THE DANGERS OF HAVING WHAT GOD DOES NOT WANT YOU TO HAVE

MEMORY VERSE: And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land. 2 Chronicles 26:21

BIBLE READING: 1 Kings 9-12

BIBLE READING: 2 Chronicles 26:18-23

One of the names of the Lord is ‘Father’. Luke 11:2 says: 'And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.' As a genuine loving father, He wants the best for His children. As such, there are things He does not want His children to have at all for their good. The Lord knew that a certain type of knowledge would destroy Adam and Eve; as a result, He warned them not to eat the forbidden fruit. Genesis 2:17 says: ‘But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.’ Adam and Eve ate what God did not want them to eat, and they died. There are things the Lord does not want you to have or do at all because they will destroy you e.g. communicate with the dead. There are courses the Lord does not want you to sit for because He knows that they will not be profitable to you. I beg you, please don’t fight for a position God has not given to you. King Uzziah tried to be a priest against God's plan and he became a leper (2 Chronicles 26:21).

There are things the Lord does not want you to have at the moment because of your spiritual maturity. The father of the prodigal son didn’t want him to have the inheritance and freedom he asked for because he wasn't mature enough to handle such responsibility ( Luke 15:11-32). The father was correct; he squandered his inheritance. As a single brother/sister, the Lord does not want you to engage in pre-marital sex because it may bond you to the wrong person. Besides, your judgement of things will become clouded once you begin to sleep with people you are not married to. Going through the Scriptures, you will find that everyone who had what God did not want them to have regretted it e.g. Adam, Eve, Abram, Hezekiah, Judas, etc. Abram had a wife God did not want him to have and lost his peace.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please let me never have something you don’t want me to have.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world.

DANGERS OF RESTING BEFORE THE FINISH LINE

MEMORY VERSE: And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. 2 Samuel 11:1

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 81-85, Proverbs 17

One of the biggest concerns in the body of Christ today is that majority of us are beginning to take our foot off the gas. We no longer pray as we used to. We no longer fast as we used to. We longer witness about Christ to people, especially our colleagues at work and neighbours at home, as we used to. We no longer give as we used to. We now count many spiritual activities as a waste of time. The fervency with which some of us used to serve the Lord is no longer there. Many never used to joke with their quiet time. No matter how tired they are, they will read at least a chapter of the bible daily. Today, many of us cannot remember the last time we read a complete chapter of the bible. When i was younger, i remember that everyone’s New Year goals used to be to read the whole bible in a year. During that time, a man of God read the bible nine times in a year. Today, people no longer set such targets for themselves. It used to be a thing of pride to suffer for Christ or for the gospel. Today, being a child of God is no longer cool. No one wants to be like Jesus anymore. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 24:13, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” In other words, saying the sinner’s prayer is not enough. Being born into a Christian family is not enough. You must be upright to the very end. You must not practice sin. If you fall into sin, you repent right away, ask for forgiveness, and move on. You must run from sin until you go to be with the Lord.

Asides this, there is danger is resting before the finish line. 2 Samuel 11:1 says: “And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.” When David was meant to be at the battlefront - leading the armies of Israel to war, defending the nation and conquering new territories - he stayed at home to rest. While he was resting, the enemy caught up with him and set a trap for him. King David woke up from bed and decided to take a stroll around his palace. Whilst strolling, he saw Bathsheba bathing. He saw what he was not meant to see and got into trouble. Before he knew what was happening, he had already fallen into the sin of adultery. This mistake cost him all he had ever worked for even the throne. The man who used to reside in the palace now began live in pits. Friend, the enemy is making more effort than ever to get us to fall into sin. He is doing everything possible for us to make a costly mistake and lose the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is not the time to take your foot off the gas. This is not the time to play with your salvation. This is not the time to stop witnessing. This is not the time to joke with your prayer life. This is not the time to lose your zeal for the things of God. This is not the time to relax. This is not the time to joke with your quiet time.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please revive your church.

