Where did Chain find his wife

The bible is a compressed book, it may not tell every detail of what happened, but will be specific on particular events that God chose to speak of through His people. That's what make this book different from any other book and will be difficult for any person to understand unless that person has the holy spirit.

Also, the years in between the events are not always detailed, but the fact is that in most occasions, there is a big gap of years between the events. This is firstly proved by the number of years ancient people lived then. Some lived up to 830 (Adam to be specific) or more years, and during that period we never hear that they couldn't even see with their eyes nor walk or struggle to walk anymore.

For instance, the book of Genesis alone tells of the events that happened over a 1000 years.

The writer of the book of Genesis, When the bible tells us about the creation of mankind.

We only hear about Adam and Eve, we do not hear about any other human beings being present all around the planet earth. This does not diminish the fact that as big the world is, in every part of this planet, God had placed a human there.

Genesis 1:26. God says: Let us make "mankind" (This single word on it's own refers to more than one person, plural) in our image, in our likeness, so that "they" (plural) may rule.

Now, this gives a very clear indication that it wasn't just Adam that God created, but many human beings. Just as when all kind of creatures and animals were created in multitude and across the planet earth.

When He said "so that they may rule over it". How would one mere human rule over the entire world in it's entirety? Unless you are in that particular environment, you can not have rulership of that place. Just as in this day and age where these countries would colonize African countries, they would have their people there to oversee things and make sure their doctrines and culture is enforced, so is mankind was to rule over the fish, birds and all creatures. 

The bible state the events of creation in an orderly manner, where the planet earth was created before man. Now when man was to occupy and rule, he had to be placed in that environment where he is supposed to occupy and rule. I can not live in Durban and be having dominion and rulership of Italy if I am not there nor have someone who is managing things for me there.

One day when I got back home from work, there was this television program that was on and they were having this discussion about religions. Obviously there will be a debate and dialog about different religions.

Unsurprisingly enough, Christianity will be challenged and questions will posed to try and prove it un-authentic. So I heard at the end of that particular show, one young lady asked a question which commonly in many people's minds.

This blog is meant to address the confusion and the question that is on every new believer and un-believer's minds about where did the other mankind come from, concerning Cain and his wife that He got after he was chased out of the land. "Where did she come from?"

The long a short of the response to that question is that, it wasn't only Adam and Eve whom were on the planet earth, but there were other people whom the bible does not speak of. They were also living on earth same as the two the bible is specifically talking of. Just as the bible refers to "mankind" when speaking of the creation of man, that applies to me and you, we are also mankind.
The fact that God may use one individual to perform miracles and they are recorded, it doesn't diminish the fact that God may use a different person elsewhere to do the same thing but they will not be recorded anywhere.

God is an Omnitient God, He is everywhere at the same time. When He visited mankind in the garden, He did not only visited Adam and Eve, but mankind. What is important that mankind has to learn (especially Christians) is the life of Adam and Eve symbolises our lives and attitude towards God. The number one thing that every child of God should ask God for, is to receive the holy spirit. It is him that will give all understanding regarding His word and life in it's entirety.

Read the bible and meditate on on it. Deuteronomy 8:3 says man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

The converts and the Holy Spirit

This message is mostly for the benefit of those who has just accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Not that it leaves aside everyone else that has already accepted Jesus a long time ago, but also you will benefit because it will revive your spirit and faith.

 

You have made the right choice. We would like to teach about being a new convert, the change that has taken place in your life and the effects of the Holy Spirit that are to happen from the decision you have taken.

 

Convert

 

II Corinthians 5:17 “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things has passed away behold all things has come new”.

Accepting Jesus and repenting from your sins, if anyone turns away from the sinful life they were living before and chose to be baptised and accept Jesus. The person becomes a new creation. All your sins and life you have been known for is now removed from you, you are now a different person. Those who knew you before may not know or see that initially, but in the eyes of God you are a different person. You have been born again (John 3:-6) born of the water and the spirit. Unbelievers do not understand this, just like Nicodemus didn’t understand. The reason for that is because the things of the Holy Spirit have not been revealed to them. They do not understand what is being talked about.

