Why should I ask daily?
Resist the enemy
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7
Each time you hear or study the word of God, the flesh will want to raise a resistance to what the word of God says because the word of God is spirit and life ( John 6:63). The flesh is always against the spirit (Galatians 5:17) and will not want you to do what the spirit says. The flesh and those living in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:8), the flesh cannot submit to the things of God
When Jesus told the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, he said there are those who hear the word but because they do not understand the enemy comes to steal away the word. The enemy comes to steal the word because he knows it is the word that makes a difference in the life of the believer, it is the word that makes free (John 8:32), it is the word that situations and circumstances bow to so he will try and steal it away. Hence a believer need to put up resistance against the enemy. This is the resistance James 4:7 is talking about. When you stand against the enemy and stand your ground on the word, he will flee from you and leave you alone.
The battle to steal the word you have heard takes place in your mind, it is not a physical battle that you fight with physical weapons. Rather it is a battle of thought. He comes to tell you the word doesn't work, he comes to remind you how long you have waited if you are waiting, he comes to tell you miracles are gone with the Apostles or that your case is so peculiar the word of God cannot tackle it. He reminds you of your failures and ask you to accept your present status but you can put up a resistance and say to the enemy 'I know who I am and I know who I have believed'
When you resist him like Jesus did when he was tempted in the wilderness you will prevail like Jesus prevailed. How did Jesus resist? He spoke the word to counter the enemy. Jesus knew who he was and who sent him, so he was able to say 'It is written'
Resist the enemy with the word of God and he will flee from you and when he is fleeing he will go with all his baggages of doubt, fear, anxiety and sorrow.
What is in it for me?
When they exchange vows, this is what they are both doing, either they fully understand it or not. Each of them is expected to honour and keep their vows as it is binding and recognised by heaven.
The relationship between Jesus and the church (you and I are the church) is one Jesus is committed to, he can't pull out of it because he already gave his life for it. Read Ephesians 5:25. You are very dear to Jesus.
Give thanks?
He's talking about you!
Overcoming Doubt
John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. John 1:15
John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not: He it is who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. John 1:26-27
And I saw and bare record that this is the son of God. John 1:34
The Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask John the Baptist who he was when they saw him baptising the people. They wanted to know if he was Elias, the Christ or one of the prophets. He clearly answered and told them he was not the Christ and then proceeded to tell them a little about the Christ and so when Jesus came to him the following day to be baptised, he publicly announced Jesus.
John the Baptist was anointed right from his mother's womb, he knew who he was and what he was born to do, to be a forerunner to Christ. He knew about the Christ and he boldly declared in verse 29 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. He also mentioned about Jesus being the one to baptise with the Holy Ghost, that is baptising with Power.
However when Herod put him in prison for reproving him for taking his brother's wife (Luke 3:19-20), doubt began to set in about who Christ was. The same man who publicly declared Christ in Luke 7:20 now asked his disciples to go ask Jesus if he was the Christ or they should look for another?
Anyone can be tempted with doubt no matter how anointed!
A song writer says when the storms of life hit, will your anchor hold?
You can never reach a point in your life where the temptation of doubt can not set in. So how do we deal with doubt when it comes knocking? Let's go back to the scriptures.
In Luke 7:20, bible says 'When the men were come unto him, they said 'John the Baptist has sent us unto thee saying 'Art thou he that should come or look we for another?
Go to verse 21-23 to see Jesus's response. In verse 21, he didn't utter a word rather bible says in that same hour, he cured many of the infirmities of the people and plagues, and of evil spirits and unto many that were blind, he gave sight. It was in verse 22 he spoke and told the messengers to go tell John what they saw, how the lame walk, the deaf hear, the blind see etc.
Finally in verse 23 he said 'Blessed is he who shall not be offended in him.
