MAN’S GREATEST PROBLEM

MEMORY VERSE: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 42-44

Man’s greatest problem is not the global water crisis neither is it species extinction. One may ask, ‘how does species extinction concern us’? Well, certain species that human beings depend upon for our food supply are going extinct; if their numbers fall too low (may the Lord have mercy because) human race will face extinction. Man’s greatest problem is not the economic collapse neither is it the rapid climate change. Man’s greatest problem is not the resistance of diseases to antibiotics – making it difficult to cure some of the diseases we had previously treated easily, neither is it poverty, hunger and lack of clean water in some countries. Man’s greatest problem is not the need to find new energy sources before fossil fuels run out neither is it terrorism and conflict. Man’s biggest problem is sin. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

Sin is a problem because of its consequences in our lives. The ‘number one’ consequence of sin is that it pollutes one’s life. According to Mark 7:20-23, what comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean’. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, envy, slander, arrogance, etc. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’. These things pollute our lives. You may say, ‘I do not do most of these things’. Only one of them is enough to make our lives unclean. The ‘number two’ consequence of sin is that it enslaves a man. The things we do wrong have an addictive power. Just like any hard drug like heroin, sin can become addictive. One can become addicted to bad temper, arrogance, pride, selfishness, slander or sexual immorality. We can even become addicted to patterns of thoughts or behavior which, on our own, we cannot break. This is the slavery which Jesus spoke about and which has a destructive power in our lives. The ‘number three’ consequence of sin is death. There is something within human nature which cries out for justice. When we see children molested, old people attacked in their homes and so on, we long for the people who have done these things to be caught and punished. It is not just other’s people’s sin that deserve punishment. It is our own as well. One day we will all be subject to the judgment of God. Romans 6:23 says, “for the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The ‘number four’ consequence of sin is it causes a barrier between us and God. Isaiah 59:1-2 says, “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” The wrong things we do cause this barrier.

We have the need to deal with the problem of sin in our lives or else. The good news of Christianity is that God loves us and He did not leave us in the mess that we make of our own lives. He came to earth, in the person of his Son Jesus to die instead of us (Galatians 3:13). During World War II, there were a group of Prisoners of Wars (POWs) who worked on the Burma Railway. At the end of each day the tools were collected from the work party. On one occasion a Japanese guard shouted that a shovel was missing and demanded to know which man had taken it. He began to rant and rave, working himself up into a paranoid of fury and ordered whoever was guilty to step forward. No one moved. ‘All die! All die!’ he shrieked, cocking and aiming his rifle at the prisoners. At that moment one man stepped forward and the guard clubbed him to death with his rifle while he stood silently to attention. When they returned to the camp, the tools were counted again and no shovel was missing. That one man had gone forward as a substitute to save others. In the same way Jesus came as our substitute. He endured crucifixion for us.

QUESTION: We have been judged by the righteous Judge, God, and found guilty. We have been fined the correct penalty which is death. Christ has written a cheque, for this penalty, and says we have a choice: do we want Him to pay for us or are we going to face the judgment of God for own wrong-doing?

NOTE: If you want accept His cheque, accept Him as your personal Lord and savior today.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

IS JESUS GOD?

MEMORY VERSE: But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Mark 14:61-62

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 21-25

Most people believe the story of Jesus. They believe that He was a good man. According to Acts 10:38, He went about doing good. Not only that, He was caring and compassionate. They also believed that He was a great teacher. Actually His teaching is the foundation of the entire civilization in the West. Many of the laws in UK, USA, etc, were originally based on His teachings. Many believe He had the power to ‘change the unchangeable’ and ‘reverse the irreversible’ like we saw in the case of Lazarus. When it comes to the subject of whether He is God or not, some disagree calling Him an ordinary prophet, some honestly confess that they don’t know, some even say, ‘Jesus never claimed to be God,’ and so on. It is true that Jesus did not go around saying the words, ‘I am God.’ Yet, when one looks at all He taught and claimed, there is little doubt that He was conscious of being a man whose identity was God.

