By Pastor William F. Kumuyi

Psalms 34:8 “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”

Kumuyi

The Psalmist had per sonal encounter with God and experienced His awesome nature in the most profound way. This informed his bold decision to call as many, who are seriously in dire need of recovery in life, to come and also partake in the wonders of God.

His call goes out to every soul that is hungry and desirous of permanent change meant to bring genuine and lasting solution to the problems of life. The call goes to you that is there right now. Come, taste and see the goodness of God. God has a ready made antidote for those challenges bedevilling you and your family. You can discover it for yourself today, if you will only heed to this clarion call directed towards you.

The invitation of the Psalmist stems from his first hand experience and knowledge of the benevolent will power of God to steer humans clear from the path of danger and difficulties into the path of safety as occasion demands.

That is the very reason he is encouraging you to try God because he knows that God is very good at solving our problems. Simply put, God is an expert in that field of study; and He is most willing to save you from whatever boiling point situation you may find yourself. If you should talk about healing, He is good at doing just that; and if it is deliverance, He is also exceptional in delivering you from the many great dangers the devil has placed in your pathway to greatness.

The Psalmist discovered it for himself during his reign as king in Israel. You too can experience it in your life today.
Psalms 34:8 “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”

All that is required is for you to put your trust in God. Excuse me, let me remind you that in time past, you have put your confidence in man or in material possessions like money or may be in a woman, thinking that you will be aided by them, but to no avail you got burnt and have suffered varying degrees of disappointments. But if you put your trust in God today, He will be of great service to you.

If you put your trust in God and allow Him to work His wonders in your life, the power of God will overshadow you and you will experience total recovery. I want to assure you today that the moment you take that right decision God is demanding from you, it will catapult into a complete state of recovery for you and your family.

Now you must pay kin attention, because for you to enjoy this goodness of God I have been talking about, you have to play a very significant role. That is, you must accept the offer of friendship the Son of God is extending to you.

The Son of God is also known as the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the express image of the Almighty God. He came from heaven to represent God the Father and to show us how good God can be and how we can get to meet with Him. He was anointed with the power of the Holy Ghost and went to many localities doing good as well as healing all that were oppressed of the devil. Eventually, He was crucified and died for our sins so that we will not remain in the bondage of sin and suffering.

Also read: Righteousness is for the good of all

The moment the power of God takes its’ effect in your life, you will become a specimen of a great miracle: you will experience salvation from sin, which will make you righteous and straighten out your character. After that, other secondary miracles and privileges will follow in quick succession.
As these goodly blessings of God begin to take shape in your life, laughter will become your other name. You will rejoice. I congratulate you because of what God will do in your life today.
To become a partaker of these mouthwatering benefits that come from the throne of grace, you must nurse a desire to live a better and a fulfilled life. When you nurture that desire, it will become a sudden surge or catalyst that will spike you and your family into a better future.
I know something about those people who do not have desire. They do not move or act when you ask them to. They just remain static, motionless and indifferent to situations around them. But I charge you to wake up from your sleepy position. Wake up to reality because good news has come and today will not be like the yesterday of the past, which brought doom and gloom to you and your family.
Wake up! Arise. This coming week will not be like last week. The beginning of the year will not be like last year for you. This year you will be the man of action and you will obtain complete and full salvation. You will be the man of success and with the glory of God. Wake up and desire.
There was someone in the Bible who heard about the great deeds of Jesus and afterwards, he began to crave longings and strong desire see Jesus. I mean, to have an encounter with Him. That desire was fulfilled when Jesus paid a visit to his community. In fact, the moment he got to know that the Lord had entered into his community and that He was passing by his vicinity, he decided to do the needful.
To be continued

Luke 19:1-3 “And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.”

There are people, today, just like Zacchaeus, who are longing to see the Lord, but because they are short, they find it difficult. If you think that you are tall, then raise up your hand and you will find out that still it will not get to heaven. Though I am not talking about your physical stature, but the spiritual: all the same, you are still short at both ends.