Why did Jesus first perform miracles before replying the messengers? In the scriptures we quoted earlier, John the Baptist knew who Christ was, he knew what he came to do and he was so confident about who Christ was that he bare witness to it and so Jesus knew that John the Baptist knows who he was and so asking his disciples to come ask him if he was the Christ could only be as a result of persecution/trials/storms of life, remember John was locked up in prison. Hence Jesus had to recreate a scene that explains what the scriptures says about him in Isaiah 61:1 so that when the messengers go back to John, they could tell him what they saw and John will get the message.
Jesus referred John back to the scriptures for the scriptures cannot be broken. Jesus was trying to say this is what the word of God which you know says about me. I came to save, to heal and to deliver. In other words, yes I am the Christ.
When our faith is deeply tested and it looks like the storms of life will sink us and doubts about the word of God begin to rise within us, let us run back to the Word.
Proverbs 4:20-22 says 'my son give attention to my word, incline thine ears to my saying, do not let them depart from your EYES, keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh.
Whilst it is humanly hard not to dwell on the storms threatening us especially as it is staring at you right in the face, the way to overcome doubt is to think on the word of God always. Think (meditate) about what the word says about that issue instead of the issue. This is because the more we think about something the more we give in to that thing. If you keep thinking about the issue, it keeps looking bigger than it really is, if you keep thinking about the word, suddenly you notice the problem is nothing compared to your big God.
It is easier to dwell and think about problems than dwell/think about the word of God because it takes discipline and commitment to read and think about the word of God everyday whilst you can still see your problems. Not everyone can do that, as we starve our doubts by looking into the word of God and meditating on it, our faith begin to rise to the surface and victory is certain.
Place your demand
What has he said to you?
And he saith unto them 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Matthew 4:19
Jesus said this to Simon Peter and Andrew his brother. These brothers were fishermen and at the time Jesus spoke this word to them, they were casting their net into the water and catching fishes, their normal daily secular job.
Now read that verse again and you will notice the first thing Jesus said was 'Follow me'.
The Master had great plans for their future and this plan was known only to him as at the time he called them, he didn't reveal the blueprint of their future to them as trust is required when following the Master, he only said to them 'Follow me and I will make you fishers of men. He only spoke his word.
They could have questioned this word and say ' follow you and be fishers of men?, why do we need to fish for men? who goes about trying to fish for men anyway? In their time, only the religious leaders or the prophets carry out the things of God and so they could have debated it in their mind and refuse as it doesn't make human sense, but verse 20 tells us 'and they STRAIGHTAWAY left their nets and followed him.
The key to a prosperous future is in the hands of the one called 'The first and the last (Revelations 22:13). Well he knows about your tomorrow, he knows how to break through, he knows about great opportunities and how you can obtain them but you see Proverbs 3:5 says 'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and LEAN NOT unto thine own understanding.
This is where a lot of believers struggle, in the area of leaning on their own understanding and analysing things with their brain rather than trusting the word of God.
They know they are children of God and that the works of their hand should prosper and they should be above only and not beneath but they look around them and is the exact opposite so they conclude and think maybe the word of God is not completely true.
Friends, God can do nothing outside his word, Hebrews 11:3 tells us the world was framed by the word of God and Hebrews 1:3 tells us he upholds all things by the word of his power, how then do believers think their miracle will happen outside the word?
When you decide to lean on your own understanding and do things the way everyone is doing it even if it contradicts the word of God or you know what God has said to you and though it might not make 'sense' but you are sure you heard correctly from God, how can you then decide to implement what he told you in your own way?
Peter and Andrew had never fished for men before but because that word 'Follow me and I will make you fishers of men came from the Lord, they obeyed and followed.
Today we see believers running from one seminar to the other looking for secrets to success, secrets to breakthroughs etc but what every believer needs is the Word. That word he spoke to you, that instruction he gave you, that impression the Holy Spirit laid on your heart but you have been debating on it maybe because you are scared what people/friends/families will say or ashamed you will be called a fanatic or it's just not in vogue or maybe it's the fear of the unknown that is stopping you from obeying the Lord. As long as you are weighing your options and leaning on your understanding, you can't reach the stars, you can't be the best and definitely you won't make any impact in this life.
