Exceedingly Abundantly

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20, NKJV).

Exceedingly abundantly simply means overflow or something immeasurable. God is a God of the overflow. Our text says He is able to very much surpass our requests and thoughts. While men think natural, God thinks and desires to do the supernatural. While we think ordinary, He thinks extraordinary. While we think and operate the mundane, He operates the spiritual and superior. Hannah petitioned God for a son, but God gave her six children (1 Samuel 1:11; 2:21). The crippled man at the gate of the temple wanted alms from Peter, but God decided to make him walk (Acts 3:1-10). The widow of the prophet wanted to just pay her debt so that her children will not go into captivity, but God decided to give her a business with lifelong earnings (2 Kings 4:1-7).

Though God is unlimited in His operations, He is often limited by man. He chooses to work with regenerated men who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. And our text clearly states that we determine the degree to which God is able to do His exploits in our lives. It is according to the power that works in us. The following are some powers the Christian is to pay attention to in order to see the limitlessness of God:

The Power of Submission: The total yieldedness of one’s will to God will undoubtedly release His power immeasurably. After Jesus prayed and surrendered His will to the Father, an angel was released to Him from Heaven to strengthen and empower Him for the daunting assignment before Him (Luke 22:39-46). After Peter surrendered his boat for Jesus to preach from, he was instructed to cast his fishing nets and he caught a great multitude of fishes and experienced an overflow (Luke 5:1-11). It was when the patriarch Jacob submitted fully to God that the nation Israel was born through him (Genesis 32:22-32). The human will is sacrosanct and independent. God designed us to exercise our wills however we choose to. A deliberate surrender of one’s will to God will release supernatural powers to that same person (John 1:12-13).

The Power of Expectancy: Clichés that are popular have a way of losing their potency and severity. One of such clichés in Christian circles is expectation is the mother of manifestation. We hear it regularly but fail to ponder on its relevance and truthfulness. Often times those who have little or no expectations from God lose out from His generosity and magnanimity. Expectancy and patience (or waiting ability) are Siamese twins (Hebrews 6:12, 15).  Expectancy and paying attention are also blood relations (Acts 3:4-5). Those who have low expectations of God do not wait on Him to manifest. Our expectation commits God to act on our behalf. The prophet Elijah was praying to God to cause rain to fall after three and half years of drought. Seven times he kept asking his servant to check the sky for clouds. For six times the servant came back with ‘no cloud’ answer, until the seventh time he reported seeing the cloud. (1 Kings 18:41-46). Elijah was praying and expectant! May the Almighty enable us to have high expectations in Jesus’ name.

The Power of His Anointing: Every born-again believer has the yoke-destroying and burden-removing power of God resident in him or her (Isaiah 10:27, 1 John 2:20). Apostle Peter was very conscious of the overflowing power (anointing) within him. When the crippled man at the gate of the temple looked up to him and John for alms, he said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6). Peter invoked the name of Jesus Christ and the anointing within to heal a cripple of forty years old who had never walked before. Talk of the exceedingly abundantly! Peter was conscious of what he carried: the yoke-destroying and burden-removing power of God. Are you conscious of the indwelling Holy Spirit within? Do you engage the Holy Spirit regularly by speaking His language, listening to Him and obeying Him?

CONCLUSION: May we all receive grace to cooperate with God in order to experience the exceedingly abundantly this month in Jesus’ name.

Draw Near To God

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:19-22 NLT

Drawing near to God is a deliberate action emanating from a determined and decisive person. Every move towards God is rewarded and matched by Him also taking steps towards us. God wants to be desired, sought after, pursued after and given priority by His children. Below are some ways to draw near to Him:

