GOSHEN - PRESENCE OF GOD, PROTECTION OF GOD, PROVISION OF GOD & PROSPERITY OF GOD

During the morning watches leading up to Jan 2016, there were so many predictions made in the newspapers of economic doom and gloom that I sought the Lord fervently about this and this message came clearly to me for 2016: SEEK TO DWELL IN GOSHEN 

Goshen means to draw near to God

During the time of Exodus, the nation of Egypt was plagued by ten plagues one after another thus resulting in their economy being in utter shambles. Yet through all the plagues the nation of Israel remained divinely protected.

Where were they dwelling that gave them this divine protection?

1.  Presence of God

Joseph asked the children of Israel (they, their children, their children’s children, flocks and herds) to stay in the land of Goshen which is near to him. To be near to Joseph was like being near to God because Joseph was like a savior sent to save the children of Israel from poverty.

Joseph is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Spiritual Goshen is a place for us to be near to the Lord Jesus Christ where He will take care of our families and our possessions and all that we own as we surrender ourselves to Him.

Gen 45:10

“You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds and all that you have”

Goshen means to 'draw near'. In order to dwell in the spiritual Goshen we need to draw near to God so that we can dwell continuously in the Presence of God.

How do we draw near to God?  We are brought near to God with the blood of Jesus Christ. Thus it is a work of grace.

Eph 2:13

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ”

What should our spiritual posture be?

With the full assurance of faith and with our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.

Hebrews 10:22

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water”

Drawing near to God will ensure that we will always be kept in the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus.

James 4:8

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts you double-minded”

To draw near to God is to put our trust in God and to make us a testimony to others.

Psalm 73:28

“But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all Your works”

2.  Provision of God

In Goshen, Joseph gave them the promise that they will not lack:

Gen 45:11

“There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine”

When God provides, He provides for our entire household and protects all our possessions.

3.  Protection of God

God protected the children of Israel from the economic effects of the 10 plagues.

1^st plague – River turned to blood. Imagine the economic disaster. All the crops will die. Today we see seas turning into red threatening the livelihood of fishermen.

2^nd plague – River brought forth frogs.

3^rd plague – Dust became lice

4^th plague – Flies came into the land but the Goshen was not attacked by flies (Ex 8:22)

5^th plague – Livestock plague but the livestock of the children of Israel were not attacked by the plague (Ex 9:4)

6^th plague – Boils

7^th plague – Hail but where the children of Israel dwell there was no hail (Ex 9:26)

9^th plague – Darkness but in Goshen all of the children of Israel had light in their dwellings (Ex 10:26)

10^th plague – Death of the firstborn

None of the plagues came upon those who dwell in Goshen. Let us trust God to protect us, our children and children’s children and all our possessions this coming year.

4.  Prosperity of God

God prospered the children of Israel on the eve of their departure from Egypt.

Exodus 12:35

“Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold and clothing. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians”

5 Promises for 2016 - Received on 31 December 2015

5 Promises for 2016 – Received on 31

 December 2015

The Lord gave me this 5 promises on the 

last day of 2016. I was reading the last 

chapter of the last book of the Bible on the 

last morning watch of 2015 and the promises

came clearly from Revelation 22. 

Although it was the last chapter of the last 

book of the Bible, it was exploding with great 

promises for my life for the new year! 

So it was actually proclaiming the promises 

of a new beginning for me.

Simply awesome....so I prayed it out for

myself and for the church...

1.   Flowing with rivers of the water of life

Revelation 22:1

“And he showed me a pure river of water of 

life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the 

throne of God and of the Lamb.”

John 7:38 “He who believes in Me, as the 

Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow 

rivers of living water”

LORD JESUS I pray that this year the pure 

river of the water of life will flow out from me 

clear as crystal nourishing not only myself but

also all of my family members. Amen.

2.   Fruit from the tree of life every day for the next 12 months of 2016

Revelation 22:2

“In the middle of its street, and on either side 

of the river, was the tree of life, which bore 

twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every 

month. The leaves of the tree were for healing

of the nations”

Revelation 22:14

“Blessed are those who do His 

commandments that they may have the 

right to the tree of life, and may enter

through the gates of the city”

Psalm 1:2-3

“but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in

His law he meditates day and night. He shall

be like a tree planted by the rivers of water 

that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose

leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he 

does shall prosper”

LORD JESUS I pray that this year, I will grow

the tree of life in the garden of my life by 

meditating on the Word of God. May I bear 

fruit every month (fruit of souls, fruit of 

disciples) and may the leaves of the tree of 

life bring healing to the nations/people 

groups that you bring me in touch with. Amen.

