Conviction gives birth to positive response to situations. There are situations that will want to make it look like God never told you what you believe. In marriage, some situations will make it look as if God didn’t lead you to your spouse. In your job, some situations may make it appear you made a mistake by taking up the job. In sickness, it may start looking as if God never promised His children healing and health. When you are experiencing some delays in life, the enemy may be suggesting your case is over. These are ways that situations try to speak in order to silence the voice of faith in your heart. But you know what? You don’t have to keep quiet. It doesn’t matter the situations confronting you, confess your convictions – those things God said to you before you started.
- If you are sick; confess your conviction on God’s healing and health
- If your relationship/marriage/family is confronted with a storm; confess your conviction on God’s peace and grace
- When it appears all ways are blocked; confess your conviction that God can make a way where there seems to be no way
Conviction enables you take positive and forward steps of faith no matter the situation. When Abraham had no child, the Bible says “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 Sara's womb” (Rom. 4:19).
Abraham applied conviction to his situation and he prevailed. Whenever you are faced with any situation that appears to be opposite to what God has said to you in His word, don’t give up because God cannot lie. Use what God has said to confront what situations are saying. Your life and destiny will respond to what God has said and not what the economy or situation is saying.
Stay rapturable.
Join us as THIS SUNDAY as we continue the FAITH series
TIME: 8.45AM
VENUE:
THE CHANGE EMBASSY
VIP Hall, Dreams Park,
Aminu Kano Crescent,
Opposite UBA, Beside Globacom,
Wuse 2, Abuja
08035744063
www.changeembassy.org
GOD CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER!
DR. WILL
Saturday 21 February 2015
Saturday 17 May 2014
UNDERSTANDING THE PRINCIPLES OF GIVING (2)
SOW IN A GOOD LAND
TEXT: Exodus 35:29;
Luke 6:38
We saw yesterday the necessity and
significance of giving to God’s work. If you missed the message, this link
would take you there: www.facebook.com/DrBukolaWilliams/posts/532212766889516
It is scriptural to give and to be
taught and told to give. Don’t condemn a preacher who teaches about giving to
God. Not everyone who preaches this truth is hungry like Paul said (Phil.
4:11). It is however error to put ‘sowing seeds’ above ‘winning souls’. It is
unscriptural to force people to give. To engage in manipulative persuasion in
order to get people to give to God’s work is injurious to God’s principles of
giving.
In scripture, people gave willingly
(2 Corinthians 9:7). This is God’s pattern for giving. God does not accept any
offering, giving or sacrifice that is not given willing (Exodus 25:2; 35:5). If
they forced you to give and you gave grudgingly or angrily, they accepted it,
but God did not accept it, so there is no reward attached.
As we round off on this, here are
certain principles which would help your giving;
(1) BE MOTIVATED BY LOVE
Don’t give because you want to
receive; give because you love to give and as an expression of love and thanks
to God who first gave you what you have. If you give, you will receive. But
your primary aim for giving should not be to receive. Your giving should be
“love-based” and not “want-based.”
(2) THE FIRST AND BEST GIFT IS YOURSELF
Giving is not just about money. And
your life must have been given first to God before He can accept your offering
and sacrifice. God is interested in your soul and not your money. Anywhere you find
yourself and they talk money more than Heaven, that is a wrong place – flee for
your eternity!
(3) SOW IN A GOOD LAND
Not every land is good. There are
many gospel-launderers and money preachers around who have coordinated and
strategized patterns of extorting money from their members and others. They
have turn God to a magician and money doubler (God forbid) who they claim will
give you N1 Million for every N100 thousand you sow into their lives and
ministries. Some if not many of them are false preachers and if your money
enters their lives, it is not a good land – it has neither reward nor record in
Heaven.
(4) DON’T WAIT TO BE TOLD; LOOK OUT FOR NEEDS
You don’t remind God it is time for
your daily bread, He is committed to it. The same way, you should not wait to
be asked for help. Look for needs and meet them.
One of the wrong ways to live is to
live for yourself. To live for self is to limit your step. Something should
leave your hand to others.
Don’t condemn a preacher who
teaches about giving to God. Not everyone who preaches this truth is hungry
like Paul said (Phil. 4:11).
