#blessing #blessings #abrahamsblessing #test
REALLY? Do WE call THESE ABRAHAM’S BLESSINGS? Let’s RUN a LITMUS TEST to see IF we AIN’T FOOLING OURSELVES – Day 20 of 40 Prayer and Fasting for church and leadership – Pray to THRUST OUT Labourers into the harvest
Friday 5th of April 2024
Podcast link: Listen to the most recent episode of my podcast: REALLY? Do WE call THESE ABRAHAM’S BLESSINGS? Let’s RUN a LITMUS TEST to see .. day 20 of 40 https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/otakada/episodes/REALLY–Do-WE-call-THESE-ABRAHAMS-BLESSINGS–Lets-RUN-a-LITMUS-TEST-to-see—-day-20-of-40-e2i0me6
YouTube link: https://youtu.be/Us8PBSAf2JA?si=oXnHDF4UTn0XAn8r
REALLY? Do WE call THESE ABRAHAM’S BLESSINGS? Let’s RUN a LITMUS TEST to see IF we AIN’T FOOLING OURSELVES
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Today’s scriptures for reading, meditating and Contemplating:
Genesis 12:1-3
Amplified Bible
12 Now [in Haran] the Lord had said to Abram, l “Go away from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you [abundantly],
And make your name great (exalted, distinguished);
And you shall be a blessing [a source of great good to others];
3
And I will bless (do good for, benefit) those who bless you,
And I will curse [that is, subject to My wrath and judgment] the one who curses (despises, dishonors, has contempt for) you.
And in you all the families (nations) of the earth will be blessed.”
Genesis 22:17-18
Amplified Bible
17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies [as conquerors]. 18 Through your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have heard and obeyed My voice.”
Matthew 7:15-20
New King James Version
You Will Know Them by Their Fruits
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Friends, Jesus said in the above text in Matthew 7:17-20 that the only way we can test the authenticity of anything we claim or don’t claim is to observe the fruits of our lives. We should look at the footprints of our lives to see if what we say or what we confess holds true. Not just to validate the GOOD but also the BAD. Fruits are the authenticating indicator of whatever it is we desire to validate.
We shout and scream from housetop to the mountain top that we are the descendants of Abraham in Christ Jesus and that Abraham’s BLESSINGS are ours. Let’s juxtapose those confessions with the experiences of our lives by looking at Abraham, the father of faith, as we explore story of his life and see how we stake out with those claim that has become a cliche. More importantly, what we must do to fall back in line. It is wisdom to constantly do a self check on ourselves ( examine ) in the light of our work and walk with the Lord to determine whether we are still in the faith or not as Paul asserts in 2 Corinthians 13:5. It is serious oversight and foolishness not to. He goes on to say that we must examine ourselves constantly in the faith so that after we have preached to others we ourselves will not be cast away on the last day as he admonished the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 9:27 who had profound manifestation of the GIFT of the Spirit and not the FRUIT that God desires in each of of us, His children because that is the original intent that we read in Genesis 1:26 – …created in His image and likeness. With that simple statement by Paul about being CAST AWAY, our claim to eternal salvation get exposed as an error in its intent and application.
In our churches and around the world, people who manifest the gifts are suddenly elevated to the highest pedestals with absolutely baby fruits of the Spirit to back it up. Gifts can be impacted to a baby believer but fruit of the Spirit are developed by the Holy Spirit in the practical field of life. No seminary, no laying on of hands can develop the fruit of the Spirit. It gets developed in testings and trials and failures, ups and downs so that we can be vessels of honor for the masters use so that when we are comforted, we can comfort others with the comfort we have received through our testing, trials etc. let no one kid you. The way of the Spirit is the way of the narrow path and there be few that find it because it is hard and requires grace which is impacted to those who are willing in total obedience to fall in line with divine counsel. Read Matthew 7:13-14.
Yes, Jesus said all that His Father has given Him non shall be lost. We forget that Judas the betrayer was part of that promise but Judas by his personal choices, which we all have, took himself out of the protected hedge of God and so that promise failed for him as it will do for many of us if we do not hold on to that which Jesus handed down to us.
Let’s read and meditate on these three scriptures:
John 10:28-30
King James Version
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
30 I and my Father are one.
Now, read this:
John 17:11-12
King James Version
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Finally, check this out in Revelation 3:1-5
New King James Version
The Dead Church
3 “And to the [a]angel of the church in Sardis write,
‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. 4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Selah!