 Being born again means there are certain things that you are now not supposed to do. The kind of life you were living before baptism is now no longer your lifestyle.

The life of boyfriend and girlfriend, the dating life. The immoral life sexual activity before marriage

nor be a Homosexual; Bisexual; Lesbian or Gay, that is unholy. You should not be a drunkard.

(Ephesians 5:18) “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery, instead be filled with the spirit.”

  

 How are you filled with the Holy Spirit?

 John 14:15-17

Right after you accept Jesus and be baptised, you receive the Holy Spirit and Jesus said he shall help you.

So there are certain benefits of receiving the Holy Spirit, “he shall be your advocate” which now means he speaks on your behalf on all accusations against you. He is your lawyer before any judgment against you.  He does not only do that, but he is the spirit of truth and the teacher (verse 26), he shall teach you things of God. We will teach you the word of God as we do every Sunday service, but the spirit of God will even teach you deeper things of God. Because I t is different to receive practical teachings from man and to get direct revelations from the spirit of God. It teaches you things that man has not even began to teach you. Immediately when you read your bible, the spirit begins to give you understanding of what the word of God is about. (1John 2:27)

The spirit will not only teach you what is now or you will know now, but also for the things to come. You shall prophesy John 16:13. The spirit will help you when you are weak, when you do not even know what to pray for (Romans 8:26) because as much as you have accepted Jesus, you will now be at war with the devil.  The spirit will intercede for you, it will pray on your behalf. So you are not alone.

The Holy Spirit gives you power to sense or discern. 1Corinthians 2: 9-10. All these are the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-24. Now that you are in Christ, these fruits should and shall be seen in you.

 You will be witnesses of Christ. Act1:8

You will now live a life that promotes Christ everywhere you are. At work, people shall see a different personality in you. They shall begin to respect you and now exclude you from the worldly things they do.

At school, they shall now see a different person in you. Your friends will now begin to ask you what has happened to you. Because of what they now see from you, from the way you speak and handle yourself. You shall now be preachers of the Gospel by the life you live.

 

 Finally

 

The Holy Spirit will inspire you to worship God.  Philippians 3:3

You will be an active member in the house of God. If you have the talent of praising and worship, you must join the praise and worship team.
What is worship? It is an act of boing before God in adoring and acknowledgement of Him. Be an Usher in the house of God. Take part in church activities, be a bible reader during the service.

Show these fruits of the spirit in your life.

Tithing and Giving

Malachi 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house , and prove me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be enough room to receive it.

I would like to touch on a very delicate topic today. One topic that is often not talked about. I want to speak about giving, offering and tithing. I have heard people saying they won’t go to church because the only thing that happens in church, people are being robbed of money. They say pastors ask people money and church is just money making scam. We find even Christians who are against tithing because they also have the same mentality that the money is for the pastor.

 God’s aim and purpose about tithing is totally different from what people think, and I would like to teach on the subject today.

(1) What is tithing?

Tithe is the tenth of our income that we give back to God. It makes God to move on our behalf in the area of blessing. It is our ticket to our blessings. The concept here is this, God is the creator of everything that is, He owns everything and we are just stewards of what has been entrusted to us. So the principle here is this, “He gives to us and we give back to Him tenth of what He has blessed us with.”

Tithing began from the Old Testament. Genesis 14:18-20 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed [be] Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.  

 Genesis 28:22 And this stone, which I have set [for] a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. Tithing back then was done as a way to say thank you, it was to worship God for what He has given to them. It was to give glory to Him for blessing them, after all everything comes from Him and belongs to Him. Abram and Jacob tithed to show gratitude to God more than anything. This was even before God established the law on tithing.

Deuteronomy14:22-29 “Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed that the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; [or] if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: Then shalt thou turn [it] into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:  And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, And the Levite that [is] within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay [it] up within thy gates:  And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which [are] within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest”.  God had already established the tithing law here, and here we see different ways of tithing. They would bring their tithe into the house of the Lord and they would eat it there in the presence of the Lord, and the bible says that was so that they would learn to fear the Lord. Paying tithe was some form of rejoicing in the presence of the Lord, thanking Him for the year that has been, worshiping Him for the blessings He has blessed them with.