UNDERSTANDING THE PRINCIPLES OF GIVING (1)
SOW IN A GOOD LAND
TEXTS: Exodus 35:29;
Luke 6:38
God is both interested and committed to the physical
components of the church which include the building, facilities and humans that
do His work. As much as emphasis and priority is accorded to spirituality, the
physicality should never be ignored. God is not against building Church
structures provided they are in line with His will and His work. He identifies
with the needs of the Church such as lands, instruments, payments of salaries,
etc.
More so, it is not wisdom for a man to expect angels to
descend from Heaven and build physical structures for Church or places of
worship. It is not wisdom to expect angels to take foods to the pastor’s house
for him and the family or to expect the man of God to pray for instantaneous
multiplication of the almost finished food stuff at home. It is obvious that
there are necessities in the body of Christ and it is believers
responsibilities to be committed to meeting these needs.
People do not give for many reasons. Some do not know how to
give, some have been victims of gospel commercialization (no thanks to gospel
prosperity merchants), and still some people are stingy. To claim to love and
serve God yet your money does not flow in the direction of God’s work; that
love is questionable. You not only owe God your heart, you owe Him all your
life – your money and other resources. If God does not have access to your
money then money has become an idol to you.
It is scriptural to give and to be taught and told to give. Jesus
taught giving;
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed
down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.
For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you
again” (Luke 6:38).
There are many things to be done in the name of God, in the
house of God and for the fulfilment of God’s purpose. The resources do not fall
from Heaven. God has given it to people but some of the people do not know God
gave them what they have so that He can use it for His work. It is not
everything that enters your hand that should enter your mouth! Your tithe is
for God. You must give other offerings to God. You must give to people – the
needy, servants of God, etc.
When Moses was to embark on the work of the sanctuary, the
people ‘willingly brought offerings unto the Lord’ (Exodus 35:29; 36:5-7). At a
point, they were bringing too much and Moses told them to stop bringing. At the
construction of the temple, people gave for God’s work as well.
It scriptural to give; no doubt. Anyone encouraging you
against giving to God’s work is speaking with another spirit and not God’s
Spirit. Even the Holy Spirit is a giver just like the Father and the Son are
givers. However, there are some dimensions of giving and receiving that are
unscriptural. Not all grounds are good grounds and if you put your seed there,
it would be waste.
>>> TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW
NEVER GIVE UP TRYING
TEXT: Micah 7:8
Many people think that being in the
will of God means life becomes an automated process supplying everything you
need and taking you to everywhere you should be. The fact that you are in the
will of God does not mean there won’t be challenges, but it means that no
challenge can swallow you up and you come out victorious. Even in the will of
God you need patience.
“For ye have need of patience,
that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise”
(Hebrews 10:36)
The fact that God has promised you
something does not always implies that it comes at first trial. That you do not
get it at first attempt does not mean you are a failure neither does it imply
God is a liar. God cannot lie and He does not make empty promises. Provided
trying again is not a sin, then you need to give it another try.
Thomas Edison, the inventor of the
electric bulb had failed more than 1,000 times when trying to create the
electric bulb. Today we used the electric bulb because someone refused to be
discouraged or accept failure for a result. The same Thomas Edison, teachers
said he was “too stupid to learn
anything.” He was fired from his first two jobs for being (according to
them) “non-productive.” But he did
not doubt himself or his God-given abilities.
Failure is not the same as the end
of the road. When you are traveling on a road and you encounter potholes, do
you discontinue the journey and turn back? No, you don’t. The same way,
failures are like minor potholes on the road to greatness in life. When you encounter
one or more, just keep going; your destination is far more important than they.
That you failed once or was rejected should not end your life. Doors can be
shut and roads can be closed, but provided Heaven has not closed down (and
cannot), there is hope for you.
Failure looks like a dark cloud,
but inside every dark cloud is a mighty rain and the darker the cloud, the
heavier the rain. The road to greatness may not be smooth, but the land of
greatness is made of gold.
Elijah prayed six times but nothing
showed up, but he didn’t give up. At the seventh time, rain came! He held to
God’s promise in 1 Kings 18:1b;
“Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I
will send rain upon the earth”
Dear friend, don’t let one blow of
disappointment, rejection, failure hand you a technical knockout in destiny and
eternity. Rise up! Even if strength is gone and it means to craw, be sure you
are moving forward and Heavenward.
