INTRODUCTION
It is a good thing to have cause to rejoice and celebrate. The opposite of rejoicing is to mourn. It isn’t a pleasant thing to be in a state of mourning. No one hopes and prays for a day of mourning; for any situation that will bring pain, sorrow and sadness to the person’s life and family. Rather, we are all anticipating and looking forward to our day of celebration. If you are single, the day of celebration you are looking forward to is the day of your wedding. For a married couple who haven’t yet had a child, the day of celebration they are believing God for is the day they will be blessed with a child. The day of celebration a student is looking forward to is the day he or she will graduate.
God wants our lives to be loaded with divine celebrations. In expecting a day or season of celebration, we must understand that it isn’t every celebration that is from God, it isn’t every celebration God is pleased with. For example in 1 Corinthians 10:7, the Israelites were celebrating, feasting and drinking, but immediately after that celebration, thousands of them died because God wasn’t pleased with their celebration. Clearly, that wasn’t a celebration that brought honour to God; it wasn’t a divine celebration. I pray for you that any celebration or breakthrough that you will have to commit a sin to have or compromise godly standards to get, may God keep far away from you. But the celebration that will make people say concerning you that surely you are serving a Living God and want to know your God, such celebrations will fill your life and family.
HOW GOD BRINGS A PERSON INTO A SEASON OF DIVINE CELEBRATION
Having understood that not all celebrations are of God; not all celebrations are divine, we want to look at what can bring a person into a season of divine celebration. There are four things that launch a person into a season of celebration:
1. The first thing is for God to remember you
In 1 Samuel 2:1-2 Hannah was rejoicing, celebrating and testifying of the goodness of God in her life. Hannah had entered into a season of celebration. 1 Samuel 1:19-20, makes us understand that something significant happened in Hannah’s life which brought her into her season of celebration. GOD REMEMBERED HER. Every time God remembers a person, it is always followed with rejoicing, with celebration, with testimonies.
In Genesis 30:22-23, we are told that God remembered Rachael and He opened her womb. Rachael’s season of celebration also started when God remembered her. Rachael’s testimony when God remembered her was that God has taken away my disgrace. Rachael’s mourning was turned to dancing because God remembered her and rolled away the reproach in her life. I pray for you that the Lord Almighty will remember you today and roll away every reproach in your life. Everything that can bring shame and disgrace to you, will be rolled away by the power of God.
Genesis 8:1 is another case of a person God remembered. That verse says God remembered Noah and He sent a wind to the earth and the floodwaters started to recede; to dry up. As God’s word goes forth today, the Lord shall remember you and send the wind of the Holy Spirit to blow over your life and dry up every flood attempting to drown your health, your ministry, finances, business, career, marriage and children.
When the Bible tells us that God remembered Hannah, God remembered Rachael, God remembered Noah, does it mean that God sometimes forgets all about us? I’m sure like Hannah must have felt before God answered her prayers, there have been times in our lives when we have felt like God has forgotten all about us. Maybe that is even how you are feeling today and like the Israelites said in Isaiah 49:14, you are saying the Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me. If you are that person who is feeling like the Lord has forgotten you, the Lord has sent me to speak His word in Isaiah 44:21 into your life. God’s word to you today is that He will not forget you.
There are many passages in the Bible that portray God as a loving father. Some passages compare him with earthly fathers and tell us how He does much more than any earthly father can do (Luke 11:13). But when God talks about His not forgetting us, He compares His love for us with the love of a mother to let us know how strong and deep His love for us is and how serious He is when He says He will not forget us (Isaiah 49:15-16).
Do you know why it is impossible for God to forget you? He has inscribed you on the palm of His hands. God didn’t write our names on His chest or His feet or His back. Instead, He took the most active part of His body, the part He uses to create, the part He uses to daily perform great wonders and work out salvation and deliverance (Isaiah 48:13, Isaiah 66:1-2, Psalm 98:1, Exodus 15:6) to write our names. So that every time He is working, every time He is in operation which is continually round the clock (Psalm 121:4), He is thinking of us. If God is continually thinking of you, if you are always on His mind, how can He forget you? Once again I declare Isaiah 44:21 into your life – GOD WILL NOT FORGET YOU!
