KEY SCRIPTURE: John 6:17 KJV “And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.”

In the above verse, the Lord had left for the mountain, but had not returned when it was time for His disciples to depart. He seemed to be nowhere to be found. The scriptures have a lot of instances when it seems the Lord is nowhere to be found. In our personal lives, we also go through situations that seems the Lord is very much far away. When the Lord was informed about the condition of Lazarus, He did not respond immediately. The Lord made the following remarks about Lazarus condition. John 11:4 KJV” When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” He said this sickness is not unto death, but rather, that the Son of God might be glorified. The Lord waited for the next four days. Lazarus’ condition worsened and died the same day. I believe his sisters felt disappointed. Listen to what Martha said. “…. Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother  would  not have  died. In effect she was saying, Lord you have delayed in coming. These ones did not know what the Lord had said, about the condition. If they knew, they would not have felt so disappointed.

How do you feel when the Lord seems to delay? Dear one Satan is an opportunist. He takes advantage of bad and negative situations. In such times he comes over to challenge the faith of people and seeks to overthrow the faith of the child of God.

Dear one, when all hell breaks loose on you and it seems the Lord is far away, your only solace is God’s word.

The word of God with you means God is with you. God is in His word. John 1:1 KJV” In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Every word of assurance God gives in His word is Him standing with you and communicating to you.

Your ability to experience Him in reality is to open your heart and accept wholly what He says.

In Jeremiah 29:11, He says “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Just consider such assuring words. He says His plans for you is to bring you to the kind of end you are anticipating and desiring for yourself. Now the question is how do you determine that the outcome of events is according the expected end you hope for?

You can determine that outcome by believing in His word. This can be done as you joyfully trust in his word without getting anxious about anything, no matter how adverse or dangerous it may seem.

Resolve never to give attention to the voice of fear, failure or a fall.

They are all lying vanities and shifting shadows. John 2:8 KJV “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.” Hold on to what God says. Keep declaring that everything is working out for your good. The bad situation does never mean Jesus is delaying, no, never.

It is only His word that shows us what He is doing or will do.

Settle it once and for all that you will always agree with His word. This is the only sure grounds to always determine a favourable outcome of events that come your way.

THOUGHT: YOUR FAITH WILL ALWAYS GIVE YOU A VICTORIOUS OUTCOME.

FURTHER STUDIES

Luke 1:45 KJV “And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Mark 9:23 KJV “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 6:15 KJV “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone”.

After the Lord had fed the multitudes, he realised they would have forcefully made him a king. He quickly left the place into the mountain to prevent them from making Him derail away from the mission God has given unto Him.

Men can at times play Satan’s role and cause one from doing what God wants him to do.

Remember when Satan tried to use Peter to stop Jesus, from fulfilling the will of God? Matthew 16:23 KJV” But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” Peter was saying the Lord should stop talking about going to the cross to die. Dying on the cross will certainly defeat Satan and set humanity free. Satan therefore used Peter to stop Jesus from going that path. The Lord Jesus had set up the course He was to go. Hebrews 10:7 KJV “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” He said it has been written about Him, that He will only do the will of the Father.

To be made king may be humanly laudable but how foolish it would be, if it goes against God’s agenda for you.

Many people have missed God’s program for their lives, and have fallen to the carnal counsel of their families, friends or the world. Certain people called to preach the gospel to some poor communities, have followed the counsel of either their wives, or anybody at all to abandon that call to go to so called elite cities. There are some young ministers who have been made to think that, they are better ministers than their fathers who raised them, and so could start their own ministries. These ones break off with the people and eventually fall from God’s will for their lives. They have been forcefully made Kings by the society or ‘ the people’. It is quite a subtle matter for one to fall for such traps.

Who would not like to be made a king? The least carnal wind that may blow through one’s mind can sway an individual into that path.

Dear brother or sister the essence of living is to be in the center of God’s will.

Any other thing is a failure. Now how can we prevent ourselves from being led away from God’s will for our lives?