 Their tithe was shared also with the Levites (the ministers) (27) this is also confirmed in these two scriptures (Numbers 18:24 and 2Chronicles 31:4-18). Now this tells us that tithe is also used for the up keep of the Pastors. Then as churches we are not wrong if we take care of Pastors with our tithe after all.

Again they were to share their tithe with the orphans; widows and the refugees (28). This is what the church should do; take care of the orphans and widows.  That is the churches duty in the land to look after God’s people. God promises to bless them for doing that.

How do we tithe?

We notice that the bible says in Malachi 3:10 “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,” there are different tithes that were given. They would tithe with their cattle; sheep; grain; fruits and vegetables. You pay tithe out of everything that the Lord has blessed you with.

Malachi 3:10 “that there may be food in my house”

Like we’ve seen in the book of Deuteronomy, tithing is not only done with money. The scripture says so there may be food in my house, which means we can also tithe with food. (Leviticus 27:30) “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord.”  This scripture tells us that even fruit is welcome as tithe in the house of the Lord. We have people who has vineyards, they sow and they reap in due time. Take the tenth of what you have gathered from your vine and give into the house of the Lord as your tithe, it is welcome. So we tithe with our crop as well.

We tithe with money since these days mostly our income comes in money. Some people may argue that they don’t have money so they will not pay their tithes. The truth is this, everyone does have money.  The only difference is that people do not afford the same things. Even a street vendor does have money, because he can get money to buy glue or any type of drug that may be his addiction. So the truth is, you cannot say you don’t have money that’s why you won’t pay your tithe. Even if you get paid R50, take out your R5 and give it into the house of the Lord. It is not about how much you earn but it is about being obedient to God’s principle by giving your tithe with a clean heart and do not rob Him (Malachi 3:8).

I remember the story of a woman that gave two coins when Jesus and His disciples were carefully watching the offerings, and everyone else was throwing in huge amount of money. And Jesus said this woman made the best offering then everyone because she gave the last that she had (Luke 21:1-4).  God wants offerings that are done out of a clean heart, no hesitation and regrets.

Some people give their offerings in huge sums just to brag and show off that they have more money, but God is only asking for tenth of your income. This kind of attitude is the reason why some people think that that just because they have money, God will bless them more than others.  They believe that the more money the give to God, the more blessings they’ll receive from Him. They believe that their money will open up blessings for them. In a sense they are trying to buy blessings from God, they are trying to bribe God with their money.  Jesus warns us about such attitude in Matthew 23:23 it is possible that people may give their tithe correct and accurately but their hearts are not into it. Yet they can’t honour God. Again Jesus made it clear that God is only interested to our hearts and not our possessions.

This is why I somehow find trouble trying to accept this new way of offering which is now done at some churches. They ask for pledges, they would ask is you have a R 1000; R 5000 pledge to bring it and they will pray for you and God will open the windows of blessings and you’ll find that job, healing or your prayers will be answered. Now that is neither tithing nor offering, but it’s something else. What about that person who does not have so much money? Are we trying to tell them that God will never bless them because they don’t have money? How I wish churches and pastors could be like Apostle Paul in (2Corinthians 12:14) “Now for the third time I am ready to come visit you. And I will not burden you financially, for it is not your money that I want but you”. Because that I what God intends about tithe, that we may come to Him with our hearts. He is looking for our hearts not money or possessions. This tells me that it shouldn't be your money or possessions only that you take to church as your tithe, but you need to also come yourself into the house of the Lord and rejoice with your household in the presence of the Lord.

Offerings

Tithe and offerings have the same impact and outcome from God and that is the blessing from Him. We need to do them all. It may be money; food or just the work of your hands. You could even offer your time, to those who are always home, and come clean the house of God. You could do the garden. That’s your offering. You could fix the things that have been broken in the house of God without having to ask for payment. You could take it upon yourself to buy some needed equipment for the church, and not wait until there is an announcement that we need to do a special offering to buy (windows) for the church. Offering is also giving to the poor.

