The Behold File

Operating in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit – Part 1

davidluiz — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 05:18:03 +0000

The term “gifts of the Holy Spirit” is a phrase deeply laden with meaning. Praise God for the wealth of revelational truth that has been made available to the Church of our present day about the Person and the Ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of God almighty, and the most paramount nature of his is his holiness. The bible refers to him as the executor of the will of God (Gen 1:1-3), the comforter who will abide with us forever (John 14:16), and the one who reveals God the Father and God the son to us (John 16:13-15, 1 Cor 2:9-12). It is therefore a great wonder when we consider that not only did God the Father send the Holy Spirit to live with and in us but also that this Holy Spirit has gifts for us.

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul the apostle spoke in some detail about these gifts of the Spirit. This passage of scripture clearly defines what these gifts are and how they are given by the Holy Spirit. Although the subject of our study is not on the actual Gifts of the Spirit, we will take a brief look at what these gifts are and more importantly, what they mean. It is clear however that these gifts are given to the Church for her benefit:

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. – 1 Corinthians 12:7

We understand from the scripture passage in 1 Corinthians 12 that the Holy Spirit is the one that gives out these gifts. We also understand that they are given to every believer as he (the Holy Spirit) desires (1 Cor 12:11). Lastly, we also understand that there are different gifts, administrations or dimensions (or levels of operation) of these gifts as well as different operations of the gifts. However, throughout this variety, it is the same Holy Spirit that works or activates and utilizes the gifts in the life of a believer;

But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he wills. – 1 Corinthians 12:11

Hence, the Holy Spirit not only gives the gifts to us as children of God, he operates them in cooperation with us. Hence, the key to operating these gifts is learning to work with the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus and profit the Church (John 16:14, 1 Cor12:7).

Before we take a look at the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, I find it necessary to re-emphasize that even though the Holy Spirit gives us these gifts, they are worked or operated by him. This means that they are manifested at his discretion and operated in conjunction with him. This also means that we can have the gifts but never see it manifest if we fail to learn how to work with him or if we fail in our relationship with him. We are admonished several times in scriptures not to grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30, 1 Thes 5:19).

We shall now use the remainder of this part of the message to take a brief look at the gifts of the Spirit and then consider in detail how to operate the gifts in the second part of this message.