Things that hinder us from enjoying the 

fruit of the tree of life:

Revelation 22:15

“But outside are dogs and sorcerers and 

sexually immoral and murderers and 

idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie”

In order to enjoy the fruit of the tree of life, we

need to consciously forsake every filthiness or

uncleanness (“dogs), selfishness or pride 

(“sorcerers”), sexual immorality, murders 

(“anger, bitterness, hatred towards another

person is almost like murdering the other 

person”)*, putting other things as more

important than God (“idolaters”) and lying 

(“whoever loves and practices a lie”)

*Matthew 5:21-22

“You have heard that it was said to those of 

old, “You shall not murder and whoever 

murders will be in danger of the judgment.” 

But I say to you that whoever is angry with his

brother without cause shall be in danger of 

the judgment….”

LORD JESUS help me to forsake all sin and 

iniquity, strongholds of the mind that seek to

disqualify me from enjoying the fruit of the 

tree of life. Amen.

3.   Fellowship with God face to face

Revelations 22:4

“They shall see His face, and His name shall

be on their foreheads.”

LORD JESUS may I always see your face 

and bear Your name on my foreheads. May I 

hunger and thirst after You every day of 2016.

Amen.

4.   Full of the hope of His second coming

Revelations 22:12

“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My 

reward is with Me, to give to every one 

according to His wok. I am the Alpha and the

Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First 

and the Last”

LORD JESUS fill me with a awesome sense of destiny. I long and yearn for your second coming. Prepare me and my church to be pure and holy as the Bride of Christ. Amen.

5.   Fully dependent on the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ

Revelations 22:21

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with

 you all. Amen"

LORD JESUS I need YOUR GRACE to be all 
of the above in 2016. Pour forth YOUR GRACE more and more in my life and the lives of my family members and the church of the Lord Jesus Christ where You have planted me. Amen.

REACHING OUT IN THE WORKPLACE - PREPARE IN PRAYER

Evangelism begins with preparation.

Just as a fisherman prepares himself with nets, baits and fishing tackles before he goes fishing, so we too need to prepare ourselves when reaching out.

All preparation to reach out begins with prayer.

Jesus said in Matthew 9:37-38 "Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest"

It is the Lord's harvest thus there should not be a problem for us to reach out to the lost.  The only pre-condition is for us to "pray" to the Lord to move the heart of the harvesters. Noticed that the harvest is the Lord's, the laborers/harvesters are also the Lord's thus all evangelistic efforts belong to the Lord! So we can truly RELAX in reaching out to the lost.

Other than prayer preparation, we would also need to prepare to be friendly. Prov 18:24 "A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother"

The easiest way to be friendly is to SMILE. A smile symbolized friendliness and warmth. A smile invites more smiles from others. A smile speaks more words in warmth and friendliness than the hundreds of words that we can speak. Indeed each smile is an invitation to be friendly. 

In fact a smile can be intentional and purposeful as well. A smile is a sign of victory. A smile when we are depressed has the magical effect of uplifting our spirit.

1 Sam 2:1 "And Hannah prayed and said, "My heart rejoices in the Lord, My horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in Your salvation"

Job 9:27 "If I say "I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face and wear a smile"

Indeed a smile will also help us to forget our complaints and our problems. I must try this the next time, my boss were to scold me or the next time I am sad or depressed. Even when under spiritual attack, try smiling! We are laughing at our enemies.

The third preparation is to do good works. Doing good works never fail to give us a platform to share the Gospel. 

I remember how I helped a good friend with finances when she was in need. 

I remember how I prayed for a friend in the office when she encountered problems with her boss. When the prayer was answered she was so thankful for me that she agreed to accompany to FGBMF meetings held in the hotel nearby. She later accepted Christ and brought her whole family to the Lord.

I remember how I shared Christ with my sister when she confided her problems in her marriage. I actually led her to say the sinner's prayer over the phone.

Just recently the tea lady in my work-place became a widow. Her marriage was not registered so HR asked my advice. They wanted the marriage certificate to prove her marriage so that they could give her a compassionate allowance of RM500. They asked her to do up a statutory declaration on her marital status. They asked me how much a lawyer would charge. I said probably RM500 plus. However I could do it for her for free. So I prepared the declaration for her and introduced a Commissioner for Oaths nearby who also refused to charge her anything more than RM6!

