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1 Cor 1: 24, 30 .... Jesus Christ is our Wisdom, Power, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption

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The Sin of Rebellion [Part II]

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The Sin of Rebellion [Part II]

Numbers 13:1-13

Take Your Present Assignment Seriously
In Num 13 and 14, there is a sad story stated of how some “great men” of God who should have been great by all accounts failed because of unbelief. They refused to fight their way to their breakthrough. They not only refused to fight for their inheritance but discouraged others from doing so. Their sin made God to set a bar on the age limit of those who were going to enter the Promised Land. They polluted the minds of everybody. They sent many people to their early grave. The Bible records their names because they were renowned. They were already rulers among the people (v2).

God may have given you an assignment which looks little but use it as a training ground to develop your faith. If there are no people to do the assignments ahead or God decides that you have been long on your present assignment enough He might chose you for a new task. Woe betides you if you are not ready. God will not put on big shoes on your feet when an assignment is too big for you. You limit yourself by your lack of preparedness on the great tasks God has ahead for you. God recognized them and chose them for a special assignment. Moses acted on the commandment of God and appointed them (Num 13:3). Moses made sure that these were the people God wanted on the trip. There was no bias in their selection. Moses took their names to God and God approved it. They were complete.

Twelve is a very important number in mission work. Jesus had twelve disciples which turned the world around to God. When you are given an assignment, seek to engage 3, seven or twelve people as the Spirit of God directs you. It depends on how “spiritually Herculean” the task is but you must never rely on your strength or power to do the work. You could fail miserably if you try to do it alone or at least suffer from burn out and maybe premature death. Of the twelve only two “survived” or passed the test of the spiritual assignment. Joshua was the leader of the pact. He was appointed and recognized specially by Moses [Num. 13:16].

Did God know they would fail and still sent them? He perhaps did because of His omnipotent power. But that was not His plan for them. God saw them as people who would succeed. The way God saw them is the way God sees us too. He sees that we will succeed. They were programmed to succeed. However, as we see later, the tight knot of faith of their hearts began to unwind gradually by fear and doubt. Moses gave them direction about the assignment; a modus operandi that made their work easy. He told them the way to follow to the land, see and assess who the people that dwelt in those lands were; how fortified their cities were and the fruitfulness of the land. Their assignment lasted for forty days. When you are on a spiritual journey you should be increasing in faith not decreasing. By forty days your heart can either be full of faith or be full of doubt. Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days after which the devil came and challenged Him.

1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them. 3 And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel. 4 And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur. 5 Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori. 6 Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 7 Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph. 8 Of the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun. 9 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu. 10 Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi. 11 Of the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi. 12 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli. 13 Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael. 14 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi. 15 Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 16 These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.

The spies came after forty days and reported what they had seen. There were two reports; a majority report and a minority report. There is no record who gave the majority report. It was not important. They all agreed. Failed people, that is, those who decide to remain failures, refusing to cooperate with God or His word have no place in His kingdom. The ten banded together and chorused their response [Num. 13:26-29]. In such spiritual duties and in the world of Faith what you see and report is what you get. As you said it, so you will receive it. If you see and report a positive thing that is what you get. However, if you see and report negative thing, be ready for the consequence. Unfortunately it is usually the judgement of God or punishment for the result of our failures which we cannot redeem ourselves from. Hence if you are in such situation, cry out to God for mercy through the blood of Jesus.

26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.

Prayer Points
1. Oh Lord, fill my heart with faith. I will not doubt your word in the name of Jesus.
2. Oh Lord, strengthen me. Every giant and spiritual bully standing against me in God’s Promised Land in my life, be uprooted, fall down and die like Goliath in Jesus name.

Missions Seedtime & Harvest

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Hallelujah!!! Christ our Wisdom has a new look to its website. Please, browse through and familiarize yourself with the website at www.christwisdom.org . You will find many articles in the CATEGORIES section of the website.

One of the new features of the website is that you can now pay your tithes and offerings on-line through the Ministry’s’s website. You can also begin to sow your seed for on-going and planned Missions Outreach of the Ministry. You will find the e-donate button when you click the MISSIONS menu on the website, or you can follow the link below, (or copy the link into your brownser), and it will take you directly to the Account of the Ministry.

Link:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=5MHRXJLWM2BQY

VISA, MasterCard or direct payment from your bank account are accepted.

Did you know that your sowing to the work of God is a testimony of your righteousness? It is also an act of obedience to His Word.

“It’s time for you to sow to yourself in righteousness, reap in mercy and break up your fallow grounds ……” Hosea 10:12

“8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:…….10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness)”…… 2 Cor. 9:8-10.

It’s time for all of God’s children to increase in the fruit of righteousness through giving. God Bless you as you choose to excel in this gift also.

We are a Canadian registered “Charity” (Charity Registration no.: 806085882RR0001) with proper accounting records. Your donations and gift to the Ministry will be receipted to you at the end of the year for income tax purposes.