The Gift of the Word of Wisdom: This gift comes into operation when a “word” of Gods wisdom is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. The term word of Wisdom implies that it is only a part of the complete wisdom of God regarding an issue. In its operation, this gift requires that we act or speak in faith what we have heard from the Lord even though it may seem incomplete. As we act in obedience on what we have heard, more of the wisdom of God is revealed (Isaiah 28:13). The Word of Wisdom is also usually a revelation of Gods wisdom regarding a situation that is yet to happen; a dimension of its operation is in foretelling the future (Acts 21:10-11). Another dimension of this gift is seen in supernatural wisdom to handle unusually tough situations immediately. An example of this is seen when Jesus was asked the question about the paying of taxes to Ceasar (Mark 12:13-17).
The Gift of the Word of Knowledge: Like the gift of the Word of Wisdom, this gift is a revelation given by the Holy Spirit of a part of God’s knowledge concerning a situation or event. Like all the gifts of the Spirit, it requires that the one through whom it is operating acts on what has been received in order to receive more. An example of this gift in operation is seen when Jesus spoke with the woman of Samaria and supernaturally knew that she had 5 husbands (John 4:15-19). When this gift is in operation, a piece of Gods knowledge about a situation as it has been in the past or as it is in the present is revealed. This is different from the Word of Wisdom in which the future is revealed by the Holy Spirit. This gift operated heavily in the life of Elisha the Prophet.
The Gift of Faith: The bible refers to several types of faith; great faith, the faith of God, weak faith, little faith, no faith, etc. However, the gift of Faith is a temporary impartation of Faith into the one through whom it is operating to believe God for a divine act. Like all the other gifts, it is operated at the will of the Holy Spirit and is in operation for a brief period and then removed. Once the impartation of this gift is lifted however, the person through whom it operates cannot believe God with his “regular” faith for the same manifestations.
The Gifts of Healing: There was nobody in scripture through whom this gift operated in its full form than in our Lord Jesus Christ. Several times, it is recorded in scripture that he “healed them all” (Matthew 12:15). Unlike the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, this gift is called the “Gifts of healing” because there are several sicknesses and diseases. Likewise, there are several gifts of healing; the gift of healing of blindness for example or the gift of healing of cancer or deafness, etc.
The Working of Miracles: This gift which is quite similar to the Gifts of healing is operated by the Holy Spirit for the suspension of natural laws for the glory of God. An example of this is found is Acts 8:39-40, when Phillip was supernturally transported from one location to another and in John 6:16-21 when the boat in which Jesus and the disciples were in supernaturally came to lad immediately Jesus stepped into the boat.
The Gift of Prophecy: Unlike prophecy as recorded in the old testament, the Gift of Prophecy as given by the Holy Spirit is for three purposes; for edification, exhortation and comfort. It is not the foretelling of the future (which is displayed in the Word of Wisdom), rather it is inspired utterance given through the Holy Spirit for the building up, uplifting and comfort of Gods people. This gift is very vital for the building of the body of Christ and strengthening of the inner man especially during times of difficulty. The bible refers to the four daughters of Phillip the Evangelist “which did prophesy” (Acts 21:8-9).
The Gift of Discerning of Spirits: The Gift of Discerning of Spirits is a gift operated through the Holy Spirit that uncovers the spirit behind the actions of men. Through this wonderful gift, the Holy Spirit is able to reveal if a person, group of people, etc is motivated by the Spirit of God, a demonic spirit or by their own self. This is important in order to weed out the lambs from goats in the church of God or in negotiating business deals, etc. An example of the operation of this gift is seen in the life of Paul, when a young girl with the spirit of divination followed them around (Acts 16-16-18). She did this for many days till the Holy Spirit exposed her; Paul became grieved in his spirit and cast out the evil spirit from the girl. It is worth mentioning here also that visions, dreams, trances, and supernatural visitations of the Spirit which are frequent in the lives of a lot of believers also fall under this class of the gifts of the Spirit.
The Gift of Tongues: This gift and the gift of Interpretation of Tongues are the only gifts not recorded in manifestation in the Old testament. Jesus himself said this would be one of the signs of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the life of the believer. However, this gift is not to be mistaken for the ability to pray in tongues after one is baptized in the Holy Spirit. This gift is for ministry to the body of Christ and should always operate along with the gift or Interpretation of Tongues so that those who listen can understand the message. When this gift operates with the Interpretation of Tongues, it has the equivalent effect as the effect produced by the operation of the gift of Prophecy. The bible also makes us understand in 1 Corinthians 13 that there are tongues of angels and tongues of men. One operation of this gift is to supernaturally give an inspired message by the Holy Spirit in a language completely unknown by the speaker. This gift both glorifies Jesus and calls the sinner to salvation.
The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues: As mentioned earlier, this gift is a sister gift to the gift or Tongues and when in operation with it, has the effect of edification, exhortation and comfort to the believer.

The above are the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit as detailed by Apostle Paul. The central theme to note is that they are given by the Holy Spirit and also operated by him and at his discretion. Hence the need to learn how to walk with the Holy Spirit and understand how he leads us in the operation of these gifts. Its also worth noting that God desires for all the gifts of the Spirit to be in operation in our lives. However, the Holy Spirit usually operates certain gifts in each believer’s life in more frequency than others.

To move on to the second part of this message and learn how to operate in the gifts of the Spirit, please click here. To view other messages on how to be led by the Holy Spirit, click here.

If we Forget…

davidluiz — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:38:12 +0000

As believers, we can all testify of the wonder of the Lord; especially the pleasure of the intimacy we experience in personal encounters with him. Whether in dreams, visions, a ministration in church or just during some personal time with the Lord alone, many can tell of many such encounters that changed their lives and walk with God. David in the Bible declared in Psalms

“Bless the Lord oh my Soul and all that is within me bless his Holy Name. Bless the Lord oh my Soul and forget not all his benefits”.

However, what happens when we allow our knowledge of God’s Word and nature to slip? What happens when we allow the cares of this world or the simple distractions of over-activity to cloud our minds and blind our hearts from those intimate times of fellowship we always cherished and eagerly looked forward to in our walk with the Lord?

