#CHOSEN: IT IS NOT BY SIZE

November 2, 2015November 23, 2015Leave a comment

Text: 1 Sam. 16:1-13.

It is interesting how we try to identify men who we see as chosen of God for exploits by how popular they are. In some quarters, offices of service are given to people whose names are known and are popular. Please do not misinterpret this as me laying blame on anyone, because we have had to fall victim of this one time or another. So you get to see people called into the office of Deacons, Elders and all, because of their familiarity and popularity.

A quick look at our text shows us how Prophet Samuel was mandated by God to anoint a new king for Israel after King Saul was rejected. Before I proceed, I want to share a thought that came to me as I was studying this. That you have the privilege of serving God, especially heading any arm in any organization, does not mean you are the only one qualified for it. If you do not get this, the potential for abuse is inherent. It takes God nothing to get a replacement for you in that area of service.

The only clue God gave Samuel was the name of the household to go to, which was Jesse’s. The first person that caught his attention was Eliab, Jesse’s first son. I was of the opinion that the reason Samuel chose Eliab was because of his position in the family. It is a logical reason though, considering the place of first sons in the inheritance of any Israeli family. But after deep study, I discovered that Eliab’s position in the family was not exactly what attracted him to Samuel. Samuel was actually attracted by Eliab’s physique.

For the love of God, Eliab was tall, well built, and handsome, though not as tall as Saul. But someone of his height and fairness should make an almost perfect replacement for Saul, so Samuel thought. Little wonder he declared ebulliently, “Surely, the Lord’s anointed is before me”. But alas, God rejected Eliab!

God does not look at your size, age or background to commit responsibilities into your hands. He knows us more than we know ourselves. Rise up from that state of mediocrity and start seeing yourself the way God sees you. He has chosen you for a special assignment, and it has nothing to do with your size.

The journey has just started…

If this message blessed you, you are free to share it with anybody or group.

Stay blessed.

©TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES
(Transforming the World through the Word)

Wednesday With Funmi (WWF)

September 2, 2015September 2, 20151 Comment

Are you ready for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ? I saw in a vision last night that the time of grace is running out. The time is coming when people will not be able to access grace to get saved. Though grace of God is eternal, yet accessing it with the individual seems to be time framed. The time will come when men and women will be living past feelings, and at this time such people will not just be able to accept the grace of God that brings salvation. Run to Jesus Christ today and be saved! Save yourself from this untoward generation of busy world. Busy-ness seems to have been set of the devil to strike the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ out of our thinking completely day after day. Stop using God for your self attainments and fame. Yield your all to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and let God start using you to build His kingdom. Seek you first the kingdom of God and His (God’s, not your own) righteousness, and all these things (those things we are seeking today and we seem to have been programmed to seek, by almost every facet of our world) will be added to you.

Shalom.
Adebayo Funmi
08060172855

WWF – Working The Word Of God

August 26, 2015August 26, 20151 Comment

Let me start out today by saying that the devil is not so much afraid of your prayer and fasting life as much as he does of your knowledge of God’s word. Satan is not so much respecting your anointing and gifting as he does your wisdom and insight in God’s word. God says My people perish not because of not praying well enough, but because of lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6. Many people think it is their prayer and fasting that will keep them afloat on the stormy sea of life. How untrue that is! Tell me, how many prayers did Jesus say when there was storm on the sea? Not one! He only, with His knowledge of God’s word, spoke to the sea and the sea instantly was hushed to sleep. Mark 4:35-40. Jesus Christ must have been quickened so much by the word of God as found in Psalm 148:8, which says, “Fire and hail; snow and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling His word.” (Remember Jesus Christ is the Word of God Himself anyway. John 1:1-2.)

Oh, how people wear themselves out today by always waking up at night only to pray against somebody they think is their enemy. We have no such order given us in the whole of the new testament. And remember we are the new testament church, born from the side of Jesus Christ. Please, read the whole of new testament for yourself and get understanding. Life will become far better and simple, if only and if we will learn to follow Jesus Christ in everything by His Spirit in us, Whom the Father God has sent into our hearts, crying Abba Father. Father God said of the Lord Jesus, “Hear you Him (Jesus).” Matthew 17:5.

Before I go further, let me say that it matters so much how much we humble ourselves to receive the engrafted word of grace, which is able to save our souls. James 1:21. I said earlier that the devil does not respect your anointing and gifting, but your knowledge of God’s word. You can see for yourself, how many people today in churches manifest the anointing and gifts of the Holy Spirit and are also given to prayer and fasting, and yet they are deep in one sin or the other. See, your prayer life and commitment in church can not really bail you out of devil’s hand. Only the understanding of what Jesus has done can AND WILL ALWAYS!!! The more you grow in this knowledge the better you become everyday. Let me open your eyes to this truth, the devil came for the Lord Jesus right after forty days and forty nights of prayer and fasting. As a matter of truth, the Bible makes us understand that Jesus was sent into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. This means that the devil was tempting Him throughout. And at the last the devil came up with three bigger temptations.

