ÒTherefore, the prisoner of the Lord, I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called (Ephesians4:1).< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

GodÕs calling is a sacrifice. His calling is costly and it is not always convenient. Worship is the cost of His calling, and obedience is what it takes to worship Him. Obedience has to be consistent for you to have a reasonable service –your obedience is your service unto God.

 ~ SACRIFICE ~

Sacrifice is not cheap. What kind of sacrifice have you been rendering unto God since you have accepted His calling? If your sacrifice is free and not costing you time, money, or disrupting your worldly comfort, it is important that you examine your stand in the Lord. King David once denied an offer to deliver a cheap and free sacrifice to God. 2 Samuel 24:24, ÒThen the king said to Araunah, ÔNo, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing.Õ So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.ÕÓ How are you serving Him since the time you have answered His call? God has called you to a service that will deliver to you an attainment for His glory. When He called Saul to become king, it was for SaulÕs attainment, but God regretted to have called on Saul. Are you walking a walk in GodÕs calling that will not cause God to regret His calling in your life? Among the factors that made Saul to fail was partial obedience. God called on Saul to go and destroy Amalek.  1 Samuel 15:3, ÒNow go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.Ó  Saul failed in his calling because of half-obedience. 1 Samuel 15:5, ÒAnd Saul came to a city of < ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>Amalek, and lay in wait in the valleyÓ When God calls you to go, it is not the time for waiting. When you lay in your waiting, temptation will reign, you will miss your target, and your mission will become impossible to accomplish. Answering God in His calling will demand that you follow Him fully. When you follow Him fully, you will stand where others are falling, you win where they are losing, you will pass where there is failure, and you will be above — not below. Answering His call will bring challenges that no one else wants to experience in life. Above all, you will be an over comer.

     ~ CALEB ~

Among thousands of people, Caleb was the only one of the two that escaped death sentence because he remained adamant in his belief. He could not compromise his faith; there was not enough intimidation that could sway him from standing his ground of belief. The children of Israel came back from spying the land that God had already given them before He told them He was going to give them a land. It was a wrong move for them to go and spy. It was neither GodÕs planning nor MosesÕ suggestion. In return they all confessed fear, discouragement, and failure. As a result, they rebelled. But Caleb did not. God sentenced them to death, but God spoke of Caleb, in Numbers 14:24, ÒBut My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.Ó Ask God today to impact your life with the spirit that makes man to follow Him fully. You sure know the stories of the Bible; you are very conversant in quoting the words of God. The song of halleluiah sounds great when you sing it.

   ~ FOLLOW ~

 Do you have the word rooted in your heart? Are you following Him? Yes, you have come to Christ, you are born again. However, it is not enough to come when you fail to follow. To follow is the real deal. When you follow, you will not fall because the darkness that is always there will give way in your life when you follow Him. John 8:12, ÒThen Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ÔI am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.ÕÓ Remember, Judas was called and numbered among the disciples, but he missed out when it was time to count. It is up to you to ask for His help to follow Him fully.  

By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice (Heb.12:4). How do you gauge your sacrifice to God?

Seek the Lord your God while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near (Isaiah 55:60)< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

There is only one thing that God cannot do: God cannot fail!  Numerous occasions, the word of God has proved Him to be true to His word. He said it repeatedly in the pages of the scripture — when you seek Him, you will find Him, and when you call Him, and He will answer. However, it is how you call or seek Him that determines how you find Him

CALLING TIME: Psalm 32:6 says, ÒFor this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to you in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him.Ó God can be found at the time of repentance. At the time your sin is acknowledged before God, He will acknowledge you for forgiveness. God dwells in Holiness. No man with sin will be able to approach His Holy presence. Psalm 32:5, I acknowledged my sin to you, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ÔI will confess my transgressions to the LORD,Õ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.Ó By acknowledging oneÕs sin and iniquity, finding God will never be an issue. All you need is mercy. Mercy is only obtainable at the throne of grace. Uncover your sins. By confessing and forsaking it, GodÕs mercy will become yours. Proverbs 28:13, ÒHe who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confess and forsakes them will have mercy.Ó

NEED FOR CHANGE:  Do you have a pending need for a change in your life? The depth of your need is not a challenge to God. It is a challenge for you to break out of your lack of understanding and know that a right approach to God will always be honored by the living God. If you understand that God is not a partial God, and operate on it, then He will tolerate you. You will have an edge over your need. He granted the request of Jabez and he will not deny yours. Jabez has a need for change. He understood that calling God will grant his request. JabezÕs name means pain; he wanted it to be transformed to gain. He delivered a conscious call, a purposeful call. He called because of his pressing need and not because of a need to impress anybody. He did not call because of emotion, nor to please any man, nor because of an invitation to prayer session, nor because he was religious. In view of JabezÕs motivation to pray, ask yourself the following questions: What has always been the basis of your calling on Him? Does any of the above fit with your calling motive? Looking at JabezÕs calling, the reason for his result will be appreciated for your learning.

