| An astounding bible story is that of a sneaky Pharisee (Nicodemus) and Jesus. Nicodemus was astounded by the style, marvels and dispositions of the Master. He crept to Him in the spook of the night to find out His secret for success (John. 3:1-2). The Master in his distinct charismatic and humane style didn’t blow over the top like a bull that saw a red cloth nor prop his scintillating credentials like a peacock displaying its colourful feathers. He only gave a simple answer, his selling point (“Jesus said, “You’re absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it’s not possible to see what I’m pointing to–to God’s kingdom”. John 3:3 – MSG).
One would have easily thought that the master at this point would intimidate this cowering “powerful” Pharisee, as most of us would probably do. At this point this man was “tripping” at the jaw dropping exploits of Jesus. A mundane man would have taken more time to reel out all his other exploits so this expert in Jewish laws and customs would see himself little indeed. Jesus didn’t do so. Let’s not forget that at this point He had done things that were hitherto unimaginable – he had gone without food and water for 40 days and 40 nights, he turned water to wine and he had done many more things that were not even written in the bible (John. 21:25). Jesus chose to teach, to inspire, to deliver and to save. He gave the man only one solution. He told the man to be born again.
The master’s answer was obviously distinct from the usual. The most ridiculous a scholar would have ever heard. Be born again? How? Why? Would my mother do the seemingly impossible? (John. 3:4) The natural senses couldn’t just comprehend. Then the master makes it clearer…. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John. 3:16). The master’s selling point was, is and would ever be the everlasting life (ZOE), the God Life, Divine nature, which God richly bestows on everybody who simply believes in the finished work of Jesus on Calvary.
The master’s selling point is the Divine ability, health, authority, creativity, ingenuity, wisdom, understanding, uniqueness, unequivocal superiority, unquenchable love and unmatched integrity and humility that no normal human can possess (2 Tim. 1:7). It was on the basis of these abilities that the religiously well versed Nicodemus was awe struck. It was obvious that no such being had walked and worked upon the face of the earth. He had never seen, heard and read of all round success in that dimension before. None of the Prophets of old possessed it. Jesus was, is and will always be different. This same qualities the believer has free of charge (John. 1:12). We can all do what Jesus did and is capable of doing, because we are his exact replicas here on earth (1Jhn. 4:17).
The master’s selling point can also be our selling point. His selling point was His distinct lifestyle, his all round successful life, His cutting edge in an uncertain world. He didn’t live like a normal person because he was abnormal. He didn’t live like a natural person because he was supernatural. Let this always be our selling point because we are blessed with the super life (Ephesians 1:3).
To be continued.
emeka ofia |
Bible Reading: Acts 9
There are universal laws and principles established by God on earth, but sometimes such laws can be overruled by God and his children. For example, God has set the law of gravity on the earth that is why things tend to come down if we throw them up. Also, it is not natural to see people walking on the sea. But these laws can be overruled by supernatural influences. The Bible gives account of how Jesus and Peter walked on water (Mat. 14:24-29).
In like manner, God has given us the privilege of defining our miracle points such that things happen in our lives just the way we believe and expect them to happen. But there are times when God gives us specific instructions about a particular matter and we cannot experience success unless we obey such instructions. In other words, there are times when you do not need to define your miracle point but obey His miracle point. For instance, In Acts 9 when Saul had an encounter with Jesus on his way to Damascus, he became blind for 3 days. Here is the account of how he was healed:
“And there was a certain disciple in Damascus by name Ananias. And the Lord said to him in a vision … Rise up and go into the street which is called Straight, and seek in the house of Judas one by name Saul, he is of Tarsus: for, behold, he is praying, and has seen in a vision a man by name Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him,so that he should see. And Ananias went and entered into the house; and laying his hands upon him he said, Saul, brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus that appeared to thee in the way in which thou camest, that thou mightest see … And straightway there fell from his eyes as it were scales, and he saw…” Acts 9:10-12; 17-18
In the verses above, God already defined the miracle point and he communicated it to Ananias i.e. Go lay your hands upon Saul. Ananias simply obeyed and the miracle was experienced. But imagine if Ananias had replied God saying “Lord, I do not need to go and lay hands on Saul. Just like the experience of the centurion servant, I will only speak the word and Saul would be healed”. I can assure you that even if he spoke words for several hours, nothing would be done. Ananais understood that sometimes universal principles can be overruled and did not bother defining any miracle point. But many Christians are living the other way round. They are trying to live by the exception, i.e. waiting to hear God like Ananias before making any move. They are lazy to operate based on God’s general rule in scripture and always waiting for a specific rule from heaven. The general rule (Mark 11:23) is simple: go ahead and define your miracle point as long as it is in line with God’s instructions in bible and it is not aimed at robbing God of his glory.
