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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk SUNDAY BULLETINS SUNDAY BULLETINS

What is going on with you? | By: J.O. Lawal | Date: February 27, 2022 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 10, No. 43

Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours in abundance from God our Father and Jesus Christ our precious Redeemer. Welcome to another week of this year. And I pray that God will keep your heart right with Him in the week and till our Lord Jesus will return.

Amen.

One of the things the writer of the book of Hebrews emphasizes all through the pages of the book is the need for every assembly of God’s people to keep an eye on their members. Why? It is so that they will not stray away from the will of God for their lives and be ruined or harm the health of the church. So, if you have any member of your assembly watching out for you and asking you questions relevant to your life and faith, don’t take offence or insult them. They are just fulfilling the law of Christ concerning you (Gal 6:2).

Now I am not saying that it is everyone in your church that is mature enough to know some things about you or to handle certain information about your life. And I am not saying that it is everyone that professes to be a Christian that you can open your life to. Anyone, according to the Scriptures, whose faith-life is not plain for you to see, so that you can tell that they will not injure, pollute or cheat you is definitely someone you have to be careful in relating to. If in your judgment, then, there is no one in your assembly that is worthy of knowing what is going on in your life or worthy of keeping an eye on you, you should get out of there and find another assembly where you can freely relate. Otherwise, you will soon enough endanger your faith or life. (Cf. 2Cor 7:2)

So, for your own good, stay in an assembly where you can freely let the brethren know what is going on in your life and also keep an eye on you. Then, for the health of the church, it is important that you keep your life open to the brethren and allow them to be a vital part of it, so that they can continually support you to stay focused in doing the will of God.

Why do we have many weak and unstable Christians in many of our Christian assemblies today? And why do we have many assemblies in which brethren are bitter towards one another or are constantly quarrelling over one thing or the other? One main reason is that many of us don’t want our lives to be watched or set right by the brethren. What we want is to be able to live as we like without anybody’s interference or contribution. And that is not good for us or for the health of the church at all.

For example, the writer of the book of Hebrews says this to us: “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.” (Heb 12:15-16NIV) How do we see to it that none of us misses the grace of God, if we do not know what is going on in the lives of all of us? How do we see to it that bitterness or division does not happen in our midst, if we do not know what is going on among us? Or how do we prevent our brethren from falling into the trap of sexual immorality or any other sin that could ruin their lives or marriages, if we do not know what is going on in their lives? It is not possible.

See, we can only appropriately help one another stand firm in the faith when we have adequate information about what is going on in our lives. And we can only truly preserve the health of the church of God when there is sufficient knowledge of what is going on among the brethren. For instance, when the church began to increase in number in those early days, some groups of the brethren began to feel that their widows were not be properly treated by those representing the church in food distribution. What, then, did they do about that? They talked to the apostles about it, and the problem was fixed and the church was strengthened. But what if they had kept quiet about it? It would not have been long before bitterness, anger, hatred and envy filled the whole church and ruined it. (Cf. Acts 6:1-7)

So, for your own spiritual health and for the health of the church of God, keep your life and affairs open to the people of God in your life. And don’t carry around the air of ‘My life is nobody’s business’ or function with the notion that no one would understand you or be able to help you, if you should open up to them. Your life is the business of every one of us. Then your business is to make us know and understand what you are up to in life. And my prayer is that the Spirit of God will enable you to understand and function in this light always, so that you don’t end up falling into Satan’s trap or end up becoming his tool in afflicting the church of God.

Do have a great week.

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Life Application Pastor's Desk Prayer SUNDAY BULLETINS SUNDAY BULLETINS

Title: The practice of righteousness | By: Johnson O. Lawal | Date: February 20, 2022 | Series: Taking advantage of God’s power

We have been looking at how to take advantage of the power of God. And the first thing I said we need is a clear and thorough knowledge of the quality and greatness of His power. Without knowing His power and what it is capable of accomplishing for us, we won’t be able to take adequate and appropriate advantage of it. So, we need to know His power. We need to study His power. And we need to pray to know His power. We need Him to fill our hearts with revelations of His power. So, we should continually look to Him for more and more revelations of the greatness of His power in order that we may take adequate and appropriate advantage of it.