1. Be selfless and place God first. Matthews 6:33

2. Be genuinely concerned about doing the will of God.

3. Allow the peace of God to rule your heart concerning that issue God has called you. Col 3:15

4. To avoid falling off the will of God ask yourself, what is my real motive in pursuing this particular way?

5. Ask yourself is there any way I am trying to please men or myself in this matter?

6. Spend some time to pray about it, yet make sure you have rightly settled each of the above points sincerely.

7. You may take action after you have the green light from the Holy Spirit.

If you would act this way, then you would save yourself from being deceived by men.

THOUGHT: BEWARE OF ANY CARNAL PRIVILEGES

FURTHER STUDIES

Philippians 3:2 KJV” Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

Isaiah 44:20 KJV “He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 6:14 KJV “Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.”

Miracles are called signs and wonders. They are signs because they indicate that God is present or they point to God’s works. They are also wonders, because they are acts, that are beyond the normal happenings among men. These make men, through whom God works these miracles to be seen as people with God’s approval or special commissioning. Miracles helps a number of unbelievers to believe. John 4:48 KJV “Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” Certain leaders of God’s people needs miracles in their ministry to help their followers fully accept their leadership and ministry. Joshua 3:7 KJV ” And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.” When the people saw what God had done through the Lord Jesus, they said this is that prophet or simply the Messiah.

Miracles should not be seen as some remote event that cannot easily occur. God is ever with His people. Miracles are simply God’s acts among men. God is very eager to be acknowledged by men. John 17:3 KJV “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” God wants men to be saved, and so would want men to know Him and His Son Jesus Christ. Miracles are one of the means that men come to believe and know the heavenly father. Now the intermediary agent, that is, the man through whom God would be working that miracle is the issue. The truth is, this aspect is also not an issue, for every one born into Christ, has been born into a miraculous life. John 3:8 KJV “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

The real problem is an understanding of how these things work. As children of God, we have been born again by the word of God. ( 1 Peter 1:23) To manifest miracles, we need to live according to the word. The word gives us access into the Spirit realm, and it is this same word that makes us spiritual or spirit beings. To explain further, the word of God makes us partake of the Spirit or divine nature, according to 2nd Peter 1:4.  “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, ….” It is now up to us to give ourselves to live by the word. On the human sphere acting on the word on many occasions sounds or looks very ridiculous, yet, it always produces what it talks about.

THOUGHT: MIRACLES ARE NORMAL HAPPENINGS WHEN WE LIVE BY THE WORD

FURTHER STUDIES

John 6:63 KJV” It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

John 11:40 KJV “Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 6:13 KJV “Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.”

The Lord asked His disciples to go round and collect all the fragments of the loaves of bread. They were able to gather twelve baskets full. All these would have been wasted and may be trampled underfoot. These left overs could be sent to others who may be in dire need of it.

Diligence always makes individuals better.

Everyone who judiciously uses whatever comes into his care secures better tomorrow for himself. Things that are the property of a community, may be left for nobody to take care of. State owned enterprises and even churches would prosper greatly if certain properties of the Organisation were judiciously cared for. In the garden of Eden God asked Adam to dress and keep the garden. Genesis 2:15 KJV “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”

Adam was supposed to dress the garden, that is to work or serve the garden. He was also to guard it or protect it. Satan had access into the garden, spoke to Eve, and succeeded in deceiving her and she gave some to the husband who obliged without questioning her or the devil. A little diligence would have saved the situation for Adam and the rest of humanity. Churches would have been richer if they have been diligent to avoid wastages. Many would enjoy a happier life, if they would use various resources well.

What are some of the resources that many should utilise well? Some of the resources that we may consider to be diligent about are as follows

1. Our Health

2. Our Finance

3. Our Time

4. Our minds

5. Our Family

6. Our Social life

7. Our Spiritual life

8. Our belongings or properties

There are more to the above resources that we have to be diligent about. One should not be observed over the other, for they are all interlinked. The failure of one aspect would affect the other aspect. Just consider your health. If you eat rightly, avoiding fat-based foods, processed foods and high sugary stuffs, you would be saving yourself from all kinds of long-term terminal diseases. Your good health is directly related to your finances, your spiritual and even social life. Feeding your mind with the truth about God’s word, will save you from so much errors, and emotional turbulences. Now your time is everything; failure to utilise it well means you are a failure in life. A neglected family can be too costly a bargain to do. Some parents have lost their children to all kinds of destructive behaviours because they failed to be diligent to care for their families. The worse of these is a neglected marriage. Please take care of these resources, dress and keep them for your own good.

