The Force Of Confidence! (2)

WE live in a world where the confident reign and the fearful are slaves. Confidence commands authority. Last week, I brought you the first segment of this series containing the definition of confidence and what confidence is all about.

This week, I will be teaching the bases for confidence. Let us look at some of the bases:

1. The ever-abiding presence of God: A lot of us trust in the presence of people. There are women, who cannot sleep with the light off, when their husbands are away. Parents also act as confidence boosters for their children. They are always at peace and at ease anywhere, provided their parents are with them. God does not want you to put your confidence in people, no matter how highly placed. He decreed that anyone who puts his trust in man is cursed. No wonder, God’s Word says: ...Cursed be the man that trusteth in man... (Jeremiah 17:5). Your confidence should be in God and in His ever-abiding presence. The Psalmist said: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me... (Psalm 23:4). There is nothing as comforting as knowing that God is with you, even in your darkest moments. In all your battles of life, God is with you. Jesus, the Son of God said: Lo, I am with you always... (Matthew 28:20). God is with you and He will never fail or forsake you. This should be your greatest confidence booster.

I remember those early days in school. If your schoolmate annoyed you in anyway and you knew that you could stand him in a fight, you would wait for him after school hours and deal with him. But when the person was bigger and stronger than you, you dare not utter a word until you were near your house; then you let loose. Why? Because you knew that your parents would save the situation, in case it turned against you. The presence of your parents instills confidence in you. Invariably, the presence of God should embolden you. If God is with you and you do not know Him as one who can help you, then His presence is of no use to you. The presence of God cannot help you unless you know and believe what it can do for you in your situation. The presence of God guarantees safety and assures one of a way out of every challenge. For the presence of God to instil in you the confidence you need, you need to know Him. Know who He is and what He can do. When you know Him and the power of His might, then you have a solid basis for confidence.

2. The Word of God: God never acts contrary to His Word. The Word of God is God’s control valve. It controls His actions. It draws God into a situation and compels Him to act according to what His Word says. If God’s Word wields so much power, then it is enough for you. The Bible tells a story of how a centurion wanted Jesus to heal his sick servant. When Jesus told him that He would come to his house, he requested that Jesus should only speak the Word and that his servant would be healed. His confidence in the Word brought him his desired miracle (Matthew 8:5-13). When you know what God has said about you in any situation you find yourself, then you have enough ground for confidence. There is no power above God’s Word. There is no situation that the Word of God cannot deal with. All things answer the Word of His power. God’s Word permeates every realm of being (Hebrews 4:12). There is no obstacle you will face in life that does not answer the power of God’s Word. God created the universe with His Word and the universe is still being upheld by it (Genesis 1). Since He commanded man to be “fruitful and multiply,” there has been a compulsory multiplication of human beings on the earth. God cannot lie. He watches over His Word, and makes sure it produces results. These characteristics of the Word should build an unbreakable and unshakable confidence in you.

Friend, in order to build your confidence through God’s Word, you must first know Him. Knowing God entails confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. That way, you are born again. If you are ready to know God, please say this prayer: Lord I come to you today. I am a sinner. I can’t help myself. Forgive me my sins. From today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Now I know I am born again.

I will continue this teaching next week.
Friend, be informed that between December 9 and 13, 2008 at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Idiroko Road, Ota, many destinies will be transformed to higher levels of greatness at SHILOH 2008. Shiloh 2008, being the tenth Shiloh, has a great spiritual significance. Don’t miss this special edition entitled, The Manifestation of the Sons of God. Come for a life-transforming experience!

Every exploit in life is a product of knowledge. For further reading, please get my books –Exploits In Ministry, Understanding Your Covenant Rights and The Force Of Freedom.

I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: BISHOP DAVID OYEDEPO, Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; Or call 7747546-8; Or E-mail: bishopoyedepo@yahoo.com

Getting To The Top(2)

(To be continued)

Romans 12:6-8 says:
“Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.”