Paul knew of this danger and spoke to the Hebrews about it in ever so keen words:

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. Hebrews 2:1

There is the danger that we may let the treasures we have gleaned from the Word of God and hidden in our hearts to slip if we are careless. Nevertheless, the question still remains, “What do we do IF we forget?” or perhaps if you are currently in that state of “forgetfulness”, what do you do. Perhaps you have forgotten the silent whisper of his sweet voice, leading and directing you on what steps to take, or you have forgotten Why our worship of the Lord is extremely important or Why we must continually dwell in the Word of God and in communion with our fellow believers…

If we do forget, there are dangerous risks; we risk missing out on the things God would have us do, say, or places he would have us go or things he would have us speak to his people. If we forget, we risk losing out on the presence of the Lord and the joys of daily and even continuous intimacy with him. We risk forgetting the might and willingness of our Lord to fight on our behalf or the fact that he healed us many many years ago and we do not need to live in sickness, pain or financial lack. Worst of all, we risk returning to our vomit like the proverbial dog or pig who returns to ingest its own vomit after spewing it up; we risk falling back into sin and into those things from which the Lord delivered us.

In the same passage of Hebrews chapter 2, Paul however admonishes that if we do forget, we should remember that we can place our trust in the Lord; not trust in our strength to hold on to him but rather that he will hold onto us and preserve us (Vs 13). Paul admonishes that we remember that the Lord died so that he might save us completely and “destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil” so that we can live our lives without fear(Vs 14-15). Paul also admonishes that we remember that because we have a Savior who went through the same challenges we face in our daily lives, he is able to understand what we face when we are tempted and thus be merciful and give us all we need to be fully delivered from those temptations (Vs 18).

The great apostle Paul finally admonishes that despite our shortcomings and failures, we should come boldly before his heavenly throne to obtain mercy and find grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

It is therefore my humble desire to encourage you to come before the Lord right now, despite the depths you may seem to have fallen to, and ask for his mercy, for the forgiveness and cleansing only his blood can bring and grace to stand in that hour of temptation, knowing and trusting him to make a way of escape for you from those temptations.

Let us pray:

Dear Father, we acknowledge our inabilities of our own selves. We know that we are unable to walk with you except you engrace us to do so. We ask for your mercy wherever we have failed you. We ask that your Blood will cleanse us from all our hidden and secret sins. We ask boldly because you said we should do so. We also ask for your grace; your ability to live for you, to walk with you and to have a tangible relationship with you. We trust that you will not fail us or leave us naked of your grace because you went through the same temptations and overcame. We thank you for your mercy, the cleansing of your blood and for bringing us back into fellowship with you. Blessed be your most Holy name Lord…In Jesus name, Amen.

Receiving the Help of the Lord

davidluiz — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 14:20:01 +0000

Hebrews 4:16 - Click to Read

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need

It has always been my deep conviction that the prayer for help; the “Lord, help me” prayer is one of the greatest prayers that can be prayed. Sadly, it is also a prayer prayed only by a humble few. Pride and Self confidence are usually vices that stand in the way of the believer and prevent him from reaching out to the Lord for their much needed help.

Where I come from, there is a proverb which says “It is only when a child willingly lifts its hands up to its parents that it is carried.” For us to receive the help of God, we must show willingness to be helped by him, for “the Lord resists the proud but gives his grace to the humble.”

Crying those three simple words: Lord help me, in earnest and simple faith acknowledges our challenge and also expresses our confidence in Gods ability to save and deliver us; regardless of the circumstance. I am reminded of Peter and how as he began to sink in the turmoil and waves of the sea, he cried out these same words. Immediately, the Lord reached out to him and delivered him. It is also important to note here that it was only after the Lord delivered him that he scolded him for his lack of faith.

If we will cry to the Lord in our distress, we are assured that the Lord will immediately reach out to us with the help we need. It is my sincere prayer that we will not let sin, guilt or pride keep us from receiving Gods help. We however have to humbly ourselves and ask him for it.

