CONFESS 2018 AS YOUR YEAR OF: DRAW ME NEAR GOD

The word of God is warning. With no excuse, preachers are not preaching the word of God as warning to man. However, man is not taking position to receive warning word of God but busy taking to self-position. Taking to the word of God is crucial to know and be fear-full of God. To fear-full of God is to be living obediently and not sinning before God. With sin, man is not near to God. Apostle Paul emphasized the word of God as warning. Colossians 1:28 stated, “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
Acts 20:30-31 admonished, “Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.” In this wicked world, give self continually by confessing to be drawn by God. This year, confession with watching and praying to be drawn to God will keep man near to God and become far from wicked world.
This New Year, continually give heed to the warning word of God to experience blessings in the word of God as stated, “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.” (Psalm 1:1) “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord!” (Psalm 119:1) “Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart!” (Psalm 119:2) “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.” (Proverbs 8:17)
Word of God is warning!
The world is growing in wickedness year by year. Man should be confessing year 2018 as, the year of “DRAW ME NEAR TO YOU LORD.” Be confessing and be-living in the word of God. Confessing positively with expectation is rooted in the warning word of God. Bible warned, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, those who love it will eat its fruit.” (Proverbs 18:21) Confessing to experience living in the presence of God shall keep man away from wickedness in the New Year.
Confessing to be drawn near to God is not enough without watching and praying to be drawn near to God for deliverance and preservation in the wicked world.
Watching and praying is waiting in the word of God continually to be experiencing God’s visitation (divine visitation). Apostle Paul declared in Acts 6:4, “…but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
ENCOUNTER HIS WORD
Word of God is God. Divine visitation is encountering the presence of God in His word to experience His wonder. Seeking God diligently will draw man to God for a dwelling place in God. Psalm 91:1 testified, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Bible recorded wonders of God in His word: Psalmist testified wonder of God in the word of God, “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.” (Psalm 119:114) Confessing, watching and praying the word of God to be drawn near to God in the New Year is hiding in God as shield. Psalmist testified, “You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.” (Psalm 32:7)
EXPERIENCE WONDERS OF GOD
Divine visitation of God is an asset in man’s journey of life through the New Year. God visits by His word. When man is not available at the time of divine visitation man shall miss divine assignment in life. Abraham could not miss divine visitation. Like many giants in the bible, Abraham did not see God in the physical but divine visitation (word of God) changed Abraham from his position to God’s position. Abraham was drawn by God to experience wonders of God. Just like Abraham, give self continually to confessing, watching and praying in the word of God. In this year, asking to be drawn to God is taking a position not to miss out of God’s visitation.
Confess 2018 as the year of “draw me near to you Lord.”

PRAYER POINTS FOR 2016

Truth is the year 2016. Jesus spoke the truth to those who believes (not just the Jews), “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32)
Engaging truth is the entire vessel to get to expected end of the year.
Prayer remains as the undeniable key of vessel.
Truthfully will you engage prayer and be watching n the journey of 2016?
Prayer Points
To God, express your appreciation to provoke your expectation.
Life should not only be about what you expect from the Lord but also how you express your appreciation to the Lord. By grace, the hand of the Lord has been keeping through days, weeks, months and year after years.
The hand of God upon you is not because of merit but mercy.
Living life is not a right but a privilege bestowed upon us by God.
Why not turn from expectation to expression of your appreciation?
Are you consciously aware that God expects our appreciation?
When there is a failure to appreciate it becomes an evidence of foolishness. Foolishness is like saying there is none to appreciate.
Psalm94:8-11, “Understand, you senseless among the people; and you fools, when will you be wise?
He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see?
He who instructs the nations, shall He not correct, He who teaches man knowledge?
The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile.”
Prayer: Ask God to direct your heart into appreciation of His hand upon life He has given you.
God is our shield. Consciously, consistently call Him your shield in your prayer and meditation.
Psalm 3:3 stated, “But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head.”
In this wicked of world, for deliverance and preservation, God should be called our shield. What you ask in His name is what you get from Him.
Genesis 15:1 stated, “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
Psalm 18:35 stated, “You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great.” Indeed God is our shield, our salvation.
Prayer: In the coming days, weeks, months and years. It is worth to commit our head into His hand for Him to be lifting up our head from where 10s, 100s, 1,000s are falling down in this wicked of world.
As our shield, we are going to ask Him to help us not give self to afraid which often revolves to fear.
God is a faithful and He shall answer when we ask, seek and knock.
With prayer there is open heaven. Elijah and Elisha proved to us that with prayer heaven opens on our behalf.
Elijah prayed, “And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, ’As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” (1King 17:1) God shut heaven against Ahab and rain of comfort cease
Prayer: In 2016, ask God to shut heaven up against every agents of enemy (sickness, all form of attack and challenges) that is planning or set against you and all your love.
Elisha prayed for his servant to see, ^“And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.  So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness. And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17-18)
In the New Year, to see open heaven direction is our victory in the coming days, weeks, months.
Prayer: In the year ask God for the grace of strength on the prayer alters.
Blindness shall answer for all enemies in our direction just like God blinded Elisha’s enemies.
In the year of truth God is the only shield and He shall be our shield upon us and love ones.
Psalmist testified, “…His truth shall be your shield and buckler.” (Psalm 91:4)
Prayer: Let us ask for His word to reign and rule in our life in the year.
Prayer: Let us ask Him to be our hiding place just as stated in Psalm 119:114, “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.
Proverbs 2:5, “Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”
Prayer: Ask for the fear of God to take over you so that understanding and knowledge of God shall lead you to walk worthy of God’s calling upon your life in Jesus name.