One of the fascinating things about Jesus is that so much of His teaching was centered on Himself. For instance He said ‘if you want to have a relationship with God, come to Me’ (John 14:6). In John 6:35, He said ‘if you are hungry come to Me, the bread of life.' To those walking in darkness, depression, despair, He said ‘I am the light of the world’ (John 8:12). To those burdened by worries, anxieties, fears, and guilt, He said, ‘come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will you give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28). He said to receive Him was to receive God (Matthew 10:40), to welcome Him was to welcome God (Mark 9:37) and to have seen Him was to have seen God (John 14:9). Asides His teachings, He also said a number of things which, although not direct claims to be God, show that He regarded Himself as being in the same position as God. Jesus’ claim to be able to forgive sins is one of them. For instance, on one occasion He said to a man who was paralyzed, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven’ (Mark 2:5). The reaction of the religious leaders was, ‘why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ Jesus went on to prove that He did have the authority to forgive sins by healing the paralyzed man. We can all understand how a man forgives offences against himself. You tread on my toe and I forgive you, you steal my money and I forgive you. The sin that led to that man’s paralysis was a sin against God and only ‘God’ would have been able to forgive that sin. There are also other indirect claims for example He claimed that He would one day judge the world (Matthew 25:31-32). Asides His teachings and His indirect claims that He is God, let us look at one of His direct claims. When the question was put to Him, ‘ Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ Jesus said, “I am..” Mark 14:61-62 says,“But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” The high priest tore his clothes on hearing this. ‘Why do we need any more witnesses?’ he asked. As a result of the assertion Jesus made about Himself, He was condemned to death. A claim tantamount to a claim to be God was blasphemy in Jews eyes, worthy of death.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: There are three logical possibilities to His claims to be the unique Son of God; God made flesh. If the claims were untrue, either He knew they were untrue – in which case He was an imposter, and evil one at that. That is the first possibility. Or He did not know- in which case He was deluded. This is the second possibility. The third possibility is that the claims were true. When one looks at the teachings of Jesus Christ, His works, His character, His fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy and His resurrection, One will appreciate the fact that He was neither a con man nor a deluded fellow. He is God!

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

MINE EYES HAVE SEEN THE KING

MEMORY VERSE: Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Isaiah 6:5

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 5-8

Why do we measure? We measure for various purposes. We measure to keep track of things. For instance we measure time to keep track of it. Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” We gauge our health based upon all sorts of measurements. Some common examples include height, weight, pulse, and blood pressure. These measurements can tell a doctor a lot about one’s general health. We measure to know the size or the amount of something. We measure so that we can have a point of reference that allows us to compare things. The tallest man living, by Guinness, is Sultan Kosen from Turkey who measured 251 cm (8ft 3in). How did Guinness book of records reach that conclusion that Mr Sultan Kosen is the tallest living man? By measuring tall people.

If we could not or did not measure and measure to a standard consistently and to a high degree of accuracy our modern world would ‘not’ exist. To get accurate results, there is a need to measure using the right yardstick. Imagine a person measuring room temperature with a barometer or measuring wind pressure with stethoscope. The results will never be accurate because barometers are built to measure atmospheric pressure not room temperature. Using the wrong yardstick to measure will always generate inaccurate results. This is exactly what happened to prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 6:1-6. Prior to the death of king Uzziah and his vision of heaven, he had always seen himself as a righteous man because he was using the people around him, individuals who practiced sexual immoralities, rich men who oppressed the poor, workers who stole from their masters, judges who pervert judgement, as a yardstick to measure his walk with God.

He was always quick to castigate and reprimand people. He literally went about saying 'woe to this fellow for this , woe to that fellow for doing that.' Isaiah 6:11 says, “woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with them, for what their hands have done shall be done to them”. One day the Lord showed him a vision of heaven and he saw himself. Isaiah 6:5 says, “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” For the first time, his unclean lips became obvious to him. When one uses the people around him or her, probably brothers and sisters who come to church late or are not punctual, as a yardstick to measure one's walk with the Lord, it will appear as if one has reached perfection. If care is not taking, one may even go round boasting about one's righteousness. The moment Prophet Isaiah saw himself before the Lord, he became sober. He suddenly realized that there were issues in his own life that he needed to work on. The good thing is immediately Isaiah saw his unclean lips and became sober, the Lord sent an angel who used hot coals to burn his lips thereby cleansing his lips. Not until we see ourselves and ask the Lord for grace to make amendments, we will not become who the Lord wants us to be. Not until we hold our lives against the living Word of God, we will not see our true state. Not until we use Christ as our yardstick, we may not truly appreciate the work required to become rapturable. Not until God opens our eyes to see our current state and helps us too, as He helped Isaiah, we may do all the hard work here on earth and miss heaven. I pray that will not be our portion in Jesus name.

NOTE: Christ is our yardstick to measure our life with.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please open my eyes see my state and give me the grace to make amendments.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

THE BEST MEAL

MEMORY VERSE: But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.1 Corinthians 11:28

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 9-10

The best food in the world is not the Massaman curry of Thailand, neither is it the Neapolitian pizza of Italy. It is not the Japanese Sushi, neither is it the Peking duck of China. It is not the Shepherd’s pie or Fish ‘n’ chips of England, neither is it the Chicken biryani of India. It is not the Jollof rice common with Nigerians, neither is it rice and peas with stew chicken and fried dumplings of the Afro-Caribbeans. The best food is not the Singapore fried rice, the Gabonese Chicken muamba, the American Donuts or the Iranian Kebabs. It is none of these foods. The best meal in the world is the Holy Communion. It is a meal of bread which symbolizes the broken body of Christ and wine which symbolizes His shed blood. Luke 22:19-20 says, “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”

