Saturday, March 18, 2023

  

Be a character witness friend of God

 

 

 

Africhrist, podcasts that inspire and blogs that teach



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 courtesy Africhrist Podcast Feb 2022 Episode 1

 

Be a character witness friend of God

 

Let us look at some of the Friends of God who got his witness and what we can learn from their character

 

It always feels good to know that theres someone in your life who would stand by you and vouch for you no matter what!

 

Someone who would stand as your evidential character witness 

Now imagine that person to be God Almighty? Can you imagine yourself to be Gods evidential character witness and his friend? The friend he makes reference to? In this episode we look at some Bible examples some of whom God calls his friends, face to face 

 

These are characters for us to freely emulate and become Gods friends as well!

 

Abraham

Bible references: 

Isaiah 41:8,10; 2 Chronicles 20:7; James 2:20-23

 

In Isaiah 41, we see Israel in Gods courts looking for help. Israel is small and worried about the size and strength of the armies of enemy nations facing it. 

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First God reminds them of his power and authority in creation. 

 

Then he recites the bragging and arrogance of the other nations. But ends up reassuring Israel that they are powerless compared to him.

 

He then reassures Israel of his full power being behind them. He says its all because they are descendants of his friend Abraham.

 

Isaiah 41:8, 10 NLT

 

But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from Abraham my friend, Dont be afraid, for I am with you. Dont be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”

 

In 2 Chronicles 20:7 King Jehoshaphat was in a similar fit at Hazazon -Tamar or Engedi. This time he reminded God of his own witness in regards to Abraham, in other words, King Jehoshaphat was name dropping:

 

2 Chronicles 20:7 NLT

 

O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham?”

 

Then James gives testimony of Abraham being righteous, a man who showed his faith in God by his actions. James finishes his testimony by saying that for this Abraham was even called the friend of God. So our walking by faith and working in Gods calling is a prelude to being a friend of God. 

 

Abraham is also known as the father of faith because God told him to leave the place where he grew up and go to another not knowing” where or the direction but depended on Gods day by day direction. Let God be your daily minute by minute mile by mile GPS. 

 

Its not just about believing alone but as James said that even demons believe that God exists, but faith without works is dead faith. Maybe it lived once in you, but dont kill it with no works. Abraham believed and then walked by faith not sight, and is now called the friend of God!

 

James 2:20-23 NLT

 

How foolish! Cant you see that faith without good deeds is useless? Dont you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.”

 

Before we leave Abraham, let us look at one of the best stories of Gods witness to a person.

 

Remember when Abrahams son Isaac was ready to marry, its Abraham who spoke to God for favor. Abraham gave his servant the mission to go find and get the bride for Isaac. He basically asked him to go by faith not knowing who or where. 

 Here are some scriptures of faith that show Gods faithfulness that became witness for Abraham.

 

Have confidence that God Will never leave you nor forsake you or your own

 

Genesis 24:7 NLT

 

For the Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my fathers house and my native land, solemnly promised to give this land to my descendants. He will send his angel ahead of you, and he will see to it that you find a wife there for my son.”

 

Gods success and guidance will follow his witness

 

Genesis 24:12-13 NLT

 

““O Lord, God of my master, Abraham,” he prayed. Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham. See, I am standing here beside this spring, and the young women of the town are coming out to draw water.”

 

 

Do what God has called you to do before anything else

 

Genesis 24:32-33 NLT

 

 I dont want to eat until I have told you why I have come.” “All right,” Laban  said, tell us.””

 

 

Being in Gods presence meditating and praying will elicit Gods witness for you

 

Genesis 24:39-40 NLT

 

““But I said to my master, What if I cant find a young woman who is willing to go back with me?’ He responded, The Lord, in whose presence I have lived, will send his angel with you and will make your mission successful. Yes, you must find a wife for my son from among my relatives, from my fathers family.”

 

No one can challenge Gods witness

 

Genesis 24:50 NLT

 

Then Laban and Bethuel replied, The Lord has obviously brought you here, so there is nothing we can say.”

 

 

Moses

 

Reference scriptures:

Exodus 33:7-16; Deuteronomy 34:10

 

When God is your friend, he is constantly around you . He promised that in the New Testament that he would never leave us nor forsake us as long as we have faith in him. 

 

We see that with Moses in the Old Testament and it gives us assurance because its not new and he has proved it over and over

 

Exodus 33:7-14 NKJV

 

Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. 

 

And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door,and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle. Then Moses said to the Lord, See, You say to me, Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” And He said, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.””

 

Deuteronomy 34:10-11

 

There has never been a prophet in Israel like Moses; the LORD spoke with him face to face. No other prophet has ever done miracles and wonders like those that the LORD sent Moses to perform against the king of Egypt, his officials, and the entire country.”

Deuteronomy 34:10-11 GNBDK

 

 

To Moses, Gods presence is in the now. Here God is reassuring his friend that he will never leave him nor forsake him. We can see this presence in Deuteronomy where the name of God used in 34:10 is a verb To Be” or Yah Veh.

the English translation is all capital letters LORD as opposed to Lord with only L” in capitals which is translated as Master. For example Sarah Reffered to Abraham as my Lord” or my master”

 

But here God, was addressing Moses as an ever present verb To Be” or Yah Veh. This is also very similar to Adonai translated as My Lord” except that Yah Veh is the Biblical revealed Name of God to Moses his friend in the present tense I Am” face to face.

 

David

 

After Gods own heart

 

Being people after Gods own heart does not make us perfect but rather gives us a goal and the way of Christ to that goal ( Hebrews 5:9). 

 

David was such a person who sought, even with personal struggles, to do what God wanted him to do. God gave witness as shown in Acts of the appositives referring to 1 Samuel chapter 13:14 and chapter 16:7-11

 

Acts of the Apostles 13:22 NLT

 

But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’”

 

 

Jesus

 

Wherever Jesus went as man walking this earth, Gods presence was always around him. 

 

But so was temptation as well. For example, when he went into the wilderness to pray and fast at the beginning of his ministry, the devil was there to tempt him.

 

When he spoke to the woman at the well, sexual temptation was there because this woman was a professional tempter of men. Five live in men including a sixth she was living with at the time. 

 

Similarly, it is so with us, but 

 

“ the proof of repentance and salvation is not the absence of temptation but the awareness of God and the power to obey his ways”

 

God will then be your witness as he was for Jesus every time. A good example is when Jesus was being baptized by John the Baptist.

 

My beloved son

 

Matthew 3:13-17

 

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to do all that God requires” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him;”

 

 

Our Testimony

 

Our testimony is not for us to keep or point to us but to God and an opportunity glorify God and lead the hearer to him.

 

If you do not deny the Lord even by your life character, he will be your characrer witness 

 

Luke 12:8-9 ESV And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.”

 

 

Becoming a friend of Jesus

 

One of the ways of the Lord testifies on your behalf is by being his friend. 

 

So how do you become a friend of Jesus? First he reminds us that he has already put his life on the line as the price for this friendship. He took the sweat out with his own Blood. 

 

John 15:12-15 ESV

 

““This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”

 

When we do what the Lord asks us to do we become his friend. He then pours all that God has given him, into our own lives. It then becomes easier for us to walk into the plan he has for our lives that he reminds us of in Jeremiah 29:11

 

So let us conclude by letting God open our spiritual eyes that we may see the power directed to us as believers. Paul prayed that for the Ephesians, that way his witness will manifest in our lives, Amen!

Thursday, February 23, 2023


 FEAR NOT! Part 3

His Grace is sufficient, enough, powerful & far reaching 


Africhrist Podcast final episode in series at www.africhristpodcast.com



This episode concludes our FearNot series. I encourage you to listen to the last 2 episodes and/or read the accompanying blog posts at www.prayingwithimpact.com

 

Re members we started the series as a follow up on a previous topic What to do when you receive a bad report”. We used a medical report as a backdrop but went on to explain that it could be any bad report. We then looked at  seven of the many possible emotions such a report can induce. We used scriptures from three Bible personalities. David, Psalms 23, Moses, Psalms 91 and Joshua, Deuteronomy 31 all of which fell within our theme that encourages us to Fear Not”, since God was with us!