JABEZÕS CALL: 1 Chronicles 4:10, ÒAnd Jabez called on the LORD God of Israel saying, Ôoh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that I may not cause painÕ So God granted him what he requested.Ó Jabez must have called when God may be found.

Calling on God by His name is an indication that you know Him. He is the LORD God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Call on Him in Jesus name. To be named PAIN is a curse, not a blessing. He wanted a name change. Do you? Jabez asked for GodÕs blessing, GodÕs good pronouncement to renounce PAIN. Blessing is all you want, not a curse. When God blesses, He extends His help, bestows favors, and causes joy because His blessing is multiplication. In addition, he also asked for enlargement of territory. To be enlarged is to be multiplied.  

Knowing: he knew that his request would be granted; he asked for protection for the expected blessings; he asked for the Hand of God to be with him — the hand of God that will deliver and preserve His blessings in life. Jabez knew what he was asking for. Be purposeful in your asking, forsake the wicked way, return to the LORD, and you will find Him, and He will have mercy.

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayer (1Peter 4:7)

 “These people draw to me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips but their heart is far from Me.” (Matt.15:8)< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Wicked is defined as evil by nature and in practice, highly offensive or obnoxious. Wickedness is an ungodly sin. It is what provoked the hand of God to destroy man from the face of earth during the time of Noah. Gen.6:5 ÒThen the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.Ó Just as it was then, so it is today. Today, wickedness knows no bounds. It reigns outside the church, and it reigns inside the church.  Within a group of believers, if there is a request for who should be considered as wicked, so many would refuse. As a self proclaimed Christian or born again believer, have you ever considered or seen yourself as one who dwells in wickedness? Let us see how Jeremiah pinpointed who and what qualifies one as wicked (especially within the church).  Jeremiah complained why the way of the wicked prospers. In Jer.12:2, ÒHe brought before God by saying to God, ÔYou have planted them, yes they have taken root; they grow, yes they bear fruit. You are near in their mouth but far from their mind.Ó In his question, there is a clear indication that the wicked are those that speak the word of God but do not carry it in their mind. They are mouthful of the word of God, but mindful of self. This is extensively deceiving because they grow and prosper, and nothing is written over their forehead that identifies them as wicked.  This makes it more deceiving among believers of today who are having misconceptions of what prosperity is. Clearly, the wicked are those that could be highly conversant in speaking the word of God while the word of God is absent or far from the mind.

~ Hypocrites ~

Jesus referred to them as hypocrites when he was debating the scribes and the Pharisees. Matt.15:7-9, ÒHypocrites!  Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ÔThese people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.Ó Do you consider yourself as a hypocrite? A hypocrite is a pretender. A hypocrite is one whose walk and talk do not match. A hypocrite is also a person that acts it but does not practice it. If what you possess is not what you profess, you have failed in doing what you say, and you are a son of the wicked; in vain you worship Him. There is a need to serve God in deed and in truth. You cannot serve in deed and in truth, and be living in wickedness. Do you sincerely desire to deny hypocrisy and wickedness in your life? Determination will fail because it is not by might or by power. By His grace, all you have to do is to observe the word of God.

 ~ Observe ~

Det.28:15, Ò But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God to observe carefully all of His commandment and His statutes which I commanded you today that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.ÓThe message is this: to be able to obey, observing the word of God day and night is a must. Moses advised Joshua to meditate in it day and night, that Joshua may observe to do according to all that is written in it (Josh.1:8). Meditate; observe; then you will obey. Joseph had the word of God in his mouth and his mind. He was able to operate the word. The wife of Potiphar approached him in an attempt to lie with him. He knew it was not an act of the word of God. Reminded, he declared in Gen.39:9, ÒÉ How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?Ó Now you know your stand in observing the word of God. Where do you go from here? Ezek.3:19, ÒYet if  you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. You have been warned! Your sin will find you out sooner or later.

It is impossible to be right with God and not be right with one another.  

