ACTION FAITH FOR 2023

  Matthew 17:21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. (all quotation is from James Version]

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 How do you persuade God to take back what he has pronounced? After all, he has told us what comes out of his mouth shall not return until it has accomplished its mission and purpose. [life or death]. Let us read Isaiah 55:11, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it’.

There is only one way to move God God to renege what he has ordered. To do that, put a smile on his face and a nod of approval from his Holiness [God too has emotion; God can be pleased or made angry see Genesis 6:6 “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart”.

Matthew 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. These passages show emotion.
God sent a man, a prophet to tell a certain nation and all it inhabitant that their time was up except they repent. The prophet went but, in his style of delivery, did not leave any room for repentance; He came to tell them about judgment-day, telling them when the city will be damned. Jonah 3:4-7; ; And Jonah entered into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water. Take note, it was the king who knew what to do. Prophet Jonah never told them, wonderful king. The proclamation of fasting here was to humble them. God always open His ears to those who are humble, the proud is far from GOd.

A man believe it is only Jesus who can bring solace to his aching heart concerning his dying servant, he went only to meet a stern rebuke, or so we think, from Jesus. Mathew8:1-9.

A prophet was sent to deliver the doomsday message to the house of Hezekiah that he, the head, should put his household in order for his death was already sealed.

Stepping over to NT, [New testament of the bible] we look at a classical case of how to get your way from the God who is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipotent. He who made the entire world, the only one who is alive forever , the everlasting father. A woman wanted a fix for her dying daughter, a rebuke, from the hovering hand of the devil to kill her.
She made haste to the only one that fear fears and obey his command. She brought this pathetic case to him, but his answer was the least encouraginging! But at the end she had her request met. In the above scenarios, they all had their ways. Let us use the case of the last person, the woman of Canaan, a foreigner, that has nothing to do with the Jews people, but she knew Jesus has the answer to her problem. It is human nature to look for solution to plaguing problems, the challenges that life tosses our way, and the mountains that impede our progress. We go all out for solution wherever and whenever one is available, undermining the source. That is one reason false prophets,, magicians and witch doctors are still thriving and will continue to thrive. While we look for solutions, it behooves us to know the right part like this woman:

Matthew 15:22-28 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.Six facts to note:

1.  God always responds to faith action from anybody, whether you are in the lowest step on the ladder of degeneration and disgrace, or from the highest pinnacle of your relative success.[
2. The environment or society we live might not encourage the application of our faith. The disciples wanted Jesus to tell the Canaanite to go away; [perhaps that may give them the boldness to push her away. [When we live in a country that does not practice or outrightly deny our faith,faith, the ground becomes harder and the atmosphere necessary for miracle is absent.
3. Lack of response should not stop us from persistent prayers, supplications, and asking.
4. In this year, 2023, event or circumstance may work against our faith, but we should not be moved by what we see or hear. Often the Devil uses what we see to attack our faith- base by transmitting a negative picture into our heart via our sight. The men sent out to spy the land saw, and it crumpled their faith in God. the people in the camp heard and it crumples their faith, too. We must see from the eye of faith and hear from the word of God. Jesus answered her not and the only time he answers it was a devastating one.
5. Those who refuse to be offended, who will remain focus, will always win the battles of life. Know what you want, remain humble. Remain focus and persistent in faith.
6. Worship: she worshiped the only being who is worthy of worship. Not material things, not men., but you might say, how do you men? Well, there is a place in our heart that is reserved only for the creator, the place of worship. ‘Then said Jesus unto him get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, thou shall worship the lord thy God and him only shall thou serve.’ Mathew4:10.

Happy new year!