DIVINE GUIDANCE

MEMORY VERSE: I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Psalm 32:8

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 26-30

It is God’s will to guide His children. The Bible is littered with several promises concerning divine guidance;e.g., Proverbs 3:6 says: “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths”, Isaiah 30:21 says: “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left”, Psalm 32:8 says: “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.”

How does God instruct? One of the ways He instructs is through Scriptures. 2 Timothy 3:16 says: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” God’s general will for all people in all places in all circumstances is revealed in Scriptures. He has told us what He thinks about a whole range of issues. From the Bible, we know that certain things are wrong. Therefore, we can be quite sure that He will not guide us to do these things. He will not guide any man to marry a second wife. Sometimes a single person says, “I have fallen in love with this man/woman who is not a Christian. We love each other so much. I feel God leading me to start a relationship with him/her." But God has already made His will clear. He has said, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14)?” We can be quite sure that God will not guide any Christian to marry an unbeliever. In this particular case and many other cases, God has revealed His general will. We do not need to ask for His guidance because He has already given it. If we are not sure, we may need to ask someone who knows the Bible better than we whether there is anything on that issue. Although God’s general will is revealed in Scriptures, we cannot always find His particular will for our lives there. The Lord also instructs through sermons and books written by anointed men and women of God.

NOTE: If the Lord tarries we will discuss the four ways in which God reveals His will to us. In the meantime, I want you to know that the voice may be many, the message can be but one. If God tells me in one voice to do or to leave undone anything, He cannot possibly tell me the opposite in another voice. If there is a contradiction in the voices, the speakers cannot be the same. Therefore, the rule for distinguishing the voice of God would be to bring it to the test of harmony. Always check whatever you heard with Scriptures first. If it does not agree with Scriptures, I appeal to you to pray again and ask others to pray along with you.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world.

HANDLING DIVINE PROJECTS

MEMORY VERSE: When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. John 6:5-6

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Chronicles 25-30

BIBLE READING: John 6:5-13

Psalm 115:16 says, “The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.” As such, whenever the Lord wants to do anything on the earth He would use man. Take for instance, when He wanted to deliver the children of Israel from Egypt He used Moses (Exodus 3:10). When the spoilers spoiled them, He raised up judges for them. Judges 2:16 says,” Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.” However, there were instances in the past  where He used angels to carry out some tasks on earth. In 2 Kings 19:35-37, He deployed an angel to destroy 185, 000 Assyrian soldiers in one night. I want you to know that this  is an exceptional circumstance, majority of the time He uses human agents. This is one of the reasons why you must be friendly, respectful and humble. You don’t know who God may want to use for you. 

In John 6:5-6, the Lord physically feed 5000 thousand men not counting women and children with a boy’s lunch (five bread and two fishes). This is an example of a God-given assignment/vision/project/work. John 6:5 says, “When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” Jesus was saying “I have a project or vision to physically feed these people, how do you think we can go about it?” We learn from this that all God-given vision or project are geared towards solving general human problems or specific human problems. Every task or project Jesus undertook was geared towards meeting human needs. His journey to Gadara was to solve a human problem – deliver a demoniac man (Mark 5:1-19). His coming to earth, another project, was to solve human problem i.e. save man from sin (Matthew 1:21). Every God-given vision or ministry is meant to be an answer or solution to a human need or problem.

Matthew 6:6 says, “And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.” Jesus knew how He would finance His project even before talking to Philip. I don’t know what project the Lord has committed into your hands but i want you to know this, before He committed that project into your hands, He already knew how He will fund the project. He has already set aside resources He would use to complete the project. Before the Lord gave you that child, He had already prepared what the child would eat. Before God called you into ministry, He had already arranged how to finance it and meet the needs that will arise. Whenever you share your God-given vision with people, you can expect people like ‘Philip’ to ask how you intend to finish or complete the project (John 6:7). They want to know if you have the resources to finish the project before you start. People like 'Andrew' will ask if you have enough resources to start in a grand way (John 6:8-9). What did Jesus do? He simply started His project with the little He had. He asked for the little bread, gave thanks to God and gave it to people to share. In other words, He prayed and started the God given project. 

NOTE: Sir/Ma, you don’t need to wait until you have all the resources before you start that God-given project. Pray and start with whatever you have and  trust God to complete the project. 

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world