THE BELOVED

Matthew 3:17 and suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in who I am well pleased.”

Names are very important. Proverbs 22:1 says a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches. According to Ecclesiastes 7:16, a good name is far more precious than precious ointment or perfumes. Proverbs 18:10 calls the name of the Lord a strong tower. Joel 2:32 points out that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Acts 4:12 says for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. At the mention of the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, Philippians 2:10. There are various uses of names .God uses His names to introduce Himself. When God physically visited Moses, the bible records in Exodus 34:6-7 that the Lord passed before Moses and proclaimed, “the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding n goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and fourth generation.” According to Exodus 6:2, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob knew God by his name ‘Almighty God’ (Almighty means All – sufficient or El-Shaddai). He did not reveal Himself to them by His name ‘Lord’ (Lord meaning owner of the whole universe or the One who rules over all things).

God also uses names to describe the type of relationship He has with people. There are a group of people who He has no relationship with. He refers to them as fools or unwise. Psalm 14:1 says a fool has said in his heart there is no God. According to Proverbs 13:19, the fools delights in doing evil and Proverbs 13:20 has promised that the companion of fools will be destroyed. Also in this group are the proud. God resist the proud but gives grace to the humble, James 4:6. Not only does He resist the proud, a proud look is an abomination to Him, Proverbs 6:16-17. A high look and a proud heart is sin before God, Proverbs 21:4.In this same group, you find the wicked. Proverbs 24:20 has assured us that the lamp of the wicked will be put out. People in this group, do not fear God. Proverbs 16:6 says by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil. Proverbs 8:13 says the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. According to Exodus 20:20, the fear of the Lord prevents people from going into sin. God is not obliged to hear them when they cry. John 9:31 says now we know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, He hears them. The psalmist says if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me, Psalm 66:18. Out of this group, very few try and live a righteous life. They have good morals, don’t steal or cheat but the bible compares this form righteousness to filthy rags before God, Isaiah 64:6.

There is another group of people who God calls My people. He calls them His people because He has a relationship with them. According to Deuteronomy 7:6, He chose them out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people.2 Chronicles 7:14 say that they are His people because they are called by His name. Who are these people? The Christians – Christ like. According to Galatians 3:7, they are the spiritual Israelites i.e. those of faith. They are known as new creation.2 Corinthians 5:17 say therefore, anyone in Christ is a new creation; old things have passed away and all things have become new. They have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and savior. They have experienced the re-birth experience i.e. born of water and spirit, John 3:5.At salvation this people receive the Holy Spirit, John 3:5-16. When they call on God, He Is obliged to listen to them. According to 2 Chronicles 7:14 , every time His people humble themselves and pray and depart from evil, He will hear from heaven , forgive them and heal their land. Isaiah 58:9 says when they call, He will answer; when they cry, He will say “here I am”. According to Mark 16:17-18, signs follow them: In the name of Jesus they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues ;they will take up serpents and if they drink anything deadly , it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick , and they will recover. One important thing to note here is they have a relationship with God.

Out of this group of people who have a relationship with God, there is a smaller group who are not satisfied with a basic relationship with God so they go further. They understand that the Lord loves them and they reciprocate this love back to God. They enjoy a deeper walk with God. Proverbs 8:17 says I love those who love Me and those who seek Me shall find Me. They have sought for a special relationship with God and they have found it. Whatever they do for God, they do it with their whole heart. The bible records in 2 Samuel 6:14 that David danced with all his might. The psalmist says bless the Lord oh my Lord and all that is within me, Psalm 103:1.When it comes to giving, they will never give God an offering that never costs them. They are full of wisdom, why? Because they are soul winners. Proverbs 11:30 says he that wins souls is wise. According to Proverbs 3:35, the wise inherits glory. Daniel 12:3 says that those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. Luke 11:23 says that he who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters. They have proved from time to time that they are with Jesus by their sowing towards kingdom project. They are God’s battle- ax and weapons of war; He uses them to destroy the kingdoms of darkness, Jeremiah 51:20. They love God and He loves them in return. He refers to them as ‘apple of His eyes’. According to Zechariah 2:8, whoever touches them touches the apple of His eye. He refers to them as men after His own heart. Because this group of people fears the Lord, they dwell in prosperity, Psalm 25:12-13. Because they take time to study, meditate and do all that is written in the bible they enjoy good success, Joshua 1:8 .According to Psalm 5:12, He surrounds them with favor.

Out of the group of people He refers to as men after His own heart, there is this smaller group He calls friends. Between friends there are no secrets. The Lord shares His secrets with His friends. Amos 3:7 says surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. When the Lord wanted to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, the only person He shared this secret with was Abraham –His friend, Genesis 18:17 -21. In Genesis 15:13-16, we see the Lord sharing secrets of what was going to happen about six hundred years later. He is very generous to His friends. He said to Abraham; look from the place where you are northward, southward, eastward and westward; for all the land which you see I will give it to you and your descendants, Genesis 13:14-17.His friends are allowed to make any requests to Him. No matter how impossible, He will grant them. Moses requested to see the glory of God and the Lord granted his request, Exodus 33:17-19.If His friends ask Him to part the red sea, He will part it, Exodus 14:13-31. If His friends ask Him to shut the heaven for three years, He will do that, 1 Kings 17:1-3.He visits His friends and eats at their houses, Genesis 18:1-16.He speaks to His friends face to face. Exodus 33:11 says so the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friends. His friends spend time with Him. Moses was with God praying and fasting - forty days and forty nights, Deuteronomy 9:9-11.

Asides His friends, there is another group He calls sons and daughters. The difference between a friend and a son is that a son has more access to the father than the friends. The sons has unlimited access to the Father. The sons are the carrier of His presence. The sons are carriers of His power. John 1:12 says as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. Acts 10:38 says how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. He fills His sons with the Holy Ghost to the extent that signs and wonders happens everywhere they go to. The sons have no ambition of their own. The sons share the same ambition with the Father. Their business is the business of the Father. When we get to heaven, the sons will share thrones with Jesus, Revelations 3:21.

Revelations 3:20 says behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me. The difference between those He dines with and those He does not dine with is decision.Anyone that decides to open the door to Him, He will dine with them.Friends ,we decide the names He calls us. We can decide to move out of the group of people that He has no relationship with to His people by giving our life to Jesus.We can decide to become the apple of His eyes by loving Him in return. We can decide to take our relationship with Him to the level of been His friends. We are filled to the level of our thirst. The more of Him we yawn for, the more of Him we get.

The bible says in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. What is this gift? John 3:16 says for God so the loved the world that He have His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. What can I do to be saved? Romans 10:9 say if you confess with your mouth, that Jesus s Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:10 says for it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with our mouth we confess and saved. Pray this prayer from your heart today!

Dear Jesus, I believe that You died for me and rose again on the third day. I confess I am a sinner. I need your love and forgiveness. Come into my heart. Forgive my sins. I receive Your eternal life. Confirm You love by giving me peace, joy and supernatural love for others, Amen.

Welcome to Christ brethren, Please join a bible believing church

Samuel Oluwatoki

Please forward this newsletter to a friend, family or colleague. Remember Matthew 10:32 which say whoever confesses me before me, him I will confess before my father who is heaven.