The Bedrock of Your Assurance

God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit. (2 Thessalonians 2:13)

The Bible speaks of our election — God’s choosing us — in Christ before the foundation of the earth (Ephesians 1:4) before we had done anything good or evil (Romans 9:11). Therefore, our election is unconditional in the strictest sense. Neither our faith nor our obedience is the basis of it. It is free and utterly undeserved. 

On the other hand, dozens of passages in the Bible speak of our final salvation (as opposed to our election in eternity past) as conditional upon a changed heart and life. So, the question arises, How can I have the assurance that I will persevere in the faith and holiness necessary for inheriting eternal life?

The answer is that assurance is rooted in our election. Second Peter 1:10 says, “Be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” Divine election is the foundation of God’s commitment to save me, and therefore that he will undertake to work in me by sanctifying grace what his electing grace has begun.

This is the meaning of the new covenant. Everyone who believes in Jesus is a secure beneficiary of the new covenant, because Jesus said in Luke 22:20, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” That is, by my blood I secure the new covenant for all who are mine.

In the new covenant God does not merely command obedience; he gives it. “The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6). “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes” (Ezekiel 36:27; cf. 11:20). Those are new covenant promises.

Election is God’s eternal commitment to do this for his people. So, election guarantees that those whom God justifies by faith he will most assuredly glorify (Romans 8:30). This means that he will unfailingly work in us all the conditions laid down for glorification.

Election is the final ground of assurance because, since it is God’s commitment to save, it is also God’s commitment to enable all that is necessary for salvation.

TITHING!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY MAY 23, 2021.

SUBJECT : TITHING!

Memory verse: "Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them, ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the LORD, a tenth of the tithe." (Numbers 18 vs 26.)

READ: Leviticus 27 vs 30 - 32:

27:30: And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's. It is holy to the LORD.

27:31: If a man wants at all to redeem any of his tithes, he shall add one fifth to it.

27:32: And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the LORD.

INTIMATION:

Tithing is giving a tenth of your earnings (or produce, harvest, etc.) back to a leader or a god. God commanded the children of Israel to tithe of their crops, fruit, and herds. The tithe was received by the Levites to support them. The Levites, in turn, gave “a tithe of the tithe” to support the priests. No one was exempt from returning to God a portion what was received. The tithe can be converted to money equivalent. God promises blessings for those who faithfully tithe, and He says that refusing to tithe is like robbing Him. However, tithing without love for or obedience to God, amounts to nothing more than a meaningless ritual. (Luke 11 bs 42.)

The Bible makes the purpose of tithing very clear—to teach us to fear the Lord and put Him first in our lives. We are to give God the first and best of what we earn. For example, what we do first with our money shows what we value most. Giving the first part of our paycheck to God immediately focuses our attention on Him. It also reminds us that all we have belongs to Him. A habit of regular tithing can keep God at the top of our priority list and give us a proper perspective on everything else we have.

The tithing principle is still relevant. God expects all His followers to supply the material needs of those who devote themselves to meeting the spiritual needs of the community of faith. We are to give in proportion to what God has given us. God does not expect us to give more than we can, but we will be blessed when we give cheerfully. For some, 10 percent may be a burden. For most of us, that would be far too little. Ask God to direct you about what you should give and to help you give generously.

It is always tempting to shortchange God because we think we won’t get caught. But our giving shows our real priorities. When we give God the leftovers, it is obvious that He isn’t at the center of our lives. Give God the honor of having first claim on your money, time, and talents. Since God doesn’t send payment overdue notices, it is easy to take care of other financial responsibilities while letting our gifts to Him slide. Giving to God first out of what He has allowed you to have demonstrates that He has first priority in your life.

The Lord says in the Bible, "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the Lord of Hosts, "If I will not open the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it." (Malachi 3 vs 10.) As far as I know, this is the only instance in Scripture where the Lord says "Try Me." Basically, He's saying, "Try it, and see if it doesn't work!" Nearly everything else He said is a command: ‘You shall do this, or you shall not do that.’ But when it comes to tithing, He said "Try Me." In my considered opinion, He said it this way because He knows it is scary for people to take a portion of what they need to survive and give it away. 

When you are dependent upon money to pay bills and buy food, it's hard to move your trust over to a God you can't see. God knows that about us, so He said, "Try Me." Then why not you try Him, and see if He will not do what He says He will do. Please note this, “God is not a man, that He should lie. Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23 vs 19.)

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of delightsome obedience to You in all things, and give me the grace to put You first in my life, especially in my giving, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Is Christ Worth It?

