KEY SCRIPTURE: Pro 13:12 KJV Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
Please read Genesis 29,37, 40
Our key scripture states clearly that a deferred hope or an unfulfilled expectation can make the heart sick. A sick heart is a disappointed person. The Lord calls it a broken heart( Luke 4:18,19). Disappointed from our perspective abounds so much, although in the mind of God, it is not a disappointment. As children of God, we must not allow human failures to break our hearts because they will surely come. The bible is filled with countless cases of failed expectations, but most of them turned the supposed evil treatment into positive responses that became a blessing to themselves and many others.
The first to consider is Jacob, the secondborn of Isaac and Rebecca. He went to stay with Laban, his uncle. He fell in love with Laban’s pretty daughter Rachel, but was promised by Laban to work seven years, after which he could marry her. After these seven years of diligent service, which looked like seven days, Laban deceived him and gave him Leah, explaining that the younger does not marry before the senior. Jacob could have felt disappointed and brokenhearted. He could have put up a fight with Laban. He could also have refused to marry Leah and might have left as a worried, defeated and dejected man, yet according to the scriptures 29:28 KJV” And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.” He went through the ordeal, yet he had what he wanted, his wife, Rachel. Dear brother, life may not give you what you want, but life can not deny you what you patiently strive for. Great achievers became who they are because they overcame great hurdles or trials in life.
The second person who turned his disappointment into victory was Joseph, the first son of Rebeccah. He went to seek the welfare of his own brothers, yet they violently took him, stripped him of his coat, threw him into a pit and later sold him as a slave to some Ishmaelites. Dear brothers, what is more disheartening than this? He was sent to Egypt, sold as a slave to Portipher and finally, Portipher’s wife made sensual advances which he refused. This woman concocted a lie against him, and so he was thrown in the prison dungeon. In the prison, he interpreted a dream to a man who was to be reinstated as the King’s cupbearer. He requested this young man to speak to the king about him, yet he forgot and never made mention until the king had a dream which no one could truly interpret. All these events were a series of disappointments, yet God’s hand was guiding all that was happening. Romans 8:28. Joseph did not allow himself to be discouraged but looked at the bigger picture, God’s hand working with all that was happening. From the prison, he became the second in command of the whole of Egypt, which was the greatest nation in the world then. What would have happened if he had chosen to be sick or broken in his heart? REFUSE to be discouraged and keep fighting for your dreams, for God honours all those who trust and stick to His path of faith, hope, and love
THOUGHT: DISCOURAGEMENT OR NOT TO BE DISCOURAGED IS A CHOICE AND NOT BY CHANCE.
FURTHER STUDIES
Rom 8:28 KJV “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
1Sa 30:6 KJV “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.”
Tag Archives: salvation
TO SEE GOD’S KINGDOM, YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN
KEY SCRIPTURE: John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”.
Nicodemus, a religious leader, visited the Lord Jesus and started acknowledging by saying that the miraculous powers demonstrated by the Lord revealed that God was with Him. The Lord quickly answered him in a way that could be judged as an answer out of contest. The Lord knows what the heart and mind of every person seek: God always relates with us based on what we need irrespective of what we may be saying.
The Lord answered him “Verily I say unto you, except a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”.
This statement was emphatic and straightforward. If you would want to see the kingdom of God, you must be born again. The word “must” gives no ambiguity or alternatives. There is no other way that a man can be saved unless he or she is born again.
What is born again? To be born again is a supernatural experience in which a man through faith acknowledges Jesus as his Lord and saviour. This act of faith results in a supernatural transformation right within you. (John 1:12&13) Romans 10:9,10 reads “That if thou shall confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead, thou shall be saved, for with the heart man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation”.
Jesus explained further to Nicodemus that one is born again through the agency of the Spirit and water. Well, the water in this context is the word of God. 1st Peter 1:23 ” Being born again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abides forever”. The word of God is Spirit and life (John 6:63). One must hear the word and believe that Jesus died for his sins and rose again after the third day. Anyone who believes this and confesses with his mouth that Jesus is his Lord shall be born again.
Why must we be born again? We must be born again because man is born a sinner and
therefore spiritually dead. Romans 3:23, Romans 5:1-2. Any man born into this life or by physical birth is dead unto God, he must receive life which is only possible by accepting Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.
