GODS WORD 16th march 2020

Begin by Appreciating the set man of the house

Remind the people what we have been learning:

Can you remember what we learnt the last one month?

We learnt about-

 ACKNOWLEDING EVERY GOOD THING IN ME, the bible says in 2 Peter

3:1NKJV as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and
godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
 Then the last two Sundays we learnt that we are RIGHTEOUS, which
means: Right standing with God, Right believing and Being in the God
class.

An encouraging word
When I was told that I would be the one sharing the word of God today, the Lord
put this word in my spirit immediately. Isaiah 3:10Nkjv which says- Say to the
righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their
doings.

Are you righteous?

As we learnt on Sunday being righteous is Right standing with God, Right
believing, and Being in the God class……

I want us to briefly look at Right believing in what Jesus did for us and what He
says about us. The word of God says that it is well with you, do you truly believe
it? Sometimes we are given such a word, we receive it at the moment but
immediately difficult situation come our way, we forget what the lord had said
and we start to worry, to mummer and to look for shortcuts.eg Abram and Sarai.
You remember that story? May we stand with the word of God, because He
cannot lie?
When the word of God says you’re blessed, your favored, your healed, you’re a
new man in Christ, your more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus, do you believe it?
Do you believe His word? Do you change how you talk; do you start to give thanks
until you see the manifestation?

Tell your 3 neighbors, it is well with you! Then ask them,” do you believe it?”
So, for you to receive anything from God you have to believe that He is and
believe in His word. Hebrews 11:6 Nkjv But without faith it is impossible to
please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The reason the children of Israel, who came from Egypt did not enter the
Promised Land, was because of “unbelief” which means (an absence of
faith.)They did not have faith in God even after all they had seen God do for
them (The plagues, the red sea, the manna, the water etc.).

Like for example

Numbers 14:1-3, 11, 23-24 NKJV

1 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that
night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and
the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or
if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 "Why has the LORD brought us to this
land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims?
Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?"

11 ¶ Then the LORD said to Moses: "How long will these people reject Me? And
how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed
among them?

23 "they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor
shall any of those who rejected Me see it.24 "But My servant Caleb, because he
has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land
where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.
So they stayed in the wilderness for 40 years, and there they died. Only their
children and Joshua and Caleb entered in the land that God promised to give
them.’

Many times we complain and mummer about the unanswered prayer, the
things that are not happening in our time. But how many times do we look back
at the countless things the lord has done for us, and choose to be grateful and
thankful believing that the same God who did it yesterday can do it today,
because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8

The title of today’s message is:-

REJOICE OH BARREN
What is bareness?
Not producing or incapable of producing offspring, unproductive; unfruitful, a
barren land or a lack of fertility

Barrenness describes waste and unproductive land Jeremiah 2:6 Neither did they
say, 'Where is the LORD, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us
through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and pits, Through a land of
drought and the shadow of death, Through a land that no one crossed And where
no one dwelt?'

A person that cannot bear children is considered baren, A land that cannot
produce is also barren eg a desert,a tree that cannot bear fruits, livestock …….

A Barren land is as a sign of God’s disfavor.

Fertility, as opposed to barrenness, is a sign of God’s blessing

Deuteronomy 7:14"You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a
male or female barren among you or among your livestock..

What kind of bareness are we talking about today?

 1. Lack- short supply of what you need
2. Failure - lack of success.
3. Delay & Denial- a period of time by which something is late, postponed and
denied.
4. Poverty - the state of being extremely poor.
5. Emptiness - a lack of meaning or purpose, complete absence of joy, hope,
or satisfaction.
6. Missed opportunities – missed chances
7. Stagnation - the state of not flowing or moving.
8. Sickness and diseases – affliction in your body……..

And the list is endless, whatever seems to not work in your life, that’s the
kind of bareness that am talking about, that you may enjoy what He has
already done.

Abraham

Gen 15:1- 2 after these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision,
saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great
reward."2 ¶ But Abram said, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go
childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"

Abram was growing older being childless; God spoke to him promising him a son.
He promised him descendants who would be countless like the stars in the sky. 25
years later God gave him Isaac and many years later, all of us as his descendants.

God’s word concerning bareness

Isaiah 54:1

1 "Sing, O barren, You who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry
aloud, You who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the
desolate than the children of the married woman," says the LORD.

Rev Kathy used to tell us that” the area in your life that you struggle in, you will
become a guru (EXPERT) in it”. If you have struggled with finances, you will soon
be a financial guru, if its marital challenges, your will be a guru in marriage,
whatever kind of bareness, you will be an expert in it, in Jesus Name

Genesis 25:21 Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was
barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived..

Do not give up on God; you can change that situation in prayer no matter how
bad it looks like.

Luke1:25 "Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to
take away my reproach among people."(This was Elizabeth the cousin of Mary
mother of Jesus).

God is able to change that situation and turn it around for your good. Elizabeth
was at least 60 years of age and well past child bearing years when she gave birth
to John. God gave her a son with a great destiny, to prepare the way for Jesus.
You may feel like it’s taking too long, but once it’s done, you will be glad you
waited patiently.

It’s like a woman in labor, its normally extremely painful, a kind of pain that you
cannot explain to anyone in a way they can understand, not unless they go
through it themselves, but the minute you see the baby, you totally forget all the
pain, the shouting, the sweating and the swearing.

Genesis 18:14
"Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you,
according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."( God speaking to
Abraham).

Nothing is too hard for the Lord, He makes a way where there seems to be no
way!

David and Goliath

1samuel 17:45 & 47 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a
sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the
LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
Jump to verse :- 47 "Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not
save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into
our hands."

King Saul and the army of God had been held hostage by a giant, they were at a
standstill. For 40 days, morning and evening, Goliath would shout threats and
throw insults at the army of God, which made the Israelites so afraid.But God
showed Himself strong through a young man.

What has held you hostage? What has caused stagnation and delay in your life?
You need to attack it head on prayerfully and by faith. NOT physically of course
because Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly

My testimony
For a long time, I straggled with the spirit of low self-esteem inferiority complex,
feeling like I wasn’t good enough, like I couldn’t do anything well, like I wasn’t
good enough for my husband or beautiful enough. I thought I was too tall, not
educated enough and most of all I never thought God would ever use someone
like me, I could never speak in front of people like I do now, by God’s grace

I was raised by a single mum, went to about 15 schools or so, lived in more
houses than I can count coz of financial challenges. I got married to a man who
loves me dearly, who never saw me less than perfect. I had to deal with all of
that in the place of prayer and finally attack that fear of public speaking head on
coz it’s the place of my calling. SEE WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE!