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The death and resurrection of Jesus hold several significances for us. Foremost among them is the forgiveness of sins. In recent days, we recalled that the sole purpose for His coming was to deliver us from sins. Those who believe in Him can now boldly say that sin shall not have dominion over them. The direct result of forgiveness of sins is restoration of fellowship. His sacrifice on the tree was what tore down the wall of partition. There was the wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles before He paid the price. That wall no longer exists. Then there was the wall of partition between God the Father and humanity. That also tumbled down. So we now have unrestricted access to God. Both forgiveness of sins and restoration of fellowship with the Father will invariably pave the way for spending eternity with Him.

When we pray, it should be with confidence that if God did not spare giving Jesus to die for us, there is nothing else that Heaven will not grant…faithless prayer has no guarantee.

There is yet another benefit that the death and resurrection of Jesus offer us. This is in connection with prayer. James touched on two things that can make prayer ineffective. Prayers made just to consume them on our lusts have no guarantee. Prayer is not designed to indulge our every whim. It is to help people align with the will of God. Also, faithless prayer has no guarantee. He wrote that those who need wisdom should ask God for it in prayers. This applies to every other need as well. However, asking must be accompanied with faith. Asking and doubting at the same time reduce the potency of prayer. When we pray, it should be with confidence that if God did not spare giving Jesus to die for us, there is nothing else that Heaven will not grant.

‬‬‬‬‬Apart from Samson’s misadventure with women, he would stand as a type of Jesus. He was one of the several deliverers that God raised for Israel. His lifestyle as well as his mandate were predetermined before conception. His life was to follow the strict ascetic lifestyle of a Nazarite – no strong wine or eating of dead animals. His hair must not be shaved. Samson’s life was a testimony of how much one person could achieve through God. He constituted a one-man army and discomfited the Philistines. As long as he complied with the rules of engagement, he prevailed. The major dark spot in his illustrious career was his misadventure with Delilah who was used by the Philistines to nail him. Notwithstanding, it is reported that he achieved more victory at death than all his lifetime exploits.

When He cried, “It is finished”, the age-long problem of sin that plagued mankind was dealt with.

Jesus shared many similarities with Samson, yet without the stain of sin. The mandate of Jesus was also firmly established before birth. Whereas Samson came to save Israel from the oppression of the Philistines, Jesus came to save the world from the oppression of sin and Satan. Jesus also came as a Nazarene and was popularly known as Jesus of Nazareth. The high point of our meditation today is that just as Samson did more at death, Jesus also accomplished more at His death. In His earthly ministry, He had healed the sick and raised the dead. He cleansed the lepers and gave sight to the blind. The hungry were not left out as He fed them to the full. However, all these cannot compare with what happened at His death. When He cried, “It is finished”, the age-long problem of sin that plagued mankind was dealt with.

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬On a day like this in 2020, I went to one of the Market Square outlets in Port Harcourt, Nigeria with a ready list made up of toothpaste, a sandwich maker, and a loaf of bread. But for that, I would have been carried away. Once inside, a lady approached me and introduced a number of items – belt, cuff links, etc. None of them was on my list. I thanked her and excused myself. When I was done and ready to pull away from the car lot, one mallam approached me with a necklace. He said it’s gold, and to demonstrate its genuineness, he brought out a lighter and subjected it to flame. I told him I don’t use such things. He said I should buy it for madam. I told him another day. To break me down, he reminded me that that day was Good Friday; urging me to pay any amount because he would like to give offering at the mosque. I still refused. He then dropped it on my lap. I removed it and dropped on the roof of my car. Focus saved me from dabbling into things that were of no consequence to me at that time.

Focus saved me from dabbling into things that were of no consequence to me at that time…we also must focus on the Mandate of Heaven on our lives

Jesus came into the world with a to-do list. At birth, it was announced that He would save His people from their sins. That, of course, would take Him to the Cross. So many things came His way to keep Him from making it to the Cross. Even Peter rebuked Him when He told the disciples that He would be crucified. He shoved aside all distractions and died on Calvary’s tree to redeem humanity. As we remember His crucifixion today, we also must focus on the Mandate of Heaven on our lives. Above all, we must focus on the reason behind His death, which is deliverance from sins.

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬In our previous meditation, we defined lasting leaders as those who give priority to the welfare of the people under their watch. This is indeed a counter culture to what is obtainable in the world’s system. Majority of the people live by the dictum “everyone for himself, God for us all”. The reason why this is so is not difficult to explain; it is because the giant “I” is still at the helm of affairs. No one who has not yet tamed this giant can think of other people, much less reach out to them. Joshua who was our text case of lasting leader yesterday reportedly conquered 31 territories. I believe that those conquests were possible because he had first conquered the greed in him. He had managed to subdue selfishness and pride.

