How To Live And Not To Die - Chapter 2 The Faith That Produces Resul
We need to appreciate the essence of our salvation and the place of his blood in the redemption of our lives.
David has a great sense of destiny as told in the seventeenth chapter of first Samuel. While the army of Israel were terrified by Goliath, the captain of philistines, David despised the big for nothing giant as an uncircumcised gentile. He was not blood-covered; he had no covenant, no power behind his boast.
The strength of every kingdom is measured by the power behind the throne.
As far as David was concerned, Goliath was vulnerable to assault and shame because he had no covering. David’s testimony to Saul was very inspiring.
1Sam.17:34-36
34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
God confirmed his words in the mouth of the teenager who accomplished the unusual as a result of his faith in the covenant working God. He became the celebrated both by God and men. A boy who came to serve his brothers their lunch became the champion that they have been waiting for.
1Sam.17:50-51
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
Blessing and envy go together. David became the envy of both great and small. The daughters of Israel made matters worse by celebrating a teenager at the expense of King Saul who had lost favour with God.
1Sam.18:6-7
6 And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music.
7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
Singing a good song to a small mind is like signing a death warrant. For Saul, he became angry because according to him
1Sam.18:8-9
8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?
9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
King Saul had forgotten that were it not that David risked his life to confront the giant, he would not have gotten a domain to rule over. Apart from this, the victory was from the Lord and not for any person.
Saul could not rejoice over the success of a courageous boy who loved him and his nation.
As for the women, they were singing scripturally what only a discerning mind can understand. The summary of their song is that David and Saul fulfilled the scripture “One will put into flight a thousand and two ten thousand” (Joshua 23:10; Deuteronomy 32:30)
God saw Adam in desperation, covering himself with the apron of leaves like a man who is out of his mind. The glory of God has departed and God therefore had to kill an innocent animal to get its skin. He used it as a covering for him and by that, God became the first person to shed blood.
He had to drive Adam and Eve out of the garden so that they would not go ahead to eat also the fruit of the tree of life and live forever. Can you imagine living forever with a cancer- ridden body. When people are in incurable pains they wish that death takes them away and you can imagine what God will feel seeing man in an never-ending agony caused by eating the fruit of the tree of life?
Gen.3:22
22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
He did it to prevent man from eternally living under the consequences of curses if there was nothing to terminate
physical life. So he shortens Adam’s life as a relief that is borne out of the father’s love.
Adam must have told his children that the way God would favour them is through blood sacrifices of an innocent animal as ‘a covering for sin’.
God has no pleasure in sacrifices, but he wanted to help to reconcile man with himself.
Heb.10:6
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
Abel, the second son of Adam understood this position with God. God called his sacrifice an excellent one.
Heb.11:4
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
The first priority in the heart of the father is Jesus and the cross. Nothing provokes hell more than the blood of Jesus. Nothing makes the devil crazy like the precious blood of Jesus as it reminds the devil of his eternal defeat.
Colossians 2:14-15
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
As a Christian, you must have faith in the blood of Jesus for protection, preservation and deliverance. The blood provides the excellent access to his blessing.
When Abel died, his blood cried out for vengeance but when Jesus died, his blood cried out for what he died for. He died our death that we might live his life and that life is in his blood.
Rev.5:12
12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
1Cor.2:2
2 For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
We may not have same education, culture, background or environment, but we have same opportunity to place our faith in what the blood did for us. The equalizer is our faith in the finished work of Christ.
Your children that are born again are as much God’s sons and daughters as you are before him. God has no grandson; we all belong to the family of God. That will humble us not to take the place of God in their lives. Let them also know the God of their fathers.
Even aborted children or babies who died through miscarriages, are prepared by angels waiting to be presented to God, the source of all lives. No baby at death ever goes to hell, for God is not unjust.
For those who reject the offer of God’s mercy, they will have to face the consequences of their choice and decisions. Every choice has a consequence. God will always do his part to keep man from the path of destruction.