The best that would happen if anyone tries any of the dish listed above, no matter how palatable, sweet, delicious and yummy it may be, is feel good. None of these dishes can cure any disease - curable and incurable. If one is under a yoke and he eats of any of these delicious meals, nothing will happen. If one has been stagnant for years and he eats any of those delicious meals, his stagnancy will still continue. The Holy Communion, on the other hand, is a symbolic meal. It is not only symbolic but powerful. If eaten worthily, one’s spiritual eyes will open. Luke 24:31 says, “And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.” Not only that, one will receive divine health and sickness will disappear. After the children of Israel ate Passover (which is what we now call Holy Communion (Exodus 12)), all their sickness vamoosed. They left Egypt with a clean bill of health. Psalm 105:37 says, “He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there wasnot one feeble person among their tribes.” And if eaten unworthily, one may fall sick. 1 Corinthians 11:29 -30 says, “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” Before eating such a powerful meal, one must carry out a thorough examination on one's life. Are you still on the 'narrow' path that leads to heaven or the 'broad' path that leads to destruction? 1 Corinthians 11:28 says, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.” Before approaching the Lord's Table to partake in Holy Communion, one must ask himself or herself , ‘am i still a child of God?’ Are there any un-confessed sins in my life? Are there any brothers, sisters or family members i am not in talking terms with ? Are there any restitution am yet to carry out? Is my heart pure? Are my hands clean? The reason is that one cannot approach the Lord’s Table with an unclean hand or an impure heart or whilst bearing grudges. One cannot come to the Lord’s Table whilst living a life of immorality. One cannot come to the Lord’s Table whilst living a double life, no. One must first examine himself and make amendments where necessary before coming to the Lord’s Table.

NOTE: The Holy Communion is not a church ritual. It is an invitation to dine with the Lord.

WARNING: Don’t come to the Lord's Table with an unforgiving heart.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

GETTING BIG?

MEMORY VERSE: And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 1 Samuel15:17

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 7-8

It is not a good thing to be reminded, by a colleague or a friend, of how one used to behave or carry his or herself before promotion. I will be cautious if a friend reminds me of how i used to be humble. If it comes from someone older or higher, then i will be concerned. If it is coming from my spiritual parents, i will be worried. If it comes from God, Creator of heavens and the earth, i would cry out for mercy. I know you will do the same too. This is similar to what happened when Saul returned from partially disobeying God i.e. disobeying God. In 1 Samuel 15:1-3, God sent him to destroy the Amalekites because of their wickedness. Several years prior, without being provoked or anything, the Amalekites attacked the children of Israel killing several of them. When he got to Amalek, he destroyed the worthless things and kept the good and valuable things for himself and his men. When he returned, the Lord sent Samuel with a message to him. 1 Samuel 15:17 says, “And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?” On hearing this, I thought Saul would bow his head and cry for mercy. I expected him to immediately put things right because it was obvious that the Most High was really displeased with him. Saul did not do any of this. Instead he gave excuses. At the end, he was replaced.

Are you like Saul? He never used to challenge his father in the Lord, Samuel, until he became king. Not only that, he used to obey God until he became king. You used to be small in your own eyes before you went to bible school. You never used to argue with your spiritual leaders i.e. pastors and bishops. You never used to challenge your pastors in public? Now that you have returned from bible school, you now see faults in virtually everything. You see faults in how the pastor preaches, you see fault in how he pronounces Greek names. Not only that, you are now beginning to challenge him in the open. Saul became familiar with the prophet when he became king - something that never happened before his ordination. He became so familiar with the man of God that he could tear his clothes. Have you now become familiar with your spiritual leaders that you now treat them as equals? Have you now become familiar with them that you no longer give them their due honour? Have you now become familiar that you now keep malice with them? Have you now become so familiar that they are now scared to correct you because you can do and undo? There was a time in Saul’s life when he used to fear God. There was a time when he used to put God and God’s work before anything else. Now, Saul had become so big and God had become so small in his eyes that he could now displease God to please man. What ‘man’ thought of him was more important to him than what God thought of him. How 'man' perceived him was more important than how God perceived him. Do you now serve God at your convenience? When God gives you an instruction, do you carry them out immediately or at your convenience? Pride starts from the heart before it manifests out in actions. What’s your heart like as you are reading this? How do you now treat the Word of God?

ACTION: Carry out a self assessment of your life. Is God still number one in your life? Are you still willing to go out of your way to please God?

PRAYER POINT: Father, help me never to become an ex-child of God.

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MEETING HIS EXPECTATIONS?

MEMORY VERSE: And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but whereare the nine? Luke 17:17

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Corinthians 11-12

BIBLE STUDY: Luke 17:11-19

The Lord expects a lot from His children - both young and old. Who are His children? Romans 8:14 says this: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” The Spirit of God leads people to do things which are in consonance with the Word of God. He leads people to live honest, open and transparent lifestyles. The spirit of the Lord will never lead a brother to propose to two or three sisters at the same time. No! He is not a spirit of confusion. Neither will He lead any sister to accept marriage proposals from two brothers at the same time. He is a God of order. The Lord is entitled to expect much from us, His children, because of His investments in our lives. We were heading for destruction before someone preached to us and He touched our hearts and we accepted Him as our personal Lord and savior. With the kind of lifestyles some of us were living before we met Christ, we were on the fast lane to sudden destruction. Many of us have failed and failed before He came into our life and turned it around. Many used to be sick before Jesus entered into their boat and sickness disappeared. I remember before i met Christ, i was living in fear – fear of the unknown. Now that i am in Christ, i have no fear because i know my future. Oh yes, i know my future because Isaiah 3:10 says, “Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.” I also know that Christ in me, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27), so i have nothing to worry about. You also don’t have anything to worry about because you are a child of God.