In conclusion, we are encouraged by the Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews to boldly come before the Lord’s throne to seek his mercy from our sins and shortcomings and also to seek his grace (divine ability) in such times of need so we can overcome. I am confident that as we humbly ourselves and cry out for his help, he will come swiftly to our aid.

Pray this prayer, asking for his help:

Lord, I need you. I need your help, mercy and grace to live my life for you. Help me Lord. Just as Peter did, I reach out for your help. Please rescue me so I can live a life pleasing and joyful to you. Thank you for hearing and answering, In Jesus Name. Amen

I Know thy Works

davidluiz — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 14:05:02 +0000

Revelations 3:14-21 - Click to Read

“And unto the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I councel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches”

We live in a busy world. A world ruled by the quest to attain success and superiority; almost at all costs. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is sometimes easy to get carried away with the hustle and bustle of the affairs of life and forget the true purpose of our presence on this earth; to do and accomplish the will of the Lord for our lives.

It is also quite easy to “wax cold” in our love for the Lord and for his work. Almost unconsciously, we begin to place work, family and in general things that actually are important before He that is most important. I believe that the Lord is calling us back to him; to his feet. I believe he is calling us to spend time before him in worship and loving adoration, forgetting the cares and troubles of the world. It is time for us to heed that call.

If we get carried away with the affairs of this life; which are important but not to be placed before our God, there is the tendency for us to believe we have all we need. We begin to say in our hearts: “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing”, without realizing that there is nothing we have received that was not given to us by the Lord in the first place (1 Corinthians 4:7). In Revelations chapter 3, the Lord called this mindset and spiritual attitude an attitude of being lukewarm (vs. 16). He also went on to point out to the Church of the Laodiceans that not only were they not rich and in lack of nothing but that they were infact wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked! What a most pitiable state to ignorantly live in.

Today, as the Lord did about two thousand years ago through John the Apostle, I perceive that the Lord would counsel us to buy from him Gold that has been tried in the fire, i.e. the Word of God revealed by his Spirit, white raiment for clothing and to cover our nakedness i.e. the righteousness that comes through faith in him and not by our works or self righteousness and for us to anoint our eyes with eye ointment so we can see i.e. surrender to him and to his corrections so we can see our wrongs, be washed by his blood and receive his direction (vs. 18).

We must repent from the pride of our hearts. We must repent of this pride and self righteousness and cry unto the Lord for forgiveness; then the Lord will have mercy on us (Joel 2:17-18). Regardless of who we are, our social or economic positions or even the level of our education, we must come before his presence in humility and reverence of his person. Only then will he accept us into his presence (Isaiah 57:15).

We must never become so proud as to think that we have all we need, wanting nothing. If we have everything else in the world and do not have him, we have nothing. Please say this prayer of repentance with me:

Dear Lord, I see my fault. I see how I have sought to live my life without you and the leading of your Spirit. I am sorry for thinking in my heart that I am in need of nothing when in fact I was wretched. I ask for your forgiveness and the cleansing of your blood. Help me buy the pure Gold of your Word, tried in the fire. Help me buy white clothing to cover my nakedness and anoint my eyes with eye ointment that my eyes may be open indeed to your Word and direction. I ask this humbly, in the name of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen

Thou Shall Break Forth!

davidluiz — Mon, 23 May 2011 04:41:16 +0000

“Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud…Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen they cords, and strengthen thy stakes; For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.” – Isaiah 54: 1-3

For most people, the last 18 months have been a season of gloom and despair. The financial crisis that shook the world has left many a family with aftershocks that still reverberate today. Just the other day, I looked across the road on my way to work and noticed that another popular store had closed down. This has been the case repeatedly in recent times. Foreclosures, bankruptcies, maxed out credit cards; everyone doing their best to stretch a dollar bill as far as possible and perhaps beyond its limit.

There is a new wind of change in the air however. The Lord has asked me to tell you that today marks the first day of a New Year for you. I hear the Lord say ever so clearly:

“…enlarge the place of thy tent…for thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left”

What does this mean? Firstly, it means that those things that have plagued you will come to an end. It means that a new thing is about to begin. Secondly, it implies that you must prepare for what is coming; for if we don’t prepare, we will stand in the face of opportunity and not know it.