 

We used these scriptures as a backdrop as we traveled through these scenarios of valleys of life examples given in the Bible.

 

We went through the valley cast by the spirit of death that David describes in Pslams 23. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil”, because Gods hand was there for him to hold onto.

Then in Psalms 91 Moses showed us another valley with a secret shadow of protection that was cast by God himself. He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide  the shadow of the Almighty

 

          So let us quickly review our list of 7 possible emotions elicited by bad reports that we used as examples in our series:

 

1.         Anxiety

2.         Lonesomeness (different from loneliness) 

3.         Helplessness

4.         Humility

5.         Believing the reality of Gods Assurance

6.         Actually feeling Gods presence

7.         Learning to let go and let God

 

In this final episode and blog we are going to see that Gods Presence is what takes away our fears. Throughout our journey of life, we like sojourners on a train, temporarily own our rented seat or place in the suite or room on this train we call life. Theres only one engineer piloting the train. He knows the itinerary as in Jeremiah 29;11 for I know the plans I have for you, they are for good and not evil…”

 

Once you believe in Gods plan for your life and those he has entrusted you with, then the fears especially of your exit as your destination station is getting close, it gives you confidence to fight on or prepare for exit if that’s the case. Paul put it very well in 

 

2 Timothy 4:7-8 KJVAAE

 

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

 

So let us finalise our series by starting on point number 5 on our theme list:

 

Believing the reality of Gods Assurance

 

Deuteronomy 31:6-8 NKJV

 

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” 

 

Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, 

 

Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.””

 

So let us go back and go line by line bringing this scripture to life. Remember this is the Living Word of God. 

 

Encouraging Joshua but letting him know it requires some effort not Jusr wishing and quoting then sitting to wait. An inheritance requires work and maintenance. Today people who are lazy feel entitled to just take over after death of the elders. 

Accountability: Then he is reminded that God is watching and will assist you but also hold you accountable. This is the only way a legacy is sustained. The will of the father alone is not enough without God’s wisdom and our work and effort.

 

This reassures us that God is real and is ever present but he wants us to use the resources he has provided in order for us to overcome. Follow your doctor’s instructions if you’re sick. Get and follow wise financial advice if it’s money issues. Look for employment, God will lead you. Just GET UP!

 

Actually feeling Gods presence

 

In Genesis 28 below,  when at times you feel as though he is not with you, God reassures you that he will bring you back in the land” or spiritual place  where you once felt his presence. He is able to give you the comfort of his presence despite what hardship you may be going through. 

 

Genesis 28:15 NKJV

 

Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.””

 

Read His Word, meditate and worship. If you can’t sing like me, make a joyful noise:

Psalms 98:4 KJVAAE

 “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.”

 

God actually uses what I call the authoritative love command to Joshua to stop being fearful. God is showing Joshua and the rest of us that expressing the emotion of fear is forgetting and therefore doubting His word and presence 

 

Joshua 1:9 NKJV

 

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.””

 

 

 

Finally, accept that God is able and he is in control. He is the pilot of this train we call life

 

Learning to let go and let God

 

 

God reminds us that the spirit inside of us is is transformed into His spirit the same Spirit that raised Jesus  and is not a Spirit of fear but, power, love and a clear mind that thinks rationally

So let us finish with several scriptures to encourage you in that respect

 

What we need to do: Psalms: 55:22 NKJV

 

Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”

 

Gods assurance: 2 Timothy 1:7

 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

 

God is more than enough:2 Corinthians 12:9-11

 

But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christs power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christs sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 

He sees the finished work of Christ in us: II Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

 

So let us be strong in the Lord and let him lead us into his presence because Psalm 34:19 says:

 

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

 

Be blessed in Jesuss Name

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