Today, we explore book 3 of 12 of the Holy Ghost Discipleship School books, A book of Divine Blessings, chapter 3 by Lafamcall ministries today.
ABRAHAM’S BLESSINGS ARE MINE
We hope you still remember what we are doing. God wants to bless us in this life. We are also right to expect God’s blessings because we need them in order for us to do well in this life. Moreover, God is our Father, and so we have every liberty to approach Him for blessings.
But then, what do we really mean by Divine Blessings? That is the question we have been trying to answer. The reason is that if we don’t know exactly what God means by blessings, then we may end up seeking wrong things. So far, we have seen that God’s blessings are in two major categories – the spiritual and the physical. Of these two, we have seen that the spiritual is paramount, is more important, because it is the foundation. The spiritual controls and determines the physical. We have seen also that the spiritual blessings consist mainly of:
– Personal, conversational relationship with Jesus.
-Spiritual Power and authority.
-Perfect will of the Lord.
While the Physical part is simply what we call ‘material blessings’.
Let us further look at these things, this time using the example of Abraham, for he too walked in Divine Blessings.
ABRAHAM’S EXAMPLE
To know what God means by ‘blessing,’ let us consider the first man ever, to whom God said,
In blessing, I will BLESS you… (Genesis 22: 17).
That man was father Abraham. Abraham was highly blessed by God. Yet how many children did he have? How many landed properties? Cars? Material possessions? Yet His blessings were so much that up to this day we still lay claim to them. Hence we sing:
Abraham’s blessings are mine, Abraham’s blessings are mine, They are mine in the morning, Mine in the evening, Abraham’s blessings are mine.
So, what are those blessings of Abraham that we say are ours? Did Abraham leave fleets of ships behind for us? Did he leave in-exhaustible foreign and local bank accounts for us? Did Abraham produce innumerable children for us to adopt and rear for ourselves, as we like? If Abraham’s blessings are ours, and yet Abraham himself did not leave behind for us all those material things that we crave, and he did not transfer any of the material things to us, then don’t we think there is problem somewhere? It then means that we don’t really seem to know exactly what we are saying when we talk of blessings.
So, what was it that Abraham had which we now say are ours too? We need to find the answer to this question if we are to be delivered from the error that has bound the present day church; the error of seeking material possessions, as the ‘blessings’. Material possessions may not be bad, but then, are they “the blessings” God is talking about?
SPIRITUAL INHERITANCE
Let’s look at it further this way. God had said to Abraham;
I will bless you and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing …and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Genesis 12: 2-3).
Do you see that? God did not only bless Abraham as a person. He said that through him all the families of the earth shall be blessed also! Do you see how enormous and endless this blessing of Abraham must have been that every family on earth could share of it? Yes, if God had meant material possessions, how could Abraham have distributed material things to reach every family on earth?
So let us think! What was it that Abraham got which the entire families of the earth were to share from? It wasn’t money, fruits of the womb, or other material things because, before Abraham was even called, families of the earth had got those material things! So what did Abraham receive from God that no other family on earth had before? For sure it must be a spiritual thing then. It was indeed a spiritual inheritance.
Abraham’s blessings first consisted of spiritual things. Abraham received a spiritual inheritance from God which families of the earth had not got before. Let’s now look at this spiritual inheritance.
PERSONAL, CONVERSATIONAL RELATIONSHIP
First of all God choose him among all the men of the earth. When God chooses a man, that man is blessed because he will have Divine privileges which no one will get elsewhere. So, Abraham’s blessings firstly consisted of his personal talking relationship with God, which distinguished him from every other person that lived on earth at his time. No other person in the whole earth heard the voice of God nor talked with Him nor interacted with Him on a regular basis. Yet Abraham had such wonderful personal relationship with God by which he shared power and authority with Him. He and God where so close that God Himself called Abraham His friend! (James 2: 23). Can you imagine the Almighty God looking at a mere man and saying to him, “you are My friend”. That was what Abraham got. That was the blessing he got for the whole world. Through him, God brought families of the earth close to himself so that we too could become His friends and children. This He did through Jesus, the spiritual Seed of Abraham.