He had managed to subdue selfishness and pride. The starting point to selflessness is a desire, followed by a decision…humility remains the forerunner of honour.

The starting point to selflessness is a desire, followed by a decision. John stated it plainly in this text; he chose to take the back seat for another to be in the forefront. This time, it was the Master to whom the front rightly belongs. Believers should take their cue from Jesus. The Bible says that even though He was in the form of God He did not count equality with Him when He appeared in human nature. He divested Himself of all the glory that is rightly His to serve mankind. He is our perfect example; and He expects us to do as He has done. Our ego is one of the cardinal expressions of the fallen nature. It will not easily defer to others. But we can draw strength from Christ, by Him we can do all things. Additional motivation to give up the self life will come when we look at the end result of Jesus’ selfless nature. It was because Jesus humbled Himself to the end that He was given a name to which every knee now has to bow, and every tongue confesses as Lord. The Scripture makes it plain that humility remains the forerunner of honour.

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬Lasting leaders are those who know the beauty of prioritizing the welfare of the people they lead. Joshua definitely fit into this category of leaders. He fought many battles – thirty-one in all. The focus was to make the people possess the land promised them by God. Despite these many exploits, there had not been a single parcel of land to Joshua’s name till that point in time. His primary concern was to divide the land to the children of Israel and assist them in exercising presence in their respective allocations. It was after Joshua had helped the children of Israel to appropriate their inheritance that they turned round to give him an inheritance among them.

Lasting leaders are those who know the beauty of prioritizing the welfare of the people they lead…those who are mindful of the welfare of others put themselves up on the path to leadership.

Clearly, Joshua did not abuse his leadership position and use it for self aggrandizement. Leadership was to him a calling, and not a means to amass wealth at the expense of the people. This is a pattern for good leadership. Generally, wherever you view it from, there is always something refreshingly different in the system of the kingdom compared to the way of the world. Most of our leaders, for example, see political offices as the cheapest and fastest means to wealth and fame. This is the reason our elections are often fraught with so much violence as people play do-or-die politics. We need more leaders in the mold of Joshua; those who will not mind to sacrifice everything for the sake of the people they are called to lead. On a general note, those who are mindful of the welfare of others put themselves up on the path to leadership.

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬Ahaziah had a brief stint on the throne, spending just a year. After his death, the queen mother, Athaliah, positioned herself as the ruler. To clear the way for this, she wickedly executed all the king’s sons. It was only Joash who escaped by the help of Jehosheba. It would appear on the surface that the prince was kept from the throne; but in the real sense he was kept for the throne. Had Athaliah known that the prince was alive, she would have killed him also. Six years later, the young boy was brought out and crowned as king. Times had changed, the boy had matured a little more, and he was able to fit into what God had in store for him.

When we grow up, there are things we will not need to pray for before the Father will give them to us.

Sometimes, it may appear that some things are kept away from us. However, in most cases they are kept for us. Perhaps God is expecting us to grow a little more in order to fit into what He has planned. Paul brought out the importance of growth when he wrote to the Galatians. He made them aware that an heir will be at the same level as servants while he remains a child, even though he is the potential owner of all. When we grow up, there are things we will not need to pray for before the Father will give them to us. While we are working at maturing, we should be consoled by the fact of Scripture that God will not withhold anything good from us.

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬God does not only deal with promises but also with time. In order words, when God gives a promise, He has a time frame attached to it. We must appreciate the point that times and seasons belong to God. This was what Jesus meant as He replied to the agitated minds of the disciples who were asking Him for the time when the Kingdom of God would come. He made them to know that time and season are kept wrapped and under the immediate control of the Father. Several times, we are all too eager to hear of the promise without paying attention to time. We forget too easily that all things are only made beautiful in His time.

The knowledge of the approaching time is to help perfect our preparation for what God is about to do.

How do we know when the time for the manifestation of a promise has come? A pregnant woman is typically given an expected day of delivery (EDD). As the day approaches, it is accompanied with certain signs. So it is with the promise of God. When the time of a promise draws close, certain things in our internal and external environments begin to speak. Through careful observation of emerging events and attentive listening to the Spirit, we can know that the time has come. The knowledge of the approaching time is to help perfect our preparation for what God is about to do.