See, in as much as we are still in this flesh and bearing this our mind, the only major thing that the devil will always respect about us, which will always bring him to his knees each time, is our knowledge of God’s Word. Jesus Christ did not win the battle against the devil’s temptations by capitalizing on His just concluded prayer and fasting. As a matter of fact, the devil started his final temptations on Jesus Christ using the prayer and fasting Jesus just finished. We see that Jesus only won by His knowledge of God’s Word. Remember Jesus came to show us an example to follow 1 Pt. 2:21. I think at this junction, somebody will be wondering where praying and fasting by the Spirit of God fit in?

…to be continued

God bless
Adebayo Funmi
08060172855

Been quite a while…

July 6, 2015July 6, 2015Leave a comment

Thanks be to God for the 1st half of the year 2015.

We still continue to enjoy God’s divine guidance by understanding God’s relationship with us. God has said He wants us to enjoy Him, because there is difference between having God and enjoying God. Saints, let’s give it all it takes now to master enjoying God, rather than just having Him and nothing to show for that. You can be blessed with a car, but you may not enjoy that car at will, if you don’t know how to drive. And remember once you know how to drive, you don’t stop knowing how to drive a car. You only get better at it day by day, as you drive constantly. So, after mastering enjoying God, you only get better at it as you constantly practice enjoying God.

And all this boils down than to our diligently committing our hearts and minds to God’s Word through the power of the Holy Ghost. We need to go to the Word of God for ourselves and see God describe us. What He says of Himself and us, and what He says to believe. Be rooted and established in this through the power of the Holy Ghost. Romans 15:4, “For all things whatsoever were written afore time were written for our learning (that is, we should always learn from them), that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope (believe in God for a miracle).”

The grace of God be with our spirits.

Adebayo Funmi
Author, WWF
+234 8060172855

I KNOW A WOMAN

June 27, 2015July 2, 20162 Comments

I know a woman who is beautiful in form, in heart and in works. creative and strong-willed she is

I know a woman who had a business that wouldn’t yield increase. Friends and neighbours advised her to venture into other businesses other than hers.

I know a woman who wouldn’t listen to idle talks nor take discouragement to heart, refusing “can’t do” for an answer.

I know a woman who didn’t stop trying, remained focused and expectant, that latter days would speak for itself.

I know a woman who prayed her way through, had a filter in her ear and achieved with God as chief.

I know a woman who after few years is envied by many, celebrated by the high and low including her friends and neighbours that thought she couldn’t succeed there.

I know a woman who didn’t give up on her dreams, but fought the odds and won in style.

I know a woman who understands the power of God mighty in all and of a god that she is, not letting circumstances stop her.

I know a woman who can rise when she falls, virtuosity personified, and happy that she never let go of God and herself.

I know a woman who can PERSEVERE

-Michelle

Folding Tables

June 6, 2015June 29, 2015Leave a comment

Have you ever been in New York City and seen one of those tables filled with fake Gucci and Armada? They look and feel the same as the real thing. What percentage of that purse is different than the real thing? What percentage of that purse had to be made to look real, in order to trick the buyer?

God tells us “no man can judge”. We generally use that scripture selfishly in order to rebuke people for telling us when we do wrong. When God says something he means it for exactly what it is. ” No man can judge”. There is a period there. It doesn’t say “no man can judge evil”. It says “no man can judge”. He means good or evil. Man cannot judge one or the other, good or evil. Only God has the ability to see if a mans seemingly good actions are truly selfless.

For example. I could look to a whole town like I am doing a christian thing by carrying groceries across the street for a person in need. What they may not know is that I noticed that there is a known wealthy business man watching me and I am trying to impress him in order to get a loan for a business that I will end up using as a means to selfishly gain prominence, wealth, respect, and general lofty looks from those around me. Ultimately that business is satan’s tool to keep me from tarrying in the mind of Christ.

So when you see a fake Gucci purse do you know whether it cost $30 dollars or $3,500? Are you willing to allow Christ 1 hour everyday where you can devote yourself to connect with him in personal study time.? In personal prayer time? God is sensitive to love and if you do rightly in his eyes your work will not be in vain.

