GENESIS 1:27-28
Some suffering is given in order to chastise and correct a person for
wrongful patterns of life (as in the case of Jonah imperiled by the storm),
some suffering is given not to correct past wrongs but to prevent future ones
(as in the case of Joseph sold into slavery), and some suffering has no purpose
other than to lead a person to love God more ardently for himself alone and so
discover the ultimate peace and freedom.” (47)
“Suffering is unbearable if you aren’t certain that God is for you and with
you.” (58)
Genesis
1:27-28
New International Version (NIV)
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase
in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the
birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Most of us don not trip over
mountains, but amazingly we easily trip over mats.
Walking with God is a daily
requirement.
It is a primary expectation of God
from us
From the outset the Living God
expected man to be just like Him. Unlike men God in his great wisdom created
man in his own image and likeness. In your enclosure lock your self up and look
at yourself properly. You will discover that you are exactly as God made you
and intended you to thrive and blossom that way. There is no reason for me to
compare and contrast with any one. In the same breath I owe nobody any apologies
about my look. David puts it succinctly that “I am fearfully and wonderfully
made”
God stooped down to work and created
man. He formed man in his own image. In Verse 27 alone the word “created is
repeated three times”
The Meaning of Numbers: The Number 3
The number 3 is used 467 times in the Bible. It pictures completeness,
though to a lesser degree than 7. The meaning of this number derives from the
fact that it is the first of four spiritually perfect numerals (the others
being 7, 10 and 12). The 3 righteous patriarchs before the flood were Abel,
Enoch and Noah. After the deluge there was the righteous "fathers"
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (later renamed Israel)
There are 27 books in the New Testament, which is 3x3x3, or
completeness to the third power.
Man (male and female) alike, they bear the image of God and
together they share in divine benediction that follows. After such smart work from God, the least
expected of us is to walk with God. Pursuing his ways PASSIONATELY, OBEDIENTLY,
LOVINGLY and FAITHFULLY
1. OBEDIENCE
Definition:-
Compliance
with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority:
Towing the
line and not breaking the rule. Pursuing the straight and narrow path.
Obedience is walking according to the laid down rules. When walking in
obedience God promises to walk with us.
[To have Faith in Christ] means, of
course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you
trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really
handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him.
But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to
be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to
Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain
way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.”
―
C.S. Lewis,
Mere Christianity
God is God. Because he is God, He is worthy of my trust and
obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will that is unspeakably
beyond my largest notions of what he is up to.”
―
Elisabeth
Elliot
Obedience in itself attracts other things
Leviticus 26:1-4
I will
send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees
their fruit
There will be rain in season and the
ground will yield its crops. Rain here is used to mean blessings, acceptance
and the very presence of God.
Deuteronomy 28:12
The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain
on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to
many nations but will borrow from none.
Whatever you do will come out profoundly
dazzling! You will be blessed but take note that the blessing will only be as a
result of walking in obedience.
That in obedience you will excel in
blessings to the point of lending to many nations. The bible does not mention
you lending to some people but actually to nations
“Does it make sense to pray for guidance about the future if
we are not obeying in the thing that lies before us today? How many momentous
events in Scripture depended on one person's seemingly small act of obedience!
Rest assured: Do what God tells you to do now, and, depend upon it, you will be
shown what to do next.”
―
Elisabeth
Elliot
As if that is not all these shall be your
reward:-
i)
You will always be at
the top and not tail
ii)
You will be called by
the name of the Lord and the people will fear you .There will be no need to
threaten people. Your walk with God will make people fear you. Deuteronomy
28:9-10. The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath,
if you keep the commands of the Lord your God
and walk in obedience to him. 10 Then
all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you.
iii)
You will enjoy peace in the
land. You will lie down and no one will make you afraid. Leviticus 26:6-9,
6 “‘I will grant peace in
the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove
wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country.
7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will
fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of
you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and
your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
iv)
You will attract favour from
God, increase and fruitfulness.
9 “‘I will look on you with favor and make
you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you.