When God saw that Cain felt bad about being rejected, the Lord tried to talk him out of depression. He showed him the way out but Cain would not listen. He played a fool with his life.
Gen.4:6-7
6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
With the pleas of heaven and the instruction of life, Cain still went forward in his plans to kill his brother. When there were only two brothers on earth, one of them (50%) was a murderer.
More than 30 major wars were been fought today on earth with majority of them religious. Cain war against God and Abel was a religious war. Hatred hinders the blessing of God. Cain became a vagabond as a result of the curse, because he hated his brother.
Beloved, you must stop blaming others for what you can fix if you care. It is easier to change than to have the blood of another man in our hands.
There are many today who cannot learn from others that are more successful than them. You cannot envy success and become successful. When Cain killed Abel, he succeeded in doing evil but it was a bad success. It was a success outside of the will of God.
Jos.1:8
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Cain had bad success by choosing to walk in envy and hatred. He succeeded for a season but the bible warns us about this kind of success.
Don’t see people through the eyes of competition but rather complement them. Rejoice with others for God who did good things for them can also do it for you if you believe.
You will surely get to where God plans for you, you only need to trust God with your life.
Don’t also behave like the wife of Job who was so distressed with the situation of the home and her husband that she counselled him to curse God and die.
If Job’s wife wanted to die, she could go on and die but why should she advise a man to do what she was not willing to attempt?
But Job was wiser than her; he saw through her foolishness. Perhaps, she wanted him to die so she could start life afresh with another man, but no man can write you off when God has not finished with you.
The outcome of our lives is not in the hand of any man. We can always write our tickets with God.
Insecure people put others under pressure. No one can take what belongs to you. The fear of little mind is as a result of wrong perception.
Even children, when you raise them in love, they will behave well, because love is compelling. But those raised up in an atmosphere of suspicion and pretense are not raised well.
The opportunity that spiritual grace brought to Cain is to do the right thing. This is the time to correct yourself.
Some are raised in homes that have dysfunctional families, and they think everybody must be like that.
Beloved, when life is not fair, God is just. Don’t believe that anybody cannot change. You must choose to see them with the eyes of faith.
The same Egyptian that maltreated the Israelites paid them compensation when they were about to leave Egypt.
The Lord will make your enemies to need you and your payback time is near.
Ps 37:18-20
18 The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be forever.
19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
You must be sincere and consistent. This is how to show that you love God. When you give God the first place, you are connected to creativity. Don’t sow bitterness, competition and jealousy, for they will hider you from being the best that God plans for you.
The parable of the prodigal son is a lesson that no matter the mud we find ourselves, we can rise up and be helped out of it.
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Luke 15:17
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
When God warned Cain, he did not come to himself, he still went ahead to do wrong. But the prodigal son came to his senses.
There is power in coming together. When you come together, it is difficult for the devil to defeat you. This is why the devil must not isolate you.
When you want to deal with a criminal, you isolate him to make him become frustrated and depressed.
God does not want you to break away from where he has planted you. The branches cannot get benefit, until they are connected to the vine.
The prodigal son arose. You must arise in faith. Face your road and become what God has planned for you.
Your thoughts speak in heaven louder than your voices, so check what you are thinking for as a man thinketh, so is he. You are a product of your thought life.
The woman with the issue of blood thought within herself of her healing and acted out what she was thinking and saying.
Mt 9:20-2320
And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
23 And when Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,
The beginning of your victory comes from your mind.
What are you thinking? Don’t fall out of love. Stay in peace and refuse to be offended and be faithful where God has planted you. Your blessing is located in the place of your service.
Greatness is not determined by how high you can go but how low you can condescend.
II Cor 8:9
9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
Even the greatest in history, our Lord Jesus was born in a manger.
Great things at times come out of bad places.
Phi. 2:7
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Nobody could stop Jesus from rising. This shows that the devil does not have the final say. The faith that produces excellent result must say it. No matter your circumstances, your faith must be on what Jesus did. We don’t need to add anything to it. We must count on the power of his blood.