Proverbs 28:27 the bible tells us that if we give to the poor, we shall not lack. This means we shall be blessed. We have people whom has been blessed by God, they got good jobs, and their kids have good paying jobs. They lack nothing, but they can’t take it upon themselves to buy grocery for that old lady who lives alone with her grandchildren. God blesses you so that you may be a blessing to others. He uses you as a river, so when He pours in you, He knows that it’s going to flow down like a stream to others.

But when we do such offerings we need to be careful that we don’t show-off, but it is your commitment to God and it stays between you and God. Don’t come and stand before the church and tell them everyone what you have done or going to do. The bible says don’t let your right hand see what your left hand is doing (Matthew 6:3).

God says we must prove Him and see if He won’t open the windows of Heaven and pour out blessings for us (Malachi 3:10). Don’t you want these blessings? He doesn’t promise money, of course there is nothing wrong with having more money, but He promises that we shall not lack anything in our lives (2Corinthians9:8). He will bless you on your job; business; children and every aspect of your life so that you have no lack.

As much as people think that God wants their money, it is not so. God wants you to have money. In fact the bible tells us how to handle our finances. God does not want us to be in debts. You must first give your tithe then take care of all other expenses you have. Don’t give everything. God does not want you to owe anyone. Romans 13:8: “Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.”  

He doesn’t want you to be wasteful John 6:12: “When they were filled, he said unto his disciples; Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.”  He warns us about loving luxuries, Proverbs 21:17: “He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.”  At the same time God warns us about being too generous; do not give until you left with nothing while you haven’t paid your bills.  Proverbs 3:27-28: “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.”

God wants us to plan and budget for our financial spending. Luke 14:28-30: “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.”

God does not want your money, but He wants you. He wants to bless you, but He can only do that if you come to His place of worship and rejoice in His presence by giving your tithe, from what we have seen about tithing here. It seems like the best way of tithing is to take care of other people’s needs. Because God wants you to share your tithe with the Pastors; orphans; widows; poor and the fugitives. If you do not do that, you are cursed with the curse Malachi 3:9

Who is Jesus

I know that this question might be very vital to someone that they would really need to get an answer to. Well, I am willing to give an insight to it.

Matthew 16:13-15

Jesus asks His disciples, who do people say that I am. And they answer that some say you are Elijah; others say Jeremiah; some say John the Baptist or one of the prophets. Then Jesus asks them who do they say that He is?
This is the outmost important question that Jesus asked His disciples. Jesus was going to send them to go and preach the gospel to the world, so it was very important that they knew who Jesus is. Otherwise they were going to preach about something they are not sure of. They would lead people astray and they would not fulfil the task given to them, to tell people about the son of God.
My question to you today is who is Jesus to you?

I have come across an interesting description of Jesus one day from a friend. And it goes something like this:
In chemistry, He turned water into wine.
In biology, He was born without the normal conception.
In physics, He disapproved the law of gravity when He ascended into heaven.
In economics, He disapproved the law of diminishing return by feeding 5000 men with two fishes and 5 loaves of bread.
In medicine, He cured the sick and the blind without administering a single dose of drugs.
In history, He is the beginning and the end.
In government, He said He shall be called the wonderful Councillor, Prince of Peace.

This is an interesting description indeed about Jesus. I say interesting because it describes Jesus based on certain aspects which will be revealed to you by the end of this message. But I want to take a moment and try to reveal Jesus and answer the question at hand from the book of life itself.

The gospel of John is preferably the first book you read when you doing your bible study. Reason for that is:
(I) this book shows us who Jesus is by the miracles He preformed
(II) It shows us who Jesus is by letting Him speak for Himself.
(III) It shows us who Jesus is by calling the witnesses who testify about Jesus.