Treasures of Wisdom

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Proverbs 1:1-4

Purpose of Proverbs
These are three-fold: knowing, receiving and giving [Prov. 1:2-4]

The act of knowing Wisdom
Prov 1:2 2To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
To fully grasp a proverb in your spirit man, there is the knowing part, the receiving part and the giving path. All three are important. The knowing part is the easiest of the three, the receiving part is the next and the giving part is the hardest. If you master all three, it is spiritually very rewarding.

To “know” something means you are “familiar with” or “thoroughly acquainted with” something. It means you can “discern”. Knowing something is in the mind realm. It doesn’t mean it is a part of you yet. You may not be practicing what you know yet but this stage is important because you need to store the knowledge in your mind. The mind is the treasure house of knowledge so you need to know or store good things in it.

The act of receiving Wisdom
Prov. 1:3 3To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To “receive” means to receive or “get” something. It also means to “accept” something. It is the Lord that gives us or we receive something from that is meaningful to our spirit man. When the word of God transcends the soul man into your spirit man, then you are operating in the realm of receiving. For example, we receive grace for our salvation from God. The grace is there as it is already given by God but except you accept it you cannot receive it and even if you have accepted it there are different measures that a man can walk in of the grace of God. God gave Solomon wisdom that was exceedingly much. It was beyond what the capacity of the human mind can hold, yet it was all locked up in the mind of Solomon. His mind was sharp.

The act of giving Wisdom
Prov. 1:4 4To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. The “giving” part is the operating aspect of knowing a proverb or proverbs. At this third stage, not only have you known it but it begins to direct you. You become guided by what you know. The word of God becomes your compass and directs your spirit man on what to do even when you are boxed in a tight corner which no other person thought you could get out from. You can ask God in prayer to expand the capacity of your mind to receive His word and let His word transcend into your spirit man in the name of Jesus.

The Sin of Rebellion [Part 1]

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The Sin of Rebellion (Part I)
Gen. Chapters 3 and 4; 1 Sam. 15:22-23; Num. 13:1-13

Rebellion is from the Greek word meree and it means to rebel or be bitter or resist or disobey or grievously provoke. Rebellion is bitterness. Webster defines it as open opposition to any authority. The rebellious shows open discontent with the goodness and love of God [Rom. 11:22, 33]. The rebellious resists the authority and Lordship of Christ over his or her life. He does not see the reason why he should be subject to the law of God. His natural mind is perjured. He operates on a carnal realm. He reaps his reward.

There are two types of rebellion. Open rebellion like the sons of Korah did to Moses, and subtle rebellion, whereby you challenge the authority of the word of God. In this message we will discuss the sin of “subtle rebellion” or “faithlessness”. Note that both open rebellion and subtle rebellion carry the same consequence. They cannot stay in God’s presence or enjoy God’s promises for their lives. Adam and Eve were rebels for example. They rebelled against the word of God. Theirs was a “combo rebellion” consisting of “open rebellion” and “subtle rebellion”. The “combo rebellion” is a deadly rebellion, totally extricating a person from the presence of God. Adam and Eve suffered the “death” penalty for their combo rebellion. Another person who partook of combo rebellion in Scriptures is Cain [Gen. 4]. Even when God warned him of the danger of rebellion, he still went headlong and slew his brother, Abel. God banished him from His presence. No wonder he went away to land of Nod. He became a wanderer [Gen 4:1-16]. Another person who had the sin of rebellion in his heart always was king Saul. We can say Saul’s rebellion was a subtle rebellion but grew to become an open rebellion eventually ending in a combo rebellion. Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Both sins carry the same penalty.

The rebellious dwell in a dry land, David says [Psalm 68:6]. Obedience is the exact opposite of rebellion. Obedience brings honour and promotion while rebellion brings shame and destruction. Through obedience we have access to the blessing of the Lord through the finished work of Christ on the Cross. The Word of God is a two-edged sword. To the obedient it grants you the riches of His grace but to the rebellious, it drives you away into the wilderness [Heb. 4:12].

Isaiah 1:19-20 reads: If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land, but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured for the mouth of the Lord had spoken it.

Prayer Points

1. I bind every spirit of rebellion. I shall not stray away from my destiny. Let your counsel prevail over my life in Jesus name.
2. Lord, let every stubbornness of my will against your word be broken in Jesus name. I yield my will wholly to the Holy Spirit.

Where is your Focus?

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Luke 11:34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

2 Kings 2:10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

Imagine while taking the kids to school as you go to work, other road users doing the exact same thing, dashing to get there on time. Drivers who are early risers and could not get a bite before leaving home would want to pop something in their mouths or sip coffee from their coffee mugs. Cars coming out from different directions, drivers discovering new and shorter routes, all for one purpose and that is, not to be late. As if driving in this condition are not chaotic enough, pedestrians dashing across the road unexpectedly, car horns blaring and cell phones beeping! All these could lead to accidents when one is not careful. Distractions here and there could lead to disaster. This is why the ‘Distracted driving law’ in where I reside is very welcome.