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26–27)

Jesus is unashamed and unafraid of telling us up front the “worst” — the painful cost of being a Christian: hating family (verse 26), carrying a cross (verse 27), renouncing possessions (verse 33). There is no small print in the covenant of grace. It is all big, and bold. No cheap grace! Very costly! Come, and be my disciple.

But Satan hides his worst and shows only his best. All that really matters in the deal with Satan is in small print on the back page.

On the front page in big, bold letters are the words, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4), and “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9). But on the back page in small print — so small you can only read it with the magnifying glass of the Bible — it says, “And after the fleeting pleasures, you will suffer with me forever in hell.”

Why is Jesus willing to show us his “worst” as well as his best, while Satan will only show us his best? Matthew Henry answers, “Satan shows the best, but hides the worst, because his best will not [counterbalance] his worst; but Christ’s will abundantly.”

The call of Jesus is not just a call to suffering and self-denial; it is first a call to a banquet. This is the point of the parable in Luke 14:16–24. Jesus also promises a glorious resurrection where all the losses of this life will be repaid (Luke 14:14). He also tells us that he will help us endure the hardships (Luke 22:32). He also tells us our Father will give us the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). He promises that even if we are killed for the kingdom, “not a hair of your head will perish” (Luke 21:18).

Which means that when we sit down to calculate the cost of following Jesus — when we weigh the “worst” and the “best” — he is worth it. Abundantly worth it (Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17). 

Not so with Satan. Stolen bread is sweet, but afterward the mouth is full of gravel (Proverbs 20:17).

Jesus Knows His Sheep

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them.” (John 10:27)

Jesus knows those who are his. What is this knowledge?

John 10:3 is a close parallel to John 10:27. It says, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” 

So, when Jesus says, “I know them,” this means at least that he knows them by name; that is, he knows them individually and intimately. They are not anonymous, lost in the flock. 

John 10:14–15 provides another insight: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.”

There is a real similarity between the way Jesus knows his Father in heaven and the way he knows his sheep. Jesus sees himself in the Father, and he sees himself in his disciples. 

To some degree Jesus recognizes his own character in his disciples. He sees his own brand mark on the sheep. This endears them to him.

He is like a husband waiting for his wife at the airport, watching as each person disembarks from the plane. When she appears, he knows her, he recognizes her features, he sees in her eyes a happy reflection of his own love. He delights in her. She is the only one he embraces. 

The apostle Paul puts it like this: “God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his’” (2 Timothy 2:19).

It is hard to overemphasize what a tremendous privilege it is to be known personally, intimately, lovingly by the Son of God. It is a precious gift to all his sheep, and it contains within it profound, personal fellowship and affection and the promise of eternal life.

TRUST GOD WITH YOUR MONEY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY MAY 22, 2021.

SUBJECT : TRUST GOD WITH YOUR MONEY!

Memory verse: "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much." (Luke 16 vs 10.)

READ: Luke 16 vs 11 - 13:

16:11: Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 

16:12: And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? 

16:13: No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 

INTIMATION:

The context of the Scripture we read today is Jesus saying that the least area of trusting God is money. What an incredible statement! It is completely contrary to the way most believers think. Our integrity often meets its match in money matters. God calls us to be honest even in small details we could easily rationalize away. Such small details God has equated with money. 

Mammon means money. Jesus said that trusting God in the area of your money is the least area of trust, and you can't do greater things without doing the lesser things first. If you can't lift five pounds weight, then you certainly shouldn't go out and try to lift a hundred pounds weight. You have to start with what is least and work your way up. If you can't walk ten paces, then you can't climb a mountain. 

Jesus' teaching clearly shows that trusting God with your money is the list use of your faith. If you can't do that which is least, how then can you trust Him for the greater things. Jesus called money "that which is least" (Luke 16 vs 10). Now think about it; if you aren't trusting God with your money, then you are deceiving yourself to think you are trusting Him with your eternal salvation or anything else. That is profound!

Have you ever thought of why Jesus called money 'unrighteous?' This is because money has the power to take God's place in your life. Most people cling to their money and possessions for fear of loosing them and not getting another. Clinging to your money out of fear that God won't provide for you, and then trying to say you are believing God for other things, like healing or restoration, is like saying, "I can't jump three feet, but I will compete in long jump in Olympics. It doesn't work that way. 

Though everything has been provided for in the Scriptures, but you can't have them because probably you won't trust God for big things until you can trust Him for little things as money first. Trusting God with your money is much more important than it has been given credit. Many people are trying to bypass this issue and move on to bigger things, but it won't work. Just like other areas of life, you have to start at the beginning and work your way up. 

