Success In Life Through The Help Of God by Rev. Sam Oye: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Prerequisites of Divine Help

Success in life through the help of God is not accidental. There are conditions, postures, and principles that position a person for the kind of divine help that produces lasting results.

Value Relationships Early

God told his people to value relationships early. Who you need, you may not like. This is one of the mysteries of life. God will sometimes use someone you are not naturally drawn to in order to help you reach your destiny. Who God will use to help you may be someone you don't like. Who God will use may be someone who doesn't believe what you believe.

The worst of human beings may turn out to be the one God uses to bring the best into your life. This is not an accident. The whole idea is that God will remain God, that no man can define the method of his movement.

Your world is as narrow as your view of who qualifies to help you. Widen the space.

Rebekah: The Pattern of a Carrier of Destiny

In Genesis 24, the servant of Abraham arrived at the well carrying a specific assignment: find a wife for Isaac. He had 10 camels and a test in his heart. He prayed for a girl who would not only give him water but would offer to water his camels as well.

Rebekah came out with an empty pitcher. She came with capacity but not yet content. She drew water for the servant without being asked. Then she said, "I will draw water for your camels also." She did not ask how many camels. She did not negotiate. She just served.

Consider what this meant. One camel drinks between 20 and 30 gallons of water when it is thirsty. There were 10 camels. She drew enough water for all of them. This was not a casual act. It required tremendous initiative, discretion, and strength.

The servant watched. What he saw was a woman who could use discretion. Who could preempt the next need without being instructed. Who would go beyond the request to meet the underlying requirement. If I marry her, when I am at home I don't have to tell her everything she needs to do. She will, by her own discretion, know exactly what is needed.

The Characteristics That Attract Divine Help

• Diligence. "Do you see a man diligent in his work? He will stand before kings and not before obscure men" (Proverbs 22:29). Be exceptionally good at something. Be branded. Let men know what you are known for.
• Initiative. Do not wait to be asked for the obvious. See what needs doing and do it. Rebekah saw the need before it was expressed.
• Discretion. Know what is appropriate, what is the right next step, what the person in front of you truly needs. Discretion separates those who are merely helpful from those who are indispensable.
• Generosity. She gave more than was requested. Generosity opens doors that ability alone cannot open.

David and the Egyptian Servant

In 1 Samuel 30, when David and his men returned to Ziklag and found it burned and their families taken, David was in great distress. His own men spoke of stoning him. He strengthened himself in the Lord, inquired of God, and set out to pursue.

On the way, they found an Egyptian servant in the field, famished and abandoned by his Amalekite master. David's men were desperate. They could have simply kept moving. Instead, David stopped. He fed the man. He cared for him. Then he asked: "Who are you? Where do you come from?"

That question changed everything. The man turned out to know exactly where the enemy camp was. He became the key to the entire recovery. The families were rescued. Everything that had been taken was restored. Not one person was missing.

If David had walked past the dying man, the key would have been lost. Help often comes disguised as a detour.

Father, open our eyes to the keys you have placed in unexpected people. Help us to value relationships before we know we need them. Give us the spirit of Rebekah, to go beyond the request and meet the deeper need. Help us to strengthen ourselves in you in our most desperate moments. In Jesus' name, amen.

Every family member taken by the enemy will be recovered. Not one will be missing. God is pointing you to the person who holds the key to your next level. You will see them. You will not walk past them. Recovery is on its way.