Fear

TOPIC: FEAR- Fake Evidence Appearing Real

Introduction:  Fear of God is to respect, to honour God and to have to have fear of man. In the Bible, fear of God is referred to at least 160 times while man is told not to fear or be afraid about 80 times. The latter type of fear is referring to the fears that should not distress anyone who trusts in God. Whenever we fear or worry, it simply depicts our lack of trust in God or we doubt the ability of God to come to our rescue at that point in time. Whenever we doubt God, we are not exhibiting total and absolute faith and trust in God. Fear is opposite of faith as we will see in our study today.

14 Kinds of Fear to be Delivered from

1.     Fear of Man: In the word of God, we are told repeatedly not to fear any man but we should rather learn to fear God. ( Gen 15:1; Luke 12:5)

2.     Death: Jesus Christ  admonish us not to entertain any fear about death once our lives align with his purpose and will (Gen 21:17; 35:17, Heb 2:15)

3.     The Future: This entails being afraid of what the future holds for us. Instead of fear, we should exercise faith. Gen 46:3, 50:19-21

4.     Danger (Exod 14:13)

5.     Idol gods (Judges6:10, 2 Kg 17:35-38)

6.     Dreams ( Job 4:14-16)

7.     Evil (Ps 23:4, Pr 1:33)

8.     War (Ps 27:3)

9.     Nothing- Imaginative Fears (Ps 53:5)

10.                        Enemies (Ps 118:6)

11.                        Punishment (Prov 1:26-27)

12.                        Darkness

13.                        Ghosts ( Matt 14:26)

14.                        Spirit of Fear ( 2Tim1:6-7)

Other fears not mentioned in the word of God include: Fear of failure, fear of heights, fear of water, fear of animals, fear of sound, fear of being alone etc. To be useful of God, He encourages us not to fear. Instead, we should develop our faith in God.

Conclusion: 2 Tim 1:6-7 makes us to understand that fear is a spirit and it does torment those who are subjected to its bondage. So, as children of the most high with abundant grace upon our lives, we should exercise faith at all times and in all our endeavours. Shalom!

When your little is Blessed

WHEN YOUR LITTLE IS BLESSED Introduction: Our God is God of Divine Provision. However, before God blesses us, He may want us to make our little available for his blessing. The widow in2 Kings4:1 - 7 made her little available and she become abundantly blessed. The topic we are considering today came from Bildad’s statement in Job 8:7. He said this when Job was at the lowest ebb of his life. The statement was prophetic as God caused everything to later work in the favour of Job and for his good. Romans 8:28. What then happens when our little is blessed? 1. Major Hinderances to Blessings are Removed: Bildad was of the opinion that before little effort or possession of a man is blessed by God, he must have stopped his life of sin, pursue a pure and upright life; he must have looked to God and pleaded with the almighty. He who will have his little blessed by God should have a clean heart and live a clear life. 2. Favour of God is Received: When one’s little effort is blessed by God, it means God has treated one with favour. In the Bible, favour, kindness, grace, and pleasantness are used interchangeably. God’s favour causes people to have special love, interest, care and concern for you, and nothing will be too expensive for them to give to you. When you have a small thing and God puts His favour on it, Exodus 12:36. He will cause people to come around and do what will increase the little you have. 3. Creation Mandate will come upon it: When your little is blessed, creation mandate of Gen 1:28 will come upon it. Nothing increases except the blessing of God is upon it. This mandate received fulfillment in the life of Isaac. Genesis 26:12 – 14. Isaac obeyed God and he was awesomely blessed. If you too develop a principle of obedience, God will surprise you with his blessings. 4. You will end in Much: When the Lord blesses the little that the righteous have, their little will end up in much Job 8:7. God will give their blessings upward growth and enlargement. BEFORE YOUR LITTLE IS BLESSED Before your little money, talent, knowledge, business, wisdom, skill or property is blessed, there are things you must do. Some of them are identified below: Provide the Little You Want the Lord to Bless: It could be small knowledge, small idea, small money, small scale business, small tool, small hope or small wisdom. Remember that God will not bless nothing; and nothing will remain nothing until it is replaced with something. Enter into a Fresh, Lasting, Intimate Relationship with God through Jesus Christ. If your intimacy with god is like that of Abraham, you will receive as much blessings as Abraham received from God – Abraham’s blessings shall be yours.  Commit your little in the hands of God, trust Him and He will increase it.  Align Your Programs with God’s Ultimate Agenda: God owns the whole world and wants all nations to come back to him. Use God’s blessings in your possession to bring all nations back to God.  Use Your Blessings Exactly as God wants: God wants you to enjoy everything he gives and at the same time use them to support the poor, develop your community, and to enlarge and promote His kingdom. Let us conclude by pondering on Gen 26:12 – 14 and Job 8:7