We have been looking at how to take advantage of the power of God. And the first thing I said we need is a clear and thorough knowledge of the quality and greatness of His power. Without knowing His power and what it is capable of accomplishing for us, we won’t be able to take adequate and appropriate advantage of it. So, we need to know His power. We need to study His power. And we need to pray to know His power. We need Him to fill our hearts with revelations of His power. So, we should continually look to Him for more and more revelations of the greatness of His power in order that we may take adequate and appropriate advantage of it.

Then we talked about the place of prayer in taking advantage of God’s power. So, we must learn to pray. The bible says the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16). Therefore, we must not underestimate prayers that we offer in accordance with the will of God. They are powerful and effective and can change things. What we are saying is that when we pray, God’s power is unleashed for our experience and for the experience of those in our world. I already gave you a number of examples from Scriptures of how people prayed and released the power of God for their salvation, prosperity and strengthening in doing the will of God. We too, then, should devote ourselves to prayer.

Jesus says men ought always to pray and not to faint (Luke 18:1). So, do not faint in prayer. Exactly how God’s power will work when you pray is what I cannot tell you. But I can tell you that His power works in very dynamic ways. So, do not allow Satan to mess up your life or world. Instead, learn to pray, for as we pray, we release the power of God to frustrate him.

Now another way to take advantage of the power of God is through the practice of righteousness. Let me give you something Paul says to Timothy in the second chapter of his second letter to him, from verse 19: “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.’” (2Timothy 2:19NIV) God expects everyone who confesses Jesus as Lord to turn away from wickedness, as Paul points out in this verse of his letter. And He wants them to turn away from wickedness to what? He wants them to turn away from wickedness to righteousness.

See, when we are talking about Christian living, it is not just about turning away from wickedness; it is also about devoting ourselves to practising righteousness. That is why the bible talks about putting off the old man and putting on the new man (Eph 4:20-24). So, as we talk about and emphasise the things we must no longer do; we must also be talking about the things we must be doing. Mind you, we have been recreated to do good works. Paul tells us in Ephesians, chapter 2, verse 10, that we are God’s workmanship in Christ Jesus, created to do those good works that God has prepared in advance for us to do. So, Christian living is not just about what we do not do but also about what we do. We have an obligation not just to turn away from wickedness but also to be devoted to practising righteousness.

Now as we devote ourselves to righteous living, we unleash the power of God. How this works or happens is not what we can explain. Spiritual things aren’t always things we can explain using human words. But once God is clear about what we need to do, ours is to act accordingly. And as we act on His word, we will see the results He wants us to see.

What is the point I am making? It is that through the practice of righteousness we are able to take advantage of God’s power for our protection, exaltation and favour. There are some examples I want to quickly draw your attention to about this. First, from Genesis, chapter 35, verse 1, we are told:
“Then God said to Jacob, ‘Go, up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau. So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes. Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.’ So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had and the rings in the ears, and Jacob buried them under the oak at Shechem. Then they set out, and the terror of God fell on the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.” (Genesis 34:1-5NIV)

The bible tells us that all the things written in the Old Testament part of the bible are types and examples for us, so that we may learn from them, take advantage of the lessons they teach and live the kind of life God wants them to live. Here we are told of how God appeared to Jacob and told him to go to Bethel, settle down there and build an altar to Him. In response to this, he called all the members of his household together, told them what God had told him and instructed to do away with all their idols and foreign gods. That means, even at that time, not all the members of Jacob’s household were devoted to worshipping God. You know that he had all kinds of people with him – servants, workers, guards, wives and so forth. And these people had not been raised to be worshippers of God. So, they had idols and gods that they worshipped. They must also have had charms, tokens and so forth them as well. And these things must have been affecting Jacob and his prosperity as well.

