YOU CAN BE AN ‘ANDREW’

MEMORY VERSE: And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. John 1:42

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Corinthians 1-3

BIBLE READING: Matthew 28:18-20

Why should we talk about our Christian faith to our unsaved friends, families, work colleagues, etc? First, it is a command of Jesus himself. Mark 16:15 says,” And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Secondly, we tell people because there is a desperate need for people to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. If we were in the Sahara Desert and had discovered an oasis, it would be extremely selfish not tell the people around us who were thirsty where their thirst could be satisfied. Jesus is the only One who can satisfy the thirsty hearts of men and women. As a race we feel empty. Many have tried to fill that void unsuccessfully with alcohol, dress, sex, or money. Only Jesus can feel that void. Thirdly, we tell others because, having discovered the good news ourselves, we feel an urgent desire to pass it on. If we have received good news we want to tell others. Recently a sister shared with me that her younger sister had been cured of cancer. She was bubbling with joy hoping to share this testimony with anyone that cared to listen. This same applies to sharing the good news with our friends and family.

One of the most effective ways of proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ is bringing people to hear the gospel explained by someone or invite them to Jesus. Many of us who have come to faith in Christ have lots of friends who have little or no connection with the church. This provides an excellent opportunity for us to invite them to church. There is no greater privilege and no greater joy than enabling someone to find out about Jesus Christ. A brother who stood out when it comes to inviting people to church was Brother Andrew. John 1:42 says, “And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.” We don’t hear much about Andrew except that he was always bringing people to Jesus (John 6:8; 12:22). But Simon Peter his brother went on to be one of the greatest influences in the history of Christianity. 

Albert McMakin was a twenty years old farmer who had recently come to faith in Christ. He was so full of enthusiasm that he filled a truck with people and took them to a meeting to hear about Jesus. There was a good-looking farmer’s son whom he was especially keen to get to a meeting, but this young man was hard to persuade – he was busy falling in and out of love with different girls, and did not seem to be attracted to Christianity. Eventually Albert McMakin managed to persuade him to come by asking him to drive the truck. When they arrived,  Albert’s guest decided to go in and was ‘spellbound’ and began to have thoughts he had never knew knowing before. He went back again and again until one night, he went forward and gave his life to Jesus Christ. That man, the driver of the truck, was Billy Graham. The year was 1934. Since then Billy Graham has led thousands to faith in Jesus Christ. We cannot all be like Billy Graham, but we can all be like Albert McMaken- we can all bring our friends to Jesus.

NOTE: We cannot all be Simon Peters, but we can all do what Andrew did – we can bring someone to Christ.

PRAYER POINT: Father , make me an incurable soul winner.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

DEMONSTRATING LOVE

MEMORY VERSE: And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me, John 12:32.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Judg 14, Acts 18, Jer 27, Mark 17

Jesus said and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me (John 12:32). In other words I will do everything possible to help everyone I know get to heaven or I will use everything in my power to bring people to where I am going ( heaven) or I will spend and be spent for the sole purpose of evangelism. A careful study of this verse exposes the determination of Jesus to save humanity. Not only that, it reveals the willingness of Jesus to go all the way just to make His Father (God) happy. The Most High built heaven for fellowship with His children on earth. He wants to see all His children at the end in heaven. The sum total of it all is Jesus loves us and He is prepared to go to any length to get us to heaven.

Many of us say that we love our children, family, work colleagues, business partners, neighbor e.t.c in actual sense we don’t. The only way to show that you love a fellow is by pointing him or her to Christ in other words witness about Christ to them. How can you say you love a brother, and you see him treading on the path to hell and you keep quiet or do nothing about it?