CONFESSION
Lord Jesus, you came into this life to save my soul, I accept you as my savior and confess you as the Lord over my life. Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul.
FURTHER STUDIES.
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”;
Titus 2:11-12 ” For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world
BELIEVING WITH THE HEART
KEY SCRIPTURE: Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Once again, the Holy Spirit unfolds a very important truth about partaking of our salvation in our key scripture. Salvation is an all-inclusive word. It means to be saved from sin, healed from diseases, preserved from trouble, be at peace, deliverance from demonic activities, as well as any form of comfort that a man would need.
We learn from our key scripture that it takes believing in our hearts that our Lord Jesus was raised from the dead, and confessing with our lips, the lordship of Jesus to be saved.
The heart is the centre of the human being. I am not talking about our physical heart. The word heart is at times used interchangeably to mean the mind and emotions, which is the soul or to mean the spirit of man. “For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thought and intents of the heart”(Hebrews 4:12). Our heart is the seat of thoughts and decisions. The heart, therefore, controls the direction and general state of every man.
How do we believe with the heart?
Without believing with the heart, our salvation can not be complete. To believe with the heart means you are ready to throw your whole weight or life into what you have believed. One may believe with his head. In this instant, he is not ready to cast his life on what he claims to believe. It is called mental assent.
Believing with the heart is to let the word settle in your being without giving attention to other opposing or conflicting situations. This piece of scripture of promise becomes your meditation and rejoicing. For example, if the Bible says “Himself took our infirmities and bore our diseases…..” (Matt 8:17). Within you, you focus on this scripture, thanking God and rejoicing that there is no more disease in your body. You no longer accept any contrary symptoms, although they may be showing up.
You keep this scripture at heart, and you do not attend to any other contrary thoughts. The Lord said in Mark 11:23 as follows “Whosoever shall say unto this mountain be thou removed and be cast into the sea and shall not doubt in his heart but shall believe that those things he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith”. This simply means accepting the word as it is and acting on it. This is what it means to believe with the heart.
CONFESSION
With my heart, I believe all that the word says. I cast my whole being on what the scripture says without any hesitation or negative anticipations. All things are always possible with me because I believe with my heart.
FURTHER STUDIES:
Psalms 112:7-8 ” He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies”.
Romans 10:10 ” For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.
RECKON YOURSELF DEAD TO SIN
KEY SCRIPTURE: Romans 6:11 “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
In our previous study, we looked at the first action to take so we could live above the demands of sin.
I wish to make a few points proceeding out of the previous study clear. We learnt that because we died with Jesus the body of sin was destroyed and therefore sin no longer lives in us. The question that many would ask is, why are we tempted or even have the desire to Sin as Christians? I would answer this question by taking us to the time of Adam and Eve. Before Adam and Eve sinned, did they have any sinful nature? The answer is no, yet they were tempted and sinned against God.
Their state was like the present state of the Christians. The challenge is that we live in a body made from the earth. This earthly body has appetites and desires relating to its source. The urge to satisfy these appetites, may not have any spiritual or negative influence but because our bodies are of the earth, we would go for the things of this earth.
Our Lord Jesus did not have any sinful nature in him, yet he got hungry after He fasted because He had an earthly body. It was His relationship to the Father and the understanding He had coupled with His decision to honour God always that put Him in a state never to sin, no matter the temptation.
Please let us take the scripture as the Bible reveals it. In our crucifixion with Jesus, the body of sin is destroyed. The body of sin no longer resides in you. Colossians 2:11 says “In whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands in putting of the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Jesus”. In this instant, the Bible teaches that through the crucifixion with Jesus, the body of the sins of the flesh has been put off.
Dear child of God you don’t have the nature of sin in your flesh now. Don’t think of yourself as a sinner. Every desire and urge to do wrong may either be your flesh yearning for something wrong or a demon stirring up that wrong desire in you.
In this light, our key scripture comes into play. It reads
“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God through Christ Jesus our Lord”.
To reckon means to count it as truth. Settle it in your heart that you are truly dead to sin. This means, you have no business with sin, rather you are alive unto God, by responding favourably to what He says.
Let your mind come to such a decision and consciousness. After knowing, you must acknowledge and accept that you are indeed dead unto sin but alive unto God.
CONFESSION
I am crucified with Jesus and I know as a certainty that I am dead to sin but alive unto God. Sin cannot rule over me.