In any case, on this occasion, he called all of them together and said, “My God, the true God, that I serve has told me to go to Bethel and live there. Now I want you all to give me your foreign idols and gods and turn away from them. And let us go and serve this God.” And they all did. They gave him all their idols and gods, which he buried so that they would not have access to them again.

Now, as they set out for Bethel, as God had told them, the fear of God came on all those around them, so that no one attacked or pursued them. What is that telling us? It is that when we give ourselves to practising righteousness, God’s power is released on our behalf. Jacob did not pray on this occasion in order to experience God’s protection. Yes, we know that he prayed to God for salvation when his brother Esau was coming to attack him. And when he prayed, the power of God was released. But on this occasion, all that he and those with him did was to turn away from their idols and foreign gods. And when they did, God released His power for their protection. He brought His fear on all those around them. So, no one pursued them, attacked them or made any attempt to hurt them. That was because the power of God had been released for their protection.

As we too give ourselves to practising righteousness, we will begin to see God’s power being released for our protection and to accomplish different things in our lives, even without praying. I am not saying we are not to be praying at all, once we devote ourselves to practising righteousness. We must always pray according to the instructions given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy apostles. Remember that as we pray, we are expressing our dependence on God. However, besides praying, when we give ourselves to practising righteousness, we are able to take advantage of the power of God in ways beyond our imaginations.

Look at another account similar to that of Jacob’s in 2Chronicles, chapter 17. From verse 7 we are told the following:
“In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hali, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah to teach in the towns of Judah. With them were certain Levites – Shemiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah – and the priests Elishama and Jehoram. They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went round to all the towns of Judah and taught the people. The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not go to war against Jehoshaphat.” (2Chronicles 17:7-9NIV)

When Jehoshaphat became king, one of the things he did was to send people to different parts of the land to teach the people the word of God. Why did he do that? Why did he send his officials to teach his people the word of God? It was so that they would devote themselves to practising righteousness. He knew that if they were taught the word of God, they would know what to do. Not only that, they would experience the cleansing, healing, transformation and prosperity that come with hearing the word of God and practising it.

So, this king understood the fact that if people would be taught the word of God, they would live lives that are consistent with the will of God. And if they would live lives that are consistent with His will, they would experience His power in their lives. God had promised them through Moses that if they would live in His righteousness, He would continue to be their God, protecting them, prospering them and lifting them. And Jehoshaphat wanted this to happen. So, he sent teachers that would teach them the word of God. As they were taught, then, and began to live according to what they were taught, the fear of the Lord came on all the kingdoms around them. So, they would not attack them.

In like manner, the terror of God can be on those around you through your practice of righteousness. So, they will not have the boldness to attack or hurt you. They may not like you or your prosperity or progress. But as you give yourself to practising righteousness, God’s fear will be on them. I mean that His power will be released for your protection. So, they would not be able to come near you, attack you or hurt you, for the power of God is all around you, protecting you. One of the things that Satan said concerning Job was that there was an edge of protection from God all around him. So, he could not be attacked, hurt or touched by his enemies. Why? It was because of the man’s devotion to practising righteousness. And I am saying that if you too will devote yourself to practising righteousness, you will be unleashing the power of God in ways you cannot describe. People will be able to sense this in your life. They will be able to tell that there is something about you that they cannot handle. So, they will be relating to you with respect or regard. (Cf. Job 1:9-10)

Furthermore, through your devotion to the practice of righteousness, God’s power can be released for your favour and advancement. Let me give you an example along this line from the book of Daniel. It is about how Daniel determined in his heart not to be defiled with the royal food and wine. And that had nothing to do with the sweetness of the food or the quality of it; rather, it had to do with the composition of the food. Daniel and his colleagues had been raised up as Jews. And as Jews they were not permitted to eat certain animals and birds or to include them in their meals. That, of course, was not because something was wrong with those animals and birds. Rather, it was because God had said that He would not want them to eat them and that He would bless them for following His instructions on this matter. (Cf. Leviticus 11)

