The Hiding Place (10)

(Continued from last week)

Thirdly, there are some people who are afraid of tomorrow. They are worried about growing old. They are afraid of losing their jobs. They are afraid of what will happen to their children after they die. If you give your life to Jesus Christ, you do not have to be afraid of tomorrow. The moment you give your life, God will make you righteous and the Lord has a lot of promises to those who are righteous. In Isaiah 6:10 is one of the promises: “Say ye to the righteous that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.“

David said something in Psalm 37:23-25: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”

In your old age, God will not forsake you. Your future will be alright. Matthew 6:34 has something to say about tomorrow: “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself: Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

God is saying here that we should not worry about tomorrow but to concentrate on today. You are to live a day at a time. Do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will take care of itself. My God tells me what to do, in Philippians 4:6: “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be known unto God.”

He says I should not worry about anything. He says anytime I want to talk to Him, I must make sure that I praise him. Psalm 27:4-6 says: “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me; therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD. “

I will not worry. I will only seek the face of my Lord. When trouble comes, He will hide me in His pavilion and He will set me up upon a rock so that I will be lifted above my enemies. If you do not give your life to Jesus Christ, believe me honestly, you have a lot to fear. You will fear during both the day and at night. If you do not give your life to Jesus Christ, you need to fear the future because you will end up in Hell.

This is why sinners are afraid of death. They know that they are going to Hell. You can come to the side of Jesus Christ today. He is willing to accept you. Those of us who have already surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ can say we have Him, and therefore we have no trouble and fear. The choice is yours. You can decide to leave the side of the wicked and come to the side of the righteous. You may say how are you to be sure that if you cross over, you will have peace. The Bible says, taste and see that the Lord is good. Why not you taste Him?

For those of us who have already tasted Him, it will be a dangerous thing if for whatsoever reason, we decide to leave Him. If you leave Him, you leave peace. If you leave Him, you leave joy. If you leave Him, you leave victory. Psalm 91:7-12: “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”

We have earlier stated that there is always a line of demarcation between Christians and sinners, As far as God is concerned, there is no middle part. As far as God is concerned, you are either on the right or on the left. In Exodus 8:20:24, we will see how God put a line of demarcation between the Egyptians and the children of lsrael Verses 23-24 read:

“And I will put a division between my people and thy people: tomorrow shall this sign be. And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.”

There is another example in Exodus 9:3-6 where we see that the cattle of the Egyptians died while those of the children of Israel lived. In Exodus 9:22-26, there was hail in all the land of Egypt but there was no hail in the land of Goshen where the children of lsrael were. In Exodus 11:4-7, we have another division:

“And Moses said Thus saith the LORD, about midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be great cry throughout all the land of Egypt such as there was none like it nor shall be like it anymore. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast, that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

When you belong to God, when the world is weeping, you will be laughing. When their cattle are perishing, yours will be living. When they are hungry, you will be fed. If you are not on the side of the Lord, then you suffer along with the world. The Lord is still doing today what He did between children of Israel and the Egyptians.

Those of us who are already born again are the Israel of God. The line demarcation between the children of Israel and the Egyptians was the blood of a lamb (Exodus 12:13). Today, the blood is now the blood of the lamb of God: The blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses from all sins. If you are already washed in this blood, there will always be a line of demarcation between you and sinners.

To be continued

Effecting The Change You Desire

The greatest problem of the black man is wait
ing for things to happen. Nothing happens on its own accord. Things are made to happen. That problem that has stayed with you for long; that challenge which has proved impossible in your family; the changes you have so long desired, will not happen if you do nothing about them.

There is what to do to effect the changes you desire in your career this new year. If you do nothing, you get nothing! Prayer is one of the greatest assets you have in seeking God’s intervention for a desired change. Prayer is a two-way communication between you and God. Unfortunately, many are either not taking advantage of the privilege or they approach it wrongly. No wonder, you hear them say, “I have exhausted prayer, yet there is no breakthrough.”

Any prayer that seeks to make God responsible for the happenings around you is an irresponsible prayer. God is much more committed in guiding you. You should, therefore, engage prayer as a tool for discovery, to know what to do and this requires wisdom.

Wisdom is knowing how to go about a task and doing it right. God’s response to our prayers, in most cases, is in form of direction or instruction. But because we are only out to get something from Him, we become deaf to His instruction and blind to the plan He is showing us. God does not only do things, He shows us the way to go for things to happen.

Friend, there is always what to do. Jesus is a perfect example of One who knows what to do at all times. The Bible tells us how He fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fishes. What did He do? He gave thanks and the five loaves and two fishes multiplied.

That was how the multitude was fed and at the end, they had 12 baskets full of remnants (John 6:11-13). Knowing what to do is the master key to a triumphant living.

Many people are victims of frustration, simply because they always expect divine intervention, without playing their own part. Habakkuk 2:1 says: I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me... As you pray (watch), you listen to what God will say to you. What He says to you is instruction and it is embracing it that will set the pace for His intervention, with the evidence of desired change.

Brace up this new year for the change you desire. Things done for you without your input never guarantee your fulfilment. No wonder, Ecclesiastes 9:10 says: Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might... As long as you are still living, ensure you are making an input which will commit God for performance in your direction.

When you are praying with wisdom for your betterment this new year, you ask God to show you the way to go and what to do. Nothing works until you work it! For instance, Ephesians 5:25 says: Husbands, love your wives... Go ahead and love your wife without questions! If you pray to God for peace in your home when you don’t love your wife, how can God intervene? If you obey His Word by loving your wife absolutely, you commit Him to ensure peace in your home. That is how it works!

I knew this much earlier from God’s Word, even before I got married. That is why I have never prayed for peace in my family because I love my wife, and God ensures steady peace in our home. My obedience commits His performance! If you don’t love your wife, there is no medicine that will settle problems in your home. Also, if you are not a submissive wife, you don’t expect things to work out like magic in your home.

From today, as you pray, asking God which way to go, He will tell you what to do to commit His performance, if you are His child (born again). Being His child entails confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. You can be born again right now as you say this prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. I cannot help myself. Forgive me my sins and save me. From today, I accept You as my Saviour and Lord. Thank You for saving me. Now I know I am born again!

I will continue this teaching next week. You are already on Eagles’ Wings! You won’t disappoint destiny! I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. Our midweek services hold on Wednesdays between 5 and 7 p.m. We have two services on Sundays. The first one holds between 7 and 10 a.m., and the second one between 10.30 a.m and 12.30 p.m. May God bless you!

Every exploit in life is a product of knowledge. For further reading, please get my books – Towards Excellence In Life And Ministry, Winning Prayer and Success In Marriage. I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through:

BISHOP David Oyedepo, Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; Or call 7747546-8; Or E-mail: bishopoyedepo@yahoo.com