Provoking God!

Whenever a choir or dance troupe did a wonderful & rousing performance in the presence of one of our former presidents, he would NEVER resist the temptation to shake the head in rhythm to the tune, and would further be 'provoked' into rewarding such a group in a way that changed their economic lives for good! If a human being can be 'provoked' into dishing out goodies, how much MORE will our Father in Heaven do for us if we 'provoked' Him? It is possible to 'PROVOKE' God into blessing us, terminating diseases from our bodies, protecting us & doing anything for our sake! There are several instances in the Bible of people who 'provoked' God into doing things He had NOT really intended to do. There are so many ways in which God can be 'PROVOKED' into action. We shall only major on two for the sake of brevity.

RIGHTEOUS LIVING
Righteousness does NOT necessarily imply perfection, because none of us is perfect, but rather, it's having a genuine desire to PLEASE God at all times, by the grace of God. Let's look at how Noah 'provoked' God. During his time, there was so much wickedness, but he exceptionally stood out as a BLAMELESS man.

Genesis 6: 9b; "Noah was a righteous man, BLAMELESS among the people of his time, and he walked with God".

It was because of Noah's blameless & righteous life that 'provoked' God into EXEMPTING him [alongside his family & a few living creatures] from the deadly & destructive flood that God unleashed on the earth to wipe away ALL mankind & the living creatures of that time! 

Genesis 7: 1; "The Lord then said to Noah, 'Go into the ark, you & your whole family, because I have found you RIGHTEOUS in this generation".

After forty days of non-stop flooding & one hundred and fifty days of volumes upon volumes of water on the earth, God always had in mind His righteous servant, and knew that he needed some fresh air. The living creatures must have messed up the place, ha haa!

Genesis 8: 1; "But God REMEMBERED Noah & all the wild animals & the livestock that were with him in the ark, and He sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded".

We can 'PROVOKE' God into being mindful of us during times of great trouble! If He doesn't provide an ark to shelter us, He will safely walk us through the floods, holding our hands.

SACRIFICIAL GIVING
Giving to God is NOT limited to money alone, but ranges from giving ourselves to God as a LIVING sacrifice, to our time! Money is often associated to giving in our modern world because it is one those things that we hold so dear to & are NEVER ready to release! True giving involves what we value MOST. This is why God put Abraham to a test by asking him to sacrifice his ONLY son, Isaac. According to Abraham [not to God], he felt that he was past the age of child-bearing, and so, obviously he had a great attachment to Isaac! Interestingly, he was still ready to sacrifice his only son by then, and that is how he seriously 'provoked' God into blessing him like no business! In the Forbes' Magazine of that time, he was the richest trillionaire to live! Why? Because he 'provoked' God through obedience! When we give OURSELVES wholly to God, we can no longer STRUGGLE in the area of giving to God because if we are His, then whatever we have is His as well!

After Noah, his family & the living creatures came out of the ark, he built an ALTAR & gave a SACRIFICIAL offering to God as a sign of worship.

Genesis 8: 20; "Then Noah built an altar to the Lord & taking some of all the clean animals & clean birds, he SACRIFICED burnt offerings on it. The Lord SMELLED the pleasing aroma & said in his heart: 'NEVER will I again curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And NEVER again will I destroy ALL living creatures, as I have done".

Noah 'PROVOKED God into entering into a COVENANT with him of never destroying  ALL the living creatures & mankind again as He had done. This is why the entire earth has NEVER been wiped by God again, because of the sacrificial giving of one man! Every time God sees the RAINBOW, He remembers that covenant. At times the sacrifice of an individual can be a great blessing to an entire generation!

Well, let's consider a woman too. Gender equality, ha haa! There are so many women who have thoroughly 'provoked' God! But we shall look at Mary's case. This wonderful woman came with VERY costly oil of spikenard & poured it on the head of Jesus. Some guys saw that as a waste & pointed accusing fingers to this precious woman, claiming that she was WASTING the precious oil [MARK 14: 3-7]! But Mary was NOT stoppable, she wanted to 'PROVOKE' the Master, and knew that she was making a Kingdom investment! The devil will always raise people [some of them who are very close to us] to oppose our efforts to 'PROVOKE' God! The time came for Mary's 'provocation' to pay off.

"It was that Mary who ANOINTED the Lord with fragrant oil & wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother was sick".

Lazarus had stayed in the tomb for four days & was stinking. But because the sister to Lazarus had 'provoked' the Master in a great way, He had to return the favor hundred-fold by doimg what was perceived to be impossible: Jesus brought the stinking Lazarus back to life after four days in the tomb! When we have 'PROVOKED' God, it doesn't matter how DEAD our situations may appear, the Lion of Judah will ROAR & things have to change! Hey, it's a GREAT thing to "PROVOKE" God! Will you provoke Him? There are many more ways that God can be 'provoked', but we have to leave it here for today. Let's make a "funny" prayer & begin or continue with our 'provocations', remember, in quotes, ha haa!

PRAYER
Dear Lord Jesus Christ, we have examined instances in which You were "provoked" by those that loved You. We love You as well. Give us the special grace to "surprise" You by our "provocations" of faith. As we do that, remember us in times of GREAT trouble. Preserve us, bless us, favor us & honor us on EVERY side. We love You Master. Don't allow us to remain the same. We receive the grace to MARCH ahead in every aspect of our lives. Marriages & peace in homes is being restored, we are restored financially, diseases are expelled, our spiritual life is refreshed & all our enemies are scattered. Blessed is Your name, Oh Lord! Thank You! We pray all these in the beautiful name of Jesus Christ. Amen!!!