THOUGHT: DILIGENCE IN LIFE ALWAYS PUT SMILES ON YOUR FACE.

FURTHER STUDIES

Ephesians 5:15, 16 KJV “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

Romans 12:11 KJV Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 6:12 KJV “When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.”

After the Lord had performed the miracle of feeding so many people, He asked His disciples to collect all the fragments so that none will be lost. Someone may say, since it cost nothing to produce it, then one may not worry too much about the left overs. Well God does not entertain irresponsibility. God our father has nothing bad or wrong with Him. He works to perfection in all He does. The Lord Jesus as a mentor to His disciple was careful to give His disciples the best of tutoring as possible. He would therefore give no grounds for irresponsibility in any form whatsoever. Lack and poverty comes from a life of carelessness and not taking care of details. Those who overlook so called insignificant things end up as great losers. He said nothing must be lost or gone to waste.

The story of the prodigal son, as told by the Lord was about one who was simply irresponsible about life. Luke 15:13 KJV “And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.” The end results of such a life is shame, lack and a miserable life. This should never be the lot of any child of God. Unfortunately, there are many Christians who are very poor. The cause of this, is lack of diligence to care for what is placed in their charge.

 The Lord does not want wastage because wastage ends in poverty.

God does not want His people to be poor. The Lord said, ‘the spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to preach to the poor.’ Luke 4:18a.

 Wastage is not only about not allowing things to go bad. It relates to every area of lack of diligence.

The student who is lazy with his studies is causing a form wastage to his or her future prospects in life. The worker who goes to work late is causing wastage. The father who does not use his money judiciously is also causing serious wastage. Some of them are so irresponsible at home, such that, there is always ‘war’ at home. This happens because they refuse to be responsible with their monies.

Most African countries suffer from this condition. There is so much wastage in various sectors of the economy.

 If African leaders would stop the gross wastage going on in their countries, the donor countries would rather be coming to us for assistance.

We have raw materials, vast lands, good weather and an abundant sunshine, why should Africa be poor? May we heed to the Lord’s instruction and stop the wastage.

THOUGHT: WASTAGE = POVERTY,

FURTHER STUDIES

Proverbs 10:4 KJV “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.”

Proverbs 13:4 KJV “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 6:11 KJV “And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.”

We continue with what the Lord Jesus did   to produce a miracle to feed the multitude. On many occasions children of God would want to wait for God to do something to bring about their miracle. Please, it does not normally work that way.

 God would want to see faith in His children, that moves Him to act.

A brother came to me, telling me that, a lady she knew had just called to tell him her baby had just died. This happened at the hospital. I asked him to call the lady for me. I told her to get some water and lift it up, whiles I prayed over it. The lady was crying. I asked her to stop crying, for that was a sign of unbelief and that would obstruct the power of God. I then prayed over the water, and asked her to go sprinkle the water over the baby. She obeyed, and after sprinkling the water the baby started breathing, and crying as well. These were steps that moved God to respond.

In our Lord’s case, He took the bread, lifted it up and then gave thanks. The bible did not report the exact words He used. From the prayer He made at Lazarus tomb, I believe He said something as follows, ‘Father, I thank you that you always answer me. Thank you father for multiplying these loaves and fishes to feed this people.’ Right after the prayer, he gave to the disciples to start distributing among the multitude.

 These steps are not taken just as a principle, but as a result of one’s confidence in God.

In some instances, you start declaring boldly what would happen.  Remember that miracles on many occasions are worked out by acting on God’s word. There are moments when one prays for the Holy Spirit to cause a miracle to take place.