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DANGERS OF SIBLING RIVALRY

MEMORY VERSE: And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. Genesis 4:8

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Second Corinthians 12- Galatians 1

The agenda of the enemy, the thief, can be summarized as follows: to steal, to kill and to destroy (John 10:10). When he wants to steal from, kill or destroy a family/a family member, one of the tools he employs is sibling rivalry. Friend, sibling rivalry is not a small thing, if left unchecked; it has the potential to truncate destinies as we will see shortly. The first thing I want you to know is, when there is rivalry between siblings, everyone suffers. The siblings involved suffers, their parents – father and mother suffers, in some extreme cases, the children of the siblings involved in rivalry suffers.

In Genesis 4:1-15, we find the first instance of sibling rivalry in the world. Two brothers, Cain and Abel, brought an offering to God. God accepted Abel’s offering and rejected Cain’s offering. The bible records that: “And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell” (Genesis 4:5). Friend, why are you wroth and why has your countenance fallen? Is it because a sister is getting married soon and you are still single? Is it because God bought that family a house and He is yet to buy you a house? Because Abel’s offering was accepted and Cain’s offering was not, Cain got angry at Abel. The question is this, is it the fault of Abel that God accepted his offering and rejected his brother’s offering? Friend, do not get angry at that fellow because God is blessing him or her, instead ask the Lord to bless you too. Besides, God has not forgotten you. You will testify soon. Cain became angry and he killed Abel. Genesis 4:8 says, “And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” Because of Cain’s action, he was cursed and banished from the presence of the Lord.

The rivalry between Cain and Abel led to the death of Abel. If sibling rivalry is left unchecked, it can lead to loss of lives. The destiny of Abel was truncated courtesy of the rivalry between him and his brother. Not only that, their rivalry brought untold pains and sorrow to their parents. Adam and Eve lost Abel forever. Cain too suffered because he received a curse. Cain’s children also suffered from the curse that was placed on their father. If the ground fails to yield her strength to Cain, how will Cain feed his wife and children? As you can see, everyone – father, mother, siblings, sibling’s children, etc, suffers when there is sibling rivalry. Do you know ministry also suffers and at times truncated as a result of sibling rivalry? By God’s grace we will look into that soon but in the mean time, it is obvious there is a need to raise prayers for families. Families are the fabric of our nation, if sibling rivalry continues to thrive in them; our nations will continue to suffer.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please put an end to sibling rivalry in our families.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.         

LUST - SIGN OF DANGER AHEAD PT2

MEMORY VERSE: for all that is in the world, lust of the flesh, and lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.1 John 2:16

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lev 21, Ps 26-27, Eccl 4, 1 Tim 6

BIBLE STUDIES: 2 Samuel 13:1-21

In part one of these series, we highlighted the difference between love and lust. One of the major differences between love and lust is that, lust is impatient but love is patient. We learnt that lust often leads to unwholesome actions to fulfill one’s desires with no regard to the consequences. In 2 Samuel 13:1-21 is an unfortunate story of Ammon and his sister-Tamar. The spirit of lust entered into Ammon and he raped Tamar. At the end of the day Ammon was murdered. If we carefully study this story, we will see that the end of lust is always a sad one. Untimely death, shame, loss of favor, disappointment, unhappiness, e.t.c. are all end results of lust.

There are two types of lusts – lust of the flesh and lust of the yes. 1 John 2:16 says for all that is in the world, lust of the flesh, and lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. What is lust of the flesh? It is an evil desire for the things of the flesh or desire for things which are forbidden. The desire doesn’t have to be for sex; it can be for any pleasure. Lust of flesh is a sensual and impure desire. The lust of flesh employs our sense of tasting, smelling, touching and hearing. Examples of lust of flesh are overeating, laziness and slothfulness, fornication, adultery, oral sex ,pornography, online sex, gambling, given to drugs – marijuana, cocaine, heroin e.t.c, homosexuality, homosexuality and so on . Romans 13:14 says but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts there of.