If your brother is the president of your country, he may not give you so much money or other material things, yet you will be called ‘blessed’ – just because he is your brother. That personal relationship alone gives you a place of glory and honour in the eyes of other people. Everyone will respect you as ‘the president’s brother’. Even so it was with Abraham. God talked with him, walked with him, had daily interactions with him and cared for him. God shared his deep and hidden secrets and plans with Abraham, things which no other man could look into in the whole world! He shared his future plans with him, and carried him along in His divine program for the earth.
SPIRITUAL POWER AND AUTHORITY (SPA)
The next thing Abraham got was Spiritual power and authority. By God’s authority, Abraham dominated his enemies and subdued them. A “refugee”, so to say, yet Abraham became an heir and a ruler, ruling in the land of his enemies, just because he shared spiritual power and authority with God. This happened to him because of the close intimate relationship he had with God. These were the blessings Abraham received from God which no one could get from any other place and which no enemy could take from him. There were many wealthy men, but there was not any other man like Abraham who shared Divine secrets and power with God!
Yes! His son Isaac came and later many grandchildren, but these came quite later. Abraham was already a friend of God, sharing power and authority with God, and having an intimate walk with Him before major material possessions came. Abraham was already a blessed man before those material possessions came. So we must look away from material possessions first, for us to be able to see clearly and understand the real meaning of God’s blessings. When we focus on material things, we suffer blindness of the spirit, for covetousness is a major cause of spiritual blindness. But when we remove our eyes from them, and focus properly on spiritual things first, then we see clearly. After we have got the right spiritual blessings, which are the foundation of life, in due course, material things are given to us as well.
STILL AVAILABLE TODAY
So, Abraham’s blessings are really ours today. How? Jesus was a descendant of Abraham. He was the Son of David, the son of Abraham. He was Abraham’s Seed (Galatians 3: 16, 29). Through Jesus, God connected the whole world to Himself, and made available to the world the same blessings of Abraham. Jesus, Abraham’s descendant, died for the whole world so that through Him, the whole families of the earth could be reconciled to God, so that they too can share power and authority with God, as well as enjoy other blessings of Abraham, and even more. Today, what Abraham enjoyed as blessings, have been made available to us through Jesus, Abraham’s Seed!
NOW, DO YOU REALLY WANT ABRAHAM’S BLESSINGS?
If you really want them, then here is the starting point. Hearing the voice of God was the first blessing Abraham received from God. Talking with God and enjoying a close and intimate relationship with Him was the first thing that distinguished Abraham from all other men. God spoke to Him and gave him clear directions on how to take further steps into the realm of blessedness. God’s voice told him what to do and get blessed.
Now the Lord had said unto Abraham…(Genesis 12: 1-3).
So you see, Abraham had a personal talking relationship with God and that made all the difference.
Now, does God speak clearly and directly to you too? Does His voice clearly tell you what you should do in order to be blessed? Many Christians don’t hear the voice of Jesus. They can’t discern His voice. They don’t have a talking relationship with Him. They go to men and women of God for ‘counselling’ instead! They hear only the voice of their religious leaders. Such people are still outside Abraham’s blessings!
From today, you should desire and seek to hear the voice of Jesus for yourself, as the first step in the direction of being really blessed by God. It is wrong to ask a God whom you don’t talk with to ‘bless’ you! How do you expect Him to give you direction then on how to get blessed if you can’t hear His voice? He gave Abraham directions on what to do, to be blessed. He heard and obeyed His voice and so became blessed. We too should desire to hear and obey God’s voice so that we may enter into His blessings also.
Obey My voice and I will be Your God, and you shall be My people…that it may BE WELL with you. (Jeremiah 7: 23)
You see, God really wants it to BE WELL with you. But you should hear and obey His voice first. That is the starting point. From there you will then receive spiritual power and authority.
IMPORTANCE OF SPA DEMONSTRATED BY ABRAHAM
What other blessings do you say you are looking for when you have not got spiritual power and authority (SPA)? If you have not received the “keys of the kingdom of God,” what else do you say you are seeking? He who has the power has the way! Without the power, all your other possessions are at risk, exposed, and may be taken away any time, any day, by evil forces and their human agents!