FURTHER STUDIES.
Romans 6:7. ” For he that is dead is freed from sin.”
Romans 6:14. “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace.”
GRACE MEANS VICTORY OVER SIN
KEY SCRIPTURE: Romans 6:1 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”
In Romans chapter six, the Holy Spirit teaches the church of God how to lead an overcoming life free from the control of sin.
He begins by correcting those who misunderstood what he said earlier that when sin abounds, grace also abounds. The argument was that if it was so, then should we continue sinning so grace would keep abounding? He answered this misunderstanding in the following study.
Apostle Paul argues in verse 2 that how shall we who are dead to sin live any longer there in? The Christian died with Jesus unto sin. Sin is alive and active, but through our Lord Jesus, we are dead to it. How does the Christian live or apply the scriptures such that he or she would continually live above the deceptions of sin?
In the apostle’s discourse, he made use of certain VERBS, which we have to identify and act on. They are as follows:
Romans 6:6 ” Knowing this that our old man is crucified with Him (Christ), that the body of sin might be destroyed, that from now on we should not serve sin.” The verb is ‘ KNOW‘
The second verb to consider is found in
Romans 6:11 “Likewise reckon you also see yourself to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord”. The verb of consideration here is RECKON
The next verb is found in
Romans 6:13 “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin: but yield yourself to God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God”. In this verse, the verb for our consideration is ‘yield not‘
Last but not least is found in
Romans 6:16 “Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey his servants you are to whom you obey whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness.” The verb is ‘Obey’
In Romans 6:6, the verb or action word for our consideration is that we must know: It means you must learn to know. It also means to become aware of a fact. Know that your old man, who was a slave to sin, is crucified with Christ. Until you know you remain in the dark.
Many Christians still think that they’re ruled by the old man and are slaves to sin. Some still believe the old man is in them, in the sense that they are half sinners and half righteous. The Bible says to get to know the truth. The truth always sets men free (John 8:32). Our old man was crucified with Jesus, and the body of sin might be destroyed or rendered ineffective. This word ‘might’ is not in the permissive sense but in the ‘causative sense.’ It means if the old man is crucified, then the body of sin would be ineffective. The ineffectiveness of sin in your life is because the body of sin has been crucified with Jesus. You have to know this fact.
CONFESSION
I know that my old man was crucified with Jesus, so the body of sin is destroyed. I lead a crucified life as I continually remain dead to sin and alive unto God and righteousness.
FURTHER STUDIES
Hosea 4:6 KJV “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children“.
John 8:32 KJV” And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free“
PUT ON THE HELMET OF SALVATION
KEY SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 6:17a. “And take the helmet of salvation,“
Our next part of the armour to put on is the helmet of salvation. What is the helmet of salvation?
It refers to the final salvation of the Christian. It concerns the appearance of the Lord to finally take home His people. Romans 13:11 put it this way: “And that knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed”. The final redemption of all believers is called SALVATION. We would be taken into the presence of the Father where all the many problems of this life shall be no more. Revelation 21:4 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away”.
These things are in the future, so we hope or expect them to come to pass in some time to come. It is called a helmet because it protects your head from the worries of the present moment. This helmet gives protection to your head so that, no matter the difficulties, persecutions, or adversities, we are assured that everything will one day come to an end.
1st Thessalonians 5:8 presents this thought very clearly to us, “But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.“
Every Christian must put on this helmet of salvation so that the challenges of this life will not wear them down. Every Christian who lives godly for Christ shall suffer persecution. In some cases, the persecutions are so grave that we are tempted to give up.
Dear child of God no matter what you are facing, never give up, but put on this armour: that is the helmet of the hope of salvation. Keep hope alive. The entry of our Lord into the heavens gives us a very sure hope of His coming for us as well as a glorious life after we have left this place.
CONFESSION
I have a glorious hope because my Lord Jesus did not remain in the grave. He passed into the heavens and He would also come back for us. This is my hope and assurance even as the enemy raises his persecutions to any level.
THOUGHT: THE CHRISTIAN HAS A GUARANTEED HOPE BECAUSE JESUS WENT INTO HEAVEN.
FURTHER STUDIES
Hebrews 6:19-20. ” Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Romans 5:4-5 ” And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
SAMUEL SOMUAH ASANTE 