BUT BY MY SPIRIT

MEMORY VERSE: David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. 1 Samuel 17:37

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 1-3

BIBLE READING: Judges 14:5-6

Zechariah 4:6 says, “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” There are several facts we can draw from this popular text. Firstly, with human strength - synonym for might - you are limited. For instance, no matter how strong you are, you will experience tiredness from time to time especially after a hard day’s work. Even the youths (symbol of strength) grow tired and become weary (Isaiah 40:30). You will accomplish very little with your human strength. Hence, the word of God says: “Not by might”. When it comes to dealing with the issues of life and challenges, human strength will avail you nothing. 1 Samuel 2:9 says, “He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.” Secondly, with human will /influence /talent /skill -synonyms for power- you are limited. The centurion whom Jesus healed his servant had power /authority /influence /connection but could not heal his servant (Luke 7:1-10). That centurion, despite all he had, was limited. You will accomplish very little with your human power. If you don’t believe me, speak to people who make New Year resolutions at the beginning of each year. With all their power (physical, mental and emotional), five weeks into the New Year they would have broken their New Year resolutions. Might i add to it, you will accomplish very little with your boldness. The enemy is not intimidated by your boldness. It is only by the Spirit of the Lord that you will emerge as a victor! It is only by the Spirit of the Lord that you will start a project and complete it.

You will only defeat Goliath by the Spirit of the Lord not by swords or Saul’s armour. 1 Samuel 17:37 says, “David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.” David couldn’t have killed the lion and the bear by his power or might. An average adult lion weighs 190kg. The average height of a fully grown lion is 4ft tall and 6ft long. How can a boy, under the age of 16, kill a lion? The average weight of a fully grown bear is 365kg; average length is 7ft long. David stood no chance with a bear talk-less of a 9ft giant. But by the spirit of God, he defeated the lion, the bear and Goliath. Samson couldn’t have killed the lion by his strength. Judges 14:6 says, “And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.” Without the Spirit of the Lord, you cannot defeat Goliath. (A goliath is simply anything that is standing between you and God’s plan for your life). Only the Spirit of the Lord can help you defeat that fellow who is standing between you and your promotion at your place of work. Without the Spirit of the Lord, you cannot destroy those lions that are harassing you and roaring at you. Your human strength has yielded no results, why not try Jesus. He saves – not only from sin but - from everything!

NOTE: Human power may fail but Jesus never fails.

PRAYER POINT: Father, deal with every lion harassing me in Jesus name.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

KNOW YOUR ENEMY

MEMORY VERSE: For 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

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Revelation 21-23

Who is an enemy? According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, an enemy is someone who hates another: someone who attacks or tries to harm another. We have an enemy and it is important that we identify that enemy. We need to identify him in case we want to plan an attack against him or defend ourselves. Once we have identified this enemy, identifying other things - his weapon, tactics, strengths, and weaknesses – becomes easy. It is difficult, if not impossible, to defeat an enemy you have not identified. God is not your enemy. The Most High God is for you. He is on your side. Your mother-in-law is not your enemy. Your husband’s brother is not your enemy. That neighbour who complains every time you pray aloud at night is not your enemy. Besides, you should not be disturbing your neighbors with your prayers. Jesus, in other not to disturb His neighbors, would wake up very early in the morning, go to an isolated place and pray. Mark 1:35 says: “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” That manager, at place of work, who refused to grant your annual leave request, is not your enemy. Neither is the traffic warden who gave you a parking ticket for parking wrongly.

Who is this enemy? 1 Peter 5:8 says: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” The devil is your enemy. Ephesians 6:12 says: “For 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.” Flesh and blood i.e. people are not your enemies. They sometimes act like enemies- but they are not. They are only relatives in darkness who are believing lies and are being influenced by the devil. That fellow is wicked towards you because he has believed the lies of the enemy. Why does the devil hate humankind? Firstly, he hates us because every time he sees us, he sees God. Man is the only creation made in the image of God, even the angels, who he (Satan) used to be, were not made in the image of God. Secondly, he hates us because we stole his job and we are better at it than he was. Satan used to be a worship leader in heaven; after he rebelled against God, he lost his job. So now, when you and i praise God, he gets jealous. Lastly, he hates us so much because God loves us so much. God provided a way for us to be forgiven but He never gave Satan a chance at forgiveness. According to Romans 5:8, God Himself paid our debt for us in the form of Jesus Christ, His son but He did not do that for Satan. All this put together makes him hate man. The main target of the enemy is our faith (1 Peter 5:9). Remember the bible says, without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). The enemy attacks our faith with doubts and fear. Because we are involved in a fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12), we must do everything in our power to hold on to faith in God’s word (Hebrews 4:14, 10:23), and not give in to fear and doubt.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: We receive God’s provision by faith so we must believe what God says.

CONFESSION:  I refuse to believe the lies of the enemies, the devil, in Jesus Name. Amen.

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