You know the interesting thing that happens when God remembers a person? The person who had been whining and complaining that God has forgotten all about me, God is taking too long to answer me, now starts feeling that God is in too much of a hurry to bless him or her, God is choking him/her with blessings, God is filling the person’s life with blessings he/she doesn’t even have enough room to contain. Hannah had been crying to God to give her just one child, but when God remembered her, within a short time, she that didn’t have a child for years, was blessed with seven children (1 Samuel 2:5). I pray that God will remember you and your story will change from God you have forgotten me, to God this blessing is just too much for me.
2. The second thing that can make a person enter into a season of divine celebration is special protection from the Almighty
There is a very close and important link between divine protection and divine celebration. In Psalm 5:11, David said that when God spreads His protection over a person’s life there is rejoicing, there is celebration. It is only the living that can praise God, rejoice and celebrate (Isaiah 38:18-19).
For a person to go through life and not be under God’s banner of protection, that person will be in serious trouble. Rejoicing and celebration will be very scarce in that person’s life. This is because the absence of divine protection transfers the celebration of God’s people to the camp of their enemies. Rather than you rejoicing and celebrating, it will be your enemies celebrating and rejoicing over the evil that has befallen you (Psalm 35:19, 24, Psalm 38:16). Without God’s special banner of protection over your life, you will become a laughing stock to your enemies. You will very easily fall into evil snares, nets and traps the enemy has set for you (Psalm 35:7, Psalm 140:5). As evil arrows are flying at day time, as meetings of the kingdom of darkness are being held resulting in wicked and terrible things being done in the night time (Psalm 91:5), they will be landing at your dwelling place. Thereby giving your enemies reasons to rejoice. May we not go through life without God’s fire of protection surrounding us every day and every night (Zechariah 2:5, Psalm 125:2).
Sometimes, it looks like God isn’t protecting His children. It appears like instead of us rejoicing, it is our enemies that are rejoicing probably because things aren’t going well for us or we are experiencing some form of delay in the fulfillment of God’s promises. I want you to know that any celebration that has been going on in the camp of your enemies concerning your life is just a temporary, momentary one which has come to an end today.
Maybe like Joseph the enemies of your destiny have dug a pit for you and it appears like it did in Joseph’s life that God didn’t even bother to protect you from the pit. God allowed you enter the pit. The devil was after Joseph’s dream; Joseph’s destiny. The devil wanted to bury Joseph’s destiny in a pit so Joseph would never be who God wants him to be or get to where God wanted him to get to in life. When Joseph was thrown into a pit, the enemy was celebrating that he has buried the greatness of Joseph in a pit. But that celebration in the camp of the enemy was short-lived. By divine intervention, God’s banner of protection brought Joseph out of the pit (Genesis 37:19-28). The Lord shall cover you with His feathers of protection and you shall come out today from every pit they have buried your destiny. The same people that threw Joseph into a pit, were the same people that brought him out of pit. The same people that have buried your destiny and greatness in a pit, will release your destiny today from every pit they have buried your glory and greatness.
Maybe your own case is that it is not a pit they have dug for you. Like it happened to Joseph, they could have put you in a prison and you are saying to yourself, where was God when they locked my destiny and greatness in a prison (Genesis 39:19-20)? Why didn’t God protect me? How can God allow the enemies of my joy and progress lock up my spiritual life, ministry, finances, career, blessings and testimonies in a spiritual prison for so long? Today, as God intervened in Joseph’s life and the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1) carried him out of the prison where the enemy tried to lock up his destiny, all prison doors shall be opened today in Jesus mighty name. Destines shall be released today by the power of God in Jesus mighty name.