She was so grateful to me that she became very open to my invitation to her to come for Christmas! She also started buying papayas for me (my favorite fruit).

Doing good works softened people's heart to receive the Gospel. It prepares them to be open and receptive to what we have to share to them.

Titus 3:14 "And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful"

Always be ready to do good works when the opportunity arise. Carpe diem! Seize the opportunity when it arises. 

Finally prepare with evangelistic materials, tracts and invitations to church. God will make a way for us as long as we remain prayerful, friendly and ready to help others in need.

MOTHER

MOTHER

MOTHER

M= Many roles, many responsibilities.

A mother cleans the house, washes the clothes, cooks the meals, drives the children around and takes care of the family. A mother is also a friend, and counselor. You have many responsibilities in the family. How busy is a mother! From morning till late night, you are very busy around the house.

I think a mother is like a superwoman. You can do many things at one time. Do you agree with me? You are special and precious because of this.

You are also holding many roles, wearing many hats. You are someone’s wife, someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, someone’s aunt. Some mothers are also somebody’s employee or somebody’s boss.

Truly there is no one like a mother who can do so many things at one time.

O = One and only

We only have one mother in our lifetime. We can have god-mothers and step-mothers, mothers-in-law but we can only have one mother and be only one mother to our children.

A mother is precious. You are precious because there is only one  like you and you cannot be replaced.

T  = Tender

The mother’s heart is the tenderest of all the hearts on earth.

The story is told in the Bible about King Solomon, the wisest man on earth. There is no such man as wise as Solomon since his time because one night in a dream God appeared to him and asked him what he wanted. He said he wanted wisdom to rule his country because he was young and he had a great nation of people to take care. God gave him his wish. One day 2 woman came to him with their babies. One mother held a dead baby and the other a live one. Both were prostitutes. Both were fighting over the baby that was alive.

The mothers told the king that one night they had given birth to babies at the same time but one of them rolled over the baby and the baby died. So to which mother belongs the baby that was alive? Both were fighting to claim the baby. Suddenly the wise king asked to bring a sword. He said “Cut the baby into 2 and gave one half to each of the mothers!” Immediately the real mother cried “No give him to the other woman. Don’t let him die” At the moment King Solomon knew who the real mother was.

H = Heart

Have you heard about the mother who protected her daughter from robbers so that she could run away to save herself? The mother was attacked by robbers while jogging with her daughter. She told her daughter to run and get help. Meanwhile the robbers stabbed her to death. They thought she carried money but actually she was not. Her daughter was saved from the robbers because she asked her daughter to run away.

Have you heard of Angelina Jolie who decided to have her breasts removed due to an 80% chance of getting breast cancer when she did not have it yet? Angelina said that she did it so that she could live longer to see her children grow up and to see her grandchildren.

There is a story of the China earthquake. Rescuers found a dead woman holding up the falling house. Beneath her is a basket containing a small baby. Next to the baby a hand phone with the message “If you survive you must remember that I love you” The baby was rescued but the mother died protecting him.

How can we describe a mother’s heart? She will give all of herself, even her own life, to save her family members. This is your heart, a big and sacrificial heart.

E = Eveready

How many of you mothers remember the time when your children come to you and ask you to help them sew their buttons? How many of you remember when your children come to you with cuts and burns? How many of you will quickly get the needle or the medicine for your children.

You are always there to help your children even when you don’t know how to help them.

R = Role model with Real Love

We are like a role models in our family.

If your mother constantly do charitable works and give to others of her money and her resources, you will also teach your children to be giving like her. If your mother loves animals and treat them well, you will most likely allow your children to keep pets in your home.

If your mother is a lawyer or businesswoman, you will most likely follow in her footsteps. If your mother is very clean, chances are you will also want your children to be very clean. If your mother likes to eat vegetables or is a vegetarian you will also cook a lot of vegetables for your family.

As a mother our job is very important, to be a good role model for our children and a good example for them to follow.

A mother is the only one person in the world who truly understands her children. We are the only person in the world who will accept our children as they are. We gave birth to them, nursed them and brought them up. 

Cleaned their poop, shower them, gave them breast-milk, spent sleepless nights taking care of them , accompanied them in hospitals, cried over them when they broke their legs or arms, went with them on their  first day in school, put cold towels on their heads when you have raging fever…a mother truly cannot be replaced. 

Her heart is full of REAL LOVE.

Happy Mother’s Day.