Talents

TALENTS ARE GIFTS FROM GOD God made each of us for a special purpose. In His wisdom, He gave special abilities or talents to us so that His plan for our lives could be fulfilled and His work carried out. Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matt 25:14 -29 illustrates some lessons concerning the use of our God-given abilities or talents. A. God Gives Talent to Everyone ‘To one he gave five talents….to each according to his ability………Mt 25:15). We may have heard someone say he has no talent or that he cannot do anything well. This is contrary to Bible teaching and displeasing to God for God has given everyone at least one talent. God expects us to receive His gifts with thanksgiving. (I Tim 4:4) Our talents are not to be despised because we want someone else’s gift. God in His wisdom gave to each according to his ability. God does not ask our faithfulness in using talents we do not possess but He does require faithfulness of the talents He has given us. B. God does not Give All the same Number or Kind of Talents Notice that each servant in the parable was given a different number of talents; one receives five talents, another two and the third had one talent. (I Cor 12:4). An example of different talent can be found in the work of Aaron and Moses. God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Although Moses had the gift of leadership, he did not have a talent for speaking. God used Aaron’s talent for speech to aid Moses in His leadership role. Some of us have a talent for teaching, some for singing and some for helping others. If Christians use their varied talents and work together as Aaron and Moses did, God’s work will be accomplished. (ICor12:4-11, 27 -30) C. God Expects us to be Good Stewards of our Talents Why did God give us these talents? The answer is found in I Peter 4:10. Our abilities are to be used in service to God and man. (Acts 9:36) Let us take stocks of talents God has given us. Are we being good stewards of them? D. The Bible Warns against Neglecting or Misusing Talents I Tim4:14 The unfaithful servant had his talent taken from him (Matt 25:28) not because it was small, but because he neglected to use it. Let us take note that unused abilities will deteriorate. Neglected opportunities of service will be lost with the passing of time. Some do not neglect to use their abilities but they use them for wrong purposes. Such was the case of a young man with great musical ability who played an instrument in a dance band. His gift was not used for god’s glory. In Col 3:17, we find these instructions. As stewards, we need to be aware that our unused talents or talents used selfishly may be lost. If so, we will be condemned for unfaithfulness just as the servant with one talent. E. Talent Used for God’s Work are Multiplied The servants in the parable who used their talents had them doubled. Their faithfulness was rewarded. Five talents became ten and two talents increased to four. We, too, can look forward to reward promised to faithfulness. Matt 25:23. We can compare the use and multiplying of our abilities to a typist who practices her skill regularly and find typing speed increasing and mistakes decreasing. A good steward will not only find his efficiency, skills and abilities increasing but will also be rewarded with more and greater opportunities: for he who uses abilities to serve God will develop them and likely discover dormant abilities.(Lk 19:26). Each of us needs to consider the following questions: What are my talents? What can I do well, or what useful things do I enjoy doing? Am I using or neglecting my talents? Am I fulfilling God’s purpose for my life with the talents He has entrusted to me?