Finally my dear reader, I will like you to answer these questions sincerely – Have this series on ‘Defining your miracle point’ helped you in experiencing God’s blessings in your life or it has only spiced up your knowledge base? Have you attempted to put these things into practice? II Peter 1:3 says ‘God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life’. Can someone who has never read the Bible look at your life and see the reality of II Peter 1:3?
– tope aladenusi
Bible Reading: John 11
Some time ago, I was caught up in a motor accident where the bus somersaulted several times before it came to a halt. When it stopped, it was lying on its side and some “good Samaritans” assisted in helping the passengers get out. I became terrified after I struggled out of the bus and realized that some passengers had passed out. I then took away my shredded shirt and did a quick checkup of my body parts. They appeared to be in place except for some bruises all over my body. I felt everything was fine and dashed immediately to my destination. But I was wrong. About 5 hours later, my legs, hands and head seemed to be heavier than a bag of cement as I experienced difficulty lifting them up. Everyone around me was screaming and they were about to rush me to the hospital when I persuaded them to give me some time to rest. They agreed.
At this juncture, I had to define my miracle point. I reasoned within myself – if I dare go to the hospital this way, I would be placed on admission and would not be able to honour the invitation to minister at a Church’s youth convention which was just two days away. Moreover, the church was about 900km from where I was.
On a second thought, I considered the possibility of getting well instantly and miraculously so that I could embark on this journey and grab the opportunity of impacting lives and leading many to salvation?
Another idea came to mind – I could give the church a call and explain that I will not be able to make it due to the accident. But would Jesus have done that if he was in my shoes? Wouldn’t that pooh-pooh the ministry of the King of kings? But right now, Jesus is fine at the right hand of the father. I was the one suffering from pains. What will I do?
Just before I tell you what I did, let’s consider some similar occurrences in Bible and how people defined their miracle point.
In John 11, I read about a story of Lazarus who was sick. His sister, Martha, sent a message to Jesus requesting that he should come and heal Lazarus. Jesus was unable to make it to Lazarus’ house on time, and so he died. As soon as Jesus came around and Martha saw him, she said “If you had been here, Lord, my brother would not have died!” John 11:21. Can you see how she defined the miracle point? It is obvious that she was expecting healing to come if and only if Jesus was physically present with them. She said “If you had been here”. Perhaps Lazarus would not have died if she had acted like the centurion who came to Jesus and said “my servant lies paralytic in the house, but only speak a word, and my servant shall be healed” (Mat. 8:5-8).
The woman who suffered severe bleeding in Mat 9:20 defined her miracle point as “if I can touch his dress”; the centurion said “if you can speak a word”; Martha said “if you had been here”; But Tope is lying with pains on the bed after a ghastly motor accident, how would he define his miracle point?
I opened my mouth to declare – “Lord, if you could save me from that accident then you can heal me from every pain and bruises. Tomorrow morning I will set out on my journey to minister to your people. I want you to help me to have a deep sleep tonight. When I wake up, I want to forget that I even had an accident the previous day because all the bruises will be dried up, all these pain will be gone and I will be completely healed”.
By the next day, I woke up late and started rushing to catch up with a bus. I was on my way when I remembered that I had an accident the previous day. I quickly inspected my body and realized that all the bruises were dried and all the pains were gone. Glory to God! I went to that church and after the message, many listeners made a commitment to serve God all the days of their lives.
Beloved, many good things may be dying in our lives because we are defining unfavorable miracle points like Martha instead of opting for favorable miracle points like the centurion. Remember, our main responsibility in life is to use the resources of Christ at our disposal to attract others to God’s kingdom. Christ has given us all the power, grace, anointing, resources and divine connection we need (Eph 1:3, II Pet 1:3). Let’s be committed to using these abilities to fulfill our responsibilities.
– tope aladenusi
Bible Reading: Matthew 8:5-13
I once drove for over 60 kilometers in Lagos before realizing that my car’s number plate was missing. I was perplexed as to what to do next, so many options swirling in my head. First I considered the option of getting a new one and all the challenges of getting a new one; on a second thought, I thought of going back to look for it, going back 60 kilometers in Lagos traffic! While I was still considering what other options I had, my heart echoed these words – “Man of God, practice what you preach – Define your miracle point”. So I paused for a while and said, Holy Spirit I do not want to search for this number plate. I want you to lead me to the exact spot where it is. Immediately, he said to me – go right under that flyover and you will find it. I replied – objection my Lord! How could it be under the flyover? But as I wanted to continue with my protest, I realized that I did not even have a clue of where it could be, and the best thing to do at that point was to obey. So I took a ride straight to the bottom of the bridge and on getting there, the first thing I saw was the number plate.
