GOD DOES CHANGE HIS MIND

MEMORY VERSE: wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before for me ever: but now the Lord saith, be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honor; and they that despise shall be lightly esteemed, 1 Samuel 2:30.

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deut 33-34, Ps 119:145-176, Isa 60, Matt 8

 

Malachi 3:6 says for I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. When God said I change not, what did He mean by that? It simply means He is the same i.e. His character remains the same. According to Hebrews 13:8, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. The Character of God is love. His character is not informed by circumstances or events.This is why He gives rain to the just and the unjust. Numbers 23:19 says God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Once God speaks it is as good as done. Psalms 33:9 says for he spake, and it was done; he commanded and it stood fast.

 

When you study the scriptures carefully you will find out that God changes His mind. Psalm 115:3 says but our God is in the heavens; He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. The same God, who said no, can change His mind and say yes. In Isaiah 38:1-5 God sent a prophet to tell King Hezekiah to put his house in order because he was going to die. When Hezekiah got the message, he went before the Lord. He said in heaven there are over a million angels praising You, on earth the numbers of those that praise You daily are few do you want to reduce the numbers by one ? The Lord told the prophet to return and tell the king that He has added an extra fifteen years to His days.Who says God does not change His mind?  Isaiah 48:22 says there is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord. The same God says in Ezekiel 18:27 if the wicked repents and changes his way, he will live. God changes his mind. He is sovereign; He can decide to show mercy.

 

God is sovereign.  He can change His mind and this is where we all need to be very careful. 1 Samuel 2:30 says wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house , and the house of thy father, should walk before for me ever: but now the Lord saith, be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honor; and they that despise shall be lightly esteemed. The same God who said Eli and his children will serve before Him forever changed His mind and said they will be beggars in His house. I pray this will not be our portion in Jesus name. It does not matter what promises God has made to you if you dishonour Him in any way, He can decide to put those promises on hold until you change. At times He can even withdraw His promises; I pray this will not be your portion in Jesus name.

 

PRAYER POINTS: Father, please bring those mighty promises of yours to pass in my life.

TYPES OF VESSELS – VESSEL OF GOLD AND SILVER/ VESSELS OF EARTH AND WOOD

2 Timothy 2:20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 26, John 5, Prov 2, Gal 1 BIBLE STUDIES: 2 Timothy 2:20-22

Yesterday we looked at some of the contents of a great house. We have discussed about borrowed vessels; vessel unto honor and unto dishonour. As we discussed, the great house mentioned in our bible studies is the present day church. The owner of the house is Jesus, Colossians 1:18. The vessels are the believers.

Also present in this great house are vessels of earth and wood. We know that the wood and earth have little or no use. Wood and clay are reserved for ignoble use. Wood and clay vessels are used for dishonorable purposes, perhaps in the kitchen or to carry out garbage or human waste. They often get broken and are cheaply replaced. The vessels of wood and clay are believers who are like dry wood. They are destitute of the grace of God, and are fit matter for Satan to work upon, and by them raise and increase the flames of contention and division in the church. Every time there is a quarrel or contention in the church they are always involved. They are sensual, carnal, and wordly. They are void of spirituality and lack spiritual mindedness. They are the ones you will see fighting most of the time for positions in the church. If they are not put in posts, they start a quarrel and turn the church upside down. Also in this great house are vessels of gold and silver. These vessels are for noble uses. No one uses china cups to feed dogs. These vessels are kept clean so that they may be used for honourable purposes, such as dinner parties. These vessels are prominently displayed as decorations or used for serving important guests as a gesture of honour while the vessel of earth and wood are strictly utilitarian. They are used for duties that are never seen and are kept out of sight as much as possible. These persons or believers are comparable to gold and silver for their worth and value, and preciousness in the sight of Christ. To the Most High God they are His jewels and peculiar treasure because of their excellency and usefulness in the church. These vessels are known for their purity and worthiness while the vessels of earth and clay are known for their impurity and unworthiness. The question is what type of vessel are you – gold or clay, silver or earth? How useful are you in the house of God? How useful are you in that department in the church? Are you the type the pastor is always calling to settle quarrel between you and your spouse or other members of the church? How valuable are you in the hands of God?

PRAYER POINT: Father please open my eyes to myself as You see me. Also help me to take to correction when You rebuke me.

TYPES OF VESSELS – BORROWED VESSELS

2 Kings 4:3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 24, John 3, Job 42, 2 Cor 12

 

BIBLE STUDIES: 2 Kings 4:1-7

 

In our bible studies we read the story of one of the wives of the sons of the prophet. This woman was facing serious challenges, she was in big debt and her husband was dead. To worsen her situation, the creditors threatened to take her two sons (the only source of her joy) as slave. She ran to Elisha for help and that one asked her if she had anything in her house, something the Lord can touch? You see whatever the Lord touches begins to multiply as we see in the case of Jesus feeding five thousand men not counting woman and children, Matthew 14:13-21. She confessed that she had a small jar of olive oil so Elisha asked her to go and borrow some empty vessels and pour her little oil in them. She did as she was told. Her oil filled the vessels and she sold them to pay her debt.

 

Let us look at these vessels that were borrowed a bit closer. These vessels were instruments the Lord used to bring joy into the life of this widow. Not only that they were instruments the Lord used to cause a turnaround in the situation of the widow. The Lord used these vessels to inject life into the dead situation of this widow. Without those vessels, her oil would have remained in the small jar and she would have ended up losing her two sons. One important thing I want to point out is that after these vessels were used to work a mighty breakthrough in the life of this widow, they were dumped and we never heard of them again. These vessels were only relevant when oil was in them; immediately the oil was sold and the debts were paid, they were discarded to the background. Many today are like these borrowed vessels. Through them the Lord touches the life of people. Through them the Lord wins souls. Through them the Lord meets the needs of other believers. Do not grow wings because the Lord is using you. Do not get carried away, the fact the Lord is using anyone is not a yardstick that their standing is perfect with God. In Numbers 22:30 we see the Lord warning Balaam through a donkey. If the Lord can use a donkey- an unclean animal to warn a prophet, He can use anyone .After the Lord spoke through the donkey, we never heard of the donkey again. Who are borrowed vessels? They are the people who do not practice what they preach. They encourage people to be humble but they are not humble. They talk of giving to God but they never give. They are the ones you will see talking of evangelism 24 hours but they never evangelize. Galatians 6:7 says be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. The end of a borrowed vessel is not always good because they are usually relegated to the background.

 

Prayer point: Father, please give me the grace to be the hearer and doer