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬In our previous meditations, we categorised the promises of God into two. The categories are based on time. If they can be appropriated rather quickly, we call them “short-term” promises. If, on the other hand, months or years are needed to process them, we referred to them as “long-term promises”. From our text, we can add a third category which we will like to call the eternal promises. These latter promises cannot be fully appreciated as long as this current earth stands. Many inspired writers referred to this in the Bible. One is contained in Peter’s writing where he said, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2Peter 3:13).  Apparently what Peter said here is outside the scope of man’s architectural prowess. No amount of urban renewal can deliver the kind of new earth that God has in mind.

When this promise shall be fully realised, we shall not only be partakers of His divine nature, we shall also bask in the glory of divine presence.

A promise of an eternal nature is what our passage is dealing with. In the new heavens and new earth, God promised total bliss. No tears in the eyes, no ache or sorrow in the heart, and no more death. The factors for pains and sorrows, being sin and Satan, would have been taken out of the way. This is the blessed hope of those who are redeemed. While we are in this body, we keep fighting to keep these negative forces at bay, minimizing their influence over us as much as possible. However, full redemption is at the coming of the Saviour, Jesus Christ. When this promise shall be fully realised, we shall not only be partakers of His divine nature, we shall also bask in the glory of divine presence.

‬‬‬‬‬‬Understanding the nature of the promise that we are dealing with will be of tremendous importance as we wait for the fulfillment. There are short-term promises. These are promises that mature within a little time frame. This actually could happen within a day or couple of days. Jesus once told a man, “thy son liveth”. On getting home, the man found that the son began to amend the very hour Jesus spoke to him. Hezekiah’s healing took place within three days, after the Lord had given him a promise through prophet Isaiah. The promise of rulership to Joseph belonged to a different category. God gave him a dream; and to all intent and purposes that dream was like a promise. It took an interval of 13 years for Joseph to make meaning of what God said to him. This kind of promise is long-term.

Understanding the nature of the promise that we are dealing with will be of tremendous importance as we wait for the fulfillment.

The second advent of Jesus will fall under what we term a long-term promise. Before He ascended, He promised to come back again. It has been 2,000 years and counting and we are still waiting. Unless we are able to differentiate between the promises, we might doubt God and grow weary in our faith. Hardly will a promise that will affect generations happen in a flash. The intervening period helps in developing character in the recipient. This agrees with God’s ultimate purpose of giving the promises to begin with, which is partaking of divine nature. If you find yourself dealing with a promise of a long-term nature, never forget that God’s concept of time is different from ours.

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬The Bible describes the promises of God in various ways. Paul said that the promises are yea and amen in Christ. In other words, God does not go back and forth on what He has promised. We know this much because there is no variableness in Him, nor shadow of turning. When Peter spoke about the promises, he described them as “exceeding great and precious”. Beyond this, Peter also established the ultimate purpose behind the promises of God. The only way to avoid the abuse of anything is to understand its purpose. God has a reason for giving us these exceeding great promises.

The real purpose behind the promises of God is contained in our text – to put on divine nature…The greatest goal of God for every believer is the emergence of Christ life.

Let us be clear about one thing: God does not honour His promises to simply gratify us. We make mistake when we think that the promises of God are meant to meet our every whim. The real purpose behind the promises of God is contained in our text – to put on divine nature. It is out of sync to obtain a promise and for that to turn us away from God or godlike behavior. The greatest goal of God for every believer is the emergence of Christ life. This may probably help in explaining why some things we pray for are delayed or denied outright.  In the wisdom of God, He will first pass every request through this test: will granting it cause Christ to be formed in us or take Christ out of us? We cannot answer this question. The riddle can only be solved by God whose wisdom is infinite, and knows a thing far before it comes to light. Once it is certain that a promise, when granted, will bring the greater glory to Him through us, God will pull all brakes to see that nothing is denied us.

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬In our previous meditation, we established two types of glory – the first is by similitude and the second comes by way of demonstration. I believe that the first is to inspire the second. Jesus had Peter and two of his colleagues with Him on the mount. While there, He was transfigured before them. That is akin to glory in similitude. Peter did not immediately understand why they were treated to such a panorama. If he had his way, he would build tabernacles around that experience. Jesus had other plans. What they experienced was to nail their doubts forever, if any still remained, concerning who Jesus was. It was also a way to equip and empower them to spread the glory of God wherever human woes abound. You are not to keep to yourself what you have heard and tasted of God; you are meant to serve others with the same diet of His glory.

You are not to keep to yourself what you have heard and tasted of God; you are meant to serve others with the same diet of His glory.

God made a firm promise to fill the whole earth with His glory. This promise is repeated almost verbatim in Habakkuk 2:14, only that in this place the manifestation of the glory of God is tied to the knowledge of God. An essential strategy of God to doing this is to make His children who had contacted His glory to become His agent in spreading it to the world. What the Lord expects of us is to spread to the world whatever we have received from Him through the largesse of His grace.