John 1:1 "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God."
This takes us back to the book of Genesis when God created earth and everything in it. God existed before the foundations of the earth, and He was at the beginning of everything. Here John tells us that in the beginning was the word, that tells me that the word predates time just as God does. The word is the beginning of the beginning, before there was the beginning, the word existed.
The WORD is translated in ancient Greek as logos of which it meant "the word of God". The Jewish rabbis would refer to God Himself as "The word of God".
John says the word was with God and the word was God. Here we see a being called the word and this being is God because he exceeds time, he was in the beginning. And this being is God because "the word was God", yet this being is not higher than what God is; he is the son of God. "THE WORD WAS WITH GOD".
We see two part of God's trinity here, God the Father and God the son and the son here is known as THE WORD. They are two separate persons yet equally God.

So if the word is the son, than the word is Jesus. If I would make my own translation of this verse, it would be: IN THE BEGINNIG WAS JESUS, AND JESUS WAS WITH GOD, AND JESUS WAS GOD. Jesus is the beginning of the beginning, He also declares Himself as the beginning in the book of Revelation 1:08. He says He is Alpha and omega the BEGINNIG and the end.
So in just this one verse John 1:1, we see Jesus as the word (beginning) and as the son of God and as God.
More confirmation of Jesus as the word is in verse 14 of John 1. “The word became flesh", now we know that it is Jesus that came to be man amongst us. Definitely the word is Jesus. JESUS IS THE WORD.

JESUS THE LIFE AND LIGHT:

Verse 4: "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men".
When you receive Jesus you receive life everlasting. To receive is the same thing as accepting, so you accept and acknowledge Jesus as the Lord and Savior in your life then you receive eternal life.
John 3:16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life". Jesus declares himself as the bread of life in John 6:35 "I am the bread of life". Whatever spiritual needs you have Jesus is the bread of life, take Him and you soul shall never hunger. John 6:47-48 "I say to you, he who believes in me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life". He is making that statement about Himself, what more evidence we need to know that Jesus is the LIFE.

"And the life was light of men". In the book of Matthew 5:14 Jesus says: "you are the light of the world". Since you have received Him as the Lord in to your life, He becomes the bread of life and He brings light into your life. The Jesus that lives in you is seen through you. As He is light, you then become light. As He is life, you also possess life. He declares Himself as the light in John 8:12 "I am the light of the world". If you do not follow Him your life will be lost in Darkness. The other important picture of light in the Bible relates it to God’s Word: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). "Oh, send out your light and your truth! Let them lead me" (Psalm 43:3). Since Jesus is the Word (John 1:1), then it makes perfect sense that He is also the light.

JESUS DECLARES HIMSELF AS TO WHO HE IS:

John 10:9 "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture".
He is the gate of life; whoever enters through Him shall be saved. He is the only door to heaven.

John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep".
The good shepherd lives and dies for the good of the sheep.
◦The good shepherd sacrifices for the sheep
◦The good shepherd knows his sheep
◦The good shepherd is known by the sheep
That is what Jesus came down and did for us. He sacrificed His life for us, He knows us and yes we know Him. Jesus is the Shepherd.
One thing that is important about the shepherd is that in ancient time was that they would lead the herd of his sheep, the sheep would follow him. Jesus is our protector, because He laid down His life for us. Indeed He is the good shepherd. In other words we must walk in His footsteps; we must obey what he says. The shepherd will lead his herd only to the green pastures; Jesus is leading to heaven where we will rejoice forever. Where we will not thirst nor slumber.

John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth no one comes to the father besides me".
He is the way to God. Jesus is the only way we can get access to God, He hang on the cross just to pave that way for us. So He is the way.
He is the truth because He did not contest the lies we can believe He is the truth; because He was willing to die He becomes the channel of resurrection - the life to us.
John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:36 so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. The truth will set you free, and when the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed. Jesus is the truth and He will set you free from all the bondages of speaking lies and gossiping.


John 10:30 "I and my Father are one." Jesus makes an important statement, that. He and God are two separate persons yet one God, this clearly states that He is the son of God that forms part of the trinity of God. (John 10:36) "Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'?" Jesus is the son of God.