Of course fear will gnaw at the back of your mind especially if it's outside your comfort zone and most likely it will be outside your comfort zone as God leads us into something beyond our human ability so we can rely on him completely and always come to him for guidance. This is where greatness lies friends, doing what God asked you to do!
I bet Peter would never have thought that simple word from the Lord 'follow me' is the key that will catapult him into becoming the one upon whom the Lord built his church, just because he obeyed.
As long as you obey and do what he asked you to do, there won't be any need to pray to him to bless what you are doing because it will be blessed already.
I am not saying you don't offer prayers to God over the works of your hand or over whatever it is you are doing, even Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 16:9, there are many adversaries because a great door has been opened unto him so you need to pray against opposition that will rear their heads once doors of greatness begin to open to you but what I am saying is if what you are doing is what God asked you to do, then automatically it will be blessed by God.
Comforter or Condemner?
And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you for ever. John 14:16
Jesus was speaking here to his disciples, he was telling them about the Holy Spirit.
The only person that every believer here on earth needs the most is the Holy Spirit.
In this verse of the scripture, Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as 'another comforter.' He himself is a comforter so in other words he was telling the disciples that even though he was leaving and he will no longer be here physically with them, another person just like him would come.
The Holy Spirit?, they would have wondered as until Jesus began telling them about him, their knowledge about the Holy Spirit was limited. Most of what they knew was what they had heard read out to them in the synagogue. This is because before Jesus came, all the Jews had were the prophets, it wasn't the dispensation of the Holy Spirit yet and so if they had been confused about the person of the Holy Spirit, as soon as Jesus said 'another comforter' then they would have found it easier to relate with that.
Why, because Jesus had been a comforter to them, guiding them, teaching them the mysteries of the Kingdom, empowering them to go perform miracles, feeding them, bringing their dead back to life, telling them about Heaven and the provisions he was going there to make for them.
Now the next thing he said in that verse which is very profound to me is that 'the Holy Spirit will be with them FOREVER. Forever means exactly that, the Holy Spirit never leaves a believer! Jesus prayed the Father to give his Holy Spirit to you and so at salvation when you accept Jesus, he comes to makes his residence in you and he stays with you forever. Yes! forever.
Let's read verse 17 to confirm this point ' Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but you know him, for he dwelleth with you and shall be IN you. Alleluia!
You are the Holy Spirit's house. He lives in you and he is with you.
A general belief among believers is that when they err, the Holy Spirit condemns them. The Holy Spirit is a comforter, that's what Jesus said and I believe Jesus, it is your heart that condemns you when you err.
1John 3:20, says 'For if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things.
Our consciences knows good and bad things and deeds, it knows when we disobey and sin and so will 'prick' you and you will hear people say 'my conscience pricked me' remember even as an unbeliever, we knew what was wrong from what was right, this is because everyone has a conscience either they are born again or not.
Of course when we sin, what we are doing is simply opening up a way for the enemy to afflict us and so we should not live a lifestyle of sin but my emphasis here is that the Holy Spirit is your friend, your comforter, your guide, your companion, if you allow him, he has things to tell you, things he heard from the Father which is meant for you. Jesus said in John 16:13 that the Holy Spirit will speak what he hears and show you things to come. This is comforting in this world of chaos.
How we all long for the ability to know things in advance which can avert many dangers for us and this is one of the things the Holy Spirit is here to do, however due to erroneous belief about the Holy Spirit, most believers are not cooperating with him and he won't force his way into your decisions. As you tune in to him and trust him, he reveals things to you one step at a time.
Every believer has the Holy Spirit, the question is 'Is he active in your life or has he been relegated into the background? Is he perceived as a judge of all your mistakes and shortcomings? Who is the Holy Spirit to you?
