Lara Gboyega Adedeji: Hello friends and welcome to Bible in Focus we are so excited to have you join us today on another exciting episode of Bible in focus. Stay tuned as we bring God's word your way that will lift you, inspire you and set you on the part of your destiny. You're welcome.
Gboyega Adedeji: Alright, we are going to be looking at the book of Proverbs 18. There is something we must learn from that beautiful verse of the Bible. I'm sure it is a familiar Scripture for many people, but the light of God is able to even make it clearer for us. So, let's go straight to Proverbs 18:10. The Bible says:” the name of the LORD is a strong tower the righteous run to it and are safe.”
Lara Gboyega Adedeji: The name of the LORD is a safe refuge. The name of the LORD is a sure hiding place, you can’t miss it. It’s there, it’s established. But there is a prerequisite. There's something in that verse that puts responsibility on us. God is faithful, He doesn't change. His name is a strong tower. But the Bible says “the righteous” those that are qualified to run into that name are called the righteous. So, for you to have the experience of what the name offers, you have to be the righteous. So, who are those that are called the righteous? As many as have received the Lord Jesus as their Lord and Savior the Bible says “they are the righteousness of God in Christ in Christ Jesus.”
So, you are the righteous, and the Bible says you are not just the righteous to stay aloof and just watch, but you are the righteous that run into it. So, you have a responsibility of running or pursuing after the name of the Lord, on calling on the name of the Lord or positioning yourself in a way that you are able to secure in the name of the Lord. So, it says the righteous run… running is an activity, it is action or to better put it, it is an action word. So, you can’t be doing action and be standing idle. So you are engaging. So, the Bible says the righteous engage the name. The righteous engage the name, the righteous puts the name to work. They put it to work, they engage. And the Bible says they run into it and are safe. Their destiny is guaranteed, their future is secured. So, the name of the LORD can give you the guarantee of security, because it's a safe refuge, it is a strong tower. The quality of that name, the representation of it is such that it gives you guarantee of safety, but there is a responsibility on us.
Gboyega Adedeji: The tower does not run to you; you have a responsibility to run into the tower. So, don't blame the tower for your own defeat or for your own injuries or for the dangers of your life. If something harmful happens to you, then it means that you have neglected the responsibility of running into to the name. So, you were wishing and praying that the name we run into you but the Word of God which is the wisdom of God is you should run into the name.
Lara Gboyega Adedeji: The Bible says: “ask and you will receive, seek and you will find…” you don't do those things standing idle. You just don't say I'm the righteous and you just stay there as the righteous, you must engage. Jesus said “those that ask receive…”
Gboyega Adedeji: Remember the Bible also says faith without works is dead. Your faith is that aspect of you that makes you righteous with God. Now your righteousness without your action word is dead being alone. So, if you are indeed the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, how you must prove that is by your actions, what you do. Do you wish for your circumstance to change? Do you complain, do you weep? Do you cry? Or do you go about begging people in your situation or do you run into the name of the Lord? It's also important for us to remember that the name of the Lord is not separate from the LORD. The name of the LORD is part of God; the name of the LORD is the LORD Himself.
So, you cannot separate me from my name because I’m one with my name. So, running into the name of the LORD is running to the LORD. So, when you are in a trouble or you see trouble coming ahead of you, what do you do you? Do you run towards God? Do you pursue God, or you pursue the alternatives that you have always trusted, growing up? And then you now say, “but I'm a Christian, I’m a believer. Why are all these things are happening to me? Is God not seeing them?” God is seeing, but God was waiting for you. He said “call unto me and I will answer” and so if you do not call unto Him, you cannot blame Him for not answering. That is the responsibility that I perceive very strongly that the Lord has given to us.
Of course, be a believer, in addition to your belief, in addition to your faith, your righteousness, you must add to pursuit. Seek the Lord. The Bible says: seek the Lord when he may be found. And in fact, in the book of Ecclesiastes, the Bible talks about the youth that there is a time that you must remember the Lord your Creator, in the days of your youth. That is the responsibility we are to be God-Chasers. Seek God. When you are in a storm, don't be overwhelmed by the storm. Seek God in the midst of that storm.
So, when you seek God, in fact the word is when you see Him first, you see Him with your eyes, the next thing is you seek Him. So, when Peter said, Jesus, if you are the one; ask me to come and Jesus said come, and he was coming, and he began to sink afterwards when he lost his focus. And so, imagine him saying, Lord, help me without first seeing Jesus? He had to see Jesus and then he sought for safety from Him.
Lara Gboyega Adedeji: So, Peter saw the Lord doing something, he saw something he wanted, something he desired. And he started seeking it. He said, Lord, if it's you bid me to come. So, he asked. He didn't just see Jesus and enjoy it and say, oh, wow, see the Lord walking on water.
Gboyega Adedeji: He was not wishing in his heart If this my Christianity is real, am I not also supposed to be working on water? It was even his own responsibility to put his faith to work. So in life, we have a responsibility to put our faith to work. Whatever God has said concerning you can be, but must you must test it. Put it to test. In fact, you must read in the Bible where God says, Put me to test. So if you test God, if you test the things God has said, if you put the word of God to the test, God does not see you as a doubter. God sees you as one who wants to have the right basis for his or her faith. And when you have the basis for your faith, you are not moved, no matter the storm, you are not moved. And that's the responsibility: the name of the LORD is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and are safe.
You can be saved also today, but you must make that decision not to sit down wishing for change, but to run into that means for change. God can change you, He’s waiting for you, and He is calling for you. So you must respond. Go to him and I see you changing. I see your story changing. I believe we see your story actually changing for the better and God working mightily in your midst, in your behalf in this generation in Jesus’ name.
Lara Gboyega Adedeji: What a word!!! What an inspiration we’ve received from the Lord today. Please, go into the Scriptures and see for yourself the possibilities God has for you. Seek it, pursue it, run into it, and you will find your security and safety. What a word! It is such a beautiful time we’ve spent with you today on Bible in Focus. I believe you've gleaned wisdom, you've been inspired and you've been set on the part of your destiny. If you like the message you just listened to, please like it, subscribe to this channel, share it with your friends and colleagues and drop your comments for us in the comment section and let us know how this word has blessed you.
Thank you very much for the gift of your time. God bless you.
