The promise of the Lord.
               By Dr. Alex Olugbami. 

               

*FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK* 

 Topic : THE PROMISE OF THE LORD

(Part I)

 Text : 2 Peter 3: 9

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

This amazing scripture is an eye opener for everyone who intends to understand the dynamics of the promise of the Lord. Undoubtedly, and undisputedly God is not man when it comes to His promise (Numbers 23: 19).

Man may promise and refuse to keep his promise but God is faithful land keeps whatever He says. The bible says He is immutable, in other words He cannot lie so his promises concerning you is yea and Amen. 

However, a proper understanding of the person of God will lead us into a true understanding of His promise because his promise is a reflection of his very nature as we see in the standard text. One thing that stands out is the word Longsuffering (Patience), this very nature of God defines his promises. What does this mean? It simply means that God is longsuffering towards them that he has promised. What does this mean again? It means that God always prepare every man to wait on Him, similarly acquiring His nature of longsuffering that He might prepare such before He fulfills the promise. This is very paramount because many had been destroyed by receiving what they were not prepared for, no wonder the standard text says “ _not willing that any should perish_ ”. Why would God’s fulfilled promise destroy a man?

A man would perish when He is not fully prepared for the promise when he has not acquired the virtue patience. The scripture says, _the prosperity of fools shall destroy them_ (Proverbs 1: 32), this means physical prosperity without a corresponding soul prosperity (3 John 2) leads to destruction. God doesn’t want this for his elect therefore, He prepares them ready in patience or longsuffering before He fulfill His promises. Therefore, He is not slack or slow, He is just mindful of us so that we will not be destroyed by the promise.

There is a very important phrase I'll like to leave you with as we discuss the promise of the LORD. And this is “ _Every promise, that God ultimately fulfills for His very elect, a living sacrifice is a bait because the fulfilled promise ultimately becomes a sacrifice_ ”. Therefore, God is always in the business of weaning His own from His promise, in other words his intention is to take his own away from focusing on the promise but rather to focus on Him, the LORD who gave the promise. 

I have heard many quote this popular scripture, “ _when hope is deferred the heart may go sour_ ” (Prov 13: 12).

Is there anything like deferred hope? In the context of all we have been discussing, the truth is because we are in time, we have not understood the person of God, vis a vis his nature of longsuffering, we have been promise-centric not God-centric we therefore unconsciously count time for God and because God is not in time, our heart goes into weariness and consequently becomes sour. The commonest cause of reprobacy and apostasy today in the Christian fold is traceable to a so-called delayed promise from LORD.

As we conclude this part, I admonish you all to strive to know the person of God and never to be weary in waiting upon Him, He is never too late, and He had already finished all his works which means all the promises are already fulfilled (Ecclesiastes  3: 14, 15).

It is imperative for every believer to learn to wait upon the LORD that they may renew their strength that they may run and they may not go weary, that they may walk and not faint. (Isa 40: 31)

The strength to wait is in finding/ discovering Joy in the knowledge of the person of God (Neh 8: 10). For there are 3 that bear witness in this kingdom; Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost. The last of these 3, Joy is the most important requirement to receive the promise of the LORD for as long as there is Joy, longsuffering and patience will be a virtue in the same vessel. In other words, because of the abundance of Joy he will not count time, therefore his heart will not go weary or sour as the case may be.

When God fulfills His promise for Abraham after waiting for 100 years to receive Isaac the same God requested that the fulfilled promise becomes a sacrifice (Gen 22: 2). This is a very important lesson for every elect of God who intends to walk with Him that there must be no attachment to anything that God promises or eventually fulfills at any point in your life. With this understanding it is therefore easy to say even if he refuses to do what He said He will do, He remaineth my God, just like the three Hebrew boys and King Nebuchadnezzar. Remember, that the king’s eye opened overnight because of the expression of faith from the three Hebrew boys. They said, O! King, we are not careful in answering your question, even if our God refuses to save or deliver us, we will not still bow. It was at this point that they moved God to manifest as the fourth man in the midst of the increased fire in the furnace that the king saw in the morning and that made him to bow to their God.

 In conclusion, for today always remember this that your attitude, your confession and your disposition can either increase and decrease kingdom population. God bless you.

We will continue with the next part of our series in subsequent teachings.

©2019. DABAR PUBLICATIONS

                   Prophetic Ministry.

Life of Intergrity

The Lost Sheep

Church of the First Born

Blessings of the Womb

Reformation!

 

Spiritual Authority.

Power of a Servant.

Understanding God's Will

Dangers in Idols.

Dabar Summit.

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       I was just a teenager the First time I listened to him. He had been invited for a conference and I remember while he presented the message, I was pondering over every line uttered by this man. They hit me like:
 "Wow!" so much so that I thought, after the program I would personally thank him for being such a selfless tool for service! The Conference ended and I missed him because everyone just wanted time with him.
  Well, I just consoled myself that "Maybe next time."
    Years after, here we are getting to know more about him and his eighteen years in ministry thus far.
   Quite a revealing chat E Plus, The Storyteller Youtube Channel had with Dr Alex Olugbami*
Noted for his profound and impactful teachings,
Dr Alex Olugbami is the Voice behind
Dabar Christian Centre(DCC).
Click and listen to the 
revealing experience of this outstanding Leader, Mentor and Teacher on
E Plus, The Storyteller YouTube Channel.
Remain Blessed
https://youtu.be/5ukOCmLcbEQ


The Church of the First Born!
By Dr. Alex Olugbami. From the Pastor's Desk ...
👇
https://youtu.be/Qm8LvRA_zB4

Giants in our assembly Today!
Another Focus on the series of
The Church of The First Born with Dr Alex Olugbami, The Voice behind Dabar Christian centre.
You don't want to miss this!👍

 https://youtu.be/KdULq6I0xd8


Now, since the Church is not a structure or ediface and we do understand  the Church to be us (The very elect of Christ who is the head of the church) it is also established that we are essentially created by God to reign and rule, just like we have been created in His own image.
    Then, why the many controversies surrounding the Church and governance?

Why do the Church consider Politics as evil?

What is the place of the Church  in nation building?

What are the likely implications, if the Church remains passive in Nation building?

   Find out more on our regular program "From The Pastor's Desk with Dr Alex Olugbami...
Click here to watch and listen!

https://youtu.be/IhrNzH-rMLQ

  Remain blessed