John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches."
Jesus is the vine, and as we are the branches we need to bear fruits. The fruits that we must bear should represent the nature of the vine. If the vine is the tree of life, then branches will produce life. We need to bring life and light to the world and produce the fruits of this vine that is Jesus that we are attached into. Jesus is the vine.
These are the statements that Jesus makes about Himself that identify Him to us.

WITNESSES ABOUT WHO JESUS IS:

We have four witnesses that testify about Jesus. The first one is John himself.
1: John gives his testimony in (John 1:29) "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!" Firstly, here Jesus is being greeted by His destiny that He is to take away the sins of the world. He is been reminded of the pain that He is yet to suffer in the end at the cross. There is a resemblance to what John is saying here and to what Jesus said in John 10:11. The shepherd and the Lamb of God has one thing in common, they both sacrifice their lives to save that of the sheep and the world respectively. For the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world, it must lay its life. So in other words as Jesus spoke of Himself as the shepherd, He was also identifying himself to the Lamb of God.
Testimony is based on what you have seen and on what you have experienced. John tells us how he knows who this Jesus is.
John 1:32-34 "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God." John’s testimony is simply based on that.

2: Then Andrew testifies about Jesus John 1:41 "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). Andrew tells his brother about Jesus because he himself has heard what John said and he has spent time with Jesus (verse 40), so he has experienced something about Jesus. Jesus declares Himself as the Messiah to the Samaritan woman in John 4:26 "I am the Messiah".

3: Then Philip testifies about Jesus to Nathanael. John 1:45 "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Again, Philip’s testimony is based on his experience with Jesus (verse 42). It is impossible that you can have an encounter with Jesus and you remain the same.

4: Nathanael gives his testimony about Jesus. John 1:49 Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel." And again Nathanael gives his testimony based from the experience he had with Jesus (verse 47-48).
How much testimony does one need to truly get to know who Jesus is? I say this is enough testimony about Him. Your testimony about Jesus will be based on what He has done into your life; it will be determined by what happened to your life just after you received Him. How He has changed your life. These men’s testimonies are only based on that.


JESUS SHOWS HIMSELF THROUGH MIRACLES:

In John 2, He turns water into wine. This was His first miracle, and it made His disciples believe in Him. They were already convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, but this time their belief in Him was deepened.
The wine represents Joy in this miracle; there was no longer happiness at the wedding. But because they invited Jesus, he turned that dull situation into joy. He didn't do anything to turn water into wine, but he gave instruction and as they followed instruction water turned into wine. When you obey God's commands, you shall have joy peace and happiness in your life. Jesus brings Joy; Peace and Happiness.
The second miracle He performs was in John 4:50 where He heals the son of the King's officer. He just spoke the word and order him to go, his son will live. Again Jesus don't do anything, he doesn't touch him but give an order. Jesus is the healer.
John 6:11. Jesus feeds five Thousand people. The first thing about this miracle that transpires to me is that Jesus teaches us to share. He never had bread and fish with Him, but He took it from a young man who had come along with the many people that were there. Here Jesus demonstrated the giving character of God, the same character that we should have within us. Jesus is the provider, He will provide in time of hunger; when there is no food on your table, He will multiply your crop, but the little that you have you must share with those less privileged.
John 11. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. He revealed Himself as the resurrection; life. Just like he said in (John 11:25) “I am the resurrection and the life"

Oh how privileged are you that you got to know about this Jesus today, now it is up to you whether you receive and accept Him into your life today. Do not reject him, like they did in John 1:11. The reason the y did that was because they did not know Him. But you now know Him, so what is it going to be? But to those who received Him, the bible say in John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God".
Take Jesus today, and let Him be the Lord and saviour in your life. Let Him be the bread of life; let him be the Lamb that takes away your sins. Let Him raise you up from that death bed. Let Him calm the storms in your life, for even the wind listen to Him (Matthew 8:23-25). Nothing is impossible with Him!

Exercise your Faith

The Bible define faith in the book of Hebrews 11:1 [faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.]

the bible says faith is the assurance, that means you are sure of the things you are praying for that you have them before you can feel them. and faith being the evidence means that you have proof, title deed of the things you praying for before they can be seen with a physical eye. you are confident that you possess them.

