LIMITED BY REQUEST

John 14:13 - and whatever you ask in My name,that i will do , that the Father may be glorified in the Son
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This is an open cheque from our Lord Jesus Christ to all believers. According to Matthew 7:7, it is our responsibility to fill the open cheque. What we fill in it is our business but remember what we fill is what we get. Since we are responsible for our request and limited by what we ask for , we can decide to ask for a child maybe a boy or girl or decide to ask for triplets two boys and a girl or vice versa. We can choose to ask for a bedroom house or a mansion with 7 bedrooms - every one has his or her room and the two left for guests.We can decide to ask for little anointing or mega anointing like that of David . David was anointed until his cup ran over.We can ask for only a gift of the Spirit maybe healing or prophecy or ask for all! Remember there is enough in the heavenly store to cater for all needs.

This brings us to the question of how do we ask ? We can ask through our confession .Numbers 14:28 says as i live says the Lord, as you have spoken in My hearing , so i will do to you. Another way to ask is through sowing,tithes and offerings.Galatians 6:7 says whatever a man sows , he shall reap. According to Proverbs 3:9-10 , anyone who honors the Lord with his first fruits is requesting for expansion and enlargement of coast.We know that payment of tithes is telling God please rebuke every form devourer in my life. Another way to ask is through our actions. The actions include soul winning. According to Proverbs 11:30 those who win souls are wise and Proverbs 3:35 says the wise shall inherit glory. Another action is helping the poor.Proverbs 19:17 says anyone who shows pity on the poor lends to the Lord and the Lord always pays His debts on time. Another action is showing mercy.Matthew 5:7 says the merciful will obtain mercy. We can also ask through our lifestyle.Psalms 75:10 says the horn of the righteous shall be exalted.

ACTION POINT: We now know how to ask , let us take our pens and begin to fill the open cheque from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The all sufficient one

Jeremiah 32:27 - Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

To be sufficient means to be more than enough. What it means is that no matter what happens to one of His children, that He can and will take care of them, if we but trust Him.When it comes to promotion , He is more than enough. In 1 Samuel 16:1-end, He picked David from the back of the desert and set him in the palace. In a matter of hours , he made the last born to become the first.Also in Genesis 41:1-end , He took Joseph from the prison and made him the father to Pharaoh -Genesis 45:8. Joseph without any political party, campaign ,political godfather and election became the prime minister of Egypt.Once you know Him you do not need to do anything funny or dirty to get to the top. He can single-handedly take you to the top.

When it comes to protection, He is more than sufficient. I have always had reservations about bodyguards and all. They can only protect you from men , how about demons or sickness ? Besides that most them needs protection too.Be it the visible or the invisible ,you can rely on the All sufficient one.

When it comes to meeting needs , He alone can provide.  David says in Psalm 23:1 , the Lord is my Shepherd i shall not want.Just like it is the responsibility of the shepherd to provide for the sheep so also is the responsibility of God to provide for His children and He can do that without the help of a man.He used wind to provide meat for the Israelite in Numbers 11:31. He used ravens ( a very stingy bird) to feed Elijah in 1 Kings 17:5-9.
He is also sufficient to save. Imagine Saul a man who was  party to the death of Stephen and many other believers becoming a preacher. He is sufficient to save any president or any man or woman regardless of their past.
PRAYER POINT : Oh Lord, make a beneficiary of your sufficiency today.

IDENTIFYING THE WISE PART 2

Proverbs 12:8 –A man will be commended according to his wisdom but he who has a perverse heart will be despised.
According to Job 28:28, wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

As earlier discussed, there are four ways to identify the wise. We have discussed the first two; we will quickly look at the last the two.