ABRAHAM’S S.P.A
Let us explain the importance of spiritual power and authority (SPA) through Abraham’s life and his strange victory over four kings. There was battle between four kings on one side and five other kings. The four kings were:
Amraphel – king of Shinar
Arioch – king of Ellasar
Chedorlaomer – king of Elam
Tidal – king of Goiim
These four kings fought against the following five kings:
Bera – king of Sodom
Birsha – king of Gomorrah
Shinab – king of Admah
Shemeber – king of Zeboiim
Plus the king of Bela
At this time Lot, Abraham’s nephew, was living in Sodom while Abraham was living in Canaan. The battle progressed until the four kings overcame the five kings and their armies! They plundered Sodom and Gomorrah, and carried people and goods away, including Lot and all his possessions. The enemy carried Lot and all his possessions away. So, what happened next? The Bible records:
…The victors plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and carried off all their wealth and food, and went on their home-ward way, taking with them Lot – Abraham’s nephew, who lived in Sodom, and all he owned. One of the men who escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew…
When Abram learnt that Lot had been captured, he called together the men born into his household, three hundred and eighteen of them in all, and chased after (them) as far as Dan. He divided his men and attacked during the night from several directions;…and recovered everything – the loot that had been taken, his relative Lot, and all of Lot’s possessions including the women and other captives. (Genesis 14: 8-16-LB).
Do you see that?
Abraham, who was living in a strange land, gathered his servants and with them overcame the combined armies of four powerful kings! These four kings had just conquered five other kings. Now, Abraham, with just a handful of his own servants, overpowered such powerful, all – conquering four kings!
By what power did Abraham achieve this great feat? We ask this question because it is clear that the power of physical arms alone could not have done that. Note that at this time Abraham was like a refugee in a strange land. He had no standing army. On the other hand the four kings had been at war for a long time, for over twelve years (Genesis 14: 4), so they had amassed large and well-trained standing armies over these years, which enable them to overrun the five kings. Yet, Abraham overcame such a formidable force, using just 318 servants of his! So, by what power did he achieve that feat?
He used SPA! O yes, God’s spiritual power and authority was at work in his life. He got the SPA when he heard the voice of God and obeyed Him and separated himself to Him. He left his father’s land and separated himself to God’s presence at Canaan. There God perfected him spiritually and equipped him with the ultimate SPA! When we leave distractions and separate ourselves to God’s presence, and establish a talking personal relationship with Him, He will then give us His SPA (the keys of His kingdom). That was what happened to Abraham. That was what Abraham had which those four kings did not have.
To confirm this, Melchizedek had appeared to Abraham after the Victory and said:
…Blessed be the Most High God Who has delivered your enemies into your hand…(Genesis 14: 20).
So you see, that was the secret of Abraham’s victory. God did it for him. God delivered his enemies into his hands. God delivered those powerful kings and their armies into Abraham’s hands – spiritually. Abraham then overcame them physically. Why did God do that? Because Abraham had SPA. That is, Abraham shared powered with God! He and God were in a powerful sharing agreement! That is the meaning of SPA!
The same happened to David when he came before Goliath. By the time he slew the great Goliath, with an ordinary sling and stone, it became clear to everyone that the arm of flesh had not achieved that victory. Only SPA, through solid Divine Connection, could have done that for David.
So, are you asking God for material possessions instead of seeking SPA? Then you are behaving just like Lot! That is foolishness. Did Lot not have plenty possessions? Yet both he and his many possessions were carried away by evil forces – because he had no SPA! Do you want that to happen to you? Is that the type of blessing you are seeking? Material ‘blessings’ you will get today only for the enemies to carry them away tomorrow? Is that what you want? You want Lot’s type of blessings? Then be careful how you pray. Abraham who had SPA had to come and rescue him and his possessions!
Didn’t Goliath have great material possessions as a great military leader of the army of the philistines? For sure he had much material possessions, just like king Saul, the leader of the Israeli army. Yet little David (who had no material possessions yet) was superior to these two men – on account of the SPA which he had!
So, do you see the superiority of SPA over material possessions? Those who want to receive lasting blessings from God must be wise to seek SPA first. After that, whatever material possessions you have will remain and increase, and no evil power shall touch them.
Are you now ready for that? Then start keeping Covenant Time, and all these shall follow.
Question for you!
The information shared today, does it make sense to you? if so, give further insights.
Going forward, what would you do differently? Make commitment to start immediately!
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Shalom!
Ambassador Monday O. OGBE
God’s Eagle Ministries
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