What is the lust of the eyes? It means having an inordinate desire for something that someone sees. The lust of the eyes employs our sense of seeing. It was the lust of the eyes that put Eve Into problem in the Garden of Eden. This also resulted in not only in her spiritual death but the spiritual death of her husband- Adam. The bible records that the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, Genesis 3:16. Watch what you feed your eyes with because the enemy could use it to destroy you. The enemy used the organ of sight to reap Eve of her destiny. Eve who used to live in heaven on earth, now began to live with weed, thorns and wild animals. The end of all lust is untimely death as we see in the case of Ammon. The death may not come physically,it could come financially, spiritually, maritally or materially.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please rid me of carnality.

The danger in God’s silence

Proverbs 3 vs 12 -for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son In whom he delights .
Our God works in extremes, He does not like people He loves them ! For example John 3 vs 16 says for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. He does not dislike He hates, Proverbs 6 vs 16-19 says these six things the Lord hates, yes seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies and one who sows discord among brethren. There is no sitting on the fence with God. It is either cold or warm no lukewarm . Revelations 3 vs 15 says I know your works, that you are neither cold not hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
God is love ,1 John 4 vs 8 says He who does not love does not know God , for God is love. Because God is love , He corrects , Proverbs 3 vs 12 says whom the Lord loves He corrects. Correction is out of love not hatred. Proverbs 13 vs 24 says he who spares his rod hates his son , but he who loves him disciplines him promptly.
God deals with disobedience in two ways ,chastisement or rejection. God does not take disobedience likely. 1 Samuel 15 vs 22 says to obey is better than sacrifice .There is lot to gain from been obedient to God. Exodus 23 vs 22 says if you obey God your enemies will be His enemies. Exodus 19 vs 5 says if you obey God you will be His special treasure. John 15 vs 14 says we become God’s friends if we obey Him. Matthew 7 vs 24 compares an individual who obeys God to a man who built his house on the rock. Jeremiah 7 vs 23 says but this is what I command them, saying , ‘obey My voice, and I will be your God , and you shall be My people. And walk in the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you. According to Isaiah 48 vs 18 , when obey God our peace will be like a river.
Disobedience , stubbornness and rebellion are synonyms . In 1 Samuel 15 vs 23 , God likens disobedience to the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness to iniquity and idolatry. When people disobey God , He either chastises them or rejects them. There is no man alive who has never disobeyed God. Psalm 130 vs 3 says If You, Lord, should mark iniquities , O Lord who could stand ? Although the Lord said there is none like Job on earth, a blameless and upright man , who fears God and shuns evil – Job 1 vs 8, Job himself knew He was far from God’s description . That was why He said “truly I know it so , but how can a man be righteous before God – Job 9 vs 2.
God’s chastening is not easy .Hebrews 12 vs 11 says now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present ,but painful. Although the chastening maybe painful but Hebrew 12 vs 5 admonishes us not to be discouraged when He rebukes us. There is no son that the father does not chasten – Hebrew 12 vs 7 . Chastening is only disapproval, it is not the end . When a child does something the parent disapproves of , they chastise such child but it is not the end . After correcting the child ,they still show him or her love. When we disobey God and He chastises us , it is not the end of the relationship between Him and us.
If God loves you or He regards you in anyway expect Him to chasten you when you disobey Him. The Lord loved Solomon to the extent that He gave him a name – Jedidiah meaning beloved of the almighty , 2 Samuel 12 vs 25.Prior to his birth in 2 Samuel 7 vs 14 , the Most High said He will be his father, if he commits iniquities , He will chasten him with the rod of men and the blows of the sons of men. The same thing happened to David. Although David was a man after God’s heart , when He misbehaved the Lord chastened Him- 2 Samuel 12 vs 7-12 . The Lord did this out of love.
The other way He deals with disobedience or sin Is through rejection. The Lord’s rejection is worse than His chastisement . Once the Lord rejects a man or a woman , the next thing that follows is shame, disgrace and death a times .If you do not believe me ask Miriam . She was one of the first prophetess in Israel. According to Exodus 15 vs 20 , she was not only a prophetess , she was the equivalent of the first lady in Israel because all the women looked up to her . Because she despised the man of God -Moses , although she was older than him the Lord rejected her immediately and she became a leper-Numbers 12 vs 10. Moses pleaded on her behalf and the Lord cured her after seven days but do you know that the bible never mentioned her name , she never prophesied until her death- Numbers 20 vs 1.A woman a country had always looked up to because of the power of God in her life suddenly became a nobody.
