8 Then the angel said to him [Peter], “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.”
9 So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.
[Acts 12:8&9]
There are times that God shows up in spectacular fashion and it’s as if you’re dreaming. Sometimes, life looks hopeless and nothing seems to be working. The more effort you put in the less result you get. There are moments in life when everything seems to be against you and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. You may have even given up and put your life on auto pilot. Then all of a sudden, God shows up on the scene and one breakthrough follows another. All of a sudden, life is blooming once again; as if you were in the Garden of Eden.
It’s in such moments that you understand the Psalmistwhen he says:
When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with singing; then they said among the nations, Jehovah has done great things with them. Great things did Jehovah to work with us and we are glad. (Psalm 126: 1-3). As Patience Nyarko sings “Obi nyani me… Ɛyε me sεεdayεso” This simply means “Someone should wake me up… It’s as if I’m dreaming”
From the Scripture above, Peter was in such a horrendous situation. All hopes of deliverance seemed lost. In a few hours, he was going to be executed. All the prayers prayed seemed to have gone unanswered. Maybe he had even prayed to commit his soul and spirit to his Maker and was imagining how he was going to receive a hero’s welcome in heaven. He might have been signing the hymn “I am coming Lord, coming now there…” He thought he was dreaming when the thing was filly-filly. It looked too good to be true. No matter how much faith you have, God is still able to surprise you and you leave you struck in awe of Him. Just as you think you know so much of how operates, He opens a new chapter altogether. He told Moses, “I am the God of all flesh, I there anything too hard for me? Apostle Paul says “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! (Romans 11:33)
May the Lord turn our lives around in similar manner. May Lord do in our livesthat which isexceedingly, abundantly, above all that you can ever ask or imagine. Dreams do come to pass. May all the good dreams become realities. The Lord surprise us beyond our wildest imagination.
May God give you a life changing visitation that will last from now till eternity in the Name of Jesus. You’re blessed. Amen.
INEXPLICABLE MIRACLES
10 When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the Iron Gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.
[Acts 12:10]
There are times in life when you know that as for this or that situation, unless God intervenes, you’re doomed. That was the kind of situation in which Peter found himself. Being released from prison cell wasn’t the end of the matter. How to escape from the prison yard completely was another challenge on its own. As we read, Peter and the angel went past two gates until they came to the Iron Gate. It was huge. Gates in those days were really huge. There was no way Peter could push it open; neither did he have the key. It was another hopeless situation. If the hadn’t open, the angelic intervention would be useless. It would amount to raising Peter’s hope only to dash it. In that case it would have been better to be left alone to die in prison the next day.
But see notice what happened. The gigantic Iron Gate opened on its own accord! That reminds me of CeceWinan’s song that “His strength is perfect when our strength is gone”. Mary Magdalene and the rest of the women were also in similar situation. They wondered who would roll away the big stone placed on the tomb of Jesus. But by the time they got there, an angel had rolled the stone away and sat on it.
We also face such situations from time to time. You get admission for your dream school and for your dream course, and then you start thinking how you’ll pay your fees. You get a breakthrough and begin to wonder how you’re going to maintain it.
But God is a miracle working God. Once He starts with you, He’d end it. God says of Himself “For I am the LORD, I change not…” It’s also written, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). Throughout the Bible and in contemporary times, God has specialised in doing that which is way above what humans can do. This cancels all arguments as to whether it was really God at work or not. He doesn’t want to share His glory with anyone, you know. Anytime we face impossible situations, we don’t have to despair like people who don’t know God; it rather another opportunity to receive testimonies of God’s goodness.
May the Lord intervene for you when the situation is beyond your human capabilities. May every Iron Gate of sickness, delays, disappointment and every impossible situation give way in the Name of Jesus. May angel of the Lord roll away every stone that’s blocking our path of progress. It’s not by might, neither by power, but by the Spirit. May the Lord provide for you and put testimony in your mouth. Amen.
More Than Dreams (2)
11 And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”
[Acts 12:11]
At first Peter thought he was just having a good dream. The manner of the deliverance looked too good to be true; but it was so true! It wasn’t only Peter that was pleasantly surprised. Even those offering prayers constantly on his behalf were surprised too. We may even say they were “shock-prised”.
As I’ve said in the previous message, no matter the level of your faith, God will always do things that will surprise you. There were times I asked God for something and I tried to figure out all the possible routes God would use; then He uses a totally different method and I’m left wondering. He has inexhaustible methods of doing the same thing.
The late Archbishop Benson Idahosa talked about how God restored the eyes of a boy in Kenya in one of his crusades. The boy was born without eyeballs in the sockets- just two gaping holes where the eyeballs should have been. However, the boys mum had unflinching faith he was going to be healed by the man of God and she had what she wanted. If I still recollect properly, it was a three-day crusade. The boy’s mum would come at the end of every meeting to remind the Man of God about her son. Idahosa’s plan was that after the final day of the programme, he would leave the stage before the meeting ended officially. When he told the people to close their eyes to afford him the opportunity to run away, he said the boy’s mum screaming, “He can see! Idahosa, he can see!” According to him, as the boy’s mum was drawing closer to him, Idahosa was also going backwards. He wasn’t really sure of what was happening. To the glory of God, the boy’s two eyes were supernaturally fitted and were functioning properly.It was beyond what the man of God imagined. He’s an amazing God you know.
God has spare parts in heaven, you know. When we pray and call the miracle into existence, angels are dispatched to bring the body part required. They do supernatural surgery that is fast, at no cost and with no side effects. That’s our God.
Now, may the same God that rescued Peter from Herod and the expectation of the Jews answer you from His Holy sanctuary. May He deliver you from the expectations of anyone who is waiting to say “I told you so”. May He disappoint the devices of the crafty so their hands won’t be able to perform their enterprises in the Name of Jesus. Those who are eagerly waiting to hear some evil news about you will greatly be dismayed. May every stumbling block become a stepping stone for us in the wonderful Name of Jesus. Amen.