What are His expectations? He expects us to be grateful for all He has done. After healing those ten lepers, He expected them to return to say thank you. He was shocked when only one of them returned. Luke 17:17 says, “And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but whereare the nine.” That thing He did for you maybe small in your eyes, but to some, it is a big testimony. Besides, there are no small testimonies. Even if He is yet to answer that particular prayer request, you still need to be grateful for those things He has done. Another way to show Him our appreciation is through our payment of tithes and offerings. God owns the whole world so He is not broke. Let’s say He needs money (which He doesn't), He can touch the heart of any billionaire and they will give Him as much as He needs. When we bring our tithes and offerings, we are not doing the church a favor neither are we doing God a favor. No! When we bring our tithes to Him, it is a sign of our appreciation. What we are saying is ‘out of the much You have given to me, i am bringing this little gift to appreciate You’.

Another way to appreciate Him is to use our skills and expertise for Jesus. Some are good at designing websites, use that skill to design a website for your church or a ministry. If you are a doctor, organize free health seminars in your parish or ministry and teach people about healthy living. You may be a good business person, organize free seminars to teach fellow believers how to start a business. Some are good at organizing programs, don’t wait to be called before you go and meet the minister and volunteer to be part of the organizing committee. The Lord also expects us to be grateful to the vessels He has used to bless us. Someone waited on the Lord for several hours ( and even fasted) before God gave him or her that 'life transforming message' you heard. If you can’t bless them with material gifts, at least you can say thank you to him or her. These things encourage men and women of God. If the Lord uses a brother or sister for you, appreciate God in their life and appreciate them.

NOTE: Anytime you appreciate people, you are opening a door for God to use them for you and others.

ACTION: Call someone who God has used to bless you in the past and thank them.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

IN A DREAM

MEMORY VERSE: But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. Matthew 1:20

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 7-11

BIBLE STUDY: Matthew 1:18-23

There are several sources of dreams. Dreams can come as a result of our activities during the day. Ecclesiastes 5:3 says, “For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.” Maybe you have been shopping and getting things ready for your holiday, you may sleep and find yourself already on holiday. The source of this type of dream is the mind. At times, if one is in love with a particular sister or brother, one may sleep at night and find himself or herself getting married to that brother or sister. The fact that one slept and saw himself or herself getting married to a brother or sister does not mean it is from God. Such dreams may come as a result of what is already in one’s heart. This is why, when praying about a brother or sister, always get other believers to pray along with you. Or you received an offer for a job that you want badly; you may dream and find yourself working in that job. That does not mean God has given you a go-ahead. If i were you, i will get other believers to pray along with me. According to Deuteronomy 19:15, at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. I know as a child of God, you don’t indulge in pornography, nude pictures or sex talks, but those that do may sleep and find themselves fornicating or committing adultery with people in their dreams. In a nutshell, our dreams can come as a result of things that are on our mind.

Dreams can also come as a result of hunger or thirst. If one feels like eating porridge before going to bed, he or she may dream of eating porridge. In addition, if one goes to bed on an empty stomach, i would not be shocked if the person finds himself eating in the dream. Isaiah 29:8 says, “It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.” Dreams can come as a result of spiritual attack. For example, if you sleep and you find a big snake chasing you when you don’t work in a zoo , then that could be a spiritual attack. Or you find dogs chasing you in your dreams and you are neither a vet nor a dog owner or have dogs around you, then that could also be a spiritual attack. My advice is this; once you wake up cancel the dream and plead the blood of Jesus. Also, share it with your father or mother in the Lord or your pastors. Today, we want to look at dreams that come from God. Dreams from God come for various reasons. At times, God gives answers to questions through dreams. One of the thoughts that Joseph must have entertained in his heart, when he found that Mary was pregnant, would have been, ‘who is responsible for the baby?’ In the dream, the Lord provided him with an answer. Matthew1:20 says, “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” At times, He re-assures and encourages one to be calm through dreams.The angel told Joseph, “....... fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife....” As you can see, He can decide to tell one his or her marriage partner through dreams. The Lord can give instructions through a dream. He can also give a vital information that could lead to a major breakthrough. These are some of the things He does through a dream. One thing is very crucial with dreams and that is the ability to remember dreams.

NOTE: If God gives an individual information that could lead to breakthrough in a dream, and the fellow forgets, that fellow may miss a major breakthrough.

PRAYER POINT: Father, help me to always remember my dreams as from today.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

WHAT LEVEL OF REVELATION?

