Author: Pastor Rufus Ajiboye

« Because I have called, and you have refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no one has paid attention; … Then will they call on me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me; Because they hated knowledge, And didn’t choose the fear of Yahweh. »
(Proverbs 1:24, 28, 29).

In these verses God tells us about the necessity to change our attitude towards His call, otherwise He would not listen to our calling the time we run to Him with our petitions. Forget about your own problems and take part in finding solutions for the needs and problems God has today, He will become a part of a solution for your problems then.

Some of you may wonder: “Does God have any problems or needs, He is the Almighty One, isn´t He?” The point is that God has decided to limit Himself by people. In the material world, in some situations and in some spheres of life God has decided not to do certain things without people participation. In other words, it doesn´t matter how hard we pray or fast about certain problems, those will not be solved unless the right person appears at the right place.

Yesterday we started talking about our goals. Everyone has them. We discussed that there are worthy and less worthy goals. We also saw that after meeting Christ, Paul devoted his life to Him; earnest expectation of Christ to be glorified in his body and through his life became his main goal in life. It is very important to ascertain for ourselves what our goals are.

You and I have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ and we have peace with God. But it is just the beginning. Having been reconciled with God is just the beginning of the Christian walk. What awaits us afterwards? Through faith we gain Access to God’s grace and we expect the glory of God to be progressively revealed in us and through us.

Every person has a goal, whether he talks about it or not. He is driven to do something. But if we talk about goals, it is important to determinewhether it is WORTHY or UNWORTHY. Paul had a worthy goal and talked about it all the time:

«…according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.

«Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.» (Hebrew 11:6). As we mentioned earlier, faith means acting in accordance to the word of God. Quite often God calls us to do impossible things, those only God Himself can accomplish. God is not inviting us to demonstrate our own capabilities, but what He is able to do through us. That´s why God often gives us the tasks we cannot accomplish without Him.

Are you willing to experience God and His power in your life? If so, trust God and express it via your obedience to Him. The Bible says that without faith you can´t please the Lord. If you don´t please God you cannot experience His presence nor power neither. When God reveals you something He is going to accomplish, you have to follow his invitation without hesitation. It proves your devotion and your desire to listen to His voice. Meanwhile, disobedience turns your heart to stone and shuts our ears to God´s voice. Faith is acting in accordance to the word of God. Quite often God calls us to do impossible things, those only God Himself can accomplish.

Yesterday we spoke about how we can experience God´s power and mercy in our life. It fully depends on how deep we dedicate ourselves to Him. Once we realise we are not living for ourselves but for One who died for us, we discover the source of the unlimited power and mercy of God.

However, submission to God doesn´t mean doing everything that comes to your mind. Contrariwise, it makes us responsible for getting to know what God bears in His heart regarding His will to our life. For this reason you have to submit yourself in whole to the Lord in order to have fellowship with Him as a source of inspiration, freshness and guidance. Everybody who experienced His power in his life and became a tool of His mercy constantly submitted himself to the Lord.

Studying the Bible we see God doing great feats through many people. He was able to realise His intentions using those people just due to their revelation and understanding of God´s key principles. While living in the different times, educated on a different level, belonged to the different cultures all Bible heroes basically have something in common. The secret of the success and feats they had is obvious – they knew God and interacted with Him. They experienced God´s power and His mercy in their lives. How did they succeeded? It became possible because they dedicated themselves to God. That´s exactly what God is inviting us to do.

What does it mean to be stirred? When such things happen due to the changes taking place in people and through people the latter can´t remain indifferent to God any more. Nowadays people live wrapped in their problems, immersed in their own world, as though there is no God at all. They use some duty phrases in their speech like “For God´s sake”, “Thanks God”, but there is no God in their hearts at all. It happens to them just because they have never experienced the real God in their lives. God is a care taking father. Such people have not felt how real the God is, how powerful and Almighty Creator He is.

God’s Kingdom is bigger than just a church; the Kingdom cannot be hidden inside the church walls. The Bible tells us that we are salt to the earth and light to the world. It means that our ministry has to go beyond the boarders of a church and leave an impact on the city, the country and the world. We need to think of how to salt the earth and enlighten the world.

We should start locally; but we must think globally. «You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth», – said Jesus in Acts (1: 8).