As for me, He is my friend, my comforter and guide. He teaches me the scriptures as I sit to study and reveals mysteries to me. I love the Holy Spirit, He is my friend and I can not do without him.
A solemn promise
Dear friends, even though we are talking this way, we really don't believe it applies to you. We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation. For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true.
Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God's promises because of their faith and endurance.
For example, there was God's promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took AN OATH in his own name saying:
"I will certainly bless you and I will multiply your descendants beyond number."
Then Abraham WAITED patiently and he received what God had promised. Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it and without any question that oath is binding.
God also BOUND HIMSELF with an oath so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind.
So God has given BOTH his promise and his oath. THESE TWO THINGS ARE UNCHANGEABLE BECAUSE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD TO LIE. Hebrews 6:9-18 (NLT)
Whatever God has said to you either through personal study of his word or through a genuine prophecy, it will come to pass. God is too big to lie, besides bible says he has bound himself with an oath, an oath is a solemn promise, whoever makes an oath is bound by it.
Each time you are tempted to look at your prevailing circumstances which you are not happy about, remind yourself and say 'God has given me his oath and promise and I receive what he promised me by faith and through endurance.
I will not lose my confidence in God. He has promised and he will never fail.
Finally remember when someone is under an oath, he is saying I agree to carry out the terms of this agreement and I am under obligation to fulfil it. God gave an oath which is his word, whatever he says on there, he is committed to doing it.
Why am I here?
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. But Jesus said "No, go home to your family and tell them
everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been". Mark 5:18-19(NLT)
This is a popular story in the scriptures of the demon possessed man that lived in the tomb and after Jesus had cast out the demons and he was well, the first thing he desired was to go with Jesus.
He had known life under the devil and how terrible that was and so when he met the Prince of Peace, all he wanted to do was go with him but listen to what Jesus said to him 'Go home to your family and TELL them everything the Lord had done for you.
There was nothing wrong in him following Jesus and of course Jesus wasn't against it but you see the purpose why Jesus came was to save souls and whilst he lived here on earth as a man, he was limited in how many people he could reach at any point in time and so after he had healed this man, he told him, you go and pass on the message. Go tell your family what I did for you, tell them about the miracle you received, your story will impact their individual lives and will show to them that even in this wicked and dark world, there is light and a solution to their problems.
Every born again child of God was at one time under the government of the devil before we surrendered our lives to Jesus and he washed us in his blood and saved our soul. Like we were told in Colossians 1:13 ' Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear son, you are now under the government of our Lord Jesus Christ and he wants to guide you if you allow him through his Holy Spirit.
But now that you are saved, what is next? Is it to just pass through this life with no impact made or is there more to life?
Are you dissatisfied with what you are doing now and feel there should be more to your life, do you somehow know you were cut out for more but you are struggling to find out what it is? Have you asked the question 'Why am I here? What is my purpose here on earth? if this is you then please read on.
You were carefully created for a purpose. Read Psalm 139:13-14, 16-17 to see the effort God put into making you and that's why no one can do what you were created to do. You are unique, special and your task here on earth can only be done perfectly by you. If you understand this revelation, never again will you envy another person or want another person's talent. Remember the parable of the talent in Matt 25:14-30, he gave 3 people different talents to show to you and I we are peculiar and different. Bible says he gave according to each man's ability.
The person who sings beautifully is not better than the person who can organise events perfectly, the person who can stand before millions and preach is not better than the quiet, shy lady who cleaned the hall where people sat to listen to the preacher. If she hadn't cleaned and tidied up, the eloquent preacher won't be able to preach in a smelly, dirty hall!
Every talent is unique and blessed and one might be obvious for all to see than others but it's not superior to others and you should start using yours to bless people starting from your family (home).