To “enlarge the place of thy tent” implies that we should make bigger room for ourselves to accommodate the blessings God is bringing and what better way to express our faith in the Lord than to obey him even without physically or mentally knowing of any new blessing emerging in the horizon. Remember what the bible says:

“…even God, who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things which be not as though they were”- Romans 4:17

There are things that the Lord has put on your heart that you may have neglected perhaps unknowingly; a business idea, a desire to help a group of people, a yearning to go back to school. Whatever it may be, now is the time to act in faith.

Call forth those things you want to see in this new season because a new season has begun! Call forth a promotion in your Job, declare that you are healed, shout out that you are prosperous, tell your friends that something new is coming your way. Stand before the Lord with an assurance that he is elevating you in your walk with him. As you take that step of faith, you will see what you have proclaimed materialize before your very eyes. Therefore make room for what is coming your way. Step out and take action on that idea you have had for the last two year. You don’t need to have all the facts and details. Step out in faith, believing what God has told you and you will see the results. Also feel free to post the testimonies of God’s blessings as a comment on this page so others can be blessed.

Confession:

Lord, I believe this Word you have spoken to me today. I believe that a New Season begins for me today. Therefore, I step out in faith in that area I am looking to you for help. I know I will not lack, I know I will be promoted at my place of work, I know I shall walk in financial abundance in this new season, I know my walk with you will take on a new dimension, in Jesus Name. I believe and therefore I will act in obedience and I know the results shall come speedily in Jesus Name, Amen.

God’s Dealings With Man: A Study of Prophet Jonah – Part 3

davidluiz — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:08:30 +0000

Over the last few weeks, we have studied the life of the bible Prophet Jonah and God’s dealings with him as recorded in the biblical account of his life. We were able to determine in the first and second parts of this message series that God IS merciful, that man was given freedom of choice by God and is not forced to obey God no matter how great the assignment he is given by the Lord or the mode by which the message was given i.e. how spectacular the mode was. Also, we were able to see from scriptures that even though man has been given free will and freedom of choice, it does not deny God the right to act in response to man’s choices; whether good or bad. God gave man freedom of choice but has put in place consequences or blessings (depending on whether the act is one of disobedience or obedience) that become man’s lot when he makes a choice. However, God also gave man the bible in order for man to learn what actions bring his judgment and those that bring his blessings. Thus, man literally determines the course of his life by the actions and decisions he makes. The more often he makes choices in line with the dictates of the bible; the Word of God, the better his life becomes.

In this last part of the message, we will go on to consider and establish some more lessons in regards to how God deals with man.

“Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly. And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice…But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” Jonah 2:1-2, 9-10

LESSON 4:

Praise is capable of moving God in ways that nothing else can. Time and time again across the pages of scripture, we see how God was moved to do literally mind boggling things simply because man worshipped or praised him. Psalm 22:3 further buttresses this point by explaining how God literally inhabits the praises of Israel; “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel”.

It is important for us to note this because although the entire Chapter 2 of Jonah is devoted to the Prophet’s prayer in the belly of the fish, God only commanded the fish to throw Jonah upon the land when he promised to pay his vows of thanksgiving and praise. God is not moved by our tears, complaints or even our well thought out arguments. However, when we engage the power of praise in our petitions to God, he attends to our requests personally because he inhabits i.e. literally lives in our praise.

Another lesson we learn from Jonah is that there is no situation too devastating or problematic that can deny God of the praise and worship he deserves. We do not thank God for bad things that happen to us; rather, we thank God despite the bad things that happen. We must make the choice to follow the admonition given in scriptures: “In everything, give thanks.”Notice however, that it doesn’t say for everything. So we thank God in the good and not so good times. And when there seems to be nothing to thank God for, we can thank him for who he is. This is the very definition of worship.