So, the unwillingness of Daniel and his friends not to eat the royal food and wine had nothing to do with the quality of the food they were being offered but with its composition. In any case, these men resolved not to defile themselves with the royal food and wine and asked for the permission of the official in charge of their affairs not to do so. And because of their devotion to God’s righteousness, He caused that official to favour them. Look at some of the things said about this from verse 8 of chapter 1, the book of Daniel:
“But Daniel resolved no to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself in this way. Now God had caused the official to show favour and compassion to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, ‘I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men of your age? The king would the have my head because of you.’ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hanaiah, Mishael and Azariah, ‘Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.’ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams.” (Daniel 1:8-17NIV)

Why did Daniel and his friends experience what they experienced in the service of King Nebuchadnezzar? They experienced these things because of their devotion to righteousness. Yes, these young men were raised to worship God. So, they must have been praying to Him as well. But apart from the fact that they were praying to Him, they were also devoted to practising righteousness. And because they were devoted to practising righteousness, God also began to release His power for their favour.

For example, when they determined that they would not be defiled by the royal food and drink, God caused them to obtain favour from the official in charge of them. If everything had just been about their determination, it would not have amount to anything. But as they determined to please God, He also released His power for their favour. So, they were favoured by the official the king had appointed over them. That was why the man agreed to test them with vegetables, when they proposed to him that he should give them vegetables instead of the royal food and wine. That man agreed because God had put their love in his heart. And that was a manifestation of the power of God. His power can cause people to help you, love you and want to help you, if when it is risky. It was risky for that man to help Daniel and his friends. Yet because the power of God was at work on their behalf, he favoured them, even though it was risky.

God is powerful and awesome. And when His power begins to work in our favour, it would be mind-blowing. These men were devoted to practising righteousness. So, God caused His power to work in their favour. And when they were tested with vegetables, as they had proposed to that official of Nebuchadnezzar, they looked better at the end of the ten days than all the other young men that were eating the royal meals. How did that happen? It was through the power of God. The power of God made them look more handsome and better nourished than others.

So, you don’t have to ruin your life through prostitution, stealing, bribery and corruption or any other wrong thing because you lack certain things in life. That is because if you will give yourself to practising righteousness, God will cause His power to manifest on your behalf. And what you think is not enough will become enough or more than enough for you through the working of His power. Then where you think there is no way His power will make ways available for you there. So, people will begin to envy you, even though you do not have as much as they do. And your joy will be full, fuller than the joy of those who have more than you do. (Cf. Psalm 4:7)

That was what happened in the case of those men. The power of God worked even in their bodies because of their practice of righteousness. Also, God blessed them with wisdom, knowledge and understanding in all kinds of literature and learning. So, you who are worried because of studies just need to devote yourself to righteousness. Then you will see how God would release His power to quicken your brain, understand what others do not understand and excel in your studies. The same thing can happen in your business or any other area of your life. Therefore, take the practice of righteousness very seriously in your life. And you will be amazed at how His power will begin to work in your favour in various ways and beyond human understanding.

Copyright © 2022, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministry.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2022 Pastor's Desk SUNDAY BULLETINS

Knowing His power | By: Johnson O. Lawal | Date: February 06, 2022 | Series: Strengthen yourself in Him

from pastor's desk

I want us to continue from where we left off on ‘Taking advantage of God’s power’. Why are we looking at this? We are looking at it because of the things we are told in the Scriptures about the power of God. We are told in them that the kingdom we belong in is a kingdom of power. We are equally told that the gospel we preach is a gospel of power. Then we are told that the power of God is for those of us who believe to enjoy, utilise and experience. In addition to that, we are told that this power is at work in us. His power is resident in us. So, everywhere we go we carry His power there. And since this is the case, it is only wise and responsible of us to begin to utilise His power and to also do those things that will make us experience His power in our lives.