Favor [N]
Finding favor means gaining approval, acceptance, or special benefits or
blessings. There is also a close association among favor, grace, and mercy,
which are sometimes used to translate the same Hebrew and Greek words (such as
hen
[
ej] and
charis [
cavri"]). The favor that human beings receive from
God depends on his good pleasure and is often extended in response to prayer or
righteous living. Those whose walk is blameless, such as Noah or Moses (
Gen 6:8 ;
Exod
33:12-13 ), receive favor and honor from the Lord (
Psalm 84:11 ). In
Moses' blessing on the twelve tribes he speaks of Joseph's prosperity and
fruitfulness as the one who enjoyed God's favor (
Deut 33:16 ).
Gabriel told Mary (
Luke
1:30 ) that she had "found favor with God" and would bear the
Christ-child. When Christ was born the angelic host announced to the shepherds
that God would send "peace to men on whom his favor rests" (
Luke 2:14 ). At age
twelve Jesus enjoyed the favor of God and men as he "grew in wisdom and
stature" (
Luke
2:52 ), a description similar to the one about the boy Samuel (
1 Sam 2:26 ).
Favor [N]
Finding favor means gaining approval, acceptance, or special benefits or
blessings. There is also a close association among favor, grace, and mercy,
which are sometimes used to translate the same Hebrew and Greek words (such as
hen
[
ej] and
charis [
cavri"]). The favor that human beings receive from
God depends on his good pleasure and is often extended in response to prayer or
righteous living. Those whose walk is blameless, such as Noah or Moses (
Gen 6:8 ;
Exod
33:12-13 ), receive favor and honor from the Lord (
Psalm 84:11 ). In
Moses' blessing on the twelve tribes he speaks of Joseph's prosperity and
fruitfulness as the one who enjoyed God's favor (
Deut 33:16 ).
Gabriel told Mary (
Luke
1:30 ) that she had "found favor with God" and would bear the
Christ-child. When Christ was born the angelic host announced to the shepherds
that God would send "peace to men on whom his favor rests" (
Luke 2:14 ). At age
twelve Jesus enjoyed the favor of God and men as he "grew in wisdom and
stature" (
Luke
2:52 ), a description similar to the one about the boy Samuel (
1 Sam 2:26 ).
v)
God’s dwelling will be amidst
you.
Leviticus 26:11. I will put my dwelling place[a] among you,
and I will not abhor you. 12 I will
walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.
David was good at this, no wonder God calls him “A man
after my own heart”1 Samuel 13:14
2. PLEASE GOD
Hebrews 11:5
By faith Enoch was taken from
this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because
God had taken him away.”[a] For before
he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
The lord is pleased with
righteous walk. Isaiah 42:21
1.
To give pleasure to; to excite agreeable sensations or emotions in; to
make glad; to gratify; to content; to satisfy
2.
To have or take pleasure in; hence, to choose; to wish; to desire; to
will
3.
To be the will or pleasure of; to seem good to; -- used impersonally
4.
To afford or impart pleasure; to excite agreeable emotions
5.
To have pleasure; to be willing, as a matter of affording pleasure or
showing favor; to vouchsafe; to consent
1Samuel 12:22, For the sake of
his great name the Lord will not reject his people,
because the Lord was pleased to make you his own.
Pleasing God involves sacrifices.
Hebrew 13:16, And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with
such sacrifices God is pleased.
There have to be things to forfeit
as people go about them. By the way watching and praying over night is a
sacrifice. It is not that easy. It is the opportunity cost over your sleep.
This is what Enoch did until he
was no more. 300 years walking with God. What did he do right to please God?
Walking involves spoken and unspoken words, body language, accepting others and
making peace where necessary.
Kindness has to be practiced in
its entirety. There was a man called Rehoboam. He sought advice from the elders
on how to rule his subjects but could not follow it because he thought the
young men had a better idea than the elders.
2Chronicles 10.7. They
replied, If you will be kind to these people and please them and give them a
favourable answer, they will always be your servants.
Forgiveness is part of the package of pleasing God
I can promise you that there will so may hurts,
inconsistencies, heart brakes, accusations and counter accusations, name
calling and cold shoulders. But the encouragement is you are not after all
pleasing man. Your life is tuned heavenward. You are geared towards your maker.
It is with this hope and assurance that you live every day. You can comfortably
stand with Paul as he exhorts us that in everything you do. Do it as if it is
unto the lord. Totally divorce and delete the interest of man from your mind.
Knowing the hope that you have been called
heavenward it will call for forgiveness in order to have a clean heart that
will in turn please the lord. It is not your hard work that will yield this.