After the disciples went round distributing the loaves and fishes, it kept multiplying until, the whole multitude ate some. There were even some leftovers. Among the many lessons, was the attitude of the crowd. They simply trusted the master’s instructions given to them by the disciples. They were very expectant and never did anything to obstruct their miracle.

THOUGHT:  TAKE GOD AT HIS WORD, FOR HE IS RELIABLE

FURTHER STUDIES

1Corinth 1:9 KJV “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”

1Thess 5:24 KJV “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 6:10 KJV” And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So, the men sat down, in number about five thousand”.

The bible says our Lord Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2). The Lord did not only teach about faith but He demonstrated great faith. His life was full of mighty miracles. In this incidence too he gave us some lessons in faith. When Andrew told him he’s found a boy with just five loaves and two fishes, he quickly asked the disciples to make the people sit down and organised them. Faith in God is not an anticipation of a favorable outcome, but an assurance of the conclusion of the matter.

 It involves taking actions that corresponds to the assurance you have in your heart. The Lord Jesus knew that the father had already answered him.

What was the bases for such a conviction? His confidence was in God and His word. Faith is never based on how good or bad things might look.

It is dependent on the faithfulness and the might of God. It is not of faith if you look at how good things appear. The scripture says, faith is the assurance of things we hope for.

 It is a conviction that what I hope to come in the future is real with me in the present.

This was what moved the master to make the men to sit down.

 Miracles are worked out by observing concrete steps of faith.

These steps of faith, in almost all cases will not sound reasonable. It is based on the fact that one has absolute assurance in his heart that what he anticipates cannot fail.

Let’s consider the example of Abraham. Hebrews 11:8 KJV “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” Abraham was called out of his father’s house, his family and country to a land he knew nothing about. He dwelt in tents and various strange locations yet never questioned the wisdom of God, who had called him out of his father’s house. Abraham believed God for Isaac who was born after such a time that, both Abraham and Sarah were very old. Romans 4:19 KJV “And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb.” Abraham gives us a very powerful lesson in faith.

THOUGHT: TRUE FAITH LOOKS UP TO GOD AND HIS WORD ALONE

FURTHER STUDIES

Romans 4:18 KJV “Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.”

Hebrews 11:30 KJV “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 6:9 KJV There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

Andrew after finding a lad with some loaves of bread and two fishes announced it to the master, but asked, what is that among so many people? Everything on its own is ordinary, but if it gets into God’s hands, it becomes a mystery.

Moses’ rod was for tending his sheep. When God took hold of it, the whole of Egypt could not stand its might. The following is a word of wisdom.

You are an ordinary person as an individual, but if you should yield totally to the Lord, you would become a wonder to the world.

Andrew asked, what are those few fishes in comparism to the hungry multitude. The Lord just asked everybody to be seated in an organised manner. God does not see as men see.  If you are vested with the truth, you do not argue with the ignorant, you prove it.

Why is it still difficult for most men to work miracles as demonstrated by the master Jesus? It is all about men’s knowledge of God and their level of fellowship with Him. The next is the influence of the worldly limitations over the minds of men. Men of great impact in their faith lives normally in this world as aliens. Lester Sumrall once said, the first day he entered Smith Wigglesworth’s office with a newspaper, Smith screamed at him to take it out of his sight, because it was a package of lies. Smith Wigglesworth read only the bible. This great man of God saw a number of dead people raised back to life. He raised his dead wife back to life, yet she requested that he allowed her to go to be with the Lord, and so, He allowed it, she slept off and died again.

In our last study we said that, God our father is Almighty whiles men are limited by what their minds can accept.

 A man is either going to be great spiritually or weak, depending on how much he had upgraded his mindset about God’s ways and acts.

This can be achieved by feeding on the word of God and not giving in to worldly deceptions that contaminate the truth of God. Apostle Paul advices us in the following verse as follows, Hebrews 4:11 KJV “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” The word used as ‘labour’ means to be diligent to enter into the rest of God, by allowing God’s word to dominate us.

THOUGHT: TO PLACE YOUR LIFE TOTALLY IN GOD’S HANDS, MAKES YOU AN INSTANT WONDER.

