NATURE DOES NOT SUFFER VACUUM (PART 3)

Vs. 1: When someone loses his calling and ministry, God wastes no time in replacing him or her. Nature does not suffer vacuum and the divine assignment on the earth must go on. As a saying goes, ‘when someone is messing up, another person is warming up to take charge and continue the task’. This was exactly what happened in the case of Saul and David. Once God rejected Saul as king over Israel, He immediately set machinery in motion to anoint David as the next king. Now, here is an observation that I find very interesting. Even after the anointing of David as king over Israel, Saul still remained the king and ruled over Israel for a number of years. Wow! That means that the fact that someone is in position of power or authority today does not mean he or she is really there! In the eyes of God, Saul was no more the king over Israel, but he still reigned in the kingdom until he was eventually eliminated.

Vs. 2-3: When God gives someone a charge, He would give the strategy by which he can accomplish the task, if he takes the pain to ask Him. But oftentimes, we tend to run with the assignment without taking time to ask God for the strategy. If not for the fear of losing his life, Samuel would not have had cause to ask God how he was going to anoint David as king when Saul was still alive and on the throne. But when he expressed his fear, God, Who was never short of ideas, told him how he should go about it. And it worked!

Vs. 14: Vacuum is one thing that Nature does not allow at any point in time. That is why the place of the Spirit in every man will either be occupied by the Spirit of God or another spirit. In the case of Saul, immediately the Spirit of God departed from him, a distressing spirit took over and began to influence his behaviours henceforth.

GOD’S PERCEPTION Vs. MAN’S PERCEPTION

Vs. 7: The way and “what” God sees are quite different from the way and “what” men see. Men usually look at the exteriors, God considers the interiors; men regard the action, God looks at the motive; men are impressed with the presentation, God is impressed with the preparation; men focus on the container, God’s focus is on the content; men applaud the stunts, God appraises the heart and the list goes on.

NATURE DOES NOT SUFFER VACUUM (PART 2)

11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down[b] till he comes here.” 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah. 14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. 16 Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.”

NATURE DOES NOT SUFFER VACUUM (PART 1)

1 Samuel 16

1 Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” But the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.” 4 So Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before Him!” 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees;[a] for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 8 So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.”

TAPPING INTO GOD’S BLESSING (PART 2)

SOME ENVIRONMENTS OF GOD’S BLESSING

• In the home, family
• At workplace
• In business or career
• In the society
• In one’s investments/handiwork
• With people

HOW TO TAP INTO DIVINE BLESSING – AS A WOMAN

Ephesians 5:21-24

Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

By Obedience – by obeying the laws and commands of God e.g. submission in all things to one’s husband

By Righteousness – by doing the “right thing” (as perceived by God) to merit divine blessing

EXAMPLES OF CELEBRATED WOMEN WHO TAPPED INTO GOD’S BLESSING

• Sarah by Submission
• Rebekkah by Submission
• Deborah by Obedience
• Ruth by Faithfulness
• Mary by Purity
• Dorcas by Charity
• Kathryn Khulman by Obedience
• Bimbo Odukoya by Submission

TAPPING INTO GOD’S BLESSING (PART 1)

Proverbs 10:22

The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

Exodus 32:29

For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to the LORD, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day.

WHAT IS GOD’S BLESSING? God’s blessing can only be described, not defined. It could be in form of an increase, an addition, a promotion, security or whatever pleasant addendum that God bestows on one either directly or through people.

THE NATURE OF GOD’S BLESSING

• Some divine blessings are universal and applicable to everybody, both righteous and sinners alike
• Some have to be earned by your conscious action e.g. Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son
• Some are transferred through association with a blessed person e.g. Lot and Abraham, Joseph and Potiphar
• Some are inherited from one person to another e.g. Descendants of Abraham
• Some can be withdrawn if you violate certain divine injunctions e.g. all the Israelites that left Egypt perished without getting the promised land, even Moses, despite having being promised by God. Even Saul had his kingdom cut short because of disobedience
• Some are constant and cannot be withdrawn no matter how much you sin e.g the air, the water, daily sustenance are given perchance one may repent and (re)align with God
• Some have to be contended for