The Bible has a better definition for that scenario. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

It means that if you are into any form of immorality – be it fornication, adultery, pornograhy, incest – and or occultism, alcoholism, gambling/sport betting, smoking, kidnappings and other forms of stealing, then you have dug yourself this deep into sin and that you are now very far away from God; and because God is holy and you are unholy, and He is good but you are evil: you need someone to bridge that gap between God and you. Until you realize this all important issue, just as Zacchaeus did, you will still remain far away from God and attract His judgment.

But Zacchaeus did not allow his stature become a stumbling block in his path to divine encounter. You may be short in your own way, but if you put your limitations aside, you too will enjoy the great taste in having an encounter with the God of possibilities. He will not pass you by. You will experience it in Jesus name.

The truth must be told. You must demand for God. This is because without demand, there will not be a supply. If you do not ask from God, you will not receive from Him. If you fold your hands and you close your eyes, but you fail to pray to God, when you should be praying, Manna will not fall from heaven. But thank God that you will pray; and as you do, heaven will demonstrate and you will get something today. I say, you will have it in Jesus name! Amen.

Luke 19:4 “And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. ”

Zacchaeus was a rich man and wildly known by the people because he was the chief tax-collector in Jericho. He must have suffered a lot of insults from the commoners due to his tactics of collecting taxes from the people. Yet, his focus did not stray away from the price and that was the reason he had to run.

He did not care about his dignity, especially because he saw God as the ultimate search. So, he did not bother about what prating words babblers will be engaged in due to his sensational move. But there are some people who carry their dignity too far even in the presence of God. They carry their self respect and personal honour to the extreme. To the extent that when Jesus wants to save and or heal them and bring heaven into their soul, they let their dignity stand in the way.

But Zacchaeus had other ideas and did not let his societal position truncate his desire for God. And I know that nothing will hinder you too. You will see Jesus today.

Luke 19:4-5 “And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.”

Praise the Lord Jesus is coming to your place right now. He will not pass you by. I cannot begin to describe to you how much He loves you (for He sure loves you) and how much he wants to favour you. And how He really wants you to share in the joy of experiencing the goodness of heaven.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

You will not perish because He will save you today. Even if you are as despised, notorious and dirty-handedly rich as Zacchaeus, He will still save you. I know this because He saved Zacchaeus and also the thief at the cross. So, you see, you will not be an exception.

Luke 19:5 “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.”

You may think that Jesus does not know you by name, but, to state the obvious, as in the case of Zacchaeus, He knows every detail of your life. He knows your name. He also knows your needs and He knows that you are right here. He is calling you right now. He wants you to come out from the life of sin. Heed His call and disassociate yourself from sin. I know you can do it. I know you will do it. I see somebody there getting saved today and that person is you. Praise the Lord, it is happening.

Luke 19:6 “And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.”
Zacchaeus left his past misdeeds behind him, confessed his sins, repented of them and yielded his life to the Lord. You too can emulate these decisive steps taken by this sincere seeker.

And the words of Jesus became the crowning jewel, which confirmed that Zacchaeus was saved from sin. Luke 19:9 “And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.”

Today, salvation will come to your heart. You will experience what it means to be saved from sin. Today, you will be saved. All you need do is to surrender your life to Jesus. Make Him the Lord of your life.
Receive Him and He will forgive your sins.

It is the hour for your salvation because the Saviour has come to town. Do not let this important moment pass you by. Seize the opportunity because it is the moment of eternal life. Providence has come to you from heaven.

Just play your part and leave the rest for God, and heaven will act out something in your life. You will see the hand of God upon you today as you take the all important decision.

Bow your head and tell him that you know that you are a sinner; that sin has made you so short that you cannot on your own touch heaven. But you have seen a bridge in Him because He is the only ladder that can get you to God.

Confess your sins to Him and pledge never to return to sin any more. Ask Him to forgive you; accept Him as your Saviour and He will save you.

If you have followed those steps, then you are saved because He has done it. Congratulations.