More so, as Paul shows us in his letter to the Ephesians, God Himself wants us to take advantage of this power. He wants us to strengthen ourselves in Him and in His mighty power. In other words, He does not want us to live weak and beggarly lives in this world. God knows that there are forces that are against us in this world. He knows that we have enemies. And this are not human enemies. They are spirit enemies, powerful and wicked spirit beings. And these beings are ready to do anything to make life miserable for us. They are ready to do anything to hinder us in life and prevent us from being the persons God wants us to be and doing the these He wants us to do. If we, then, will not take advantage of the power of God, we will have no answer for the things they are doing against us. We will not be able to fix them or handle them. It’s only God’s power that is capable of dealing with these beings and preventing them from ruining our lives. (Cf. Ephesians 6:10NIV)

So, we have a duty, which is to learn how to use the power of God and to also begin to utilise it. It is on us to choose not to be victims in this life but to be victors. It is on us to choose not to allow the devil to have a free day in our lives. So, as I said, we need to learn how to take advantage of God’s power and then begin to take advantage of it.

How, then, do we do this? First, we need to know His power. We cannot take adequate and appropriate advantage of His power, if we do not know it. If we do not know the quality of this power and what it is able to accomplish for us, we may not be able to take advantage of it adequately or see the need for us to be serious in taking advantage of it. So, it begins with knowing His power.

Now how do we know His power? One of the ways to know it is by revelation from God Himself. In other words, God Himself will have to reveal His power to us or educate our mind about the quality and greatness of His power. For example, when God first appeared to Moses in the wilderness, He began to reveal His power to Him. Look at what we are told about this from verse 1 of Exodus, chapter 4:
“Moses answered, ‘What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, “The Lord did not appear to you”?’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ ‘A staff,’ he replied. The Lord said, ‘Throw it on the ground.’ Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.’ So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. ‘This,’ said the Lord, ‘is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their forefathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob – has appeared to you.’ Then the Lord said, ‘Put your hand inside your cloak.’ So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was leprous – it had become as white as snow. ‘Now put it back into your cloak,’ he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh. Then the Lord said, ‘If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second. But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.’ (Exodus 4:1-9NIV)


You can see that God is revealing something to Moses here about His power. He is showing him that His power can recreate. His power is His creative ability. And with His power things can be recreated. With His power the course of nature can be changed. As I have already pointed out, we need to know what His power can do or accomplish. We need to know that His power can change our situations. His power can change our life’s circumstances. Until this is revealed to us, we won’t know. And if we don’t know, we will not be able to take adequate advantage of it. If we do not know what His power can accomplish for us, we cannot have faith to experience or utilise it.

The point I am making is that until we have revelations of God’s power, we will not be able to take advantage of His power adequately and appropriately. So, we need God to reveal His power to us. We need Him to reveal the greatness of His power to us. We need Him to reveal the quality of His power to us. He did this with Moses. He also did it with Gideon, as we also see in the bible. When God was going to send him to deliver His people from the Midianites, He had to reveal His power to him in order to strengthen his faith to carry out the assignment. There are also people who will not move an inch in doing the will of God, if He does not reveal His power to them or show them what His power is able to accomplish for them or make them succeed in what He is sending them to do.

Moses and Gideon were not immediately willing to do what God wanted them to do. They kept on arguing back and forth with Him and giving Him reasons they would not succeed. And He had to strengthen their faith by revealing something of His power to them. Maybe you too need to have Him reveal things about His power to you in order for you to do certain things He wants you to do. That step you are supposed to take that you have not taken – what you need to take it may just be a revelation of God’s power. Once you see that His power is able to make you succeed in it, you will take it.

Many are finding it difficult today to live the Christian life because they have no revelation of what God’s power is able to do for them in making it possible for them to live this life. They need a revelation of His power. We all need revelations of His power. And the more revelations of His power we have the better it gets for us. That is because the revelation of His power strengthens and builds our faith.