 ÒI have found the book of law in the house of the Lord.Ó(2Kings22:8)  
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In the process of repairing the temple during the reign of King Josiah, Hilkiah the high priest founded the Book of Law in the house of the LORD. Having found the Book of the Law, he forwarded it to King Josiah. 2 kings < ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>22:11 now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes

~ Word of God~

Evidently, the Book of the Law (the word of God) was never lost. The book has always been in the temple but the people of God have been lost from the book. Hilkiah the priest was the first to find the book because he was also lost from the book. In this case, the priest that should have been leading in propagating the book was lost from the book. The king was no where to be found where the book was located while the whole country could not recognize if the book actually existed. The priest, king and the whole country were lost from the book. The story is not different from the story today except that there is a slight difference from the situation of today. Today, so many know that the Book of Law is in the house of the LORD but they have chosen to ignore the Book of the Law of the LORD (Intentional grounding). It has been packed up and replaced by the book of the government or the book of self. The ones in position of the priest have subjected to the book of this world. Without any doubt, among the cause for this exchange of the Book of the Law with the book of the government, self and world is the absence of the FEAR of the LORD God almighty.

~Fear God~

Man no longer fears God with their heart but with the mouth. Church as the leading offender could only confess the fear of God with the mouth but not with the heart. The church could no longer be confirmed in what they confess. It is not possible to be fearful of God and be full of yourself. In the world today, man is full of himself and God is empty in self. Where the fear of God is missing, there is a misplacement of the Book of the Law of God. Every time there is a misplacement of the Book of the Law in life, there is an automatic replacement into the avenue of eternal damnation.

~Will of God~

Without any compromise, the will of God for man is to fear God. Clearly it is stated in both the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible for anyone that chooses to hear and learn to fear Him.Deut.31:12, 13 ÒGather the people together, men and women and little ones, and stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the LORD your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, Òand that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess.Ó The same God yesterday, is the same God today and forever. He has not changed, and He will not change. The word of God remains forever the same. Also, what He has spoken to them He has also spoken to us. The will of God is for man to fear Him. They could not fear Him then and now because they have been lost from the Book of the Law that supposes to have been teaching them to learn to fear Him. Josh.24:14 ÒNow therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! When you fail to hear and learn, you cannot fear Him and you will miss Him in your service.

ÔSee,I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord sworeto your fathers-to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob- to give to them and theirdescendants after them.Õ (Det.1:8).Ê

Whatever God promises is notquestion. He has done it. He is the beginning and the end. He alone sees theend in the beginning; the beginning in the end. In Gen.12:7, when Abraham wasin the land of Canaan, the Lord appeared to Abram and said, ÒTo yourdescendants I will give this land.Ó God meant what He promised. WhenGod gives His promise, the promise does not go away or disappear.Ê However, itis man that walks away from the promise of God. In every journey to the promiseland, there are giants that are meant to deny man from entering the promises ofGod. However, God has given all that it takes to take out the giants just likeHe did for King David.

~Promise Land~

Over fourhundred years of bondage was not enough to deny the children of Israel their journey to promise land. Thesame applies to you Nothing under the heaven can deny your promise land if youdo not deny yourself. When it was time for the children of Israel to resume their Journey to thepromise land, God did not let them go empty handed; but they left with favor ofGod. Ex.3:21 and I will give this people favor in the sight of theEgyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. Canyou get the fact that Where He has called you to go; there is a packaged goodto go with you?Ê If you are sure that God has called you to a land that flowswith milk and honey, it is time to put on hope and move forward. Every believerthat has accepted Christ has been called into a journey to a promise land. Youhave been called.ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ

~Journey~

ÊIn everyjourney to the promise land, there is favor from God to see you through. Thereare giants designed by the enemy to hinder and to deny. Also, in the journey;the route can be discouraging-because it is through the wilderness. The giantis in you and if you let him he will not let you. The name of the giant isComplaint. In the company of complaint is the spirit of discouragement. Det.1:27and you complained in your tents, and said, ÔBecause the LORD hates us,He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroyus. V.28 where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts,saying, the people are greater and taller than we; the cities are greater andfortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there. It is clear that when complainsets in you, discouragement will settle inside you. God has promised and He cannot fail.

As much asit is important to understand that there are giants on the way to Canaan, it is important to understandthat passing through the wilderness can not be avoided.Ê

~Wilderness~

Thepassage through the wilderness is a necessary experience.ÊÊ One does not haveto live there. For the children of Israel, an eleven day journey became a forty year agony. The wildernessbecame a habitation when it was only meant for a learning experience. Theexperience is to be added to you, and become your make up in living in thepromise land. The wilderness experiences are not to break you if you do notbreak yourself down and make the wilderness your land. God is a faithful God.He will go before you and He will fight for you just like He has done in thepast. God is up to something good in your life; you are down to nothing. Ariseand take on your journey to the promise land and He will carry you through.ÊÊ