GREAT

I CALL UPON YOU LORD MY HEART IS HUMBLE 

WHEN I THINK OF ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE DONE

ALL THINGS THAT ARE CAME FROM YOU JESUS

AND FOR YOU ALL THINGS WERE BEGUN

GREAT, GREAT IS YOUR POWER

GREAT, GREAT IS YOUR HONOR

GREAT, GREAT IS YOUR RIGHTEOUS NAME

BRIGHT, BRIGHT IS YOUR GLORY

BRIGHT, BRIGHT AND SO HOLY

BRIGHT, BRIGHT AS A BURNING FLAME

OUR FATHER WHO HAS MEANS BEYOND OUR IMAGINATION

John chapter 6 verse 9 says this;

“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

As Jesus moved around the countryside,  the sick and injured were being miraculously healed and people were amazed at the signs and wonders they were witnessing.

Crowds began searching for Him because the people wanted to be near where the power of God was flowing.

One afternoon, the crowd found where Jesus and his disciples were and began moving towards them. 

Jesus asked the disciple Philip where they were going to get the food to feed the huge crowd that was approaching them.

Philip felt that  feeding the multitude was too big of an undertaking because of the high cost. He calculated that it would take half a years' wages just to give each person one bite of food.

Another disciple named Andrew, found a boy in the crowd who had five loaves of barley bread and two small fish. The boy was probably a street hawker trying to sell the food to the crowd.

He brought the boy to Jesus saying that he had five loaves and two fishes but he asked the question;  "...how far will they go among so many?” 

This is the question where most of us stop in our tracks pertaining the things of the kingdom of God.

-How far will they go among so many?

-How could I possibly make a difference when I   have so little?

-How can I encourage people when I have so   little courage myself?

-How can I pray for the sick when I barely can   muster enough faith for my own healing?

-How can the Lord use me in His kingdom when   I am so awkward and insignificant?

Between Philip's economic limitation and Andrew's quantitative limitation, there was no way to give the crowd anything to eat but Jesus instructed His disciples to get everyone to sit down on the grass. 

He  lifted the loaves and fishes up in thanksgiving and began distributing the food among the people and as they passed the bread and fish around, it multiplied over and over till all the people had eaten their fill and there were twelve baskets of food left over.

When dealing with matters of the kingdom of God, if we find limiting questions in our minds, we should deliberately put them aside and prepare to follow the Lord's instructions with the understanding that nothing is impossible with God and He has means of achieving things that are beyond our own considerations and understanding.

Bless the Lord whose power can supply all our needs and all the requirements for the work of the kingdom.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOSE JUDGEMENT IS INESCAPABLE FOR THE PROUD

Isaiah chapter 23 verses 4 - 6 says this;

Be ashamed, O Sidon [mother-city of Tyre, now like a widow bereaved of her children];

For the sea speaks, the stronghold of the sea, saying, “I have neither labored nor given birth [to children]; I have neither brought up young men nor reared virgins.”

When the report reaches Egypt, They will be in agony at the report about Tyre.

Cross over to Tarshish [to seek safety as exiles]; Wail, O inhabitants of the coastland [of Tyre].

A settlement dating back to antiquity, Tyre was a dynamic port city on the Mediteranian coast with far-reaching influence over distant lands. 

She was an international grain market for the agricultural output of the Nile region giving  her statesmen and merchants a great deal of political and economic heft all around the Mediteranian.

Suddenly, judgment befell Tyre and her collapse sent shockwaves reverberating through every corner of the known world.

Egypt, who depended on Tyre to market their grain, is described as being in agony when they learn that Tyre has been utterly destroyed.

The ships of Tarshish who used Tyre as a major anchoring and loading port are distraught when they hear of the loss of the city.

As the calamities crash over her, refugees are advised to flee to the island of Cyprus for safety but even there, trouble would follow them.

Sidon, the mother-city of Tyre, faced with the destruction of the city, lamented the loss of her children who have fallen to judgment.

The 'stronghold of the sea' spoke of regret that she had never laboured nor given birth to children and had never undertaken to raise young men or women and as such, had no one to fill her streets and when her day of reckoning came, she was no more.

Such is the judgement of the Lord upon the once jubilant city that was prideful in her beauty and had revelled in the honour of men.

James chapter 4 verse 6 says;

But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.

Amen.

OUR FATHER MOVES QUIETLY TO ACHIEVE HIS PURPOSE

John chapter 7 verses 9 - 10 (Amp. Ver.) says this;

Having said these things to them, He stayed behind in Galilee.

But [afterward], when His brothers had gone up to the feast, He went up too, not publicly [with a caravan], but quietly [because He did not want to be noticed].

The Lord Jesus was facing threats against His  life from the authorities in Jerusalem and so he moved from place to place in the Galilee area and  stayed away from the areas around Jerusalem.

The Feast of Tabernacles was approaching when the people of Israel traditionally travelled down to gather in Jerusalem to participate in the festivities.

Jesus' brothers tried to provoke Him to go to Jerusalem to demonstrate His powers and learning in the prominent city so as to gain the fame that would establish Him as a public figure in the nation.

Jesus explained to His brothers that His time had not yet come meaning that going into Jerusalem would trigger an untimely arrest that was not propitious to the purposes of God.