The same thing happened to Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26 vs 1-23.The Lord orchestrated it in away that instead of his father he was made king of Judah at sixteen years . Because of his humility and conduct especially to God and God’s prophet the Lord made him prosper. This young king was so rich he stopped building towers in the city and began building towers in deserts just because he could afford it. The bible records that he had an army of three hundred and seven thousand five hundred (307,500) excluding around two thousand and six hundred (2600) chief official of the armies. United Kingdom has 197,780 active army personnel in 2012 ,Uzziah had 307,500 active military personnel back in 750 BC . This king was really blessed and pride got into him . He entered the temple to burn incense even when the Lord had warned that the task is for Aaron and his sons. Because the priest questioned him , he got angry and the Lord said enough. You know the end of the story ,immediately he became a leper. He was taken away from the palace and kept in a isolated house.
One thing we discover from Proverbs 3 vs 12 is that the Lord does not correct everybody. When He decides to correct you or rebuke you in any way then you should be happy because He loves you. When we disobey him and He keeps quiet then something has gone wrong. That is why we need to be worried if our conscience has stopped condemning us when we do something wrong or sin. In Mark 8 vs 31 -34 , Jesus told His disciples what was going to befall him and how this had to be done to fulfill the will of His father. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him for planning to die. Jesus got angry and scolded Peter. He even described Peter’s action as that of Satan , not because He hated Peter but because He was disappointed in Peter. The same Peter He built His ministry on . Do you know Judas stole from the purse and the Jesus never rebuked him for once ! -John 12 vs 6 . Why did He keep quiet , because  He had already rejected Judas. The love of money that drove Judas to steal from the purse also drove him to betray Jesus. By the time he discovered his mistake it was too late. He could not face the world so he committed suicide.
The fact that you are still speaking in tongues or dreaming or seeing vision does not mean you are living right. You can live in sin and still speak in tongue or dream or perform miracles. Although Judas was rejected by Jesus, he was still part of the disciples until the last supper. He moved with Jesus and ate with him . Why did Jesus permit this because He was giving him chance to repent but Judas did not repent. You might be in sin and gifts of the Holy Spirits are still manifesting in your life , the Lord left them for you to repent. The gifts of the Holy Spirits are not proof that you living a life of righteousness. Beware of the vices of the devil.
Do you also know that if He continues to chasten you over an issue and you do not repent , it might lead to rejection ? Proverbs 3 vs 11 says My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction. Proverbs 10 vs 17 says he who keeps instruction is in the way of life, but he who refuses correction goes astray . Most times the Lord rebukes us through our parents in the Lord or boss at work or earthly parents. We should heed correction . After several warning from God to Eli , he did not change. He did not rebuke his children .Because he refused correction the Lord sworn that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever – 1 Samuel 3 vs 14 .Now tell me if the same God who said in Leviticus 4 vs 1-5 that if a man sins unintentionally , he should bring a young bull without blemish as a sin offering now decides that a sin offering can atone for a man’s sin then you should know that it is serious.
This is why if you are yet to give your life Christ I will beg you to do so now. We can not continue to ignore Him when He calls us to be His child . If He continues to call you and you reject Him , He will simply go . I pray that He will not leave you .
The bible said in Romans 3 vs 23 that for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 6 s 23 says For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The gift was explained in John 3 vs 16 , For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. What shall we do to be save ? The bible says in Romans 10vs 9 that if you confess with your mouth , Jesus is Lord , and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10 vs 10 – For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with our mouth that you confess and are saved.
Pray this prayer from your heart today!
Dear Jesus , I believe that You died for me and rose again on the third day. I confess I am a sinner. I need your love and forgiveness. Come into my heart . Forgive my sins. I receive Your eternal life. Confirm You love by giving me peace, joy and supernatural love for others, Amen.
Welcome to Christ brethren, Please join a bible believing church.
Samuel Oluwatoki
Please forward this newsletter to a friend, family or colleague . Remember Matthew 10 vs 32 which says whoever confesses me before me , him I will confess before my father who is heaven.