Apostle Joshua (from Rwanda)

10th December 2011

The Holy Bible is full of examples of when men receive unexpected, out-of-turn blessings from God. And each time, the blessings were birthed in doing something for His kingdom. 

Luke 7:1-10 is the story of the Roman Centurion’s servant who was sick and about to die. When the Centurion heard that our Lord Jesus was in the area, he sent some of the Jewish elders to ask Jesus to come and heal his servant. The Jewish people ‘pleaded earnestly’ (verse 4, NIV) with the Lord, saying that this man deserved to have Jesus do this for him, as he loved their nation and had built their synagogue (verse 5). The Bible records that Jesus went with them. 

What is astounding is that, here were Jewish people begging the Lord Jesus to help an oppressor. The man was a roman and a centurion, which is a commander of the roman army. The Jewish people spoke on his behalf, because they could see that the man loved them and their nation and had even played a part in the building of God’s house. God cares for His house and blesses those who bless it. That is why our Lord Jesus went with them without another word, although in Mark 7:24-30, He told a woman who was not of Jewish descent, that He had come to serve the Jewish people first and not the gentiles. Our Lord does not hesitate when it comes to the Roman Centurion who was also not a Jew. Don’t we wish that someone would speak on our behalf today? Don’t we wish that someone would recommend us to God today? We need to make sure that we have done something worthy of receiving a recommendation. 

The next story comes from Acts 10:1-7. It’s the story of Cornelius. In verse 4, God sends an angel to Cornelius with the message that his prayers and gifts to the poor have not gone unnoticed. God knew that though Cornelius prayed and gave freely, he was lost without salvation. So He instructed Cornelius to send for Peter as ‘he shall tell you what you ought to do’ (verse 6, NIV). Cornelius maximized his potential and lived his life in the most effective way – he, like most of us, had four appendages – two hands and two legs. God expects us to prayer (on our knees) and go and spread the good news (our legs). He expects us to work hard (with our right hand) and give to those who need it (with our other hand). 

And the gift that God gave him was the gift of salvation. Salvation is not Christ with us, but Christ within us. When Christ comes within you, He comes to kill your appetite for the world. God comes to give us position rather than possession. Who we are will determine what we possess. God has given us His Name, His matchless Name. His Name gives us position, not possession. Saul, before he became king, was looking for his donkey. But God was looking for a king. Samuel told Saul that God had chosen him to be king and when he obeyed, the donkey’s will return. When Saul accepted the position that God had given him, his possessions followed.

In Hebrews 7:7-10, God reveals an important principle in serving Him. He will not forget efforts that we have put in, in serving Him and His House. He didn’t forget what Nehemiah had done. He didn’t forget what Abraham had done. Abraham gave a tenth of all he received to Melchizedek, who resembled the Son of God, Jesus Christ, as though he was paying his tithes to him. Four generations later, Levi, one of the descendents from Abraham was chosen to collect tithes from the other Israelites. What was given by Abraham, was given back a hundred fold to his descendents. God will not forget the good we have done for His kingdom. Praise God!