Another way to know His power is to pray to Him about it. In Moses and Gideon’s case, they did not offer any prayer to God in order for Him to reveal His power to them. Moses did not wake up that morning that God came to him expecting himself to find God. Gideon also did not wake up that day expecting to find God the day God came to him. Yet both of them saw Him, and He revealed His power to them. So, it is not every time that God shows up and reveals His power to people because they have prayed. But we can pray to Him to give us revelations of His power. And we see this in Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian church, which we have from verse 18 of Ephesians 1 and which says:
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, for above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” (Ephesians 1:13-21NIV)

There are three things Paul asks of God for these brethren here. First, he prays that the eyes of their hearts may be enlightened in order that they may know the hope to which God has called them. Second, he prays that they will be made to know the riches of God’s glorious inheritance in His holy people. Third, he prays that they will be made to know God’s incomparably great power for us who believe. So, we can pray to God for revelations of His power. We can pray to Him to reveal the greatness and quality of His power to us in order to know how to take advantage of it.

Now Paul, who is offering this prayer for the brethren, already knows something of His power, for he describes it as Christ’s power of resurrection and ascension. According to him, it was God’s power that raised Jesus from the dead. Also, according to him, it was His power that caused Him to ascend on high, far above all principalities and power. And he would later write to the Philippians that he wants to know Christ and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10). So, his own way of describing God’s power is to call it the power of resurrection, that is, the power that raises the dead. He also describes it as the power of ascension, the power that causes people to rise above any life’s challenge or trial.

The point I am making, in any case, is that we can pray to know God’s power; we can pray to have revelations of His power. Then we too will be able to describe His power. There are many descriptions of His power in the Scriptures from people who had revelations of it. We too can describe it to others, when we have it. I told you already how important it is for us to have revelations of His power. We cannot function beyond the revelation of His power that we have. So, we need to increase in our revelations of the power of God in order that we can take advantage of it in our situations.

We read in the bible accounts of people who took advantage of God’s power. Why were they able to do so the way they did? It was because they had revelations of it. For instance, we are told of a woman with an issue of blood. For twelve long years this woman suffered from this thing. Then, one day, she heard that Jesus was passing by and she told herself, “If I could only touch the hem of His garment, I would be well.” Then she pushed herself through the crowd to touch Jesus and, instantly, she became well. That means when she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, the power of God was released for her healing. And she knew that she was well. Jesus also knew that power had gone out from Him to someone. Interestingly, He could not keep the power from coming out from Him to that woman.

But why was the woman able to do that? It was because she already had a revelation in her heart that God’s power could heal her and that by just touching the hem of Jesus’ garment that power would be released for her healing. She had a revelation that she did not have to meet Jesus personally in order for the power of God to be released for her healing. She also knew that Jesus did not have to lay hands on her in order for her to receive her healing. So, she did not need Him praying for her or saying anything to her. The revelation she had was that even the cloths of Jesus would have residues of God’s power in them and that if she could just touch the hem of any of His cloths, God’s power would be released for her healing. And when she did, she was healed instantly. (Cf. Mark 5:25-34)

Also, we are told in the bible of a centurion whose servant was unwell and who had come to Jesus so that He could come and lay hands on the man and make Him well. But while talking to Jesus, he just suddenly had a revelation that He did not even need to come to his house in order to heal his servant – all he needed to do was to speak a word, and the man would be well. And the Lord described that as great faith. But faith is based on revelations. That man had a revelation of the quality of God’s power. He had a revelation that the very words of Jesus carry God’s power. So, if He would speak, the power of God would be released and what he wanted done would be done. And when Jesus spoke, the power of God was released, what the man wanted was done and God was praised.

Well, we are talking about receiving revelations of God’s power, so that we can take advantage of it and change our experience in life. And I am saying that we can pray for that to happen. Paul prays for the Ephesians to know this power. We too can pray to know it. And we really need to know it, if we would be taking adequate advantage of it.