Thirdly, the wise are identified by their actions. 1 John 3:7 says little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. By people’s action we can tell if they are wise or not i.e. if the fear of the Lord is present in their heart or not. Matthew 7:16 says by their fruits you shall know them. Anyone who truly fears God will not commit abortion. Many of us claim we fear God but our actions speak otherwise. If we ask the question who loves the Lord, almost everyone will raise up their hands. Jesus says in John 14:15, if you love me obey my commandments. Anyone who fears God will not have issues with paying his or her tithes.

Fourthly, the wise are identified by they stand for. Isaiah 32:8 says but a generous man devises generous things and by generosity he shall stand. A wise man or woman stands up for wise decisions. A brother or sister who fears the Lord will stand for righteousness.  What do we stand for? Do we stand for revenge or forgive and forget? Do we stand for racism and tribalism? Do we stand for the truth?
Proverbs 8:13 says to fear the Lord is to hate evil. One thing Christians are permitted to hate is the devil and evil things. The wise i.e. those who fear the Lord will not permit dodgey or funny deals to go on around them because they abhor evil. They hate fornication and adultery with a passion.

ACTION POINTS: Take necessary steps to be in the camp of the wise.

GOD OF MYSTERIES

Job 11:7: can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?

 Who is God? John 4:24 – God is Spirit. Psalms 91:1 says God has a shadow and the safest place to be is under His shadow. Can anyone explain how a Spirit can have a shadow? Remember spirits are invincible and shadows are visible. The bible describes God as Love in I John 4:8 , the same bible describes Him as a Consuming fire in Hebrews 12:29. How can one explain God that so loves that everyone wants to be around Him and yet He is a fire that consumes. Jesus is described as the Lion of the tribe of Judah in Revelations 5:5 and by the time we get to Revelations 7:10 He is called the Lamb upon the throne. How can one be a Lion and a Lamb at the same time? We know from reading Isaiah 66:1 that God is so big He uses the earth as big as it is as a footstool yet He is so small He can fit into the hearts of every man inside the earth.

Aside His existence been a mystery, His ways are mysterious too. John 3:8 compares His ways to the wind that blows where it wills,we hear the sound but cannot tell where it came from and where it is going. Romans 11:33 says His ways are past finding outs. Job 11:7 describes the things of God as deep and unsearchable. Despite all these, we are expected to know Him because the combine knowledge of Him and Jesus is called eternal life -John 17:3. According to 2 Peter 1:2, Grace and peace is multiplied to us in the knowledge of God and Jesus.

We do not really know anyone until we know their secrets. The only way to really know God is by knowing His secrets.  Psalms 25:14 says the secret of the Lord are with those that fear Him. Anyone who aspires to know God must fear / reverence Him. This brings us to a crucial question, what does it really mean to fear God?  Proverbs 8:13 says the Fear of the Lord is to hate evil. The fear of God is measured by hatred for evil. The more we fear God, the more we will hate evil.1 Thessalonians 5:22 say we should flee from everything that appears as evil.

ACTION POINT: Passionately hate evil and your knowledge of God will increase.

Hunger & Thirst

Proverbs 16:26: The person who labors,labors for himself,for his hungry mouth drives him on.

Hunger and thirst are mechanisms God has put inside every living creature to ensure their survival.Hunger is a sign that the body needs food and thirst is a signal that we are running short of water in our system. Hunger and thirst do not only act as mechanism for survival but to achieve God given goals for our lives.According to Proverbs 16:26 , hunger is a mechanism that drives a man towards his destiny. Hunger determines our action .Solomon was so hungry for the attention of God that he offered a thousand burnt offerings ,2 Chronicles 1:6-12. Hunger determines our priorities. The hunger for the Holy Spirit led the disciples to gather in the upper room waiting for the Day of Pentecost- Acts 2:1-4.While others prioritized enjoying themselves they prioritized been filled with the Holy Ghost.Hunger determines our efforts. The more hungry one is for success the more effort one is willing to put into  life. The man at the pool of Bethesda was so hungry for healing that he remained at the pool for 38 years ,John 5:1-18.