God’s Dealings With Man: A Study of Prophet Jonah – Part 2

davidluiz — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 11:42:11 +0000

In the first series of this message, we established certain lessons that can be learnt from the book of Jonah in the bible. Firstly, we established that regardless of the message or assignment a man is given by God, his right to free will is not denied him and he is free to act in whatsoever way he desires; in obedience or disobedience. This is also regardless of the mode by which the message was delivered or how spectacularly it was given. Secondly, we were able to establish that even though man is given free will, God is also free to act in such a way as to help him see the error of his ways and turn man’s eyes back to him. That being said, we must also understand that the recordings of the bible are Holy Spirit inspired and accurately detailed without bias to persons, their status or their wondrous accomplishments. The bible records the highs and lows, victories and failures of its patriarchs without bias to their eternal standings in the corridors of heaven. This is particularly important to us in this present day and age because we can relate to such stories because we are human. An account of only the victories of men and women would be very loop-sided and would give us an illusion of perfection about these biblical mentors.
“And they said everyone to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they to him, Tell us, we pray you, for whose cause this evil is upon us; what is your occupation? And from where come you? What is your country and of what people are you? And he said to them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of Heaven, which has made the sea and the dry land.” Jonah 1:7-9
I am of the opinion that Jonah most likely did not know that God would come after him in the sea in the manner that he did. I also doubt whether he knew the import of his actions or the sensitivity of the assignment he had been given by God to the city of Nineveh. However, I can particularly relate to the fact that Jonah ran away from God’s assignment for his life because there have been times when I have intentionally acted in opposition to a very clear directive from the Lord. However, the fact that God came after Jonah in rebuke and delivered him in his mercy is a great comfort to me. This clearly spells out the fact that God is merciful and the fact that our failures do not make it impossible for him to reach out to us in deliverance.
LESSON 3: God IS merciful! The 136th Psalm of the bible chronicles the merciful acts of God to the children of Israel from the story of creation to the entry of the children of Israel into the promise land. The bible is gloriously littered with account after account of the merciful act of God towards men and his tendency to reach out to men when they are not deserving or even desiring such acts. The crowning act of mercy recorded in the bible is the coming of Jesus Christ; God in mortal flesh, to die and redeem man back to God. This is an awesome revelation because it implies that there is no depth to which man can fall that his mercy is not able to reach and deliver him from! It is however important to note that the mercy of God is no excuse for Sin, disobedience or foolishness. Although God is merciful, he is also a God of judgment. This duality of Gods acts is seen across the bible “for God killeth and maketh alive, he woundeth and bindeth up” (paraphrase).
“Then said they to him, What shall we do to you, that the sea may be calm to us? For the sea wrought and was tempestuous. And he said to them, take me up, and case me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm to you: for I know that for my sake this tempest is upon you.” Jonah 1:11-12
Even though this message series is a study of God’s dealings with man using the book of Jonah as a case study, I believe that there are a few things that can be learnt from Prophet Jonah and his actions after his attempt to run away from God’s assignment. Firstly, it’s interesting to note his answers to the questions he was asked by the distraught sailors. On being asked his occupation and where he was from, he declared that he was a Hebrew and that he “feared the Lord”. This is rather interesting because even though he was a prophet, he considered his occupation as the fear of the Lord. This suggests that we as believers are to hold our relationship with God as our occupation and the definition of who we are. Secondly, we see that Jonah was ready to die to ensure that the innocent passengers and sailors were not made to pay for his faults. It must have taken great courage and a real depth of integrity for him not to lie about who he was and the fact that he was running away from the Lord as well as the suggestion for the sailors to throw him off the ship. In my opinion, his attitude during the raging storm had a great deal to do with God’s intervention and his deliverance. We must always keep a good attitude even in the face of storms and must do all that is in our power to ensure that others don’t suffer for our mistakes or disobedience.
In the next and last series of this message, we will conclude on what I consider the most important lesson and message of the book of Jonah; the Sovereignty of God. To continue to the last part of the message, click here>>.

God’s Dealings With Man: A Study of Prophet Jonah – Part 1

davidluiz — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 01:04:18 +0000

The book of Jonah is one of its most fascinating books in the Bible. As a little child, I and my other colleagues were particularly fascinated by this story because of the singular fact that he was swallowed by a fish, yet lived to tell the tale. Needless to say, this is one of the reasons why many have also been fascinated by the story of this prophet. However, the book of Jonah unlike other prophetic books of the bible is one that focuses and documents not just the prophecies of the prophet but rather the relationship between the prophet and his God. It is therefore obvious that there is a lot to learn regarding the dealings of God with man through the recordings of this book; since God desires for us all to be Kings and Priests unto him. The biblically recorded accounts of the life of Jonah (which probably is an account of just a few days or weeks of his life) tell tale of the independence of man in his relationship with God, of God’s sovereignty regardless of this and of other themes such as mercy, faithfulness and love which run like a continuous line of thread through the pages of the bible. Our aim therefore through this series of teachings will be to understand as much as we can from the entire book of Jonah.