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬Jesus did not leave room for doubt on the fact that He had risen from the dead. Luke who wrote the of Acts of the Apostles lent his voice to this when he declared that Jesus showed Himself alive after rising from the dead by many undeniable miracles. One instance is recorded here in John 21. Peter and his colleagues had gone a fishing all night. When morning broke, they had nothing to show for their efforts. Jesus stepped in, gave a few instructions and they had a great catch of fish.   The manifestation of Christ on that occasion was at the time of need; they had nothing for food. It is typical of God to show Himself in times of man’s severity. The times of need are God’s great opportunity to show Himself to people. Unfortunately, people get into panic mode when need arises and risk losing the opportunity to see God in action.

This brings us to our caption – two types of glory. The glory of God can be known as a similitude…Then the glory of the Lord can be demonstrated.

This brings us to our caption – two types of glory. The glory of God can be known as a similitude. “The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.” Exodus‬ 24‬:17‬ NKJV‬. The glory of the Lord as explained here was in form of a similitude. Then the glory of the Lord can be demonstrated. When in John 2 Jesus turned water into wine, that was a demonstration of glory. John 2:11 specifically states, “This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.” Whenever we record a divine intervention, that is the glory of God in demonstration. The glory of God is the manifestation of His worth or essence.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬An important consideration in determining direction is prevailing circumstances. There is a little phrase in scripture which says, “as occasion serves you”. I think this refers to doing things as circumstances dictate. Here is an illustration. My daughter had her traditional wedding in February 2022. We toyed with several probable dates for her wedding in London. We first set September 24, 2022. The calculation was that her partner who was still in Nigeria would have crossed over, and they both would file notice of intent to wed. We assumed it would be 29 days, effective from the date of filing of intent. We later moved the date to October 22, and then 29. When further enquiry was made, we understand that since the couple are not UK citizens, the notice to be given is not 29 days but 70! That pushed the wedding till December, submitting to circumstances.

An important consideration in determining direction is prevailing circumstances…In order to enjoy divine leading, we must pay attention to circumstances.

In order to enjoy divine leading, we must pay attention to circumstances. Prevailing circumstance was a contributory factor to Jacob’s exit from Laban’s employ. It had been some twenty years since Jacob teamed up with Laban. Over this period, he had carried out his assigned task with zest and zeal. Apparently, Laban was pleased, until this moment in time. Suddenly the friendly attitude of two decades turned to a frown. Jacob saw through this unfolding event, and he knew it was time to move on. Opposition can be an occasion for God to show us the next thing for our lives. We are not suggesting that we are to take to flight at the slightest opposition we encounter, but we should learn to discern when the raging wind is sent as a signal from the Lord.

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬In the last two meditations, we established two of the ways by which we can be led divinely. Firstly, God can lead us by closing certain doors. We saw that with Paul when he said there was no more room for him to execute his mandate at a certain place. Secondly, the dominant thought of our heart could be God’s way of indicating divine will. This second one is fraught with some difficulty and must be treated with caution. We know the heart is deceptive. Some desire could actually be a product of our own fertile imagination. Nursing a desire over time can turn it to a dominant thought which we can presumably take as God’s planting. The other danger arises from the fact that the devil never gets tired of counterfeiting what God is doing. He may as well put strong desire in people and coat it with divine flavor. That is why the Bible says Satan sometimes presents himself as the angel of light. This is how many believers are hooked to persons, projects, and programs ostensibly believed to be from God, but they are mistaken.

Timely counsel saved the apostle from a foolish step. It pays to listen to counsel from altruistic people.

As a precautionary measure, we should be ready to subject our inclinations to the examination of other well-meaning believers. One counsel from a mature mind can save us from a lifetime of regret. In our text, Paul was at the verge of breaking into the mob to give an explanation. His friends stopped him from what could have been a suicide mission. With all his apostolic calling and anointing, Paul could not see the danger his action would portend. Those who saw it called him to order. Timely counsel saved the apostle from a foolish step. It pays to listen to counsel from altruistic people.

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬We ended the meditation of yesterday with prayer for a discerning heart. Why is this important? It is for the fact that both Satan and the Lord can be behind a closed door. In order to respond appropriately, we must discern who is doing what. In our text, Paul complained of a hindrance he encountered from going to the brethren in Rome. That was a closed door of some sort. That was not the Lord’s doing, because he had been mandated to preach the gospel to the gentile world. That leaves us with one other source – Satan. When you know who is shutting the door, you have a more appropriate response.

