DIVINE SECRETS FOR LIVING IN POSSIBILITIES

“DIVINE SECRETS FOR LIVING IN POSSIBILITIES”

‪‎TEXT: JOSHUA 1:1-8 & MATTHEW 19:26

Bishop Ponle Alabi

A TEACHING DELIVERED ON THE 15TH OF SEPTEMBER, 2015 DURING THE FELLOWSHIP HOUR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY- LADOKE AKINTOLA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, OGBOMOSO.

VENUE: LAUTECH UNIVERSITY CHAPEL, OGBOMOSO.

BY: BISHOP PONLE ALABI OF COVENANT OF PEACE EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATION-INC

I appreciate the leadership of this Department for the opportunity I have to share with the students of Physiology Department of this great Institution- Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho. I do not use the adjective “great” lightly because of what it uniquely mean to me. My Wife is a product of this great institution and for that I have applied the adjective “great”. If this institution were a human being, She would be my like an in-law to me. Laugh!

Today, I will quickly share with you on the topic; “DIVINE SECRETS FOR LIVING IN POSSIBILITIES”. I will like to have us read from the book of Joshua 1: 1-8 and Matthew 19:26.

Joshua 1:1-8; “Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast... Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Matthew 19:26; “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

Let me begin with a purported story of Muhammed Ali, the great boxer. Muhammed Ali was traveling by air and the pilot discovered that a great turbulence was coming their way and so announced that everyone should belt up. However, Muhammed Ali refused to belt up and the Airhostess asked him to obey the Captain’s command. And immediately Ali responded; “Superman don’t need belts to be safe”. Whatever Ali was “inhaling” at the time which made him feel invincible, we do not know but the Airhostess responded almost instantly; “Superman does need a plane to travel and so you are not superman or are you?” With that, Muhammed Ali was silenced. The rejection of knowledge is the rejection of momentary reality. And when you cannot respond to real questions, you present yourself for ridicule.

King Crimson, a rock group from London in 1969, released a song with the lyrics; “Knowledge is a deadly friend, when no one sets the rule”. Today, the pursuit of knowledge is a demand as well as a challenge. Yet the underlining purpose for Knowledge must not be lost or else you and I can become ‘knowledgeable failures’. It is clear that the search for knowledge really is profitable and beneficial. It is profitable because it changes who you are and beneficial because it permits the access to what you can be. As you begin this new semester, you must understand that to avoid becoming a failure or a successful failure, your pursuit of knowledge should afford you the ability to respond to life’s questions. That simple rule can help put all things in perspective.

Life is filled with questions. You have to prepare to answer life’s questions. You are here in this school to answer the question that life will throw at you. And I can assure you, life will always ask you questions. Questions on how much you have to offer the society, how valuable you are in the society and how matured you are for relationships.

Our text in the book of Joshua presents these truths about life. Joshua had just lost his leader and model, Moses and now faced with uncertainty, he begins his semester as it were with offers. Let’s quickly answer two questions.

1. WHAT SECRETS DOES GOD NEED TO REVEAL FOR JOSHUA TO BE PROSPEROUS?

A. THE FIRST SECRET IS THAT ONLY THE ACCEPTANCE OF GOD’S TRUTH CAN HELP ACHIEVE THE GOD KIND OF SUCCESS.

God said to Joshua; “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel” (Joshua 1:2). There is a land that belongs to you, arise and get it. The truth is that God has given them a possession and all that Joshua needed was to pursue that truth. Yet this truth offers Joshua with an alternative. You can refuse to rise and you can reject what belongs to you. God’s truth is meant to convince Joshua yet Joshua can choose to live by opinion. What is the difference? ‘Opinion is choosing amidst options, but conviction is truth accentuated above all else such that it has no companion’. There are possibilities this semester, but you can also choose the option of opinion. Opinion is what your friends offer you outside of the reason you are in school. Opinions are the failures of the past, you can fight to change that opinion with hard work. Opinions are the alternative to the pursuit of truth or purpose.

B. THE SECOND SECRET IS THAT FINDING MEANING IN LIFE (FULFILMENT) IS ONLY BY THE APPLICATION OF GOD’S TRUTH.

God said to Joshua; “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Josh. 1:3-5).

At a glance you may assume that God was offering them a key to “claiming” everything the sole of their feet touches until you observe that; ‘God will only permit them success within the confines of the land specified- “from the wilderness to …the great sea”’. This University allows you to dream and achieve that dream as long as you stay within the boundaries stipulated. Now the struggle is with the possibility of transgressing and yet gaining success in life and especially for you in this semester. God promised a land and yet the land does not really have any meaning until God’s truth is solely applied to their life. There is an exclusivity to truth and that is what every child of God and aspiring children of God must understand.

The law of non-contradiction says; “two antithetical proportion cannot both be true at the same time and in the same sense. X cannot be non-X”. John 2:21 says; “no lie is of the truth”. It is either God’s promise is true about what the future holds or it is a lie. You cannot live outside of God’s truth and still claim that God will be with you. When you absolve a contrary view to God’s plan of exclusiveness, you strangle your life out of meaning. “For all have sinned” is either the truth about everyone’s state or it is a lie”. John 3:3 says; “…unless you are born again you cannot see (experience) the Kingdom of God”. It is either God’s specification is followed or your specifications is right, both of you cannot be right. So if this semester will end with great success, I mean the God kind of success- under which specification are you living or going to live?

2. WHY DOES GOD NEED TO REVEAL THESE SECRETS?

The reason for God’s revelation to Joshua was because LIFE WILL ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS AND EVERYONE MUST BE READY WITH ANSWERS. God again said to Joshua; “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8). This verse is a promise and also a response to life’s questions. God offered a single book as the answer to the question of Joshua’s prosperity and pursuit of success. I usually joke philosophically that; “If Jesus is the answer, what then is the question?” God prescribed the future of Joshua as responding to the question of prosperity and success. And only one book holds the key to these answers. School life is asking you about why you are here and what are you committed to so as to achieve that purpose. Relationships is asking you, what should we expect from you so that our society can get better. Test and exams are asking how prepared are you for the unexpected or even the expected. Exams may not be the true test of your intelligence as many would say, but it is the true test of your preparedness for surprises in life. Joshua required a prosperous way and a successful term, yet outside of God’s law, nothing is possible.

CONCLUSION

As you begin this new semester, you must choose how you will live; the way you want or the way God prescribes. Today you have heard that you can either live by God’s truth or human opinion. And that meaning is found only within the confines of what God specifies for you. You can succeed this semester if you set your heart to finding out what God says about how you should live and staying faithful to that righteousness. However, from God’s statement to Joshua, we know that life will ask us questions and we must be prepared to answer them. Every day is an opportunity to respond to life’s questions through preparation. For Joshua- His ways must be prosperous and He need to have good success. God followed this same principle when He gave the ultimate answer to man’s problem. Some two thousand years ago, God demonstrated in accordance to His plans from Genesis to respond to the problem of man- SIN. Sin is separation from God but most importantly “missing the target” that God has set. The cross is the only place where everyone is acceptable. The cross is the answer to man’s problem. The problem of experiencing fully all the good things that God has for His people. Matthew 19:26 says; “with God all things are possible”. The phrase, “with God” makes the life of possibilities an exclusive offer. How can man find prosperity and success in life? Only “with God”? Yes, with God all things are possible. God gave His son Jesus when we could not get back into the specified place where we can enjoy His good plans. At the cross any one can cross over by faith and tap into a prosperous future and gain good success. It is either your way or His way. Why not give Jesus Christ a chance today and let this semester begin with a walk with the God who makes all things possible. Shalom!