Dependable in the Mundane

 

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

One of the most powerful testimonies to the all-sufficiency of God’s future grace is the “faith principle” that has governed the lives of so many missionaries, notably those of Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF).

Without condemning those who follow a different pattern, it has been the practice of those who follow in the steps of Hudson Taylor and George Mueller to move the hearts of supporters to give by directing their requests to God and not to people.

James H. Taylor, the great-grandson of the founder of OMF, explains how this faith in future grace, rooted in demonstrations of bygone grace, honors God.

We . . . begin from a position of faith. We believe God does exist. We have become convinced of this in a variety of ways, but all of us have experienced the grace of God in bringing us to know Himself through Jesus Christ and through rebirth by His Spirit. We believe we have good grounds for believing in Him through the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead: we believe that someone who said He would die and rise again, and did it, is credible in every other way. Therefore we are prepared to trust Him, not only for the eternal salvation of our souls, but also for the practical provision of our daily bread and financial support.

OMF publishes testimonies of God’s amazing faithfulness to demonstrate the glory of his all-supplying future grace. “We want to demonstrate that God can be trusted to do all that He says He will do, by sharing how He has provided for such mundane needs as plane tickets, meals, medical expenses, and the regular support of a whole group of Christian people for well over a hundred years.”

What OMF is devoted to is glorifying the dependability of God — in their message and in their method. Hudson Taylor put it this way: “There is a living God. He has spoken in the Bible. He means what He says and will do all that He has promised.”

Lives of faith are the great mirror of the dependability of God.

FINDING THE KEY TO THE DOOR OF OUR DESTINY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY JUNE 05, 2021.

SUBJECT : FINDING THE KEY TO THE DOOR OF OUR DESTINY!

Memory verse: "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (First Peter 2 vs 9.)

READ: Ephesians 1 vs 17 - 19: 

1:17: That God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,

1:18: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

1:19: and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.

INTIMATION:

A person’s life is like a large house, full of stories and experiences. There are various levels and rooms reserved for certain seasons of life, each one unique in style, complex in design and purpose. Within each house are many doors that open and close throughout the course of its existence. Some are easier to open than others. Some require a little prying. Some are best left closed forever. Others, however, require a key.

The believer’s true life is embodied in our relationship and fellowship with God, and His begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Although, people often base the reality of their life on their self-conceptualized accomplishments, but our relationship with Him is far more important than our jobs, successes, wealth, or knowledge. 

We have been chosen by God Himself as His very own. The undeniable truth is that our value comes from being God’s children—sons and daughters of God, heirs of the kingdom, and joint heirs with His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8 vs 29). The door to our destiny is one that requires a key, and one that can seem very difficult to find. It cannot be created instantly or reproduced in any way. It cannot be bought with money, although it does come at a price. This is the key of identity. 

Many Christ-followers wander through their houses—their lives—never able to open the door to their destiny because they simply do not know their true identity in Christ, and consequently are not being able to find the key to the door of their destiny. Although people ask themselves what their purpose in this world is, they rarely live out the answer. 

To find the key to the door of the house of your identity, and knowing your identity in Christ requires first and foremost that you know Him—the Key Molder, and Possessor personally. As cliché as it sounds, it is the truth! How can one really know himself without first intimately knowing the One who created him or her? He created you for a purpose which only Him can determine. The manufacturer of any product has a purpose in mind, and only the manufacturer can give the facts of its purpose.

Our journey to knowing ourselves begins with knowing God’s nature and character. He is the One who carefully molds the key of destiny by revealing Himself in our lives as we pursue Him. As we grow in our knowledge of Him, three significant things begin to take place:

1. Knowing Him causes you to know what He says about you. If you truly desire to know what the Lord says about your destiny and identity, dive into His Word! 

2. Knowing Him reveals your authority in Him. Knowing the person He has divinely called you to be sets the precedent for understanding and operating in His authority.

3. Knowing Him gives you eternal perspective, especially when you wholeheartedly understand the fact that you will spend eternity with Him!

The wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of these three things will cause you to obtain the ever-desired key to the door of your destiny. I truly believe that in this time of history—in a season of worldly chaos and profound self-anonymity—the Lord is calling His bride to know her true identity and to live out her purpose, effectively advancing the Kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven.

Prayer: Abba Father, impart me with the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You, the eyes of my understanding being enlightened; that I may know the hope of Your calling, and the riches of the glory of Your inheritance in me that believe, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

What Makes God Proud

 

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:16)

I want very much for God to say to me what he said about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: “I am not ashamed to be called your God.”

As risky as it sounds, does this not really mean that God might actually be “proud” to be called my God? Fortunately this wonderful possibility is surrounded (in Hebrews 11:16) by reasons: one before and one after.

Take the one after, first: “God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”

The first reason he gives why he is not ashamed to be called their God is that he has done something for them. He made them a city — the heavenly city “whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10). So, the first reason he is not ashamed to be called their God is that he has worked for them. Not the other way around.

Now, consider the reason he gives in the front. It goes like this: “They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.”

“Therefore” signals that a reason has just been given for why God is not ashamed to be called our God. The reason is their desire. They desire a better country — that is, a better country than the earthly one they live in; namely, a heavenly one where God is.

When we desire this heavenly city — this dwelling place of God — more than we desire all that this world can give, God is not ashamed to be called our God. When we make much of all that he promises to be for us, he is proud to be our God. This is good news.

So, open your eyes to the better country, the city of God that he has prepared for us, and let yourself desire it with all your heart. God will not be ashamed to be called your God.

BE THE LIGHT YOU ARE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY JUNE 04, 3021.

SUBJECT : BE THE LIGHT YOU ARE!

Memory verse: "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5 vs 14.)

READ: Philippians 2 bs 12 - 16: 

2:12: Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

2:13: for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

2:14: Do all things without complaining and disputing, 

2:15: that you may be blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

2:16: holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain or laboured in vain.

INTIMATION:

Christians who live after godly principles are a light that brings hope to a world that is lost in darkness. If we walk in the light, we would become ‘sons of light,’ revealing the truth and pointing people to God. As Christians, we are to be Christ’s light bearers, letting His light shine through us. How brightly is your light shining? Can others see Christ in your actions?

Letting your light shine is not an arrogant manner of behavior. One should simply not be ashamed to live the Christian life in the midst of his other community. But living the principles of God in the community, one will give hope to those who desire an escape from the world that is in the bondage of darkness.

If we live for Christ, we will glow like lights, showing others what Christ is like. We hide our light by (1) being quiet when we should speak, (2) going along with the crowd, (3) denying the light, (4) letting sin dim our light, (5) not explaining our light to others, (6) ignoring the needs of others. Be a beacon of truth—don’t shut your light off from the rest of the world. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5 vs 16.) 

When one becomes an active member of the organic body of Christ, his light shines forth to those who are in darkness. The demeanor of his life and attitude become evangelistic to those who are seeking a way through this life. Christians must never allow their light to grow dim from the influences of darkness, nor allow the preserving salt of their behavior to be destroyed by worldliness. 

Our lives should be characterized by moral purity, patience, and peacefulness, so that we will “shine as lights” in a dark and depraved world. A transformed life is an effective witness to the power of God’s Word. Are you shining brightly or are you clouded by complaining and arguing? Don’t let dissensions snuff out your light. Shine out for God. Your role is to shine until Jesus returns and bathes the world in His radiant glory. 

To be like Christ, we must train ourselves to think like Christ. To change our desires to be more like Christ’s, we need the power of the indwelling Spirit, the influence of faithful Christians, obedience to God’s Word (not just exposure to it), and sacrificial service. Often it is in doing God’s will that we gain the desire to do it (see Philippians 4 vs 8 - 9). Do what He wants and trust Him to change your desires.

God has not left us alone in our struggles to do His will. He wants to come alongside us and be within us to help. God gives us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. The secret to a changed life is to submit to God’s control and let Him work. Next time ask God to help you desire to do His will. God works in us as we have responded to His work for us. He worked for us through the cross. Our sense of gratitude to the work God in reference to our salvation, therefore, should move us into action. 

Prayer: Abba Father, You have made us Your sons and daughters for those who believe in Christ—the light of the world. Give me the grace to shine as Your light in this depraved and dark world and become evangelistic to those who are seeking a way through this life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Faith for the Impossible

 

He grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. (Romans 4:20–21)

Paul has in mind a special reason why faith glorifies God’s future grace. Simply put, the reason is that this God-glorifying faith is a future-oriented confidence in God’s integrity and power and wisdom to follow through on all his promises.

Paul illustrates this faith with Abraham’s response to the promise of God: that he would be the father of many nations even though he was old and his wife was barren (Romans 4:18). “In hope he believed against hope,” that is, he had faith in the future grace of God’s promise, in spite of all human evidences to the contrary.