Remember, Jesus said that you can't serve two masters (Luke 16 vs 13.) You can't trust yourself when it comes to money and then trust God with everything else. It isn't effective to compartmentalize your faith so that you are trying to trust God in one area, but not in others. If you are going to trust God, then trust Him all the way. The same God who promised eternal life when you confess Jesus as your Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10 vs 9), also said to give and it would be given back to you. (Luke 6 vs 38.)

Heaven's riches are far more valuable than earthly wealth. But if you are not trustworthy with your money that is equated to that which is the least, you will be unfit to handle the vast riches of God's kingdom that starts with the gift of salvation. If your integrity slips off you in small matters as money, it will eventually fail you in crucial decisions also.

If you aren't seeing greater things come to pass in your life, the reason may very well be that you aren't trusting God with "that which is least." Believing for your family to be restored, for healing to manifest in your body, are all infinitely greater than believing for money. If you haven't started trusting God with your money yet, how can you go beyond that and trust Him to heal your body? How can you trust God to give you eternal life, but not trust Him to provide for your physical needs?

Not trusting God with your money, in my considered opinion, is greed. The apostle Paul’s warning on greed, in First Timothy 6 vs 6 - 10, is as clear as the day: “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food, and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, foe which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.’ Be wise!

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the spirit of complete trust in, and obedience to You in all things, even in my money, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD SONG BY EVANGELIST GLADIS IKUMASI!

 The Spirit of the Lord by Evangelist Glad is Ikumasi. Contact on +234 802 303 0320 for live ministration. God bless you.

UNDERSTANDING THE RIGHT MOTIVES OF GIVING!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY MAY 21, 2021.

SUBJECT : UNDERSTANDING THE RIGHT MOTIVES OF GIVING!

Memory verse: "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have no love, it profits me nothing." (First Corinthians 13 vs 3.)

READ: Second Corinthians 9 vs 6 - 8:

9:6: But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 

9:7: So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

9:8: And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

INTIMATION:

God evaluated both our motives and the quality of what we offer Him. When we give to God and others, we should have a joyful heart because of what we are able to give. We should not worry about how much we are giving up, for all things are God’s in the first place. Instead, we should joyfully give to God our best in time, money, possessions, and talents. God loves cheerful givers. Our giving should be from love and generosity, not from a guilty conscience. Always review what God has done for you. Has he blessed you with enough to meet your daily needs? Thank Him, and then cheerfully give so others’ needs can be met. Learn the joy of giving wholeheartedly to God.

Some people have been giving faithfully for a long time, but they've been doing it with a wrong motives. For instance, they've been taught they should tithe out of obligation and they've just been paying a bill, or they've been doing it to appease God. That kind of giving benefits the church you are giving to, but it isn't going to benefit you in this life. You won't get returns on that giving. You have to plant your financial seed with a cheerful heart, motivated by love, because your gift is ruined when you give with the wrong motive.

In the passage we read today, the apostle Paul makes it clear that your motive counts. It says we should not give "grudgingly, or of necessity." If the reason you give offering and pay tithe is because you don't want to be under a curse, then you are paying out of necessity and it isn't cheerful. It is paying hush money to God. The Scripture tells us not to give grudgingly or of necessity because God loves a cheerful giver. The dominant motive for giving under the New Covenant should be a cheerful heart. We should be giving because we want to. Your giving must be out of love for Him and for all He has done, and is doing for you—a response to God’s magnanimity in your life. Giving out of fear is the same thing as giving "grudgingly," and giving out of manipulation and condemnation is the same as giving "of necessity." Giving with those motives profits you nothing. 

The apostle Paul, in Second Corinthians 9, ends his teaching on giving by saying, "Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift" (vs 15). Some translations say "indescribable gift." This summarizes why we should give back to the Lord under the New Covenant: because He has already given us beyond measure. God has provided everything for us, and our giving is actually an expression of appreciation for all that He has done for us. It goes back to the Scripture in our memory verse that says nothing we do is of any benefit unless it is motivated by love. Again the motive behind our gift is more important than our gift.

The only giving that is acceptable to God is that which you purpose in your own heart and give cheerfully—not grudgingly or of necessity. You aren't going to buy prosperity from God, or force Him into blessing you, just like you don't need to pay Him protection money to keep the curse of the law out of your life. All of that is manipulation and condemnation, and giving with those motivations profits you nothing. Give as a response of joy and love for God. And let your giving be a matter of rejoicing rather than duty.

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for Your indescribable gifts freely given to us. No one knows Your mind to instruct You. O Lord, endue me with the mind of Christ that I may do all things out of love for You, and for my neighbor, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!