However, after staying in Galilee till His brothers left for Jerusalem, Jesus, eschewing the main caravan of travelers, moved incognito southwards and quietly slipped into Jerusalem so that the authorities who were threatening His life  would not have advanced notice of His arrival or know His whereabouts.

The leaders in Jerusalem who sought to kill Him, searched but could not find Him and were only able to locate Him after He had taken a position in the temple and had begun teaching the crowd of people about the kingdom of God.

The leaders could do nothing to Him because the multitudes of people He was teaching were enthralled by Him.

The Lord boldly walked into the lion's den and the lion's mouths were stopped.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHOSE JUDGMENT IS DIRE

Isaiah chapter 21 verses 3 - 5 says;

At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see.

My heart falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I longed for has become a horror to me.

They set the tables, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink! Get up, you officers, oil the shields.

Isaiah the prophet is shown a dire vision of the impending judgement upon Babylon.

The scene is so terrifying that Isaiah's body is swept by wave after wave of pain like the birth pangs of a woman in labour.

What Isaiah hears and sees causes him to reel in shock by the frightening and bewildering events unfolding in the vision.

His heart goes into arrythmia and his limbs tremble.

 After witnessing the horror of the judgement on Babylon, Isaiah becomes deathly afraid of the twilight gloom that he used to cherish.

During the vision, Isaiah looks towards the defenders of Babylon but they, instead of taking action against the invaders, seem to be unaware of the imminent doom and are pre-occupied with setting up tables and laying down rugs for a meal.

Isaiah, in a panic, shouts to warn the officers like an entranced person yelling at a movie screen, "Get up you officers, oil the shields".

The effort is to no avail and Babylon succumbs to its destroyers.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO DEFEATS THE OPPRESSOR

Isaiah chapter 19 verse 3 says this;

The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.

The Egyptians, who unjustly enslaved the children of Israel in the land of Egypt, were a foreshadowing and a type of oppressor of the people of God in a time to come.

The children of Israel, who through Joseph brought blessing and prestige to Egypt, found themselves being oppressed and tormented by the Egyptians.

The Lord, hearing the outcry of His people, called Moses to come to Egypt and liberate the children of Israel from bondage by visiting calamity after calamity upon Egypt until they lost heart and released their grip on the children of Israel.

Likewise, the kings and princes of this world will cooperate with the gods of this world to establish their rulership over the whole earth and to bring oppression and torment to the people of God.

However, the Lord himself will suddenly appear riding on a swift cloud to the realm of Egypt and He will visit calamity upon calamity upon the oppresive Egyptian regime.

He will cause them to fight among themselves, their resources will dry up, their economic clout will be erased and their leaders and strategists will speak only foolishness and lead the whole kingdom into disaster.

The Egyptians will thus lose heart and be totally  discouraged as the Lord brings their plans to nothing.

In their desperation, the Egyptians will consult with mediums and spiritists trying to get ahead of the supernatural forces that they know are bringing down the kingdom of darkness around them.

This will have no effect as Egypt descends into abject failure and its people are gripped with dibilitating fear.

Just as some Egyptians followed the children of Israel out of Egypt when they were freed, some people associated with the global kingdom of Egypt that tried to usurp the whole earth for darkness will repent and return to the Lord and the Lord will restore them to himself.

As it says in Isaiah chapter 19 verse 25;

The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.”

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO REQUIRES A SINCERE HEART 

Ezekiel chapter 14 verses 7 - 9 says this;

 “‘When any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing in Israel separate themselves from me and set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet to inquire of me, I the Lord will answer them myself. I will set my face against them and make them an example and a byword. I will remove them from my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

 “‘And if the prophet is enticed to utter a prophecy, I the Lord have enticed that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel.

This passage records the Lord's  response when the elders of Israel came to the prophet Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord.

When the elders arrived, the Lord gave Ezekiel a word of knowledge regarding the things that were in their hearts.

They were harbouring idolatry and wicked stumbling blocks were before their faces and as such, the Lord instituted a principal regarding those who inquire of God through His prophets.

If any Israelite or foreigner dwelling in the country,  separated themselves from the Lord and regarded idols and wicked stumbling blocks  and then came in that condition to ask for the Lord's council on a matter, the Lord would reject them and remove them from among His people as an example and a warning to others.

Further to that, if any prophet who was inquired of by such people was induced to utter a prophecy, they would themselves incur the judgement of destruction from among the Lord's people.

We must always approach the Lord with  sincere and humble hearts that are repentant of sin and have no regard for idols. 

As Psalm 51 verse 17 says;  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Amen.

OUR FATHER WHO RESTORES THE CONTRITE

Isaiah chapter 57 verse 3 says this;

“But you—come here, you children of a sorceress, you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!

The prophet Isaiah records the words of the Lord about a generation of the people of Israel who had strayed from adhering to their God and had gone after other gods.

Their  parents had also gone astray into the worship of foreign gods and had descended into adultery and prostitution and now this generation had devolved further into mocking of the things of God.

They now practiced unbridled lust as well as child sacrifices and they worshiped idols made of stone that  they had collected from ravines.

They marked their homes with symbols of loyalty to pagan gods and sacrificed to them. 

Still, Lord will restore the those who are contrite before the Lord. As Isaiah, in chapter 57 verse 15 wrote;

For this is what the high and exalted One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy:

“I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.

However, for the ones who pridefully refuse to abandon wickedness, Isaiah writes in chapter 57 verse 21;

“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Amen.