The spiritual atmosphere is not too different from the physical. People are busy with different activities. The physical activities intertwined with the spiritual activities, thereby choking the spiritual. One has to know where to draw the line and cut back on too many activities within a given period of time. This reminds me of a sweet little 6 year old girl where I teach Sunday school. She was asked why she could not recite her memory verse for the week when asked to do so. Her response; too many activities, mom took me for barley dance class, then swimming, clinic and then I got tired and did not have time, and I forgot all about it! At first it was funny; then I became empathetic and encouraged her that it was not all that bad. I told her she could learn it for the next week. From the bible passage above, when we are focussed, there is intense light, clarity and better vision.

Elisha’s story suggests that when something good is about to happen, there is bound to be distractions even from close pals. Elisha was one of the prophets and the sons of the prophets tried to dissuade him from having his life time promise fulfilled. He refused to be distracted. He stayed focussed. Using his own words in verse 5……..Hold your peace. This is like saying, don’t bother me, I know what I am doing! You have to watch out and remain focussed.

We pray that God would open our spiritual eyes and understanding as we focus on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith so that our spiritual lives would blossom and be robust to be like the ever green plant by the water side.

Prayer Points
1. Oh Lord, help me to remain quiet in my spirit to receive divine guidance from You in Jesus name.
2. Oh Lord, open my eyes to find your blueprints for my life in Jesus name.

Author: Esther Agbi

The Excellent Wisdom of Solomon

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Solomon was a very wise king. Of his wisdom Jesus commended that there was no king as wise as Solomon [Luke 11:31; Matt 6:28-30]. Divinely inspired, he wrote the book of Proverbs, a goldmine of wisdom nuggets, and later in life in what appears to be progressive repentance after living a life of unbriddled passions and the pursuit of vanities, he had enough inspiration to write the book of Ecclesiastes. Other kings from foreign lands came to seek the king’s counsel.

How did Solomon get this excellent wisdom? He asked God for it in visions of the night! In his quiet moment with God, he was given the choice to ask for anything. Solomon asked for one thing: wisdom and understanding to judge the people aright. God was so pleased with his singular choice that He also blessed Solomon with riches and honour in addition to his wisdom, promising Solomon a long life based on continued obedience [1 Kings 3:5-13].

29And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. 30And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31For he was wiser than all men;………… 32And he spake three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five. 33And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 34And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom [1 Kings 4:29-34].

From the above Scriptures, you need wisdom and understanding from God to live and enjoy success spiritually and in other aspects of life. God enlarged Solomon’s heart and planted His wisdom into it, that is, there was nothing his heart could not fathom. That is the type of largeness of heart you and I need, not the one filled with stress accentuated by the vanities of life. He exceeded in wisdom than other kings around him and all other people. Solomon sought after wisdom with all his heart and got it. He chose the right thing and his request pleased God [1 Kings 3:5-14]. Recommending his wise choice to everyone, he wrote in Prov. 4:7, Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Solomon advocated for his blessings, using the covenant God had with David to facilitate his plea. God had committed Himself to fulfilling the covenant He had with David and when He found that Solomon had the right heart, He included the blessings of prosperity and peace that Solomon did not ask for but nevertheless would make Solomon’s reign as king most comfortable.

Is the blessing of divine wisdom Solomon had superior to that you and I have from God today. No! Because Jesus is greater than Solomon in wisdom and in all respects as a member of the godhead and He is our advocate before God the Father in heaven. Through His shed blood on the cross, He made a covenant with the Father on our behalf. You and I have the singular opportunity to ask God for anything in the name of Jesus. Jesus said if you ask God for anything in His name God the Father will do it for you [John 14:12-14]. That requires faith, a necessary and sufficient condition to claim your blessings. Your faith is the spiritual catalyst which activates the word of God for you. If your faith is dormant, you will not receive anything from God. The blessings may have been released in the spiritual but your faith is required to call them into reality.

Note that only those things asked in the name of Jesus, that is, those things asked in line with the will of God, would be responded to by God. Otherwise your prayers will not be answered. The name of Jesus is the “master key” to God’s heart. Because Jesus is the Son of God whom He loved dearly and yet sent Him to die for us, God responds to the earnest prayer of anyone who comes to Him by faith. Solomon asked for wisdom to govern the people and that his heart would learn to distinguish and choose right from wrong. God filled Solomon’s heart with wisdom but ours in Christ is fuller in breadth, depth and height if we ask by faith, and the revelation of that knowledge was Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Christians [Eph. chapter 1]. Ask for an influx of God’s wisdom into your heart through Christ today and you will have His excellent wisdom that is superior to Solomon’s. Isn’t that a superior priviledge!

Prayer Points
1. Lord, give me largeness of heart filled with your wisdom and understanding in the name of Jesus.

2. Oh Lord, saturate my heart with your Spirit of excellence; grant me understanding in all things in the name of Jesus.

3. Oh Lord, make me a blessing to my generation and the generations after in the name of Jesus.