MEMORY VERSE: And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. Exodus 33:18

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Job 27-28

There are different levels of knowledge. Take for instance, the knowledge of a particular brand of car called ‘Mercedes Benz’. There are different levels of knowledge of a Mercedes Benz car. Firstly, there are people who have no knowledge of Mercedes Benz at all. Some have never heard that name before in their life. You may find it hard to believe but there are some indigenous tribes in the Amazon rain-forest who don’t wear clothes. They have never seen a car in their life talk-less of know a Mercedes Benz car or any car whatsoever. Secondly, there are some of us who know Mercedes Benz. Although, we may not be opportuned to see them every day like those who live in big cities but at least, we can tell the difference between a Mercedes Benz and Toyota or BMW. Thirdly, there are some who own or drive a Mercedes Benz car. These people know Mercedes Benz at least better than some of us who don’t own a car and definitely, far better than our brothers and sisters in the Amazon rain-forests. Lastly, there are people who make Mercedes Benz cars. These are the people, who we can say, truly knows Mercedes Benz. If a Mercedes Benz develops fault, they know what is wrong with it and can fix it.

This applies to humans too. Take for instance the Prime Minister (PM). There are people who have never heard of the PM in their life. They don't even know if a country called England exists. These people don’t have any knowledge of him. Secondly, there are people who have seen his picture, probably in the newspaper or poster. These people know the PM to some extent. Thirdly, there are people who went to the same school or worked with the PM. These people know the PM better than those of us who see him on TV, and definitely far better than those good people in the Amazon rain-forests. Fourthly, there are the PM's family and friends. These people, especially parents, know the PM better his colleagues. They raised the PM. They watched him grow from a boy to become a man. Fifthly, there is the wife. She knows a lot about the PM especially intimate things. This is because they share the same bedroom. But God, who created the PM, knows the PM more than himself. He knows the PM's future.

Just as our knowledge of people or things are in levels, so also our knowledge of God. Firstly, there are people who don't believe in God. Secondly, there are people who believe in God’s existence, they may or may not practice any religion. To some extent, these people know God. Thirdly, there are people who have read the bible or go to church. These people know God and they can say a thing or two about God e.g. they know God is love. Fourthly, there are people who have experienced God's power, maybe they had a serious challenge and God came through for them or they received a miracle. These people know God at least better than people who believe God exists. Fifthly, there are people who have walked with God for several years e.g. Enoch, Moses, etc. They are regularly led by the Spirit of God. They even hear the audible voice of God once in a while. The bible records that Moses spoke to God face to face like a man speaks to his friend ( Exodus 33:11). That is a very deep knowledge of God. Beyond this very deep knowledge of God is yet a deeper knowledge of God. Exodus 33:18 says, “And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.” Except God, Himself, reveals His glory unto us, we have not truly known the Lord.

NOTE: Although, there are still more revelations that awaits us in heaven, but whilst we are here on earth, we must yearn to behold the glory of the Lord.

PRAYER POINT: Father, show me your glory.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

RECOGNIZING AND BREAKING EVIL PATTERNS

MEMORY VERSE: And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? Luke 9:54

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 39-41

What is a pattern? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as a reliable sample of traits, acts, tendencies, or other observable characteristics of a person, group, or institution. A teacher with thirty years of teaching experience, during an end-of-the-year programme of a school, encouraged parents to keep an eye on their children and stamp out any behavioral pattern that could be detrimental to their progress in the future. According to her, young children grow up to be bigger pictures of who they currently are and unless there was some kind of intervention – parental or divine. Just as a child’s life is predictable, the outcome of a person’s life, whether as a success or a failure, can also be determined beforehand (to a very great extent). Just by observing patterns in one’s biological or spiritual family, whether one will fail or succeed can be determined beforehand. Unless one is able to recognize any evil patterns present, pray and (in some cases) fast to break these patterns, one may end up facing the same challenges one’s parents or family faced in their marriage, finances, health, etc. Not until the Holy Spirit opens one’s eyes to see these evil patterns, untold sorrow, failure –at- the- edge- of- success, divorce, marital delay, etc, is inevitable.

Remember, “ we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12)”, and as such, the moment the Holy Spirit open’s your eyes to recognize any evil pattern(s) in your life or family, prayerfully break these patterns. (Note: These patterns are no one’s faults except the devil that steals, kills and destroys). Looking at the life of Abraham, Isaac (his son) and Jacob (his grandson), we find an evil pattern of 'delay in childbearing'. Abraham’s wife (Sarah) was barren and did not give birth until the age of 90 years. Isaac’s wife (Rebekah) was barren. Genesis 25:21 says, “and Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was barren: and the Lord was entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.” Jacob’s second wife (Rachel) also experienced bareness (Genesis29:31). Had each of them not cry to God, they may have ended up childless. In the family of Zebedee, it was fiery and destructive anger. Although the bible did not tell us about their parent’s temper, we don’t need to travel far to know the source of their anger. Where else would they have gotten that fiery and destructive anger from except home? Luke9:54 says, “And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?” For two brothers of the same parents, to exhibit that kind of anger, i doubt they didn't inherit it. Besides, research has proved that children do inherit their parent’s anger. Some of the reasons why many of us are unable to recognize these evil patterns, even when the Holy Spirit highlights them to us is because we see them as coincidences. I want you to know that evil patterns can be broken. It was broken in the life of Abraham and his children. It was also broken in the life of John and James. Do not give the enemy a foothold in your life.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: You can break that evil pattern of failure-at-the- edge-of-success with prayer. You can break that evil pattern of divorce with prayer. You can break that evil pattern of impecuniosity with prayer. You can break that evil pattern of marrying late with praying and fasting. You don’t have to face what others faced. You don't have to go through what others went through. Good things can begin with you. You can become the first to get it right in marriage.