Jonah 1:2-4

“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.”

We are introduced to the story of this prophet by the divinely prophetic phrase “Now the Word of the Lord came unto Jonah…” From this, we understand that he was a prophet ordained of God and separated to serve his generation as is seen in other prominent books such as Isaiah and Jeremiah where this phrase is used. We also understand that he was given a prophetic assignment to speak to a certain people on the behalf of God. However, for reasons we can’t specifically pinpoint, he chose to go in another direction and do his own thing.

LESSON 1: God’s purpose or specific assignment to a man will never deny him of his free will to choose to or not to obey. God gave man the right to free will and will never violate or take away that right. It is important to mention here that this is regardless of how spectacularly that assignment was relayed. The apostle Paul made mention of this severally in his letters to the Corinthian church where he emphasized the need for balance between orderliness and the manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the public meetings of the church (I Corinthians 14:26,40). We therefore understand that when the gifts of the Spirit are in manifestation, it is possible for the message to be held till the appropriate time when it can be delivered for the edification of the church. This is an occurrence we sometimes see in churches where a member of the congregation, perhaps genuinely inspired by the Holy Spirit to give a message in tongues blurts out these words in other tongues during the pastors sermon. This is definitely ill timing because it divides the attention of the church from the message of the pastor and is definitely not in order. Alternatively, a good time to share whatever the Lord has laid on your heart would be during the worship session when the eyes and hearts of the members of the congregation are on the Lord.

LESSON 2: From the above quoted scriptures, we also come to understand that just as man has the right to make a choice regarding the revelation of the will of God to him, God also has the right to act or make decisions based on man’s actions (Jonah 1:4). In the beginning, God took certain actions as a result of man’s failure to obey his injunction not to eat of the tree of good and evil. Man was thrown out of the Garden of Eden and forbidden from approaching the tree of life (Genesis 3:22-24). However, it is important to mention that God is a God of love and his actions are always an expression of his love. Hence, every time we take a wrong step, God always acts in such a way as to turn our eyes back to him and to obey him. The bible likens these chastising moments as an act of mercy and love from God in Hebrews 12: 6-11 and admonishes us to endure them even though they may be painful because in the end they will yield “the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:11).
Therefore, we understand that man has the right to free will and is 100% responsible for his obedience or disobedience to God’s Word to him. We also understand that God regardless of man’s disobedience is free to act in such a way as to turn man’s eyes back to him…even if it requires the help of a giant fish and its belly for three days.
In the second part of this series, we will explore more lessons from God’s dealings with man in the book of Jonah. To continue to the second part of this article, please click here>>.

Social Networking and the Treadmill Dynamic

davidluiz — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:23:14 +0000

Okay I agree that I have almost 5000 friends on Facebook, but I can explain that easily. I am not a local champion of some sort, neither a superstar nor some self-accomplished dude with lots of fans checking me out. There are two simple reasons why I have generated this number of people to the point that Facebook has officially banned me from adding more friends and require that I create a fan page. First, I am a functional public relations officer of my Alumni association, and by that privilege, I need to connect with as many members as possible to keep information flowing. These members make up almost half the number of friends I have. The second reason is that from 2005 when I joined Facebook, I had determined that it’s either it is of use to me or I drop it. So when I began seeing its potential as a platform for connecting with positive virtue, I started leveraging its power to reaching out to people who have so far made a huge impact in my life. Only a small number of people on my list are personally unknown.

