Main Text: Isaiah 43: 18-21, Exodus 23: 25, 26
While God was taking the children of Israel out of Egypt, it is unfortunate that they specialised in ever-increasing complaint and murmuring for their needs. They spoke very fluently in the language of slaves – murmuring and complaints. Rather than praying and seeking God’s face for their needs to be met, they oftentimes blackmailed Moses and, by extension God, with ever-increasing complaints. (Exodus 15: 22-27).
When God took them on a journey for three days without water, He was teaching them eternal lessons about His ability to provide for their necessities and needs. God’s original intention was to continually break His record of goodness in their lives.
This message focuses on God’s provision for our daily needs, and analyses how God surpassed His own record of goodness in the lives of the Israelites (Exodus 17: 1-6).
With scriptural references and scenarios, we are shown how God broke His own records of goodness on several occasions. In the first instance, we see how He provided a mist to water the ground in the beginning in the absence of water or rain or (any) man to till the ground. The lesson therein is that God knows what we need before He created us, or those needs arise. If Israel had understood that, they would have ceased complaining. Likewise, if we understand this truth, we would no longer complain about our situations.
Furthermore, God exceeded His own record of goodness when He provided rivers of water in the Garden of Eden. In other words, God gave Adam his own river. Contemporarily, God has given to each believer river of living water through His Holy Spirit (Genesis 2: 8-15, John 7: 38).
In later years, God gave a well to Ismael in the wilderness of Beersheba, and when God brought His people out of Egypt, He broke His record again by turning bitter water to sweet water. Again, superseding precedence, God broke His record when He brought out water from the rock. As a matter of fact, the rock was a moving rock. (1 Corinthians 10: 1-4).
The lesson in this message is that God is not limited in His ability to provide. Why then do you think your problem is so peculiar and beyond God’s means to solve? We need to know that glorifying God in all things is what is required of us. Therefore, it is important that we learn how to enter God’s court with thanksgiving, and His gates with praises (Psalm 100: 4). What God has done in your life, He is able to do again, and so much more, to surpass His records. (Genesis 1: 6-8; 2: 4-6, Psalm 148: 1-4).
Main Text: Genesis 26: 15, 16, 12-14
Most people give up easily to the enemy’s assault, especially when being confronted constantly in the area of apparent success. It is important you know that in the journey of life, as you are making progress in God’s ways, it is not unusual when you are being attacked by the enemy to frustrate you in order to abandon your faith. But if you really understand God’s faithfulness and goodness towards you in ensuring that He brings you to the place which He has provided for you in Him, you would stand resolute against the enemy, no matter what. Isaac understood this revelation and, thus stood resolute against the enemy’s several attacks. This is the bedrock of this message. It centres on Isaac’s stubborn faith, his persistence and his indomitable spirit.
Based on the story in the above scriptures, we could see how Isaac fought doggedly in protecting the legacy of his forefathers and his inheritance. Whenever he digs a well and the enemy blocks it, he would go further and build another one. This suggests that if you are walking in covenant and you rise to protect the legacy of your fathers and your inheritance’s rite, when the enemy blocks your “wells”, you will dig those wells again, just like Isaac did. Your well in this context connotes your inheritance, businesses or any other course that represents your progress and success in life. Just as Isaac did, it does not matter what they have stolen from you, you will rise in stature and strength, and take it back.
The key to this is that, if you keep on doing what you know how to do best, you will wear out your enemies, in no time. Therefore, it is important you know that you are on a journey, and your destination is in God. In spite of the many success God caused Isaac to achieve, he did not settle for mediocre. He went all the way with God from Rehoboth to Bethel until he reached Beersheba. Those three places represent how God broke His record of goodness in Isaac’s life. Many people complacently settle in their “Rehoboth” while others mediocrely camp around their “Bethel”. But there is a place in God beyond Rehoboth and Bethel. You must go all the way with God to your “Beersheba”. There is more in God for you than what you have now and where you are now. You are on a journey; you must reach your Beersheba. This can only happen by letting the well of the Holy Spirit spring forth in you. This is the only way to move from victory to victory and success to success.
Main Text: John 2: 1-12
There is no doubt that God is always ready to fulfill His promises in the life of His people. It is in His nature to ensure that His word come to pass, regardless how seemingly impossible it may appear from man’s perspective and understanding. However, just as God is willing to play His part in the fulfillment of His word, it is incumbent on us to play our part in this regard. What is our role and how do we play it in order to see the fulfillment of God’s promises in our lives? Better still, what does God expect of us whenever He gives a promise? How do we ensure that we obey what God has told us? This is the summary of the message.
Based on the story in the main text, it shows that we cannot experience the fulfillment of God’s promise in our lives if we do not heed the instruction(s) He has given to us. In other words, the fulfillment of God’s word in our lives is contingent upon our obedience to His instructions. On the contrary, our disobedience to God’s word would consequently shut God’s goodness from flowing towards us. We can’t get the best of what God has for us if our heart is unwilling to obey His instructions. We see how this played out in the life of King Saul in 1 Samuel 10: 1-8; 1 Samuel 13; 1 Samuel 15. Saul’s disobedience to God’s instructions given to him through Samuel cost him his kingdom and his life in the long run.
In addition, it is important we do not let people’s response or opinion influence our obedience to God’s instructions for our lives. It is equally important we wait patiently for the fulfillment of God’s word, not allowing pressure to influence our decision. We must be very careful that we do not yield to pressure when it constantly bangs in our heart. We must not let our know-how hinder us from receiving God’s goodness. This is very important because the things that we know often stand as stumbling blocks and hindrances to God’s goodness in our lives our know-how is a big problem in most cases. God should not just be our last option or other option God should be our first, only and last option in all situations and circumstances of life. God’s instruction(s) may not fit into our picture, image or expectation. We cannot get God’s results based on our own know-how; God’s results would only come based on our obedience to His instructions. See 2 Kings 5.