Apart from shut doors, God can also indicate new direction through a persistent desire…God uses desire to guide us. If a desire is in our heart that won’t just go away, it could be it has its origin in God.

Our text is equally helpful for how God indicates His direction for our lives by opening or closing doors. From where Paul wrote this letter, he observed that he had “no more place” in those areas. In other words, he seemed to be saying that all opening to carry out ministry had been used up. All doors are now shut. That, to him, was a pointer to a new direction. Apart from shut doors, God can also indicate new direction through a persistent desire. So Paul spoke of having a great desire to go to the brethren in Rome. The desire was not a flash in the pan; it had been with him for “these many years”.God uses desire to guide us. If a desire is in our heart that won’t just go away, it could be it has its origin in God. One major difference between our whims and sincere impulse of God is in the length of time of occurrence. Our whims are usually short-lived, they are soon replaced by other fanciful ideas which in turn fade away as quickly as they appear. The mind of God tugs at our heart persistently.

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬Before my family moved to our current address, we had lived in six other locations. At one particular location, we stayed three years. It was not the best of places, as it left little space for parking and none for outdoor recreation. But we were willing to stay on anyway, hoping to transition from there to a permanent place God would provide. However, at the end of the third year the caretaker would not extend our tenancy. He claimed the son of the landlord was coming back to the country, and would be occupying the property. Door shut, end of story. We moved to another place which was ten times better than that property. Later, we were grateful that we moved as the former place was no longer a thoroughfare.

Unless that I have believed that God is in charge of all of my life’s details, I could have been bitter and fighting rejection. When next you encounter a closed door, enquire who is behind it.

More doors are closed for believers for their advantage than they can possibly imagine. In our ignorance, we soon resort to binding and losing, thinking the devil is at it again. Our text says that Jesus is the one with the key of David. Note that the key has dual functions – it opens and shuts. It is not only the devil that shuts doors, our Lord also does. Here is the difference: the devil shuts doors of opportunities and never opens any other; but the Lord shuts one door to shield us from evil and opens a better one. Unless that I have believed that God is in charge of all of my life’s details, I could have been bitter and fighting rejection. When next you encounter a closed door, enquire who is behind it.

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬When God fed His people in the wilderness, He sent them manna which they gathered everyday. Every time they had their fill, the sun dissolved the rest and they had to wait till the following day for new stock. That account reminds me of an experience that I had long ago. I once stayed in a hotel in our nation’s capital. Each of the rooms was equipped with a courtesy mini-bar. On arrival, you are greeted with courtesy drinks and snacks. Daily, the refrigerator was to be stocked with those basic things as provided in the hotel’s list of protocol. But there was this little notice fixed to the door of the refrigerator, and I didn’t quite see that until my second day at the place. In effect, the notice read that the bar would not be stocked if the previous day supply had not been consumed by 12 noon.

If we do not know that God is interested in stocking us everyday with His blessing, we will not be able to take advantage of what is rightly ours.

A few things strike me from this. I am reminded of our text which speaks of God loading us with benefits everyday. The Bible says the compassion of the Lord does not cease; and His mercies never come to an end. He makes them new every morning (Lamentation 3:22-23). Believers are to be conscious of God’s daily provision. If we do not know that God is interested in stocking us everyday with His blessing, we will not be able to take advantage of what is rightly ours. Unlike the hotel, however, God does not withdraw what He has given us simply because we did not claim it before noon. What He gives, He gives! The moment God releases something to us, He keeps prompting and leading us until we come to a point of awareness. His Spirit eggs us on until we lay a hold on our benefits. The Father’s good pleasure is that our joy is full by possessing what has been packed in redemption for us.

‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬The disciples of Jesus could not contain their joy when they returned from their mission. Excitedly, they told Jesus that even the devils were subject to them as they mentioned His name. For Jesus, that was expected and should be the least of their joy. He would rather have them rejoice in the fact that their names were written in the Book of Life. Having their names penned down in the Book of Life is what would bring them ultimate blessing.

Having their names penned down in the Book of Life is what would bring them ultimate blessing. Psalm 37:22 captures this ultimate blessing – inheriting the earth; a new earth.

Psalm 37:22 captures this ultimate blessing – inheriting the earth. Now, which earth is it talking about? Certainly it is not this present one which is marred by sin and decay. It is referring to a new earth. Hear what John said about this: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” (Revelation 21:1). In the new earth that we envisage, there will be no sickness, or death, or sorrow. There will be no night, only eternal glistering morning. Everything will bask in the glory of the risen Lord. That is what I call the ultimate blessing. In this current earth, a number of things will be granted us as consolation blessings, but the real deal is reserved for the inauguration of the new earth.