But in the past months I have be appraising the inefficiencies and deficiencies in my life, especially those having to do with online relationships; those affiliations nurtured by cyber ϋber culture. Just like every other outlet of human interaction facilitated by technology, social networking has proven to be the neo-globalization that makes the economic definition trivial. I have created new friendships, reactivated old ones, facilitated strategic partnerships transcending geography and culture, promoted successful events all through social networking. And we know of course I wouldn’t be wrong if I posit that Facebook is now synonymous with the term social networking. So, most if not all of the above feathers in my social cap were awarded by Facebook. But frankly there lies this little matter that needs to be addressed, and this borders on the nature of cyber social contacts. Have they made the world more closely knit, or simply noncommittal?

So much goes on these online social platforms that it is almost impossible to measure cause and effect. Beyond the basic idea of searching out old friends and connecting with new ones, is the rise of causes, ideas, projects, and initiatives that seem to rally people around a common goal. It would usually take a really committed person to join a cause around their community and work at accomplishing the set goals. But now, it is just a click away. You hit the ‘Like’ button and you automatically support the cause. Not more is demanded from you. After discovering that I had unknowingly join almost 150 groups and pages on Facebook, I had to cleanup my domain and still found that I was still present in over a hundred whose cause I believe in. But beyond the premium I place on what they do, is that I rarely if at all visit up to ten of such pages in a week, neither do I make any concerted effort to advance their agenda. My support is at best a hearty concern.

Before the opportunities to know of and get more involved with great initiatives came around, we were limited to our immediate confines of influence, which required a stronger sense of responsibility and accountability. But with the gradual migration of community resources to the online platform, I find that most people have therefore created an online personality to match through which they interact with anything on the “webosphere”. It is simply the feel good personality who joins a good cause and comment a few times on its wall then hop on another wagon with little or no measurable influence on the former. A few others have decided that it is their own opportunity to make their voices heard by forming all kinds of groups and fan pages, which by the way, a closer look will reveal a similar group, doing a similar thing, in a similar location. So beyond partnership is the desire for ownership. This is by no means a bad thing unless we check to what end.

A few things to note is that first, our society is progressing in stages, and what we have now is that stage where social activism and participation is being sparked by technology. Whether it moves from there is left for social prophets or seers to prognosticate on. Second is that social networks have increase social participation that never existed. Until we had mobile phones and social platforms, our influence remained limited to work, family or our varying flirtations. But now, we can discuss serious or stupid matters with people we have never seen but have a common interest.

Thirdly, many of the people who use these social platforms are lacking in knowledge of the strategic approaches to generating results through these tools. While in some countries, Social Media has already become a curriculum in schools, seeing how the future portends, Nigeria is still lacking in such proactive academic thinking. I remember going to Syracuse University sometime this year and was speaking with a German Professor who was designing a major Social Media study for the Ph.D. level students. I was impressed at the level to which she had created points of power from the concept.

This is an exciting time in human history that we have become so crazily connected in scary ways. But with this comes also the issue of the connections of nothingness or naughtiness. There is an increased capacity for superfluity in transience and this makes it feel like a dangerously big bubble. People now feel that can lend their voices and not their hands, discussing passionately online and reverting to nonchalance and avoiding personal responsibility. Again it is not necessarily bad, at least we can infer from some intelligent assertions, but how erratic these forums have become with no calculable impact on society.

I have worked the social platform, but I learnt never to start one without a matching tangible on-ground structure. So the onus is to take a more quantitative and qualitative approach to how we can translate our online power (potential power) into actual measurable impact. Then we leave some structure for the next generation to flag off their contributions.

Connections are a necessary first step, but for social networks to really deliver on its true value, connections must become partnership. These are the amazing potentials we enjoy today and it presents us with the opportunity to move along the continuum from connections to friendships, from friendships to partners, and from partners to progress.

2010 To-Do List

davidluiz — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:56:34 +0000

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy
5. Make time for prayer
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2008
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day —- and while you walk, smile

Personality:
11. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control.
Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t over do ; keep your limits
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously ; no one else does
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past.
That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.
Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away
like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Community:
25. Call your family often
26. Each day give something good to others
27. Forgive everyone for everything
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day
30. What other people think of you is none of your business
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right things
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful
34. GOD heals everything
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up
37. The best is yet to come
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least :
40. Have fun today and tell as many as you can to do the same.

God loves and cares for us!

HAPPY XMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR in ADVANCE….