One the Day of Judgment many friends will look at their Christians friends and say you are the reason I am going to hell. They will say you knew about hell and never bothered to tell me about Christ. Many children will look at their parents with tears and say Dad or Mum; you know my lifestyle did not reflect Christ and you kept quiet. Many would look at their colleagues at work and say ‘I sat opposite you for ten years and you never bothered to introduce Christ to me’. Some colleagues will say we ate lunch together at work every day and you never talked about Jesus once. Others will say I gave you lift to work every day and you never bothered to tell me about Christ. Many husbands would look at their wives and say ‘you knew that I was heading for this place (hell) and you could not even fast for my salvation ’. Many land lords will look at their tenants with the look of so you knew about Christ and you never told me about Him. Many will say bro I sat by you in the bus from Location A to B and throughout the journey you did not even bother to tell me about salvation. A lot of family and friends will say i came to your child dedication, christening, birthday’s e.t.c and you never cared to ask if i have accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. The only way to demonstrate love is to witness. The best gift you can give anyone is Jesus. You don’t really love those children until your number one priority becomes where they spend eternity. You don’t really love that bro or sister until your number one priority becomes where he or she will spend eternity.

TO PONDER ON: How can you say you love a brother, and you do not care about his salvation?

HIDDEN MINISTRY

MEMORY VERSE: that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly, Matthew 6:18

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deut 23, Ps 112-113, Isa 50, Rev 20

BIBLE STUDIES: Luke 2:22-39

In our bible studies, we read about two important figures in the life and ministry of Jesus. They are Simeon and Anna. Although their names were only mentioned once in the bible, their ministry was the engine behind the success of the ministry of Jesus. They were involved in what is called ‘hidden ministry’. They spent the most part of their lives in closed doors interceding for Jesus and everyone connected to His ministry. Immediately the Holy Ghost revealed the plans of God concerning Jesus to them, they began to pray about it. Through the power of praying and fasting, they destroyed the plans and agenda of the enemy over Jesus. The plan to terminate the life of Jesus at birth failed because these two prayed. No one knew about their existence, but the Lord mightily used them in the secret and there were physical manifestation like the raising up of Lazarus from death.

Today there are a lot of people involved in the hidden ministry and I congratulate them. The people in this ministry are the engine behind the mighty works the Lord is doing in the world today. Some of them fast once in a week and intercede for the missionaries all over the world. Some of them pray for an hour twice a week for the barren in the body of Christ. Some of them pray daily for the unsaved souls that the Lord will touch their heart and save them. Some of them intercede for ministries all over the world. Whatever it is you are doing I want to let you know that the Lord sees it and your reward awaits you.

The question is why should I join the hidden ministry? The hidden ministry is the engine behind all the Lord is doing today. Just as car owners pay special to their car engines, the Most High pays special attention to the people involved in these ministry. Passengers and even the driver of the car might not bother about the condition of the engine but the owner of the car does. The Most High also cares about His children who are involved in this ministry. The only part of the car that gets serviced from time to time is the engine. People in this ministry receive regular servicing from the Most High. At the age of over a hundred, Anna the prophetess was still very strong because of the regular MOT she received from God. While most people sleep in the Lord unfulfilled, Simeon slept a happy man because he saw His savior before He died.

ACTION POINT: Dedicate time and begin to intercede for the body of Christ today.

GO AND FISH

MEMORY VERSE: You do not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you, John 15:16

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Num 9, Ps 45, Sng 7, Heb 7

BIBLE STUDIES: Mathew 17:24-27

There are very few instances in the bible where you will find Jesus in need of something. He always has more than enough. One of the very few instances where Jesus was in need is recorded in Matthew 17:24-27. Jesus and His disciples went to the temple to pray, some men approached him and requested for temple tax. Since He had no money on Him, He told Peter to go to the sea, cast his hook and take the first fish that comes up. He told him to open the mouth of the fish, take the money there and use it to pay for the temple tax. There are a lot to learn from this story but I want us to focus on what Jesus did when the need for temple tax arose. He told Peter to go and fish. Spiritually fishing means soul winning. In Luke 5:1-10, Jesus told Peter that He would make him a fisher of men. Fisher of men to mean a fellow who brings souls to Christ.

