPE IN GOD THAT AIDS WILL TOTALLY DISAPPEAR FROM THE EARTH
Some days back, AIDS clocked 30 years on earth. And they said over 30 million people have the disease already- 10 million for every decade. It occurred to me that I was only a few years on earth when that dreaded hydra-headed monster first stepped on planet earth. And just may be my generation came in handy to flush it out in due time. Now where was it before that time? All kinds of theories exist. Fela said it was 'America's Intention to Discourage Sex'. Funny. People even say it is God's wrath on a reckless generation. But seriously, I know all the sentiments that greet AIDS when it is being discussed. We easily assume that every one who has AIDS was sexually reckless. That is not true. Way back in School, I had to shake hands with some full-blown patients, and I still was not so sure it was right. I have an idea what the fear of AIDS could do to people. Four years ago, I had applied for a job and everything went well. I was called for the medical test as the final step before getting the appointment letter. Lo and behold, everyone was being called and I was yet to be called. I was devastated. 'Could it be...?' That day I told my mum I was yet to be called. She seemed to immediately assume the probability too. She went flat on the ground in fear. And almost immediately, the text message came in that I had the job. Well, I married about a year ago. And I got wedded in a very serious minded church. We did all the tests. And I saw the result. Negative. Still, the period of waiting was threatening. What is it about this killer disease? The stigma, the shame. Now, unlike cancer, AIDS had not been around before the eighties. Where did it come from? When will it be time to return? So it is not a cure for the victims that I hope for. It is an extinction of the vicious disease itself. Statistics say too many people have the disease and do not even know. How do you convince people to go for such test? To many, ignorance is bliss. But AIDS will have to return to where it came from. And I have hope in God that it will happen in my generation. It is contrary to hope. Wait for it.
One more Scripture; ' My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him' Psalm 62:5.
These are few among the things and the kinds of things I have believed God for, and hoped for, and now hoping against hope for. I serve a very big God, and He has not told me there is anything impossible for Him. Did He tell you that? Come on, keep that hope alive!
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