if God is For us

    IF GOD IS FOR US?

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

Who is the God that is been referred to in Romans 8:31? According to Lamentations 3:35, He is the Most High. Psalms 113: 5 says the Lord our God dwells on high .Psalm 97:9 says He is the most high above all the earth, exalted above all gods. He Is the Commander-in –Chief of all the forces in heaven and on earth. Jeremiah 11:17 calls Him the Lord of Host. Songs of Solomon calls Him the Chief among ten thousand. When it comes to war, He is not gentle at all. Exodus 15:3 says the Lord is a man of war, the Lord is His name.

He is also very powerful. Mark 14:62 calls Him Power. Psalm 62:11 says power belongs to God. This God Is so powerful, Isaiah 13:13 says He can shake the heavens and earth will move out her place. Psalms 77:16 says the waters saw Him and they were afraid, the depths trembled.1 Chronicles 16:25 says He Is to be feared above all gods. Psalm 33:8-9 says let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him, for He spoke and it was done; He spoke and it stood fast.

Psalms 10:14 calls Him the Helper of the Fatherless, Jeremiah 17:17 calls him the Hope in the day of doom. According to Psalm 18:3, He alone can save from enemies. Psalm 113:7-8 says He raises the poor out of the dust that He may seat him with princes. Psalm 145:15 says He feeds the whole world. According to Psalms 99:8, He is the God who forgives.

If this God is for us, every door shut against us will be opened. According to Revelations 3:7, He possesses the key of David, He opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens. In Exodus 14:21-28, Red Sea parted before the Israelites because the Lord was with them. In John 9:1-7, is the story of a man whose doors were shut from birth. Because the door of his eyes was shut, he lived in darkness all his life. Jesus got involved in his matter and the door that had been shut from birth opened. The door of provision was shut at the widow of Zarapheth courtesy of the famine in the land and  her resources began to dwindle until she was left with her last meal-1 Kings 17:7-16.Thank God for his mercies ,He sent His prophet-Elijah and the door was opened all through the famine.

If God is for us, our victory is guaranteed.  It does not matter, the physical size of the enemy, their numbers, experience or resources. As far as the Lord is for you , victory is guaranteed, Goliath was bigger than David, had more experience ,definitely came with more resources but at the end the bible records that David stood over the philistine – 1 Samuel 17:51. In Judges 7:1-25, Gideon went to war against an army who the bible describes as numerous as locust and their camels without numbers, as the sand of seashore with three hundred civilians. Because God was for them, this three hundred chased the armies of two great nations –Amalekites and Midianites.

When God is for you, you can be rest assured that you will fulfill destiny .The Lord says in Isaiah 55:11 that the words that go forth from His mouth will not return to Him void but shall accomplish what He pleases and shall prosper in the thing which He sent it. Numbers 23:19 says God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent. Has he said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken and will He not make it God?

Regardless, you will fulfill destiny. Saul tried to kill David, he threw spears at him - 1 Samuel 18:11, he gave him an impossible task of providing one hundred foreskins of the Philistine for the hands of Michal in marriage- 1 Samuel 18:20-27,he chased David until he ran to the land of the Philistine yet David return to Israel as king. The brothers of Joseph were aware of the plans of God for his life, they sold him to slavery to thwart the plan of God  –Genesis 37:3-36 , the wife of Portiphar lied against him – Genesis 39:7-21 , those that promised to help him forgot him Genesis 41:9-13 despite all this Joseph emerge as the prime minister in Egypt.

When the Most High is for you, every weapon fashioned against you shall not prosper.  Isaiah 54:17 says that No weapon formed against you shall prosper and every tongue that rises against you in judgment He shall condemn. Nebuchadnezzar commanded that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be thrown into the fire because they refused to bow to a golden image – Daniel 3:1-28.Because God was for them, they came out unhurt. In 2 Kings 1:9 -15, the king sent a captain and fifty men to go and arrest the man of God, Elisha called down fire and they were roasted. This happened three times. The third time, the captain was smart; he knelt down and politely asked the man of God to go with them.

When the Lord is for you, you will have the last laugh. Peninnah took it upon herself to make life unbearable for Hannah because she was barren – 1 Samuel 1:6-7.By the time we get to 1 Samuel 2:21, Hannah had become a mother of six. When Hagar saw that she had conceived her mistress became despised in her eyes - Genesis 16:4 .Because God was for Sarah,  she gave birth at the age of ninety, she was so full of laughter that she named the boy Isaac meaning laughter. I prayed that you will have the last laugh in the mighty name of Jesus.

When God is for you, success is sure. Psalm 75:6-7 says for exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south but God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another. Psalm 60:12 says through God we will do valiantly.  Deuteronomy 8:18 says the power to get wealth comes from Him. Because God was for Isaac, he sowed during famine and reaped in the same year a hundred fold – Genesis 26:12.In 2 Chronicles 26:1-19 is the story of a prince who became king at the age of sixteen. Because the heavens were for him, God made him prosper. He was very rich and the bible described in military terms as been strong. What adults could not achieve, He achieved it. King Uzziah had three hundred and seventy five thousand (375,000) active military personnel in 750 BC and today Israel has around one hundred and seventy six thousand, five hundred(176,500) active military personnel in 2012.

This brings us to the question, what can I do to qualify for God’s backing?

Be humble, James 4:6 says God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.1Peter 5:6 says therefore  humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.  Another thing to do is evangelize. Luke 11:23 says He who is not with Me is against Me, and he does not gather with Me scatters. Evangelism is a way of gathering with Him. If you gather with Him, He will back you.

Anyone who wants the Lord to be for Him must be hardworking. The Lord hates laziness, Jesus says in John 5:17, “My father is always at His work to this very day and I too am working”. Proverbs 10:4 says lazy hands makes a man poor. God is love -1John 4:8, anyone who wants God to be for him must also have love in his heart. God dwells where there is love .God is always for givers .Proverbs 11:25 says the generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself. Proverbs 19: 17 says He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what He has given.

If you are obedient to God, He will be for you. Exodus 19:5 says if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all the people for all the earth is Mine. The Lord says in Jeremiah 7:23 obey Me, I will be your God and you will be My people.  Anyone who wants God to be for Him must first become a worshipper. Psalm 22:3 says God inhabits the praises of His people. The Psalmist says in Psalm 47:1-3, clap your hands, all you people, shout to God with the voice of triumph! He will subdue all the people under us and the nations under our feet.

When we study Romans 8:31, we will notice that the question was not answered, why? It is because it is a rhetorical question. We know nobody can be against us except our self. Just like people can decide to turn down help, so also we can turn down God’s help. It is true God loves the prosperity of His children – Psalm 35:27, but He needs our cooperation to prosper us. Revelations 3:20 says “behold I stand at the door and knock, if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him which means we can hear His voice and refuse to open. No wise man or woman will hear the voice of the creator of heaven and earth and ignore Him.

God is saying  to you, I want to be for you .I want to fight for you, I want to be your God, are you willing to take  His offer? If you are willing why not give your life to Christ today .Jesus says in John 14:6 says I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through the son. Is there anyone who has backslidded? God wants you back too , please  come back to Christ today .

The bible said in Romans 3 v 23 that for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 6 s 23 says for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The gift was explained in John 3 v 16 , For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. What shall we do to be saved? The bible says in Romans 10vs 9 that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10 v 10 – For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with our mouth that you confess and are 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 v 32 which say whoever confesses me before me, him I will confess before my father who is heaven.