In the mouth of every fish you catch for Jesus, there is gold there for you. For every soul you bring to Christ, there is a big reward. People who do not witness or are too shy to witness about Christ are robbing themselves of good things. One thing common with people who witness about Christ regularly is that they always have testimonies to share. Also one of the conditions that you must satisfy before going to God over any matter is that you must ensure that you are bearing fruit i.e. bringing people to Christ and your fruit must remain which simply means you must do follow up. John 15:16 says you do not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. 

A particular sister who had been looking for a life partner for a long time heard a message like this and made up her mind to start witnessing for Christ. The first brother she brought to the Lord became her husband. She is happily married with children now. An illiterate driver heard a message like this and decided to start fishing for Christ. One day he witnessed to his educated boss and that one gave his life to Christ. When this boss was promoted and transferred abroad, instead of terminating his contract and sending him away he took his beloved driver with me. Today that driver that used to be an illiterate is now a well to do man courtesy of the doors of opportunity that opened to him in the foreign land. That gold or opportunity you are looking for could be lying in the mouth of a fish (unsaved soul). When I first joined my current church, a sister took it upon herself to do follow up with me. Every time she didn't see me at church she would check on me to see if all is well and encourage me to come the next Sunday. With time my attendance improved and I didn’t need any follow up again. One day during one of our evening services, the Lord instructed me to bless her financially and I obeyed. When she opened the envelope I gave to her, she burst into tears .It was then I knew that she had been struggling financially for a while and the Lord had visited her. It is not a coincidence that the Lord used the brother she was doing follow up on to meet her her needs.She found gold in the mouth of the fish she caught for Christ. If she had not done the follow up, who would the Lord have used? Maybe no one. 

KEY WORD: Evangelism is for your own good.

REWARDS OF EVANGELISM

MEMORY VERSE: And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever, Daniel 12:3

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 37, John 16, Prov 13, Eph 6

One activity that attracts God blessings is evangelism. It is guaranteed that anyone who witnesses about Christ regularly will inherit glory. How do I know these? Proverbs 11:30 says he that winneth soul is wise. According to Proverbs 3:35 only the wise (soul winners) shall inherit glory. Not only that Daniel 12:3 says and they that be wise (soul winners) shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. Anyone who will shine for Jesus must love soul winning.
When I first began to go to attend my present church , my attendance was nothing to write home about. There was this lady from the evangelism team who kept on calling me and encouraging me to attend church. Gradually, my attendance improved I began to attend church regularly although I was still missing Sunday school service. During one of our mid week services, something just led me to look in the direction of this sister (sister that was encouraging me to come to church) and the Holy Spirit said I should empty my pockets because of her. If I am to be honest, I felt very uncomfortable with this. Not because I had much money in my pocket, but because it could lead to embarrassment. I thought this sister might think that I am trying to lure her with money or something so I almost refused but the Holy Spirit encouraged me. I did what I was told and I handed it to her in an envelope. I also begged not to open it in the church but wait till she gets home. As I got home, my phone rang and I picked it up .It was this sister crying on the phone. Immediately I knew the Lord had met an urgent need in her life. Do you know this sister was the first person to get married in that church?

When you are fond of witnessing about Jesus, He will be fond of proving Himself in your life. After I gave my life to Christ I began to witness too. There was this particular sister in my place of work who smokes. I began to encourage her and witness to her. To the glory of God she stopped smoking and began to attend services more regularly. Several months later, I left work very hungry and i had nothing to eat at home. Till today I can’t explain why I was that hungry but I was just unusually very hungry. While I was on my way home my phone rang,lo and behold it was this sister at work. She said she had just finished preparing this delicious African soup and something just kept telling her call Sam. I knew that was the Holy Spirit at work so I said no problem. As I was about to disconnect the call, she asked if I had anything to eat the soup with and I said no. Around twenty five minutes later, this lady arrived with this soup and pounded yam (African food). She said something that day I will never forget. She said she tried to ignore the voice but the voice kept coming back. She said the voice was so persistent that she could not even eat so she had to bring it first. I thanked her and she left. I descended on this pounded yam and the Lord took glory.