[And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him] (1 John 5:14-15)
Faith is the foundation of a Christian life, it will determine what will and will not happen into your life. Faith is not based on how bad or good are the circumstances, nor is it based on how we feel. But faith is based on the word of God. We are confident that He listens when we pray.

I love the teachings of Jesus, they carry so much power and wisdom. here is one of them that I want to take a look at.(Matthew 15:22-28) [And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters 'table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.]

Here it sounds like Jesus was being cruel to this woman, he doesn’t answer her as she pleads with him. he keeps quiet until his disciples plead him to send her away.
they did not mean to chase her away, but what happened was that this woman was so persistent such a way that she was annoying the disciples. then they asked
Jesus to help her so she could walk away. that was the only way Jesus was going to send this woman away.
the first answer Jesus gives to this woman was very discouraging, it seemed discriminating. he said he is only sent to the lost sheep of Israel.
this could have made someone to give up and leave, but this woman did not do so. she began to worship Jesus pleading for help.
the second answer that Jesus gives to the poor woman was very cold and say it is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.
it sounds like he was swearing at her, but the truth is that he was not. he basically meant it is not okay to take what is meant for children
of Israel and give to the Gentile. in that time they did not have spoons and knifes so they would break bread with their hands when they eat, as a result crumbs will fall on the table and they would pick it up with hands and give it to the puppies that were around the house by the table.

Jesus was not really being cold and harsh to the woman, he knew that at the end of the day he will help this woman.
but he wanted to activate her faith. it happens that we come across situations so difficult and when you pray to God, he doesn’t answer.
The question is, what do you do? do you give up and stop praying or you continue to pray until you get the response? most times we don’t get what we pray for
not because we don’t deserve it, but we give up so easily. we are not persistent enough, we fail to exercise our faith.
this woman knew and believed that by coming to Jesus her problem would be solved. the silence of Jesus did not stop her from believing and having faith in Jesus.
it’s like she left home with one desire only, that I am not going back home having not received what I came for to Jesus. You need that kind of attitude when you pray. Pray until something happen.

The bible says she persisted until the disciples were annoyed and began to plead with Jesus to send her away. they actually asked Jesus to help her so she could leave.
they were interceding for this woman in a way. Listen, you need to pray until people around get fed up and annoyed about you praying. pray until they begin to intercede for you not knowing they are. pray until they begin to call upon God saying He must have mercy on you and answer your prayer now, they must plead with God saying you are annoying them every day and night.
the bible says then Jesus answered but he didn’t give her the answer she was looking for. she still did not give up on her faith in the power of the holy spirit within Jesus. you need to persist on prayer having faith even if the response seems to be negative. you need to trust in God even if circumstances prove to be impossible.
this woman pressed on and she worshiped Jesus, and Jesus gave her another answer that seemed very harsh. “it is not meek to take children’s bread and give to the dogs'’
when Jesus said dogs he was referring to the word “Gentile dog” of which it was the only way for the Hebrews to refer to someone unclean. This woman said “even the dogs eat the crumbs that falls from the masters table” and Jesus was so amazed by this woman’s faith and it done unto you.

This woman exercised her faith and it worked for her. Jesus was moved by her faith. The bible says it is impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). We see in the bible that Jesus always healed in response of faith, he always said “your faith has worked for you, it is done unto you” most times our prayers are not answered, not because it’s God’s will not. but the problem is that you doubt Gods ability to change things in your life. like Peter in the book of (Matthew 14:29-31). He was okay while his eyes were fixed on Jesus, but the moment he looked at the water and the wind he began to sink. that’s what happens with most of us, you shift focus away from God and look at your troubles and the circumstances and begin to doubt that they can actually be changed. and said to Peter, Oh you of little faith. Faith is the key to unlock all your unanswered prayers. You need this faith of the Canaanite woman.

the bible says some would touch the hem Jesus garment and they would be whole. It wasn’t that Jesus had a robe with miracles, but it was the faith of those who touched it. they believed that by touching his garment they will be healed. the garment was the point of contact where they would release their faith. Paul sent out handkerchiefs, and Peter they would need his shadow to fall on them and they would be healed. you need to be able to release your faith like that and things will change in your life.