EYE SERVICE VERSUS HEART SERVICE
TEXT: Matthew 6:1-5
One of the reasons why it looks as
if people serve God and help people and yet nothing happens to them is because their
motivation is faulty. The desire to be noticed by people is the reason many are
not noticed by God. What moves God is not just what you are doing but why you
are doing it.
Just the way there are Biblical
Pharisees, there are present day Pharisees. These are the people whose
motivation for helping you is because they want others to see them as kind. When
they help you they say it loud for the world to hear. This kind of charity has
no reward in Heaven.
There was a time I was watching TV
and heard some announcements. They were mentioning the names of some people and
families that made contributions to homes for orphans and widows. They would
mention their names and also the amount they donated. I didn’t know why these
people could not take the gifts to the concerned homes but chose to take it to
the TV station so that their names could be aired. This kind of giving carries
no reward…it is “eye service” and not “heart service.” God says;
“Therefore when thou doest thine
alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the
synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say
unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 6:2)
Even in the church, there are
people doing service to please men and not because they think about God. When
nobody is watching or around to supervise them, they won’t be concerned, but
the sight of the leader is the reason why they work. These people are bothered
about what people think about them and not what God thinks of them. This is
hypocrisy.
More so, there are people who are
only believers in the church but at home they are something else. Their ‘church
record’ is brilliant but ‘home record’ is shameful. Some do not pray at home or
read the word of God, but in church their voices are loudest and they are
always interested in talking and leading. It is this environmental Christianity
mind-set that has opened the way to worldliness in the church.
Beloved, it is time to get it
right. Let God be the reason why you do what you do. Be real and not fake.
Nothing fake has eternal life in it. To live a fake life is to endanger one’s
Heavenly eternity.
EMPOWERED ABOVE ADVERSITY
TEXT: Psalm 89:20-23
Sometimes people wonder why they attract adversaries lead
among who is the devil. Any man with a great destiny and a glorious eternity in
Heaven attracts adversaries. That you are born puts you on the devil’s wanted
list – he wants you in hell! And the moment you activate the clause of the
Blood of the Lamb over your life, you put the devil under pressure to do all he
can to make you guilty of the cross. But he is an ancient loser because of the
Blood.
Every man determined to fulfil divine destiny and make Heaven
at last has two (2) categories of enemies. David had these two (2) categories
of enemies and Jesus also encountered them. The first category is made up of
those who do not like you and do not hide it. These are like the Philistines in
David’s life and the Pharisees in Jesus’ time. They are many around. They don’t
hide their anger at your success. But they will continue to get angry because
you will continue to succeed in God.
The second category includes the pretenders; they don’t like
you but they don’t show it. If they have their way they would even try to stop
you. They smile at your presence, but they boil inside. They will end up
boiling and bursting because God will keep on keeping and raising you. They are
enemies who disguise as friends. But if you are spiritually sensitive and
discerning, you will know them and live wisely around them.
Are you to now go about suspecting everybody? No. Are you to
now become afraid? Never! If the devil is under your feet, then witches and destiny
opposition partners are under the ground. No devil or demon from hell can stop
you from fulfilling God’s purpose in life and reigning eternally with Him. What
then should you do?
(1) WALK IN
THE AUTHORITY GIVEN YOU
You are not fighting a new battle; Jesus won it on the cross.
What you need to do is to stand on the victory He gave you. Pray and stand on
God’s word; declare your victory and healing and send sickness and satan back
to hell where they belong
(2) WALK IN
LOVE
No matter how strong hate it, it is dissolved by love. Joseph’s
love quenched the hatred and injustice of his brothers and Potiphar
respectively. Where love dwells, grace is emitted. The devil cannot understand
or survive grace, and cannot overcome love. Don’t take vengeance and never fail
to forgive.
(3) LIVE
HOLY
Nothing defends and empowers like holiness. It takes
righteousness to live and excel above wickedness (Gen. 30:33; Job 27:6).
Holiness is the nature of God; if that nature is in you, whatever cannot dare
God cannot (come) near you.
(SPIRIT SWORD DAILY DEVOTIONAL
– Thursday, 8th May, 2014. YOU CAN READ SPIRIT SWORD DEVOTIONAL AT: www.drwilliamsbukola.blogspot.com OR Visit www.treasuredhouse.org)
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