KEYWORD: When you are fond of witnessing about Jesus, He will be fond of proving Himself in your life

HALF EVANGELISM

 

MEMORY VERSE: 1 Corinthians 9:22 to the weak I as weak that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 30, John 9, Prov 6, Gal 5

 

Asides praise and worship, one activity God loves so much and takes interest in is evangelism. No wonder He said in Luke 11:23, ‘he that is not with Me is against Me: and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth i.e. whoever is not bringing people to Christ is sending people away from Christ. There is a great reward for those who witness about Christ in heaven. Here on earth, the Lord has promised that those who witnesses i.e. turn many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever, Daniel 12:3.

 

There is more to evangelism than approaching people and telling them Jesus loves them and wants to save them. Evangelism is not about just telling people that Jesus came to die for them and all. It is far more than that. Most of the time what we do is half evangelism. We tell people Christ loves them but we are not ready to demonstrate the love of Christ to them. We tell people Jesus saves but we are not ready to be the savior we talked about to them. I remember a particular experience while i was witnessing to a particular sister. I was praying and literally begging her to accept Jesus but I noticed I was not making any progress at all so I sought the advice of a brother. At that time the sister had just lost her job, she could barely feed herself talk less of buy a bus fare to look for jobs. Anyway the brother advised me to be the Jesus I was preaching to her. Immediately I made some arrangements to get her some food stuff and I began to assist her in her job search. Guess what, the next time I invited her to church she turned up and I think that was her first time of setting foot in a church. Evangelism is not only about saving the soul but saving the body i.e. taking interest in what the fellow is going through and offering support. Another part of evangelism God is keen on is follow-up. One of the reasons why people are not encouraged to come to church anymore is because the church does not show genuine interest or care for them. Many have been attending service for weeks, months or even years and no one from church has bothered to contact them to check on them talk less of the pastor setting time out to visit them at home and pray with them. Jesus conducted follow up with his disciples. It was during one of the follow-up visits he healed the mother-in-law of Peter, Matthew 8:14-15. Several years ago a young lady gathered a group of street kids to teach them God’s word. Among these kids was Robert Morrison. He would attend church today and not show up for a while, only to show up out of the blue again. What always brought young Robert back to the class room was the follow-up this young lady was doing. Today Robert Morrison is known as the great missionary to China who translated the bible into the Chinese language and opened the Kingdom of Heaven to countless millions who live there. The follow-up conducted on the unpromising, unstable Robert gave birth to a great missionary.

 

ACTION POINT: Contact brothers and sisters you did not see in church last Sunday and check if all is well.

BY ASSOCIATION

 BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Gen 20, Matt 19, Neh 9, Acts 19

Proverbs 13:20 he that walked with wise man shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

Those we associate with can either move us closer to God or farther from God. They can either help our faith or the destroy our faith. Romans 10:17 says faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. If we surround ourselves with people who have faith, our faith will definitely grow. To make a mark in life, one needs to associate with people who want to make a mark in life not time wasters or people without goals. Our association informs our perspective of life.It influences our confession, how we react to issues, even our commitment to God. Through association one can either become wise or foolish. There are two types of wisdom. There is the earthly wisdom and divine wisdom. It is the earthly wisdom that advocates sex before marriage or ensuring that the lady gets pregnant before taking her to the altar. The end of such wisdom is confusion and every evil thing, James 3:16. There is also divine wisdom. Divine wisdom comes from the fear of the Lord, Psalm 111:10. Divine wisdom is to fear God, Job 28:28. If you come across any professor or philosopher or genius who says there is no God, know for sure that such fellow is totally void of wisdom –earthly or divine. Psalm 53:1 says the fool says in his heart, ‘there is no God’. Proverbs 8:13 says the fear of the Lord is to hate evil .According to Proverbs 16:6; it is by the fear of the Lord that men depart from evil. Those that are in possession of this divine wisdom do not play with evangelism. Proverbs 11:30 says he who wins souls is wise. Soul winning is not a choice. It is not negotiable. Proverbs 4:7 says wisdom i.e. soul winning is the principal thing. The question is why do I need to win souls for Jesus? Proverbs 3:35 says soul winners i.e. the wise shall Inherit glory. Not only that, they shall shine like the brightness of the firmament and those who turn many to righteousness e.g. those who invite people to church , like the stars forever and ever. This form of wisdom brings peace, James 3:17.