Who will take the son?

May I have your undivided attention, and allow me to take this opportunity and talk to you about something more important than what you may be looking for. I promise you it's worth listening.

God loves you and He cares for you, so much that He gave His son to die in your place. He wants you to know that He has got everything that you need. Job, money, prosperity, house. Many people are in stress because of these thing, families are torn apart because of the stress for money. They need it yet they don't have it. Are you in need of some of these? All these things are found in God (Matthew 6:31-33) but first you need to accept Jesus as the Lord and savior.

There is a story about a wealthy man who had all the riches in the world. He had businesses, live stock, farms, cars, hotels, all you could think of. But he only had one child a boy. He sat down one and made his will and testimony and he gave everything to his son. The time came when he passed on, and his lawyers made a decision that they will sell everything on an auction sale.

They made an announcement, people came from all over the country. Some came to buy this man's businesses, some came to buy his live stock, some came to buy his hotels, cars the farms.

The time came and everyone was prepared as the lawyers began the proceedings of the auction sale. The lawyer mentions that the man had stated in his will that before anything could be sold, they must first begin with the boy. The was brought infront and sat on a chair, the auction began. The lawyer asked "who will take the son"? No one made an offer. He asked again, but no one wanted the son.

Time was moving, people didn't want the son but the wealth. The lawyer pleaded with them "people, we can not move forward. With the proceedings until someone takes the son". Still they were not interested in the son. Until some old man decided he has had enough of the delay. he said I'll take the son so we can move on with the proceedings. Everyone clapped their hands thanking the old man for removing the obstacle before them.

The old was called upfront and singed the documents that he takes the son. Then the lawyer made another announcement: "people I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but we are no longer going to continue with the sale. The boys father gave everything to his son, so whom ever who takes the son he gets everything".

My brother, my sister if you accept Jesus, you inherit everything that God has given to Him. Take Jesus and be made the son of God alongside Him. (Romans8:17) take Jesus and benefit to all the riches of Heaven.

The Greatest Prayer

Matthew 6:9-13   This is by far the greatest prayer of all. Why? Because Jesus taught it and because it has everything that you need to pray for. Because it's the kind of a prayer you need to pray when you talking to God the Father. verses 6-8

Allow me to break it down for you. [9 Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your name.] You call God as the father, you place yourself in a submissive position. You claiming your rightful place as a heir of heaven (Ephesians2:6) that way you get His attention. Tell me of a father that won't pay attention to his child when the child shouts "Daddy"? You praise Him telling Him that His name is holy. You make Him melt with love. Tell me of any man that will not be happy and melt if he's being praised by his clan names. Why would God be sad if you as His child praising Him.

[10  Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven]. You invite His kingdom, you invite the whole Heavens into world, you invite His presence into your world. You pray for His will to happen in your life, in your world. You give Him authority over your entire life. You asking Him to take over everything and rule everything in your life as much as He rules over everything in heaven.

[11  Give us this day our daily bread.] You pray that God be the provider in your life, you pray that He sees to your needs.

[12  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven (left, remitted, and let go of the debts, and have given up resentment against) our debtors]. You pray for forgiveness, because we sin everyday and need to be forgiven for our sins. Sins we do knowingly, sins we do not by purpose. You also commit yourself that you have forgiven, because for you to be forgiven, you also need to forgive.

[13  And lead (bring) us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.] You pray for protection that God must protect you from temptations, you pray for deliverance from any bondage of sin, you pray for deliverance from demonic spirits, from sickness and attacks from the devil. You pray for all of these to Him because this is His Kingdom He rules over it with His power and Glory forever and ever. Amen.

We have prayed all sorts of prayers and have taken this one for granted, but this Is the greatest prayer that we need to pray everyday. Jesus gave it for a reason. Let us not forget it after we have prayed all types of prayers, and pray this one. God bless you.