PRAYER POINT: Father, i break every evil pattern in my life in Jesus name.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

SUFFERING IN SILENCE?

MEMORY VERSE: And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:41

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 16-20

There is a time for ‘everything’ under the heavens (Ecclesiastes 3:1). According to Ecclesiastes 3:2-8, there is a time to be born and there is a time die. There is a time to keep silent, and a time to speak and so on. This brings us to this question, ‘who controls time?’ God. Daniel 2:21 says, “And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:” The Most High God decides when one faces his or her trial of faith. Matthew 4:1 says, “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.” Trails of faith have so many advantages. For instance, they are opportunity for spiritual maturity (James 1:3). Not only that, you will never know the great things that God has deposited inside you until you face some challenges. David never knew he had the potential to kill a lion and bear with his bare hands until a bear and lion tried to steal his sheep (1 Samuel 17:34). The Lord determines how long the trial of faith will last for. Genesis 15:13 says, “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.” He determines when one's waiting period comes to an end. In Genesis 18, during God’s visit to Abraham, He told Sarah that her waiting period was over. Verse 14 says, “Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”

One may ask, ‘how about when something evil happens, does God decide that?’ God does not do evil. Job 34:12 says, “Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.” Although God does not do evil, nothing happens except He allows it and He will not allow something He cannot use. In His infinite wisdom, He allows some things so as to bring a testimony out of it. Although God cannot be stopped, when He wants to work in our lives He expects our cooperation. God’s initial plan was that the children of Israel will spend 400 years in Egypt but they spent 430 years. Exodus 12:41 says, “And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.” Why? When the children of Israel were supposed to cry to God for deliverance, they kept quiet. Matthew 7:7-8 says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock, and it shall be given you: for every one that asketh recieveth: and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Even when Pharaoh was killing all their male children, they just kept quiet. It is baffling that people can be suffering to the point of losing their children and still keep quiet. Not until they cried to God, their situation did not change. Are you suffering in silence? There is nothing spiritual in people taking advantage of you and you keep quiet. No! It is time to cry to God to fight your cause! It is time to cry to God to defend you! It is time to cry to God to fight your battle for you! As far as one keeps quiet, things will not change.

NOTE: Stop asking God if He can’t see what you are going through. Report the matter to Him!

PRAYER POINT: Father, fight for me today.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

TEARS IN HEAVEN

MEMORY VERSE: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:4

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 1:4

One event the whole world is waiting for is the second coming of Christ. The day He comes to take us home is going to be a glorious day. When we arrive in heaven, there will be a lot of meeting-with-the- saints, greeting-fellow-brothers-and-sisters who made it and so on. It is also going to be an emotional event. Oh yes! There will be a lot of tears. Revelations 21:4says, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” One may ask, ‘why the tears?’ Well, they will be tears of joy. When we look back on our journey through the ‘narrow road’ that leads to heaven, all our struggles, all the humiliations, prices we paid, sacrifices, selfless service and all that, we will weep for joy, knowing that it was not in vain. We will weep for joy , knowing that we finally made it! We will weep for joy , knowing that all our struggles, pains and sickness, are all over for eternity!

Another event that will bring tears to our eyes is when we find out that some of our brothers and sisters in the Lord did't make it, probably because they left the 'narrow path' for the 'broad road'. Or, we found that some of our loved ones didn't make it. Oh God! The fact that we will then be separated from them for eternity will cause tears to flow. We will weep because it will dawn on us that we could have done much more to get them to heaven. We could have dedicated a day or two, in a week, to pray and fast for their salvation. We could have gone after our brethren who left the ‘narrow road’ for the ‘broad road’ and brought them back. When we look back at what we could have done to get them to heaven and we didn't, and the fact that it is now 'too' late, tears will start to flow down our cheeks. Another major event that will cause many to weep is when saints will be rewarded for their deeds in the body and crowns given out. When one looks at the opportunities he or she has had, to serve the Lord and earn great rewards and didn't, tears will begin to flow. When Christ begins to tell us what we could have gotten, if only we were more diligent, if only we won more souls, if only we did more follow-ups, if only we gave to the poor more, if only we fasted and prayed more, if only we gave more to the work of God, if only we didn't skip service to pursue shifts at work , if only we gave when the Holy Spirit prompted us to give, if only we didn't procrastinate, etc, uncontrollable tears will begin to flow down our cheeks. When we look at the number of crowns available for any brother or sister who served God in spirit and truth and also endured persecution and shame, and the number of crowns we received, maybe out of the five available crowns, we only received a tiny one, tears will begin to flow. Also, when we see our unclaimed inheritance – things we should have had on earth that we didn't, probably due to our ignorance of those promises or our disobedience to His conditions for those promises, tears will also flow. A brother had a dream of heaven and the angels showed him an enormous warehouse filled with boxes of every shape and size. In those boxes were gifts and blessings that were available to God’s children, but which they never took time to claim. 2 Peter 1:4 says, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” The biggest cause of tears will be the realization that it is too late to work harder, claim the blessings, win souls, etc.