I want to become wise, what can I do? I am struggling in the area of soul winning what do you advise? I know it is right to fear God but for some reason I struggle when it comes to fearing God, please what can I do? The first step is to ask God who is the giver of wisdom. James 1:5 says if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men liberally, and reproaches not; and it shall be given him. The second step is to change one’s association. Proverbs 27:17 says it is only Iron that can sharpen Iron. Proverbs 13:20 admonishes that anyone who wants wisdom should associate with the wise. It is possible for a wise man to become foolish. How? By associating with fools. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says be not deceived, ‘evil communications corrupt good manners’. The greatest deception in the world today is the belief that we can change people. It is the Holy Spirit that changes people not men. If you are keeping unwise friends with an intention to change them later or you are in a relationship with an unwise person hoping to change them after marriage you are only deceiving yourself. People can change and people do change but it is advisable to go into marriage with the brother or sister who God has changed not who He is in the process of changing or planning to change.

ACTION POINT: Examine your present associations and check their effect on your walk with Christ. If they are taking you away from Christ , it is a sign that those association are not the best for you.

GOLD IN THE MOUTH OF FISH PART 2

Proverbs 11:30 says the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise.

In Matthew 17:24-27 is a well known story. Jesus was asked to pay temple tax so He told Peter to go to the sea, cast in a hook, take the first fish that comes up and open its mouth. He told him to use the money found in the mouth of the fish to pay the bill. The question is why could Jesus not pay the bill from His pocket or take some from the money bag to pay the bill? We know from reading John 12:6 that Jesus and His disciples had a money bag from which they took money to take care of the poor. Why the need to go all the way to the sea to catch a fish that has money in its mouth?

Jesus did this to teach His disciples of the importance of evangelism. When we talk of fishing we know biblically fishing symbolizes evangelizing. Jesus was trying to tell His disciples that for every fish they catch for Him, there is gold in its mouth. For every soul we win for Jesus we get gold. When I began to go to church my attendance was terrible. I will go this Sunday and will not go for another couple of Sundays which was my routine back then. There was this particular sister who kept on encouraging me and my attendance improved. After a while I began to witness about Christ. It was in the course of witnessing I met an unemployed Muslim sister. I began to witness to her but I was not making progress at all. I spoke to a brother about this and he told me I needed to show her Jesus cares by first caring for her and assisting her. I did as I was advised, on my way to our weekly church service I called this sister (Muslim) to meet me after church that I have something to give to her. While the service was going on in the church, the Holy Spirit began to tell me to give the money to the sister that used to encourage me to come to church when I first joined. I put the money in an envelope and gave it to her. On my way home I met with the Muslim sister and assisted her with some money too. As I was opening the door to my house my phone rang and when I checked, it was this sister from church. When I picked it up, she began to cry and thank me. I was deeply touched , i knew God had touched her in a way she never expected. She prayed and prayed and prayed for me. I did not know what she was going through and she did not mention it but what if she had not encouraged me to come to church regularly, would the Lord have been able to use us (me) to meet her needs? I do not know how many people God has sent to her on that day that has refused but one thing I know was that day God gave her gold for witnessing to me. Proverbs 11:30 says he that wins soul is wise. Please witness about Jesus, you never know who you will win for Jesus. That person may be the key to solve a particular problem or breakthrough in your life.