FURTHER STUDIES

2nd Timothy 2:21 KJV” If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”

Jeremiah 51:20 KJV” Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 6:7 KJV Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

 God is Almighty but man is limited by what his mind can accept.

God is infinite or has no bounds or limitations of any kind, yet man is enveloped in a world of countless limitations. In our key scripture, the moment the Lord asked His disciples to feed the multitudes, I believe, they all started reasoning and they all concluded this was an impossible thing. Philip spoke out his mind. He said, two hundred penny worth of bread is not sufficient to feed all these people, and where are ‘we going to get that amount of money’. This is why most men miss the miracle working power of God. The Lord was not talking about the money to buy the bread. He was talking about where to buy that much bread. Philip was viewing things from his natural limitations. He was thinking about the amount.

What should they have done? In Ezekiel 37:3 the Lord asked prophet Ezekiel whether the dry bones will live again. Since he was not sure of the answer, he responded, you God know. By that answer he did not interrupt the work of the Spirit of God. Philip should have just responded as Ezekiel did. In working miracles there is always some act of faith, that must be done. In some cases, the act of faith is to rest peacefully as the Lord does what He will do. Every action you take at a time when a miracle is expected should always be an act of obedience to an instruction from the Spirit of God.

At the tomb of Lazarus, the Lord asked them to roll away the stone. (John 11:39). Lazarus had been in the grave for four days and might have begun  to smell by then. To roll away the stone implied you believe in Jesus and so you do as He says. When Mary, Jesus’ mother wanted a miracle from Jesus at the marriage at Cana, she asked the attendants to do whatever He asked of them. Miracles happen after one has obeyed the Lord’s instruction. They experienced the miracle when they obeyed.

THOUGHT: MIRACLES ALWAYS FOLLOW SIMPLE OBEDIENCE.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 11:41 KJV” Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

John 2:7 ,8 KJV “Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 6:6 KJV “And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.”

How can one know what a man is made of, if he is not put to test? God has always been testing His children on various issues. In Genesis 22:1, the bible said He tempted Abraham. The word tempted used in Genesis 22:1, is a bit misleading when one considers the explanation of what temptation is according to Apostle James. James 1:13 says God tempts no one, but rather He trials all His children. Temptation according to the explanation given by Apostle James is, when an individual is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. When the lust has conceived or reached its yielding point, then it gives birth to sin, and sin also becomes death after it is fully grown. God does not play any part in temptation, as it is explained above. The proper word should be trial.

 A trial from the Lord, is when the Lord allows a situation to make one prove his allegiance to HIM.

In Jesus’ story the Lord asked the disciples to find food for the multitudes, knowing very well that, there were no places to get such food to buy. He did that to teach them a lesson in how to work miracles in critical moments. The Lord was an excellent teacher, who could use every possible condition to train his disciples. Proverbs 17:3 KJV “The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.” Our father consistently gives men an opportunity to prove themselves through divers situations. Most of the trials that God may bring the way of His children is a test of their faith. The Lord says our faith is more precious than gold or silver, and therefore needs to be tried. (1st Peters 1:7)

What do we do when our faith is being tested?

1. Any time you face trying moments acknowledge that you are not the first person or the only one going through such a situation. 1st Corinthians 10:13.

2. We must count it all joy when our faith is tried. James 1:2

3. Know that the trying of your faith, works patience, for patience works out perfection in us, that we may want nothing. James 1:4

4. Understand that all things are working out for your good. Romans 8:28. Remember Joseph in Egypt. Genesis 38:40-41. Daniel and his brothers in Babylon. All these men stood for God in the moment of their trial and came out victorious.

5. Know also that, trials make you triumphant and brings you a promotion if you stand. Daniel 3:30 KJV “Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon”.

What really makes for victory in such testing moments? When one builds a close relationship with the Lord. By always obeying the word of God. Matthew 7:24 KJV “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:”

 A house on a rock will never crumple under trials. Matthew 7:25 -27.

THOUGHT: SEE A LIFTING IN EVERY TEST

FURTHER STUDIES

1st Corinthians 10:13 KJV” There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

1st Peter 1:7 KJV “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”