When our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was crucified, there was so much rejoicing and celebration in the camp of the enemy. It looked like God had forsaken Jesus (Matthew 27:46), God didn’t protect Jesus, God gave Jesus over to the desires of His enemies. But the celebration over Jesus’ death was short-lived. Not only was it short-lived, it brought utter shame and disappointment to the camp of the enemies. If indeed Satan knew that his joy over Jesus’ death would be just a brief, fleeting one, he would never have bothered to crucify the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8).
After this service, your enemies will say if I had known this is how well things will turn out for you, I would never have bothered to delay your blessings, I would never have bothered to try and truncate your destiny.
This is our season of celebration and so rejoicing and celebration is being transferred from the camp of the enemies of God to the dwelling place of God’s people; to our homes and families.
God’s promise to you this season of celebration is that He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one (2 Thessalonians 3:3), no weapon fashioned against you, your family and loved ones will prosper (Isaiah 54:17), He will rescue you from every evil attack (2 Timothy 4:18), he will open the gates of brass and cut asunder all bars of iron that have been holding down your destiny and greatness (Psalm 107:16). His divine protection over your life will give you countless reasons to rejoice and celebrate this month and for the rest of the year.
3. The third thing that takes a person into a season of divine celebration is when miracles and blessings stop bypassing the person
There are powers and forces that cause a person to be right in the centre of miracles and blessings, and as the miracles are taking place, they are just passing over the person’s head. This was the situation the man in John 5:-1-9 found himself. This man said in verse 7 that just as he is about to enter the water and receive his healing, someone would go ahead of him and he would miss his opportunity to be healed. Several times this man had come so close to a breakthrough, so close to receiving a miracle, so close to being healed from the infirmity that had plagued him for years, but the moment his blessing was to get to him, something would happen and it would pass over his head. It would skip over his head and move to the next person.
The difference between people in Hannah’s situation and people in the kind of situation this man at the pool of Bethesda was in is that for those in Hannah’s situation, they don’t know what it feels like to get pregnant, to be close to your day of delivery, and then somewhere along the line, something happens and the pregnancy is terminated. They don’t know what it feels like to be in a relationship and just as you are about to get married, something happens and the relationship is called off. Or for some people they even go into the delivery room but come out with a stillbirth. Hannah’s womb had been shut by God (1 Samuel 1:6) so Hannah didn’t know this kind of pain. Her pain was the pain of never taking in. The pain of the man at the pool and others in this kind of situation is being so close to your breakthrough and just as it is about to be delivered into your hand, just as you are about to marry that person, get that contract, get that job, have that child, receive that healing or deliverance, something happens and your blessing is diverted, it passes over your head.
Do you know what Jesus did for that man that day? Jesus came to the exact spot where those healings, blessing and miracles had been passing over his head for years. Jesus came that day to see how this man’s healing could be diverted when the Mighty Man in battle, the Lord Strong and Mighty, the King of Glory is standing right by his side. By the mere presence of Jesus on the scene that day, it was impossible for the man’s healing to pass over his head.
It’s just like a boy who comes home from school the first day crying to his father that some boys beat him at school. The first day the father says “son, don’t cry, be strong”. The boy goes back to school the next day and the next day the same thing happens. The second day again the father encourages his son, “don’t cry, be strong”. This goes on till the third day. The fourth day, the father decides to show up at his son’s school. By the mere presence of the father at his son’s school, do you think any of the boys that had been beating up that young boy would be able to do anything to him? Certainly not! Seeing the father alone, those boys will run away or go into hiding. This was what happened to the man at the pool. Seeing Jesus alone, all the forces and powers of darkness that had been diverting his healing gave way. All strongholds in that man’s life gave way because of the presence of Jesus in his life (Psalm 18:45). Jesus came to the spot where this man had missed so many blessings to personally give him the healing, blessing and miracles that had been passing over the man’s head for years. Today, the Lord will show up for you and personally give you that blessing and testimony that has eluded you for years and your season of celebration will begin today.