The level of a man’s hunger will determine the level of his achievement i.e. the bigger the hunger ,the bigger the effort and the bigger the achievement.Most of the achievement we see today are results of hunger to succeed. Our hunger determines the no of our sleeping hours.One point to note is this , hunger is visible. It is easy to tell when a man is hungry for food, you see the eyes turning red ,such men do not smile at all so also it is easy to tell when an individual is hungry for success.You see them always studying at night, working very hard, you can tell because they are the first to get to work and the last to leave.

The Most High expect His children to be hungry for peace.1 Peter 3:11 says Let him turn away from evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and pursue it.Our hunger for peace should drive us to pursue peace at all cost.Also according to Matthew 5:6 we should hunger and thirst for righteousness. But the most important form hunger is the hunger the kingdom of God and His righteousness according to Matthew 6:33 . Anyone who has this form of hunger will be satisfied in all endeavor. This brings us to the question , how hungry are we to reach the top ?what form of hunger do we have ? is our hunger for the things of God visible to our family and friends ?

ACTION POINT:Our hunger to please God should be visible to all.

Divine Advocate

1 John 2:1 says My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Many who are yet to give their lives to Christ do not know what are they are missing.Asides from the fact that the only way to the Father in heaven is Jesus -John 14:6,only the friends of Jesus will be allowed in Heaven.Who are His friends? According to John 15:14 ,His friends are those who does what He commands. What are His commands? Isaiah 60:1 says Arise and shine! ;Mark 16:15 says Go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature;Mark 12:30-31 says love the Lord your God ,with all your heart,soul and mind and also love your neighbor as yourself.

Aside from all these , Jesus is also an advocate before the Most High God.An advocate is the one who speaks,plead or argue in one’s favor.From time to time the enemy gathers evidences and prepares a case against us before the Father in heaven.Revelations 12:10 calls him the accuser of the brethren.The Father either throws away the case like He did in the case of Moses in Jude 1:9. He brought an accusation against Moses and it was thrown out,no wonder Micheal the archangel told him the Lord rebuke you.The Father can also hear the case while Jesus acts as our advocate.

Jesus is not only our advocate before the Father alone, He is our advocate before men.In John 8:1-11 , He acted as an advocate for a woman caught in adultery and she was set free. Jesus is present to advocate for you today. While the enemies are presenting a strong case why you should not be promoted in that place of work, why the decision should not go in your favor,why you should not receive mercy  , why you should not be favored Jesus is also present advocating for you. One thing we need to note is this , He is not only an advocate but the Judge too according to 2 Timothy 4:1. Give your life to Jesus today and all decisions will go in your favor because your advocate is the Judge.Remember His services are free.

PRAYER POINT: Call on Jesus to speak for you before the Father concerning your heart desires.

God's favorite Part 2

Proverbs 14:31 says He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker,But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.

If only world leaders know how much God loves the poor and the needy ,they would do all in their powers to formulate policies that cater for the poor and needy in our societies today.War will be the last option because those who suffer from war most are the poor who can not protect themselves.

God loves the poor and needy. Proverbs 19:17 says He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord,and  He will pay back what he has given.According to Ezekiel 16:48-49 , one of the reasons why God destroyed Sodom was because of how they treated the poor and needy in their midst.Psalm 72:12 says For He will deliver the needy when He cries,the poor also and him who has no helper.

Everything we have came from God.John 3:27 says everything we have is a gift from God.According to Ephesians 2:8, the gifts we receive from God are a function of grace. Everything we have came as a result of grace and mercy.

Why do we have to give to the poor ? According to Deuteronomy 15:11 ,it is a command from God.Secondly , so that when we cry to God He will hear us-Proverbs 21:13.Thirdly,it brings happiness -Proverbs 14:21.Fourthly ,those who give to the poor will lack nothing-Proverbs 28:27.To crown it up God has promised to bless the work of all those cater for the poor -Deuteronomy 24:19

ACTION POINT: Look for someone in need today and bless them.