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. (Romans 4:19–21)

The faith of Abraham was a faith in the promise of God to make him the father of many nations. This faith glorified God because it called attention to all the omnipotent, supernatural resources of God that would be required to fulfill it.

Abraham was too old to have children, and Sarah was barren. Not only that: How do you turn a son or two into “many nations,” which God said Abraham would be the father of? It all seemed totally impossible.

Therefore, Abraham’s faith glorified God by being fully assured that he could and would do the humanly impossible. This is the faith we are called to have. That God will do for us what we could never do for ourselves.

KNOW YOUR AUTHORITY IN CHRIST!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

THURSDAY JUNE 03, 3021.

SUBJECT : KNOW YOUR AUTHORITY IN CHRIST!

Memory verse: "Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the powers of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10 vs 19.)

READ: Mark 16 vs 15 - 18: 

16:15: And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

16:16: He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

16:17: And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

16:18: they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

INTIMATION:

Knowing Him reveals your authority in Him. Knowing the people He has divinely called us to be sets the precedent for understanding and operating in His authority. For this reason the apostle Paul never seized to pray for the believers in the churches he planted in his missionary journeys for the spiritual insight and wisdom in their knowledge of whom they are in Christ and the authority of the believer in Him:

“Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power,” (Ephesians 1 vs 15 - 19.)

Unused authority of the believer, creates a spirit of poverty and limitation. How grievous it must be to the Lord when His own people do not understand the authority they possess in Him, and therefore live in apathy and purposelessness!

In our memory verse, the Bible teaches us that when we operate in the supernatural authority He has implanted in us, we trample on the head of the enemy and over all their powers, without being hurt in anyway. We are also equipped to preach the Gospel to the nations, witnessing signs, wonders and miracles, according to the passage we read today.

I believe the most powerful aspect of our authority in Christ, however, is that we share in His rule and reign with Him; “This is a faithful saying: For If we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.” (Second Timothy 2 vs 11 - 12).

Christ’s work of propitiation for our sins include; redeeming us with His blood, gathering the believers into the kingdom, making us priests, and appointed us to reign upon the earth.; “And have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5 vs 10.) In the future we will reign with Him.

This is even more empowering when we realize “as He is, so we are in this world” (First John 4 vs 17). Although we can never be God Himself, the fact that He has called us to be as He is in this world makes changing it impossible. If we truly believe this, our authority to influence and transform communities, cities, and nations will be a very tangible reality.

Pray for God to give you the courage to utilize the authority He has given you. Remember that faith requires action! Step out in your God-given authority to pray for others, lay hands on the sick and boldly preach the Gospel.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are so great, loving, and faithful. Thank You for all You wrought for us in redemption. Engrace me to fully utilize the authority You have given me in Christ, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Who Are the Children of Abraham

 

“In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)

You who hope in Christ and follow him in the obedience of faith are Abraham’s descendants and heirs of his covenant promises.

God said to Abraham in Genesis 17:4, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.” But Genesis makes plain that Abraham did not father a multitude of nations in a physical or political sense. Therefore, the meaning of God’s promise was probably that a multitude of nations would somehow enjoy the blessings of sonship even though physically unrelated to Abraham.

That’s no doubt what God meant in Genesis 12:3 when he said to Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” From the very beginning, God had in view that Jesus Christ would be the descendant of Abraham and that everyone who trusts in Christ would become an heir of Abraham’s promise. Paul says in Galatians 3:29, “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

So, when God said to Abraham 4,000 years ago, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations,” he opened the way for any one of us, no matter what nation we belong to, to become a child of Abraham and an heir of God’s promises. All we have to do is share the faith of Abraham — that is, bank our hope on God’s promises, so much so that, if obedience requires it, we could give up our dearest possession like Abraham gave up Isaac.

We don’t become heirs of Abraham’s promises by working for God, but by being confident that God works for us. “[Abraham] grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:20–21). That’s why Abraham could obey God even when obedience looked like a dead-end street. He trusted God to do the impossible — like raise his son from the dead.

Faith in God’s promises — or today we would say, faith in Christ, who is the confirmation of God’s promises — is the way to become a child of Abraham; obedience is the evidence that faith is genuine (Genesis 22:12–19). Therefore, Jesus says in John 8:39, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did.”

Children of Abraham are people from all nations who put their hope in Christ and, like Abraham on Mount Moriah, therefore don’t let the loss of their most precious earthly possession stop their obedience.

You who hope in Jesus Christ and follow him in the obedience of faith are the descendants of Abraham and heirs of his covenant promises.