4. The fourth and final thing that can make a person enter into a season of divine celebration is genuine repentance and restoration
In Luke 15:17-24, we see that the season of celebration of the prodigal son began the day he returned back to his father in humility, in sincerity of heart, and in genuine repentance.
God’s message to us is simple. Do we want a season of celebration to start in our lives? Then all we have to do is sincerely and genuinely repent of our sins, to return back to God in all the ways we have strayed from Him. To put an end to the jealousy, malice, bitterness, unforgiveness, gossip and backbiting. To get up from every bed of sexual immorality. To put an end to that adulterous relationship (1 Peter 2:11). To return back to prayer, worship, the Word and close fellowship with our Heavenly Father (Jeremiah 15:19, Hosea 6:1-2). These are the things that stand as a barrier to our day of celebration. For as long as the prodigal son was away from his father, he was experiencing a season of dryness. But the moment he genuinely repented, he was brought out of that dry season to a season of celebration.
The father of the prodigal son did some very important things which are symbolic of what God does to us when we repent and our broken fellowship with Him is restored. Luke 15:22 tells us that the father put on the best robe on his son, he put a ring on his finger, he put sandals on his son’s feet, he killed the fattened calf for a feast in honour of his son. For every person who like the prodigal son comes to his senses and says I can’t continue to live this way, I can’t continue to live in sin, I can’t continue to be so far away from my Heavenly Father, God puts a robe on him. God takes away the garment of sin and the garment of shame the person is wearing and clothes him with a robe of righteousness and honour (Zechariah 3:3-5, Revelation 19:7-8).This is the finest robe anyone can wear that’s why the Bible says the best robe was put on the son. It is a robe that brings joy and celebration to a person’s life (Isaiah 61:10).
The ring the father put on the son was a symbol of sonship. It was a sign that he still belongs to his father, he is still a son of the father and as such should get all the honour, rights and privileges due to a son. For the period the son was away from his father, for the period there was a strain on his relationship with his father, he lost the honour, rights and privileges of a son. The son of a wealthy man with everything at his disposal was turned into a pauper. By putting a ring on his son’s finger, the father was restoring back his sonship.
In Haggai 2:23, God put a signet ring on Zerubbabel to show that God had chosen him. Today, God will wear his signet ring on everyone who genuinely repents as a sign that you are still a son/daughter of the Most High and all the honour, rights and privileges accorded a son/daughter of the kingdom which you may have lost as a result of sin, will be restored back to you.
The father wore sandals on his son’s feet. What does this mean? Ephesians 6:15 tells us to wear on our feet, to put on as shoes, the peace that comes from the gospel. This is one of the armour of God which we need for spiritual warfare. It was particularly important for the father to put on the armour of God on his son because this was a son that was contending with forces that wanted him to live a wasted, profitless life. Their evil plan and counsel for this man’s life was to turn him into a mad man who lived with pigs. But all that was reversed the day the boy came to his senses. By wearing sandals on his son’s feet, the father empowered his son for spiritual warfare so that the principalities and powers that had been messing with his life, tossing him up and down and toying with his destiny, the son was now strengthened to face them and overcome them. This shall be your portion as you come to God in repentance and sincerity of heart. No longer shall you be defeated by any foe or adversary.
Finally, the father made them prepare the fattened calf for a feast for his son. The father prepared a table for the son in the presence of his enemies (Psalm 23:5). When we come to God in repentance, a feast of blessings is prepared for us. Our sins our washed away in the blood of Jesus, our past is wiped away, our past is forgotten and a table of filled with all manner of blessings is set before us.
The question to you today is can you pay the price that can bring this kind of celebration into your life? Are you ready to pay the price or would you rather remain where you are in that dry, wilderness season? The choice is yours. The prodigal son made a wise choice. He was tired of the dryness in his life, he was tired of that wilderness season. He needed a change and he knew the change would come only if he returned to his father in repentance. I pray you will make a wise choice today and a season of celebration like you have never experienced before, will begin in your life today.