This experience and many more, constantly reminds me of how we Christians limit ourselves by defining unfavorable miracle points. I could have desired to find the number plate after searching through the entire road. I could have even given up the idea of finding it; but I went for a more favorable option. This was because I learnt from the experiences of the people described below.
The woman who suffered chronic bleeding for twelve years defined her miracle point when she saw Jesus. She said to herself, if I can touch the hem of his dress, I will get well (Mat 9:20). There were many people touching Jesus at that time, but not all of them defined “touching him” as their miracle point. If she had said – “if I can just set my eyes on him, I will get well”. It would have happened just as she has defined.
“When Jesus entered into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, saying, Lord, my servant lies paralytic in the house, suffering grievously. And Jesus says to him, I will come and heal him. And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not fit that thou shouldest enter under my roof; but only speak a word, and my servant shall be healed” (Matthew 8:5-8). In verse 13, Jesus said to the centurion, Go, and as thou hast believed, be it to thee. And his servant was healed in that hour.
The centurion is another person who defined his miracle point.
Jesus did not say – No, I am the one that will define when and how the miracle will take place. He however said ‘as thou hast believed’. That is, it will happen just as you have defined it because you believe. The woman said “if I can touch …”; the centurion said “if you can speak …”; what are you saying? What are you defining as your miracle points as you set out to achieve your goals and to be a blessing to this generation? Remember these people were not Christians. If we say we are tongue-talking, demon-casting and serpent-picking people then we shouldn’t be lily-livered, yellow-bellied and chickenhearted when it comes to producing results in our daily lives. We should not reduce what we read from the Bible to mere stories, they should ignite us to display the glories of the new creation that we are. We have been called to a high calling and we should be operating at a higher level. If an unbeliever can do everything we do and have everything we have, then something is wrong somewhere. Start defining miracle points in a way unbelievers can never attempt. Start doing things that will make unbelievers to ask you about the God you serve. One of your primary assignments as a Christian is to make the most of the limitless resources and powers you have in Christ in a way that will attract others to Christ. If you start doing exploits by defining favorable miracle points, then you have started gaining points in your assignment.
– tope aladenusi
Imagine that you are able to get whatsoever thing you desire; at whatsoever time you want, choosing whatsoever way you want it to appear. Will you consider that a wonderful status? Beloved, if you have not been operating at that level, then you are missing a lot because that is the way you have been designed to function. In Mark 11:23, Jesus declared – “… whosoever shall say to this mountain, Be thou taken away and cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but believe that what he says takes place, whatever he shall say shall come to pass for him”. Jesus was teaching a fundamental principle here that we can define our miracle points as long as there is no doubt in our hearts. For example, you can decide to uproot a mountain by saying it with faith in your heart.
The woman who suffered chronic bleeding for twelve years defined her miracle point when she saw Jesus. She said to herself, if I can touch the hem of his dress, I will get well. There were many people touching Jesus at that time, but not all of them defined “touching him” as their miracle point. Some may have said – I will get well if Jesus places his hand on me OR if only I was able to fast before He came.
Imagine if the woman had said – “if I can just set my eyes on him, I will get well”. Would she have also received her miracle? Absolutely! I will explain further in the second part of this message. But right now I want you to understand that things usually happen to us like we expect them to although most times we are not conscious of our expectation.
Some Christians say – if only I can perform well in the interview, I will get the job. And many jobs elude them until they are able to perform well in an interview. Others say – I will get the job as soon as the interviewer sets his eyes on me. And it happens just as they have said.
Some say – if only I can attend that healing crusade, I will get well. Others say – it is impossible for me to be sick. And both parties get results like they have defined. Some Christians fast for days before they get some results. While some others believe they have a miraculous thought and by just thinking about it, they get the same result. Why is this so?
I Cor. 3:21 says “all things are yours”. ‘God’s divine power has given useverything we need for life’ (II Peter 1:3 – GW). Many of us think “if only God can give, we will get it”. But the scriptures above remind us that “if only we care to know, God has given all we would ever need”. You are the one who usually determine what you get, when you get it and how you get it. Imagine that your earthly father deposited 100 billion bucks into your bank account. It is you who determines where you withdraw from, the time of the withdrawal, the withdrawal amount and the mode of withdrawal. But in relating with God, many are waiting for God to make withdrawals for them from an account that belongs to them and have been credited with unlimited resources.
Christianity will have a unique impact in this world if many more Christians realize that the ball is now in our courts. Let’s stop chasing after God to do what he has already done. Let’s focus on doing what is expected of us. God has done his best for us and it is left for us to experience the best. If you have not consciously defined favorable miracle points, then you may have unconsciously defined unfavorable miracle points. This also applies to your targets for this year. As long as there is no doubt in your heart and you believe in your heart, you can do unlimited exploits that glorifies God and benefits humanity.
– tope aladenusi