Not everyone will minister to millions or a crowd, your purpose might be to raise godly children by telling them about Jesus and when they grow up they won't depart from it and they will then go further and impact their generations like Apostle Paul referred to the unfeigned faith in Timothy's grandmother and mother in 2Tim1:5.
Yours might be to encourage that colleague at work who is going through a divorce and is finding it hard to continue living, give them a hug, listen to them, tell them how Jesus has brought so much joy to your life, just maybe you were put here on earth to win that single soul for Jesus and present them to Jesus on judgement day.
Look around, there are so many lonely people, many are sick in their bodies and they have lost all hope, just maybe the only way they will hear about Jesus the Healer is if you tell them how he healed you or healed someone you know. Even Jesus had to rely on that demon possessed man to tell his family about the Lord as he couldn't possibly reach everyone.
What about that young person you know in your family, your neighbour's teenager who is very unruly or that teenager you know whose parents have given up hope on and you have the gift of patience and the Lord has presented so many opportunities to you to counsel him or her, these days many young people are confused, they think they don't fit in hence the devil is winning them over through drugs and alcohol, a temporary fix to take them into a fantasy world that doesn't exist. You know deep down within you through the help of the Holy Spirit you can follow up a youth, tell them about Jesus with wisdom, not forcing anything on them and not giving up either till that youth comes to love the Lord and when you achieve this, oh what joy you would have brought to the Lord.
The fulfilment you crave is in doing what you were created to do. Have you not heard of people who tried to copy and be like other people? they become frustrated, they then try something else and they keep going round in circles not achieving anything. They can never be fulfilled until they do what God created them to do.
Find your purpose and fulfil it.
I will give you a clue, it will be something that gives you joy, blesses people and impact lives and bring God praise!
If lives are not impacted positively by what you are doing then it's time to ask the Lord out of a sincere heart 'Why am I here and he through his Holy Spirit will reveal to you.
Let not your heart be troubled
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. John 14:1
Jesus spoke these words to his disciples, he was about to be betrayed and crucified which meant the disciples would soon be on their own, he had been speaking so many words to reassure them knowing fully well he would soon be taken away from them and so yet again in this chapter, we see Jesus strengthening them with his words. Why?
One of the things almost everyone dreads in this life is to be alone or with no one to call to for help or no one to share your joy or concerns with. No matter how wealthy, influential or popular you are, you do not want to be at a point where you need someone to pour your heart to and there is no one.
Jesus had been with his disciples physically, they had eaten together, he had separated them from the multitudes and revealed the mystery in God's word to them, they had enjoyed communion with him, seen divers miracles and had seen how Jesus had confronted the hypocritical religious leaders, something no one dared do and knowing they belonged to someone who was fearless must have been comforting.
Above all, they had enjoyed protection but now that master was about to go, to where? they had no clue as Thomas clearly said to Jesus in verse 5 they didn't know where he was going. Now that is enough to make your heart troubled, your security is about to be taken away from you and they knew what that meant, they will be left among wolves! Ravening wolves!!
Jesus is a good shepherd, John 10:11. A good shepherd can see far ahead of the sheep. Whilst the sheep are feeding on the pastures, he is at alert looking for any stray wolf that wants to prey on the vulnerable sheep.
Jesus knows about it all, He knows about that condition you are in, He knows what you desire most, he knows about the threats in your life, he knows about those waiting for your downfall, waiting to mock you, he hears your heart cry, he knows your fears, remember he once lived with 12 vulnerable fishermen who always had to run to him despite the many reassurances he gives to them always and the many miracles they see him perform which was enough to make them trust him. Jesus isn't judging you, He isn't condemning you neither is he fed up with you. He loves you with all his heart and He is saying to you right now 'Let not your heart be troubled'.
You shall not lose that battle, you are more than a winner, you are not alone, remember a good shepherd gives his life for the sheep, that's what Jesus said in John 10:11. He already gave his life for you, will he not destroy all the ravening wolves of this life threatening to sink you?
Yes he will, let not your heart be troubled.