PRAYER POINT: Father make me an incurable soul winner.

Gold in the mouth of fish

Proverbs 13:2 – A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth, but the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.

In Matthew 17:24-27 Jesus was asked to pay temple tax so He told Peter to go the sea, cast in a hook, and take the first the fish that comes up . There are several lessons from this passage. Firstly, through Jesus our needs are met. Ephesians 3:20 says He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. Secondly, With Him nothing is impossible. Luke 1:37 says for with God noting will be impossible. Jeremiah 32:27 says I am the God of all flesh, is there anything too hard for me? Thirdly God is all-knowing. He knows the location of our breakthrough; He knows what you need to do to breakthrough in your endeavor. Hebrews 4:13 says nothing is hidden before God but all things are naked and open to His sight. Deuteronomy 26:6 says before Him, Death is naked and destruction has no coverings. Jesus has the key to every information in the world. Fourthly, God’s word is settled. Once God speaks nothing on earth can change it. Psalms 33:9 says He spoke and it was done, He commanded, and it stood fast. If there is anything He has promised you, I can assure you that He will bring it to pass. He told Peter inside the first fish is money and so it was when Peter caught the first fish.

Lastly, present in every fish are resources to meet our needs. By fish, we mean soul meaning according to Luke 5:10. For every soul we win for Jesus, heaven releases resources to meet our needs. Proverbs 13:2 says a man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth. You want God to take you to the top, you want Him meet your needs, you want hunger to be a strange word to you? Use your mouth effectively for Him. Use it to win souls. Proverbs 11:30 says He that wins soul is wise. Proverbs 3:35 says the wise shall inherit glory or honor. When we combine both scriptures it means He that wins soul will inherit glory.

ACTION POINT: Use everything within your power to win souls for Jesus.

ENLARGING GOD’S SERVICE

Monday 9 July                            Bible in one year:Luke 4-6

Memorise : And i will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly i love you , the less i be loved.2 Corinthians 12 vs 15

When God is looking for those to call, He looks for hardworking people because He is not lazy. God cannot entrust things of eternal value into the hands of lazy people. One thing you can be certain about concerning the 12 disciples the Lord chose, is that they were all hardworking people.Is it Peter, John, James or Matthew the tax collector or even Judas who was their treasurer? Balancing the accounts is not an easy job for the lazy. How hardworking are you ?

Another criteria God uses in selecting those He will use is their determination to serve Him all the days of their lives.Some people serve God now because of their present circumstance,status or location. The day there is a change in any of these , particularly in a negative sense , it will affect their commitment. But there are those who decide to serve Him in all circumstances and until their last breath. In 2 Corinthians 12 vs 15 says:
And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you, though the more abundantly i love you , the less i be loved.
He also said in Philippians 3vs 7-8 that all his gains were counted as losses to enable him know Jesus more. Have you resolved to serve him to the end? Some brethren are asking God for an anointing to heal the sick and raise the dead while God is asking them “how many souls have won to me since i saved you ?” Grace meets you on the move, the idle fellow would therefore be bypassed. Paul made a great sacrifice to appreciate God’s salvation. Some people have never made a major sacrifice to the Lord since they got saved. By His grace i got saved in July 1973 . The following year , I was in my village. I did not have much but i repaired a shop  and agreed with the owner that what i spent in that renovations would be converted into renting the shop for church use. It covered for up to 17 years. We did not spend up to that when we built our own church. I also went everywhere preaching the Gospel. God’s grace is meant to be used for God’s kingdom. What are you doing for Him?

ACTION POINT: Take a stock of your achievements for the Kingdom since you got saved. Compare your findings with the goals you earlier set and see the difference.