Category: Newsletter

Introduction

The final part of our subject “where art thou?” is presented in this week´s edition of our Newsletter. In the previous two editions, sinner´s or backslider’s need to come out of their hideouts and seek forgiveness from the merciful God was detailed. This present one discusses being in a specific place that God wants believers to stay so as to be able to receive His blessings. God is Omniscient. He knows everything including our whereabouts (Psa 139), but He expects us to situate ourselves at where He tells us to be, in order to receive His promised blessings.

Where Art Thou?

As previously explained, “where” seeks to find answers about places. God would like to know if you are still in a place He wants you to be. Are you still in the family of Christ Jesus or out of it? Are you in business or out of the way of duty?.Adam and his wife had abandoned their call to duty and were hiding behind trees because of fear. Could God find you actively in business in places He expects you to be? Have you abandoned your family and left them in despair? Have you shirked your responsibility as a member of a society? Have you removed yourself from a place of safety into a place of obscurity? One needs to assess where s/he is, in the light of these questions, to determine his/her current position in Christ Jesus.

Where to Receive God´s Blessings

There are some deeds that displace believers from where they could receive the blessings of God. There are also some places God would not like believers to dwell. Some of such places or deeds include standing in the ways of sinners and sitting on the seat of the scornful (Psa 1:1-6). God says that His presence is at places where He records His name and that those places are where He blesses His people (Ex 20:24). Christians should not expect to receive God´s blessings when they dwell in accursed places. The most common places God blesses people are in the congregation of believers (Ex 40:30-35, 2Ch 5:1-14). The congregation of God´s people does not necessarily refer to physical temples because God is not confined in buildings. This is asserted by Holy Scriptures as recorded below:

“But Solomon built him an house. Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me?
saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?” (Acts 7:47-50)

God has met many individuals in the temples, but His presence is wherever people are gathered in His name (Matt 18:20). In our relationship with God, He tells of specific places where He chooses
to meet with us. God tells Moses to meet with Him at a designated place in the book of Exodus. It is read that the Lord God informed Moses about where to stand so that as His glory passes by, He
would push him (Moses) into a cliff and cover him with His hand so that he doesn´t see His back (Ex 33:21-23).

In another instance, Elijah was told to go and stand upon a mountain before the Lord. When he obeyed the Lord´s orders and did as commanded, the Lord revealed Himself unto him in a
mysterious way (1Kgs 19:11-13).

Secret Place of the most High God

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the almighty” (Psa 91:1KJV). The secret place is that location where the presence of God abides. As have been detailed above, the Lord mostly meets the church in temples or where they congregate, but when it comes to individual believers, the situation may be different. Believers need to be sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit of God to ascertain where His presence dwells.

People ought to discern the fellowship or church where they desire to worship. The place to sow seed offerings and many others such as the countries and cities to live in must be carefully discerned. If you need to run for cover, run into His presence and receive protection. Joseph and Mary were warned by God to take baby Jesus to Egypt and hide him there (Mat 2:13). God knows the best place to shield or protect His people.

Conclusion

Believers must always desire to be found within the reach of God so that His manifold blessings could be imparted unto us. The Omniscient and the Omnipresent God is ready to bless us but we
must locate ourselves in the places directed by Him.

Prayer: May the Lord always draw us closer into His presence, and may He always be our guide to direct us to the appropriate place to dwell. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!

The first part of this piece of writing was presented in the previous newsletter. It detailed man´s attempt to flee from the presence of God due to sin. Adam fled from the presence of God because sin had made him fearful and rendered him naked (Gen 3:10-11).

Nakedness of Man

“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” (Gen 3:10-11)

Adam and his spouse, after having eaten from the forbidden tree, recognized their nakedness. They were already naked before the fall, so what does this nakedness meant to them? According to scriptures, nakedness has been used to mean a sign of backsliding and shame or disgrace as a result of sin and the loss of the protection of God (Ex 32:25, 2Ch 28:19, Hos 2:3). If the Holy Spirit of God consistently warns believers against sin and they ignore it, they put themselves in open shame, and the feeling of alienation from God escalates. This consequently brings fear upon them and keeps them fleeing and hiding.

Behind the Trees

Sin dislodges us from the presence of God into an untoward location. Adam fled from God´s presence to hide behind trees. He reduced himself from his position of honor because of sin Believers do not need to hide behind trees when they sin because God still seeks the guilty. Where are you, Adam? (Gen 3:9) Come out of your hiding place because the love of God does not fail even when we fall short before Him, He still reaches out to sinners and backsliders. For where sin abounds grace also much more abounds (Rom 5:20). What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (Rom 6:1-2).

God Seeks the Perishing

A number of scriptures have been given to support how God searches for the backsliding people. One of such scriptures is that of the lost sheep. Jesus was sent specifically unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Mat 15:24). If you are a backslider, the Lord God has not thrown you out yet. Jesus reveals His passion for backsliders when He asks “what man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” (Luk 15:4). He adds that when he finds it and comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, and tell them to rejoice with me because he has found his sheep which was lost (Luk 15:6).

Again, in the parable of the prodigal son, it was said that the son was dead and is alive again. He was lost but has been found, and they began to rejoice (Luk 15:24-32). Paul advises that if a person is overtaken in a fault, brethren must seek to restore such a person in the spirit of meekness (Gal 6:1). If a sinner returns to God with a sincere heart, s/he would be pardoned and restored to a position of dignity. Run to God for forgiveness and reconciliation instead of running away from Him into hiding. Adam ran away but he was found and clothed in animal skin.

Killing of a Beast

“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever:  Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken” (Gen 3:21-23).

It is understood that God Himself slaughtered a beast and covered man and his wife with its skin. The killing of this animal suggests to us that there is no remission of sins without shedding of blood (Heb 9:22). This presupposes that the beast that was killed symbolized the death of the Messiah, Jesus Christ and the covering given to the couple was an emblem of the righteousness of God. When we are called by God, He forgives us of all our sins and cleanses us from all contaminations of any form of unrighteousness (1Joh 1:7-9), and then clothes us with His own righteousness, as scriptures, including 2Co 5:21 and Isa 61:10 affirm.

It could be asked that, if the beast slaughtered in the Garden of Eden was an emblem of Jesus Christ crucified, why was it not enough for Adam and His wife to be cleansed completely, but had to be driven from the garden, and angels sent to guard it, to keep the way of the tree of life? (Gen 3:23-24). One needs to understand that the blood of animals was not capable of removing all our sins completely, so it called for a yearly sacrifice of animals by the High Priest (Heb 9:13-10:4).

It was against this background that the Lamb of God was sacrificed to take away the sins of the world (Joh 1: 29-36) once and for all (Heb 10:10). The sins of those who believe in God have been completely atoned for and so this must give believers confidence to approach God at all times.

Conclusion

God calls all people irrespective of their nationality, race, age and others to come unto Him. He sent Jesus into the world to save sinners or backsliders, so if anyone has fallen into sin, it is not over for him or her yet. Backsliders or sinners are not to condemn themselves but are being encouraged to run back to God, for He still loves all people, so will He show mercy and pardon to all who sincerely run to Him.

Prayer: May our Lord God help us to always run back to Him when we stumble so that we shall not cut ourselves off completely. In Jesus´s name, we pray. Amen!