QUESTION : If Christ comes now, are you going to make heaven?

ACTION: Examine your life and look at how you are spending time. Start working towards your rewards in heaven. Are you doing enough for the Master?

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

GETTING BIG?

MEMORY VERSE: And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 1 Samuel15:17

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 7-8

It is not a good thing to be reminded, by a colleague or a friend, of how one used to behave or carry his or herself before promotion. I will be cautious if a friend reminds me of how i used to be humble. If it comes from someone older or higher, then i will be concerned. If it is coming from my spiritual parents, i will be worried. If it comes from God, Creator of heavens and the earth, i would cry out for mercy. I know you will do the same too. This is similar to what happened when Saul returned from partially disobeying God i.e. disobeying God. In 1 Samuel 15:1-3, God sent him to destroy the Amalekites because of their wickedness. Several years prior, without being provoked or anything, the Amalekites attacked the children of Israel killing several of them. When he got to Amalek, he destroyed the worthless things and kept the good and valuable things for himself and his men. When he returned, the Lord sent Samuel with a message to him. 1 Samuel 15:17 says, “And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?” On hearing this, I thought Saul would bow his head and cry for mercy. I expected him to immediately put things right because it was obvious that the Most High was really displeased with him. Saul did not do any of this. Instead he gave excuses. At the end, he was replaced.

Are you like Saul? He never used to challenge his father in the Lord, Samuel, until he became king. Not only that, he used to obey God until he became king. You used to be small in your own eyes before you went to bible school. You never used to argue with your spiritual leaders i.e. pastors and bishops. You never used to challenge your pastors in public? Now that you have returned from bible school, you now see faults in virtually everything. You see faults in how the pastor preaches, you see fault in how he pronounces Greek names. Not only that, you are now beginning to challenge him in the open. Saul became familiar with the prophet when he became king - something that never happened before his ordination. He became so familiar with the man of God that he could tear his clothes. Have you now become familiar with your spiritual leaders that you now treat them as equals? Have you now become familiar with them that you no longer give them their due honour? Have you now become familiar that you now keep malice with them? Have you now become so familiar that they are now scared to correct you because you can do and undo? There was a time in Saul’s life when he used to fear God. There was a time when he used to put God and God’s work before anything else. Now, Saul had become so big and God had become so small in his eyes that he could now displease God to please man. What ‘man’ thought of him was more important to him than what God thought of him. How 'man' perceived him was more important than how God perceived him. Do you now serve God at your convenience? When God gives you an instruction, do you carry them out immediately or at your convenience? Pride starts from the heart before it manifests out in actions. What’s your heart like as you are reading this? How do you now treat the Word of God?

ACTION: Carry out a self assessment of your life. Is God still number one in your life? Are you still willing to go out of your way to please God?

PRAYER POINT: Father, help me never to become an ex-child of God.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

COPYING OTHER NATIONS?