No! What will count is the yielding of yourself to god that will turn out as
pleasing to the living God.
1 Thessalonians 4.1
4 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the
Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please
God, so ye would abound more and more.
Do not be a people pleaser
Stop doing things with an eye to
comments, appraisals and commendations from people
Also understand that hostility to
people displeases God
Corruption, taking of bribes or
giving them, hate, envy and strive are some of the great bottlenecks to living
a life worth walking with God. You cannot expect to displease the people God
created and in turn claim that you are alright. This kingdom is not about
rights. It is about walking with God. He is the one who calls the shorts and
expects me and you to walk in obedience. Halleluyah!
As earlier said, to please God
you have to close your ears to idle talk, separate yourself from wicked counsel
and pursue righteous sacrifices. These sacrifices will come at and with a
price.
Psalm 51:19
Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt
offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine
altar.
3.
REVERENCE
Noah Genesis 6
Deep
respect for someone or something
Noah was a
righteous man
If Noah
was a righteous man, then what does it entail to be righteous?
Noah's Strengths:
Noah was a righteous man. He was blameless among the people of his time.
This does not mean Noah was perfect or sinless, but he loved God with his whole
heart and was fully committed to obedience. Noah's life revealed qualities of
patience
and persistence, and his faithfulness to God did not depend on anyone else. His
faith was singular and unshakable in a completely faithless society.
Noah's Weaknesses:
Noah had a weakness for wine. In Genesis 9, the Bible tells of Noah's only
recorded sin. He became drunk and passed out in his tent, making himself an
embarrassment to his sons.
Noah lived a godly life. His life
was the exact opposite of the wickedness of the people of his times.
Not quite different from our
times.
The thing is you and I are the
ones that need to separate from the world and not vice versa.
Noah had to align his life
towards his calling not feelings what he saw or desired. It was upon him to
choose how to live irrespective of his surroundings. Beloved this is the
monster in the room. Choose to walk with God. Jesus asked what will it profit a
man if he gains the whole world and loose his soul? It does not mean that Noah
was a saint, but rather he was quick to mend his ways and align them with God’s
requirements to walking with God.
He was blameless among the people
he lived with.
J.A.F.N
How do you treat your subjects?
How do you relate with your
juniors?
Do you look down upon them and
wonder what a hell they are?
Can you count on your
subordinates during the hard times of your life or you will be crestfallen due
to the way you used to treat them. Jesus looking at you would he be encouraged
when you stand up to give a testimony of your walk with him?
Noah was such a man. He lived
during times of wickedness yes, but was himself not wicked.
Noah went the whole hodge to
follow the Lord’s instruction. Whether good or bad. He was there for God and in
turn Jehovah was there for him.
He build the Ark according to
divine instruction not bending even a single rule.
Were I the one could I have
aced this interview?
Food for thought.
He did it according to God’s
specifications. The specifications were God’s and had to taken that way with no
alterations what so ever.
Something he never knew about
and had no gasp of what it will turn out to be or what was building up in the
mind of God. For 210 years he was not bothered with what he heard other people
say. Neither was he concerned by the jeers, comments, accusations and whatever
insinuation people had about him. Simply Noah was focused.
This is what I call determined
walking with God. Knowing that he who begun this good work would bring it to
accomplishment in the day of Christ Jesus! Glory to the Most High God.
After all he knew that he was
created to worship God with a clean heart which requires righteousness.
TRUSTING AND
TOTALLY RELYING ON GOD
Genesis 6.17
God entrusts his people with
his secrets. Noah had never known the definition of the FLOOD yet when God
tells him “I will wipe out the Earth”
God un- veils his impending judgment
to one who daily keeps abreast with him. Who is your closest confidant and or
chief advisor when mountains stand before you?
When is the last time you heard
from God? If and when you heard what was your reaction?
Do you have a closet that you
use to connect with Jehovah? These are some of the secrets Noah used to conquer
the criticism from the masses. This is how he could differentiate the voice of
God from the voice of the rest. He decided to walk with God regardless of what
the outside world thought of him. This was his personal decision. You and I
will be required to take similar step if at all we are going to go into the
books of history as men and women who walked with the living God.
Noah was trusting, thus he
never questioned God of his design for the ARK. If it were you how ready would
you be willing, obedient and with what ease would you take up this assignment
to walk with your creator? I hear some one saying this is a daunting requirement,
I cannot do it. Allow me to challenge you. The word says that the plans He has
for us are such that the ear has not heard neither has the eye seen.