WWF – ENJOYING GOD (1)

April 8, 2015April 8, 2015Leave a comment

One of the most important parts of a Christian’s life is PRAYER. Unfortunately, in the Christian faith, a lot of wrong teachings have been doled out of the pulpit making it seem that prayer is such a laborious and uninteresting exercise only carried out when we need something from God. Frankly this school of thought is absolutely wrong because prayer has always been from the beginning. The bible records that in the cool of the evening, God fellowshipped with man in the Garden of Eden even though man needed nothing at the time. Communication between man and God (Prayer) was never meant to an avenue to just ask for things because if it were so, when we get all we need what will we pray about.
The practice of praying covers every area of our Christian faith such that we can’t limit our praying time to a certain periods or time frames thereby leaving us with no option but to pray always as the bible commands.
Praying should be done in the confines of the Word of God as interpreted by the Holy Spirit. Failure to do this leads to unanswered prayers and wrong prayer points. For instance, to pray “Lord remember me is wrong simply because God does not forget us in the first place especially us who are under the new covenant in Jesus Christ. Habakkuk 1:13a reveals why it seemed God forgot them in the Old testament from time to time due to their sinful nature but in Jesus, God does not look at us directly, He sees us all through the blood of Jesus.
Another pertinent issue is delayed answers to prayers, this is due to a lack of understanding and unfortunately childishness. The misunderstood principle her is God is waiting on us to do the right thing to access our answers. He has done His part but because we don’t do ours it seems God never answered or He answered too late. Studying through the book of Genesis 2:1-5 we discover that God did not water the ground up until there was a man to till the ground and if you follow that story from chapter 1 you’ll discover that all the things spoken about in chapter two are already created by God but until the fullness of time before they manifested. All and everything you need in God is already available as seeds only waiting for you to grow into the reality of it and then manifestation takes place. It is God that makes your blessings grow, just be in the right position and then your duty is to maintain what God has given you.
Sin also poses as a major delay and in most cases a hindrance to prayers. It hinders the seeds God has planted from manifesting. To get help you need to refocus. Until you consciously turn to Jesus and focus on Him alone it may never be possible to stay away from temptations.
Finally, Thanksgiving is the key to accessing God’s rain. That’s what our prayers should be filled with the most. Prayer is just another avenue to enjoy God and God is so interested in manifesting Himself on earth through us.

Further Study: Matthew 13:24, Galatians 1:4, 1 Corinthians 3:6-9, 15, Hosea 6:1-3, Psalm 67, Hebrews 4.

God bless
Adebayo Funmi
08060172855

WWF – UPGRADING YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF GOD

March 4, 2015March 4, 2015Leave a comment

My heart has seriously been inditing a good matter. The word relationship with God has been coming to my heart. I saw the story of Enoch again in Genesis, and I remembered how as a teenager I’ve clamored to walk with God like Enoch did. There’s a song in my language that is composed in that line: Let me walk with You (referring to God) as worthy and acceptable… I used to sing this song from a very sincere heart then, though I didn’t understand the Word of God then as I do now.

God’s Spirit has been making me see that many in our generation don’t know so much of having a relationship with God. It’s been religion all the way with them. We yell at God always in prayer. We do unbecoming things with God, ‘cos we don’t understand being in a relationship with God.

Let’s try to understand the concept of relationship on human to human level, then we will enjoy God better. In a true relationship, no one is trying to please another per se, all because we felt pleased with each other that’s why we come together in the said relationship. Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” This means, except they are pleased with each other they will not even think of walking together to begin with. As a guy, a lady is pleasing to me then I approach her to ask her out. If I am also pleasing to her, she accepts my proposal and then the journey of a life of bliss begins, by each just being themselves and absolutely plain. There will be ups and downs for sure, but because of the mutual understanding between us we will surely walk through it together in victory always.

This is exactly the story with us and God. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son; that whosoever believed in Him should not perish, but have eternal life, John 3:16. God fell in love with us. He was pleased with us, even with our dirty living and our sinful nature. He walked up to us to tell us of His love for us. Of how He would like to spend His whole life with us. We were like, “Hmm, how on earth would You consider me with all my messes?” But He did anyways and said “It’s no trouble. I’m okay with you. I’m okay with that”. After so much persuasion from Him, we finally gave in, ‘cos we were pleased with His poetic words, and the firmness and sincerity of the tone of His voice.

Now why are we beginning to think we need to be doing lots of things to get His attention? Wait a minute, who is getting whose attention here? Perhaps, we have lost the sense of our relationship with Him. We yell at Him to get things from Him. We are never simple with Him. We shout and scream in prayer until we lose our voice many a time. Sometimes we talk to Him as if talking to an enemy. Can you imagine a wife screaming at her husband to get His attention at home every time? People around will surely know that something must be wrong with their relationship. Actually, we may need yelling once in a while, because we feel Him far from us, and maybe because we are in a deep trouble but what we do after that counts. Jesus Christ also yelled at Him on the cross, ‘cos He felt like God had rejected Him but He finally said, Into Your hands I commend My Spirit. That’s a word borne out of a sincere and deep sense of relationship. Such words always reflects an absolute trust.

My brethren, if we have sincerely and from our heart accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, then we should know that our Father God is pleased with us. We smell good unto God. 2Cor. 2:16 says, “For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ…’ I pray God help us with a kind of relationship with Him according to His heart for us. Amen.

God bless
Adebayo Funmi
08060172855