31ST JANUARY, 2021
Text : 2Timothy 4:2, Revelation 3:19
Minister: Pastor Seyi Osanyinbi
Paul instructed Timothy that he should preach the gospel and that his teaching should contain reproof, rebuke and exhortation with all long-suffering and doctrine. To exhort means to encourage and this involves giving constant reminders. Today, we will remind ourselves of some of the ways by which people of old tempted God so we do not make the same mistakes they made (1 Corinthians 10:11).
Hebrews 3:7-19
One of the major challenges we have in our days and time is that we do not know the ways of God. We are living in dangerous times where men’s hearts are being hardened because they are questioning the authenticity of God’s word. They want proofs of God’s promises and because they do not yet see them fulfilled, they have lost hope and faith in God.
God hates to be disbelieved when He has spoken. He gets provoked when He does not see faith in men. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego could still trust God even in the hopeless state they found themselves because they understood His ways. We should not only be interested in seeing the power of God but also in understanding His ways. When we don’t know His ways, we will do things that are not in line with His character, things that are alien to His nature.
The Israelites provoked God by asking for meat for their lust (Psalms 78:17-18). This is how it is with many of us today – some of us have misplaced priorities. We can go any length to buy things we do not need just for the sake of feeding our pride and ego.
Psalms 78:22, Exodus 14:11
God’s people did not trust in God neither did they trust in His salvation. They had no confidence in the ability of God to bring to pass that which He had promised. It’s possible to be a Christian but not believe in the personality and ability of God. To believe in God means to have full confidence in Him. Let our heart be steadfast on the Lord. We can’t keep singing songs that indicate our trust in God when we come to church and later trust in the arms of flesh when we are out of church. We will be liars if we do so. (Psalm 78:35-37)
Many times, we think that rebuke or chastisement means that we are not loved whereas rebuke and chastisement are signs of God’s love. The purpose of rebuke is to bring us into repentance. That God has chosen not to respond to our ignorance does not mean we will always be recipients of His mercy. We should be careful the way we live our lives so we do not provoke God (Psalm 78: 38- 41, Revelation 21:8).