It takes diligence to get to the top and it takes diligence to remain there. The problem with many people, particularly in our country, is that they work hard to get to the top and when they get there, they relax. You need to work twice as hard to remain on top than you need to work to get there. This is true in both the secular and in the spiritual. When many of us just become born-again, we become diligent but as we mature spiritually; we relax. To remain where you are, you have to keep running. If you do not keep on moving, those who are behind you will catch up with you and they will go on moving. Better still, you have to be diligent to make it to Heaven, II Peter 3:13-14 says:

“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”

God has promised us new heavens, new earth, and to reign with Him. Even though we have this promise, we have to be diligent to be found in Him, in peace, without spots or blemishes. We are saved by grace but the Bible also says we should work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Even after He has given you your salvation, there is something you must do so that the salvation will not slip out of your hands. Even when a prophecy comes about you, you will still have to work diligently for it. If you do not want to die in poverty and a failure, you must be diligent. You can begin your diligence with prayer and in studying the word of God.

Our God Can Repeat Miracles
David said that the God that delivered him from a lion and a bear would also deliver him from Goliath. What David was saying was that God, who had done something for him before, would do it again. He had delivered him from death before and He would deliver him again. When you go through the Bible, you will discover that our God can always repeat miracles. For example, in Exodus 14:14, Moses said to the Israelites that the Lord shall fight for them and by the time you get to verse 30, the Lord had fought for them. Not a single one of their enemies remained alive. In Exodus 17, a different kind of enemy came against the Israelites. The first enemy was Pharaoh and his chariots, while the second one were the Amalekites. In Exodus 17:8-14, we see that the God that fought for them at the Red Sea and gave them victory then, fought for them again. Not only did He destroy their enemies, He even promised that the children and wives of the enemies that did not come to war, would be destroyed. He said He would wipe out their remembrance. Years later, when King Saul was given an assignment, it was to go and destroy the Amalekites. This was the fulfillment of the promise.

In II Kings 2:8, we find Elijah and Elisha, about to cross River Jordan. There was no bridge nor boat and they could not swim. Elijah, then, took his mantle and smote River Jordan and the river parted and Elijah went into Heaven, and his mantle fell, and Elisha took the mantle. He came back to the river on his way back (II Kings 2:13-14) and he too smote the river and said “where is the Lord God of Elijah?” In other words, he was calling on the God that opened the river earlier. God answered him and the river opened the second time. May be God had opened a way for you before and right now it seems ways have been blocked and you do not even know whether to go forward or backward. I have good news for you. The God that opened a way for you before, will open the way again.

In II Kings 5:9-14, there is the story of Naaman whom God cleansed. In Matthew 8:1-3, there was a leper who came to Jesus who said he knew Jesus could make him clean because he knew He could repeat miracles. Jesus cleansed him. If you have an illness that no man can cure, I can assure you, because He had done it before for others, He will do it for you.

In II Kings 6:17, God opened the eyes of the servant of Elisha. In John 9:1-7, Jesus opened the eyes of somebody who was born blind. In other words, as He did it before, He can do it again. This means, if you have problems with your eyes and you believe God for new eyes, you will get them. May be the problem is that you cannot see the way forward. Many a time, the miracles you need is right by your side but you cannot just see it, like the widow of the son of the prophet. Her creditors were worrying her and she did not know that there was a bottle of oil in her house that will be the means that God will use to perform a miracle. God had to open her eyes to see this. For some of us, our miracle may be in our bedroom right now or in our kitchens; I pray that God will open your eyes to see them.

In I Kings 17:17-23, God raised the dead through Elijah. In John 11:39-44, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. In other words, He raised the dead before, and He did it again. Because He has done it repeatedly, there is no reason why He cannot do it again. If your business is dead, it can come alive today. If your marriage is dead, it can come alive again. If your brain is dead, God can give you a brand new brain. In Hebrews 13:8, the Bible says:

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”

(To be Continued)