Draw near by the blood of Jesus: One major hindrance of men approaching God is a guilty conscience. The high priest under the Old Testament entered the holy of holies in the tabernacle once a year with the blood of bulls and goats to make atonement and secure forgiveness for the Israelites. In God’s kingdom, sin is purged by the shedding of blood. The blood of goats and bulls couldn’t heal a guilty conscience ridden of sin. It was only able to cleanse and purify the flesh and the outwardly, and not the inward where true worship is made to God (John 4:23-24). Jesus became the sacrifice for sins by His death on the cross of Calvary. By shedding His blood, He entered the heavenly holy of holies with his pure blood, obtaining eternal redemption and forgiveness for those who believe in Him. His blood cleanses from a guilty conscience and is the covering for believers as we approach the Most Holy God. The blood of Jesus is our merit and qualifier as we draw near to God. Reference: Hebrews 9:11-14

Draw near by purity:  The Christian in the New Testament is the temple of God. Under the Old Testament the temple of God was the physical building (or some consecrated place) set apart for His worship. Cleanliness, attention to details and observance of protocols were the hallmarks of the worship of Jehovah in these locations. Now that we are the temple of God bearing the resident Holy Spirit within us, we are set apart for a holy purpose and true worship of God. We have been made kings and priests to God. We are to dominate our world and also to intercede for mankind before God. Our roles are very sacrosanct and requires the utmost responsibility from us. There is need for personal holiness as we serve God. References: 1 Peter 2:5; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Draw near with boldness. There were restrictions in the tabernacle in the Old Testament. The people were only allowed in the outer court. Some regular priests were allowed in the Holy place. Only the high priest was allowed in the holy of holies once a year. And while going in, a rope was tied on his leg because if the rules weren’t followed carefully he will be struck dead in the holy of holies. The high priest drew near to the most holy place with fear and trepidation. Jesus is the high priest of the new covenant, securing access to the holy of holies to those who believe in Him. He paid the sacrifice for us so that we can approach God boldly. He is also in the heavenly tabernacle as our perfect high priest, making intercession for us before God. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 NKJV

Conclusion: We have access to an unlimited God through Jesus Christ. Are you taking advantage of this access? Are you desirous of being intimate with this wonderful God? Are you taking advantage of the Divine Enabler within to draw close to God? Are your sins washed and forgiven by Jesus? Receive grace to draw near in Jesus’ name.

 

Taking The Limit Off God

“Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power: the day when He redeemed them from the enemy.” (Psalm 78:41-42, NKJV).

The Israelites, on getting near to Canaan the Promised Land, refused to go forward. Ten out of the twelve leaders appointed by Moses said it was impossible for them to take the land considering the size and humongous nature of the giants who were occupying the land. It was only Joshua and Caleb who were willing to go on and take possession of the land. These two leaders said, “If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us …” (Numbers 14:8). They acknowledged the power of God in the situation.

God is unlimited in power; He has no inabilities or restrictions and can do all things. When we limit God, we restrict His actions in our lives, we bind His Hands and do not allow Him to operate freely on our behalf. Below are some ways to take the limits off God:

Re-new your mind: The Bible enjoins us to renew our minds (Romans 12:2). There is need to educate the mind with the scriptures in order to align our thoughts with the will of God. The battlefield is the mind of man. We are all products of our thoughts. The stronghold of fear, worry, anxiety, doubt, inferiority complex, etc are all products of the mind. God’s wish is that we meditate on His word and be in alignment with Him in our thinking! As we renew our minds we begin to think like Him, change inwardly and reflect His glory. The Israelites had been slaves all their lives and therefore had a slave mentality. They couldn’t see themselves owning Canaan, and in spite of all they had seen God done in Egypt, they doubted when they saw the giants in the land.  Top athletes must exercise daily in order to remain in form and competitive. Neglecting to exercise regularly leads to weakness and loss of competence. Christians must renew their minds regularly in order to take the limits off God.

Re-member past victories: Every child of God has past victories. Before David faced Goliath, he remembered how God used him to kill the lion and the bear that confronted him in the wilderness. And he voiced these past victories to King Saul (1 Samuel 17:34-37). These became the platform for his faith and courage. There was no recounting of God’s past victories from the Israelites when they stood at the verge of Canaan. They couldn’t remember past victories at the face of challenge; all they could think of at that time was the seeming ‘security’ they had in Egypt. David made his boast in the Lord publicly when he told Saul how God used him to kill the lion and bear. Bold and audacious words coming out of a convinced and persuaded mind will always make God move mightily (Mark 11:22-24).