THE WILL OF GOD

The will of God for us is that we should fear Him. When we fear Him we become full of Him. The book of Ecclesiastes 12:13 admonishes us stating, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandment, for this is man’s all.” Evidently to know to fear God is to know and be consistent in obeying his commandments. Obeying the command of God demands full obedience and not half obedience. One that fully obeys Him is one that is full of the fear of God. To be full of His fear is to be full of His love. God is love and love is also the presence of God.
To fear God is to love God. Claiming to love God also comes down to obeying His commandments. Apostle Paul points it out that the purpose of God’s commandment when he stated, “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk.” (1Timothy 1:5-6) Paul was not talking about love that flows from the tips of lips. He was talking about a standard love that counts before God and the kind of love that is worthy to provoke God’s attention to acknowledge one for good.
To love (fear) God is to constantly dwell in His presence (His presence is His word) and not depart from His presence. God spoke, “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’” (Jeremiah 32:38-41) In the word of God, it is clear that it is not one’s title inside or outside the church that qualifies someone to be a man or woman of God but it is the fear of God that determines one’s status with Him. Going by the word of God as stated above, anyone that fears God undeniably takes a position to experience the goodness of God. It is also a joyous thing to God when we dwell in His fear. Without doubt, anyone that is doing what makes God rejoice over him/her, shall never lack His strength in their lives.  Why not fear God and allow the joy of the Lord to be your strength?
The love of God is what qualifies man to be considered as one that engages righteousness. 1John 3:10, “Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” It is impossible for anyone that does not love his brother that he can see to claim to love a God that he/she has never met. The word of God encourages us to truly love in every aspect of our lives because love is truly of God. 1 John 4:8 declares it, “He who does not love does not know God, for God is Love.” It is the will of God for us to know Him and we can only know Him when His fear places us to know Him in love.
The fear of God is the love of God. To love God is to know Him, and to know Him is to see Him. The fear of God is to love and obey God’s commandments.  That fear is the conclusion of all that matters in life. It is perfectly certain that with the fear of God dwelling in man, God is faithful to establish man and guard man from the evil one.
The Apostle Paul prayed in 2Thessalonians 3:5, ‘Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the presence of Christ. It is worthy for any acclaimed believer who understands that determination can fail, but prayer will always prevail.
Personalize the prayer of Paul by praying: Direct my heart into Your love O Lord and into the patience of Christ.

BETRAYING JESUS

The bible recorded, “Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them.  And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him. (Mark 14:10-11)” Three points stand out in the above scriptural verse to talk about: Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve; Judas Iscariot went to betray Him; Judas sought convenient way of betraying Jesus.

Judas, one of the twelve: Imagine Judas, one of the closest to Jesus, answering as a betrayer of Jesus. Are you an acclaimed believer whose day would not pass without having betrayed Jesus by the word of mouth; by conduct; by thought or by what is seen? Falling for temptation in daily walk or despising the word of God testifies to being a betrayer of our Lord Jesus just like Judas.
The truth is that one would expect being around Jesus to be the last place for man to become a vessel that betrays Jesus, but it is not true. The route taken by Satan to use Judas is the same he is still using today to capture man and use man as a betrayer. Luke 22:3-4 identified the route for Satan, “Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. (Luke 22:3-4)” The heart of man is the only route for Satan to get hold of him as a vessel for betraying Jesus.
Satan gaining entrance into man is also man entering in with Satan. Jesus gave the word that it makes it impossible for Satan not to enter when He commanded, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Mark 14:38)” Satan entering into man is the same as man entering in with Satan. The only way for man not to become a victim of Satan gaining entrance is clearly in watching and praying as commanded by Jesus. The command of Jesus is in place for man to know and to offset Satan’s agenda. A failure not to watch and pray is a passage to becoming Satan’s victim.
Jesus’ command to watch and pray is not a confirmation that temptation is not going to show up at our doorstep, but it is a command for man to engage watching and praying so that Satan will not enter. Temptations will not stop coming at every opportune time; they will come but should not enter just as he entered into Judas. Jesus our Lord and Savior, on His way from watching and praying for forty days, was approached by Satan with a barrage of temptation but could not enter. After Satan’s final attempt to tempt Jesus and failure to enter, the Bible recorded Satan’s response, “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:13)”