Nevertheless he asks us to seek him while he may be found. Thus sometimes
things will seem un-workable but that God for he is the one who speaks to
storms and the same head his voice.
Remember Moses in Exodus 4:1-7
Moses Given Powerful Signs
4 Then
Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice,
for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’”
2 The Lord said to
him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” 3 And
he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became
a serpent, and Moses ran from it. 4 But
the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he
put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— 5 “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” 6 Again,
the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.”[a] And he put
his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was
leprous[b] like snow.
7 Then God said, “Put your hand back inside
your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out,
behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh.
i)
If they do not believe me or listen. Vs. 1
This was
Moses’ first excuse and you and I have so many that are similar. I cannot go be
part of the leadership because I am not considered when push comes to shove.
God had told
Moses to go. The struggle and difficulties of the assignment were not for Moses
to handle. God has called you to walk with him the valleys and mountains you
will get ahead he knows how to sort them out. Yours is to set off and follow
instructions without editing them copy and pasting other believers’ walk will
not help either. You have to put you foot down. You are simply a messenger thus
do your bidding and walk with God.
ii)
I have never been eloquent. Vs.10
Many at times
we like to under estimate God. We often forget He is our maker, he knows our
potential, strengths and weaknesses.
Jehovah has
the DNA of who we are in the palms of his hands.
Even some
training by God of who we are does not seem to drive sense into our minds.
This is as a
result of focusing on our weaknesses. Beloved I challenge us not toot to focus
on the problem but rather focus unto Jesus the author and perfector of our
faith.
He is the one
who is able to melt down the problem and struggle we undergo and then provide
equilibrium. Thus making you and I more than conquerors through Christ Jesus!
Trusting people are quick to understanding and lay hands
on the foregoing assignment. They do not question the authority of God instead
they confirm it is God giving the orders. Judges 13:1-25, emphasis Vs. 8-14 Then Manoah prayed to the Lord and said,
“O Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent come again to us and teach us
what we are to do with the child who will be born.” 9 And
God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the
woman as she sat in the field. But Manoah her husband was not with her. 10 So the woman ran quickly and told her husband,
“Behold, the man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.” 11 And Manoah arose and went after his wife and came
to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?” And he
said, “I am.” 12 And Manoah said, “Now
when your words come true, what is to be the child's manner of life, and what
is his mission?” 13 And the angel of
the Lord said to Manoah, “Of all that I said to the woman let her be
careful. 14 She may not eat of anything
that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat
any unclean thing. All that I commanded her let her observe.”
Trust is earned over a period
of time. It cannot be bought from the shelf in a super market. Trust is a
product of scrutiny under the microscope of the word of God Holy Spirit. It is
as a result of serious observation self interrogation and confirmed
qualification. For us to be called God trusting, He will subject us to the
wilderness test as well as the test of time to see how long we can suffer long
to wait on GOD. The lord requires our trust regardless of what, where and when
you are going through.
Listen to David speaking in
2Samuel 22:3
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my
shield[a] and the
horn[b] of my
salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—
from
violent people you save me.
When you trust God He shields you
and also becomes your buckler, 2 Samuel 22:31
“As for God, his way is perfect:
The
Lord’s word is flawless;
he
shields all who take refuge in him.
I say you will confidently walk
in his ways without fear, favor or contradiction in Jesus’ name!
Trusting God also brings with it
blessings, Psalm 2:12
Kiss his son, or he will be angry
and
your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed
are all who take refuge in him.
1Timothy 4:12
12 Don’t let anyone look down on you
because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in
conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
Trusting God that leads to
walking in God with it comes a fair share of the challenges of which the man of
God has to be prepared for:-
-
Labour
-
Suffering of reproach
Knowing when you are living to
please God, it won’t be difficult taking head of the advice from Paul to his
son Timothy and to us living today, the church of Christ. Paul tells Timothy,
“these things command and teach”
Finally on trust let us
consider Psalm 32:10
Many are the woes of the wicked,
but
the Lord’s unfailing love
surrounds
the one who trusts in him.
Keep your cool as you trust God,
the hedge and fence around you is MERCY.
Believe it, Act it and Live it.
May God fire you into greater
heights of walking with Him. Amen!