Another way to know God’s power is by studying the Scriptures and meditating on them. We have all kinds of accounts in the Scriptures of manifestations of God’s power. And by studying these accounts we too can strengthen our faith to take advantage of His power. In the book of Exodus, for example, we have a number of accounts of the manifestations of God’s power. And by studying these accounts, we too can have faith to take advantage of God’s power, especially if we find ourselves in situations that are similar to the ones the children of Israel found themselves in.

At least, we know from this book of Exodus, that God’s power can alter the course of nature or accelerate the changes of physical state of things. God told Moses to take water from the Nile river and pour it on the ground and that it would become blood. And he did, and the water did. In other words, Moses did what God told him to do. And when he did, the water that he poured on the ground became blood. We have something similar in John 2. There Jesus turned water into wine. That was a manifestation of the power of God. It can change an unpleasant situation into something pleasant. And it can alter the course of nature.

Of course, it was not everyday that Jesus turned water into wine. And it was not everyday that Moses turned water into blood. But if you find yourself in a situation in which the course of nature needs to be altered in order for a need to be met in your life or in order for you to be saved from a situation, you can have faith to utilise God’s power on your behalf. This may be a little difficult to explain. But the point of it all is that by studying and meditating on scripture accounts of the manifestations of God’s power, we too can develop our faith to experience His power in tremendous ways.

Also, in the book of Exodus, we see that by God’s power He parted the Red Sea. God’s power can do that. His power is so great that it can divide the waters of the sea. Later on, both Elijah and Elisha would demonstrate their faith along this line in parting the waters of River Jordan (2Kings 2). You may not need to divide any physical sea. But you may find yourself in a situation in which you need a way to be made for you. You may just be sandwiched in a place where you need a way out. And you can trust Him to release His power to make a way for you. Paul tells us that there is no situation that has come to us that uncommon to man and that God is faithful and will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear but will make a way out for us, when we are tempted, so that we can stand up under it (1Corinthians 10:13).

So, God is able to make a way out for us in any situation, however dangerous the situation may be. But we need to know that His power can do this for us. Otherwise, we may not take any step to take advantage of His power to make a way for us where there is no way.

Well, what I am saying is that by studying the Scriptures to see the various ways in which God’s power was manifested in the past, we too can strengthen our faith to utilise His power for our advantage. Look at what a psalmist says about this from verse 10 of Psalm 77: “Then I thought, ‘To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.’” (Psalm 77:10-12NIV) This man says I will remember the deeds of the Lord, I will remember your miracles of long ago and I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds. Why did he say this? It was so that he could strengthen his faith in God. He would go through the Scriptures, consider the things said in them about the power of God and meditate on them so that he could take advantage of this power.

So, learn to study Scriptures that talk about manifestations of Gods power and to meditate on them. That way, you can take advantage of His power for your preservation, exaltation, salvation, healing and so forth. Look at what Gideon said about his knowledge of God’s power when the angel of the Lord appeared to him: “When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. Pardon me, my Lord, ‘Gideon replied, ‘but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, “Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?” But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.’” (Judges 6:12-13NIV)

When the angel of the Lord appeared to this man, he asked, “Where is God? Where is His power that we have heard great things about? It seems that He has already abandoned us. Otherwise we would be experiencing His power.” So, Gideon was familiar with what God’s power could accomplish. He had heard about it. He had read in the Scriptures about it and had been thinking about what became of this power. Yes, he had been wondering if God’s power was no more or if it was just that God had left them. If He had not left them, why then were they not experiencing His power for their deliverance? And the angel of the Lord did answer all his questions for him.

Now thanks to God, for we have no doubt about His presence with us or the availability of His power for us and in us. We just need to know what His power could accomplish for us and then begin to take advantage of it. Therefore, you need to increase in your knowledge of the power of God, which is the point I have been making all along. You need to increase in your revelations of His power. Yes, you need sound and abiding revelations of His power in your heart, so that you can begin to adequately take advantage of it to frustrate the devil and walk in victory in every area of your life. And I pray that your heart will be filled with greater revelations of this power, so that you can take advantage of it to be the person God wants you to be and do the things He wants you to do, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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