Re-kindle lost dreams: Many Christians when they first come to faith in Christ are full of lofty dreams and aspirations. But over time they become complacent when their realities don’t match their expectations. The way to always go is perseverance. We are not to be slothful but by faith and patience obtain God’s promises (Hebrews 6:12). Oil drillers never stop drilling when they are assured, through prospecting studies, that there is crude where they are drilling. God’s promises are yes and Amen in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). Jesus’ blood signed, sealed and delivered all of God’s promises to us.

Re-enact past moves: Literally, all Christians have made a move of faith at some point that glorified God. Moves of faith please God and take the limits off Him. With a renewed mind that puts Him first, God begins to acknowledge every move we make in faith. Signs follow those who believe and move in the name of the Lord! The four lepers at the gate of Samaria that God used to bring deliverance to Syria would have died on that spot if they had not made a move. They moved and the prophetic word by Prophet Elisha found fulfillment (2 Kings 7). Prophecies are realized as believers make moves in the direction of the prophetic word.

CONCLUSION: To take the limits off God, we must seek fresh divine experiences through an intimate relationship with Him. I pray God’s Hands shall be loosed over us all in this new month in Jesus’ name.

The Power Of Imagination

“And the Lord said, behold, the people is one, and they have all one language, and this they begin to do: AND NOTHING WILL BE RESTRAINED FROM THEM, WHICH THEY IMAGINE TO DO” (Genesis 11:6).

The Merriam Webster dictionary meaning of the word imagination is to form a mental image of something not actually present to the senses. In the above scripture, a united humanity was making progress in the building of a tower they envisioned. God had to come down to disrupt the building project else they would have achieved their goal because of their unity and the imagination of their hearts. God Himself said nothing will be restrained from them which they imagine to do.

One of the Hebrew words for imagination is ‘yetser’ which means a form or conception. The human mind is basically divided into two: the memory and imagination compartments. With the memory, we replay events of the past; and with the imagination, we pre-play and visualize the outcomes we desire in the future. The imagination compartment is our spiritual womb. Below are three types of imagination, viz:

Vain imagination: The word vain means useless; something that produces no result. The Bible says because some people refuse to glorify God they became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts became darkened (Romans 1:21). An unregenerate person who refuses to give ample room to God in his or her mind falls into this category. An evil mind that is being controlled by evil forces also fall into this category. This kind of imagination produces evil outcomes that is dangerous and detrimental to humanity.

Fertile imagination: This is productive imagination. This is the mind which has been cultivated and is harnessing the power of imagination resident within. Napoleon Hill, the author of Think and Grow Rich said “whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” This maxim is in line with Ephesians 3, verse 20 which says God can grant to us whatever we ask or think according to the power resident within us. Many don’t receive from God because their words and the imagination of their hearts do not agree. You can’t be healed after praying for healing when at the same time you are thinking death. We produce good outcomes when there is alignment between the images we carry within and the words we speak.

Godly imagination: These are godly dreams and visions. They are images God Himself paints in the canvasses of the mind. He showed Abraham many stars in the night and told him his descendants will be as numerous as the stars of the firmament (Genesis 15:5-6). As a new believer, I was greatly engrossed in playing chess with my unbelieving friends to the expense of my time with God, and God in convicting me to change my company began to show me images of chess board every time I kneel to pray. He communicated with me that the company I was keeping and the amount of time spent playing chess were a hindrance to my walk with Him.

Conclusion: What images are you forming in your mind? Are they positive or negative images? How do you see yourself? Our imagination is our spiritual womb. Like the mother hen that sits on his chicks before they hatch, we also conceive and incubate things within us before they manifest. God gave us imagination to help in our walk with Him. As we daily imagine His greatness, His Holiness, His acts, He shall become magnified in our lives. Remember that whatever you focus on magnifies in your life. Have a blessed month!