Judas went his way: The Bible stated that Judas “went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. (Luke 22:4)” Man’s way is not God’s way but God’s way is for man. Man’s way is always a way that seems right. Proverbs 14:12 identifies the way that seems right, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Are you taking to your way outside of God’s own way? As a believer, it is important you watch the way you take and let it not be outside of God’s way. Judas took to the way that seemed right for his sudden riches but it ended in death.
Judas sought to conveniently betray Jesus. Today’s convenient way of betraying Jesus is the same as it was in the times of the Bible. Today, deception, lying, and manipulation are conversant in the church and among believers. Deception, lying, and manipulation have become identities of many that claim Jesus as the Lord and Savior just as Judas was around Him. Indeed, Judas conveniently betrayed Jesus when he pointed Him out with a kiss. It is written, “And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? (Luke 22:47-48)” Are you betraying Jesus? Betraying Him will do Jesus no harm but instead the betrayer, setting oneself for self-destruction eternally.
It is time to come out of religion and into Jesus reality. Be numbered for Jesus, live life to be counted when it is counting time before Him. Repent and renounce your convenient way of betraying Him.
Jesus is Lord.

GETTING HIS ATTENTION

The Bible records about the healing of blind Bartimaeus. “Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called…” (Mark 10:46-49) Bartimaeus called Jesus in an unusual manner. He called Him as one that knew Him; not as one who only heard about Him from a third party. Demonstrating to God that we know Him is a way of getting uncommon attention from Him. The Bible confirms that those who know their God shall carry out great exploit. (Daniel 11:32) It was a great exploit when a blind man called out for Jesus from among a thronging multitude and was able to get an answer. In his calling, Bartimaeus received his sight.
The same way Bartimaeus called (by crying out to the son of David) and got  instant attention from Jesus, a woman of Canaan also cried out to Jesus and could not get an instant attention from Jesus. It is written, “Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.’” (Matthew 15:21-22) In the case of Bartimaeus, Jesus stood still but a woman of Canaan got a different response from Jesus.  “But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she cries out after us.’ But He answered and said, ‘I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’” (Matthew 15:23-24) Jesus and His disciples’ response was enough to discourage the woman of Canaan and made her to turn her back to Jesus. Instead of her giving up, however, she pressed further. She persisted to receive by resisting all discouragement. The Bible records, “Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!’” (Matthew 15:25) Despite her appeal, Jesus answered her, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” (Matthew 15:26)  Jesus’ answer made her to insist and persist for her miracle. The woman responded to Jesus, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” (Matthew 15:27) There is absolutely no better way to describe persistence than that of this Canaanite woman before Jesus. Jesus eventually answered her, “’O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour.” (Matthew 15:28)
Is there any way you are expecting to get an answer to your prayer request the same way your neighbor received answer to his/her request? Jesus is the Master healer. He alone is the One who gives and takes as He pleases. Evidently, there is no place or reason for giving up with Jesus.
Looking at Bartimaeus and the Canaan woman, both cried out to Jesus. It is true that crying out and crying silently are two different things. Often times, challenges demand crying out but man opts rather to cry silently. Are you crying silently where a challenge calls for crying out? Man does have a need to understand that crying out is not a sign of weakness. Bartimaeus and the woman of Canaan cried out regardless of the multitudes and eventually got Jesus’ attention.
–Both were attempted to be quieted but refused to remain quiet.
–Both called on Jesus in an unusual manner calling out, “Son of David”.
–Both did not get same response. Bartimaeus got a stand-still attention from Jesus while the woman of Canaan got a repeated snub which eventually delivered delayed answer to her.
The case of Bartimaeus and the Canaan woman demonstrated that Jesus is the Master who answers to all in an unpredictable manner but shall never fail to answer those who reach out and do not give up in their request.
As documented in the Parable of the Persistent woman (Luke 18), this Canaan woman demonstrated what it means to be persistent in getting an answer to prayer. The parable of the Persistent Woman, narrated by Jesus, proves that:
–Prayer needs not those who pray and lose heart. Often time, man engages prayer with back up plans; looking for help outside of prayer. We are to stay focus on getting an answer like the Canaan woman instead of looking outside of our trust in Jesus.
–Prayer is meant to trouble Heaven when we engage asking, seeking and knocking relentlessly (Matthew 7:7) until answers come forth.
–Prayer demands continuity and not becoming weary.
The Canaan woman could not give up when she engaged with the healing word of God.

Resist denial, remain persistent and insist on having your expectation become manifested.