MEMORY VERSE: Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. 1 Kings 12:4
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Corinthians 9-10
READ: 1 Samuel 8:1-22
God’s ways are different from the ways of man. Isaiah 55:9 says, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” Because God is Omniscient, He knows the best way to run one’s life, a marriage, a ministry or a nation. Instead of giving Israel a human king, He deliberately appointed judges, prophets and prophetess over them but the children of Israel did not want that. They wanted to be like the neighboring nations who had a human king (1 Samuel 8:5). When the sons of Samuel, Joel and Abijah, began to accept bribe and pervert judgment, the elders of Israel used that as an opportunity to demand for a king from Samuel. Samuel knew that they wanted to do things how ‘others’ did them not how God wants it to be done and he was unhappy. After bringing the matter to God, he warned them of the dangers of leaving ‘God’s way of ruling them’ and copying other nations. He strictly warned them that a human king will put them in bondage and make life unbearable for them, but they refused to listen. As it is in the nature of God not to force Himself on anyone, He gave them the human king they requested and they suffered under him. At a point, they had to meet the king and beg him to reduce the burden on them. 1 Kings 12:4 says, “Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.”
The story is not always palatable when a man or a woman, abandons God’s laid down principles of doing things, and copies other ‘nations’. Take for instance marriage, there is a way God expects the singles to go about marriage. Unfortunately, many of us Christians are going about it,  the way ‘others’ do it. We want to date, get to know the brother or the sister very well before proceeding to marriage. Unfortunately, all you will see when you are dating a person is their good side. You will see the other side, the real person after marriage. Some of us even decide to have a mock marriage whereby the man and woman will live together under the same roof to see if they are really compatible. No reasonable person will commit his or her resources into such a relationship because the other party can wake up one morning and say he or she is no longer interested. At the end, one may lose out and lose all one has invested. Besides, such will only leave one with scars and nervous breakdown. The same applies to online dating. It is a waste of time. Besides, one could even fall into the hands of a player or a psychopath. Why not go to the Lord and ask Him before doing anything at all. It may appear long but it is the safest way and it is guarantees a long lasting relationship. Sending people to spy on a brother or sister for you, before going into a relationship, is not foolproof. Can the people you are sending to spy see the heart of that sister or brother? Can they see the future of that brother or that sister?
Also, many marriages are being patterned after the ways of other nations. Many women are crying for equal rights in marriage. Both husband and wife are equal before God, but they have different roles. The husband is the head while the wife needs to submit to her head. Submitting to one’s husband does not make one inferior in any way. Also, being the head does not make one superior. This what the bible teaches. Copying the way of the other nations and demanding to play the same role with your partner, in your marriage, will only tear the marriage apart. Actually, the position of the woman is the best because a man by nature will go out of his way to please anyone who submits to him and fights anyone who competes with him. By demanding to be his running mate, you are losing your opportunity to be pampered and be served as Christ served the church. Even now, ministries are copying other nations. They are forming committees to decide how to run the church. The Lord did not found a ministry to be run by people. No! He wants to be the sole proprietor, the only One who makes decision! Do you think that any man will support any decision that is not in his favour even when it will be benefit the work of the Lord? It will only take a broken man to vote for such and at the moment, we are praying to God to bless the church with more of such broken people.
QUESTION: Are you building according to God’s pattern?
PRAYER POINT: Father , open my eyes to see the wisdom in how you want to run my life.
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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

THE 'THREE' WHO MUST RUN FROM ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

MEMORY VERSE: Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. Proverbs 31:6-7

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 11-15

There are three groups of people who must stay away from alcoholic beverages. An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits (or distilled beverage). The first group are leaders, ‘heads’, kings or princes. Proverbs 31:4 says this: “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:” When you go through the scriptures, you will see the level of havoc and embarrassment that can come one’s way if one consumes alcohol. According to Genesis 6:9, Noah was a just man and perfect in his generation. In other words, he was blameless before God. One day Noah became drunk and passed out in his tent. This righteous man lay stark-naked in his tent embarrassing himself. His children saw what they should not have seen. This is what happens when one gets drunk, people around will begin to see what they should not see. Lot, a disciplinarian, who raised two virgins in a corrupt nation,Sodom, got drunk and slept with his two daughters (Genesis 19:30-38). He was so drunk, when he woke the next morning, he could not remember what happened the night before. This man did what he should not have done as a result of wine. One may rightly argue that all this happened to these people because they got drunk. That’s true, but do you know that it is only when you drink that you will become drunk? Those who don’t drink don’t get drunk.

The second group are spiritual heads e.g. bishops, pastors, elders, etc. 1 Timothy 3:2-3 says, “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;” Our God is sovereign. He can choose to speak at any time. He can choose speak to you whilst you are in the bathroom. He can choose to wake one up at 2am and speak to the fellow, probably to expound the scripture to the person. He can choose to speak whilst you are in conversation with people. And when He speaks, most times, it is in still small voice (1 Kings 19:12). If He decides to speak whilst one is sitted with a bottle of bear or a glass of wine, one may miss it. Or if one drinks a glass of wine and falls asleep and He decides to wake one up that night to intercede because a member is going through a spiritual attack, the fellow may not wake up. According to Isaiah 28:7, wine causes one to err in vision. God maybe saying ‘child don’t enter that blue car.’ Because of alcohol in the system, one may hear ‘child enter that blue car’. People may point to Paul's admonition to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23 as a reason to drink wine. That wine was for health not pleasure, just as an antibiotics is for health not for pleasure. The third group are those who want to stay alive and be strong and healthy. Proverbs 31:6-7 says, “Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.” Studies have shown that alcohol kills more teenagers than all other drugs combined. Also, 39 per cent of all traffic deaths involved alcohol. In addition, 40 percent of violent crimes occur under the influence of alcohol. One may argue that taking alcohol once in a while is not harmful. Well, according to Proverbs 23:32, wine bites like a snake and stings like a viper. Only one encounter with a snake is enough to get a snake bite. A glass is enough to increase one's chances of having liver cirrhosis.

NOTE: You may know a lot of people who have been drinking for donkey years who are still healthy. Remember we are not all the same. Some are allergic to certain things while others are not. Some people's liver are made of 'iron' while others are made of tissue. Unfortunately, you don’t know what type of liver you have.

FACT: According to 1 Corinthians 6:9, no drunkards will be allowed through the pearly gates!

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.