PRIVATE PREPARATION DETERMINES PUBLIC PERFORMANCE PT3

MEMORY VERSE: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.1 Peter 4:13

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lev 15, Ps 18, Prov 29,2 Thes 3

BIBLE STUDIES: Matthew 14:22-33

In our bible studies is a very popular story. It was late at night and there were no ships around to take Jesus to His disciples so He decided to walk on water to them. Peter saw Jesus walking on water and asked if he could join Him? Jesus said ‘come’, Peter jumped out of the boat and began to walk on water towards Jesus. After taking few steps, the wind began to blow and he began to panic. Before you know it Peter began to sink, thank God he quickly called on the name of Jesus and was saved. It is important to know that the presence of Jesus could not prevent Peter from sinking . Why? Because of fear. Anywhere fear is present,failure is inevitable. It does not matter whose errand you are running. You could even been acting on the word of God like Peter, once fear comes into the equation failure is not far away. No wonder Hebrew 11:6 says without faith it is impossible to please God. Even in the ministry, if you give room to fear instead of faith , you may fail.I pray you will not fail in Jesus name.

1 Peter 4:13 says but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

To be glad with exceeding joy , you must be ready to suffer for Christ. In Part two of these series ,i shared the testimony of a brother who the Lord paid his tuition and expenses throughout the duration of the course in the university. I also talked of this brother's labor of love in the private .I do not know why but i believe there is someone the Lord wants to publicly reward and He wants me share a little bit more about this brother to encourage that fellow. I mentioned in part two of these series that this brother is part of virtually all the groups in the church. Do you also know that this brother holds the key to the church i.e. he is the first to get to the church and last to leave? Not only that around eighteen months ago ,this brother challenged the faith of everyone by turning down a job that pays around £1,800 a month for a job of £200 a month all because he didn't want anything to come in between his commitment with his maker ; this brother is married with 3 kids. You are wondering why God provided a scholarship worth over £50 ,000 for this brother? You are wondering why God would go out of His way to pay for the tuition and expenses of this brother before he even started university? This brother suffered greatly for Christ in the private and today he is glad with exceeding joy because he is going to study for free while others have to pay.

PRAYER POINT: Father please open my eyes that i might do what will make me qualify for your exceeding joy.

WHEN BREAKTHROUGH IS CLOSE

1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 33, John 12, Prov 9, Eph 2

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. One question we all ask is how can I tell when my blessing is at the door? I have prayed, fasted, sown seeds, made vows and fulfilled them e.t.c. how can I tell breakthrough is around the corner. I have been asking God for a fruit of the womb, or a life partner or a job or a promotion or a spiritual gift e.t.c, how do I know when I am about to get what I have been asking from God? 

Today we will be looking at two signs that tells you your breakthrough is around the corner. Firstly, an unusual burden to be generous to both God and men. In 2 Kings 4:8-17 is the story of the great Shunem woman and Elisha. This woman had been looking up to God for the fruit of womb for a long time. When her time came, she began to have an unusual desire to give or be generous. She invited the man of God to come in for a meal and that one refused; she did not take no for answer, the bible records that she constrained him to eat bread. This woman could not explain why but there was this deep desire to give, no wonder she took her giving to another level by building a house for the man of God; nine months later she gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. Abraham waited on God for twenty-five years for the promise of a son. When his waiting period was about to be over, he too began to experience an unusual urge to give. He saw three strangers passing by; he ran to them and begged them to come into house for a glass of water. He did not feel comfortable with giving his guests water alone so he prepared food. Something arose in this ninety-nine year old man, and all he wanted to do was just give. We know the end of the story, exactly nine months later Isaac was born. Secondly, an unusual burden to pray. Hannah had been attending Shiloh for years, 1 Samuel 1:4-19. She would go with her family,offer burnt offerings and go back home but this particular year she had an unusual burden to pray. Whilst everyone was eating and drinking, she went into the temple and began to pour her heart unto God. She prayed to the extent even passers-by took notice of her, the man of God first thought she was drunk before he found out that she was praying over a matter. God spoke through the man of God and nine months later her joy was full. When Jesus was about to complete his mission on earth i.e. be crucified, He too had an unusual burden to pray. He began to experience a deep desire to pray; the more He prayed, the more He wanted to pray. He prayed to a point where His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground, Luke 22:44. Three days later, Jesus successfully completed this task and humanity was saved from the wrath of God. Brethren please do not joke with the urge to pray or do anything for God.

KEYWORD: Once you feel the urge to pray, drop whatever you are doing and just begin to pray if possible in tongue. Many have missed major breakthroughs by ignoring this urge.

GOD IS MY PORTION

Wednesday 11 July                             Bible study in one year : Luke 10-13

Memorize : The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. Psalm 16:5

Read:Philippians 1 :19-21

In the devotional for July 4, we saw from John 6:5-13, a young boy offering his lunch to Jesus. It was inferred that at the end of the day the people would have helped him to take home the 12 baskets remains from what he gave. One lesson is that why some giving may take  some time to give its yield, some others can give immediate yields.The boy’s gift got immediate returns.But note that the boy’s giving was sacrificial . He had just his lunch when he went with the crowd to listen to Jesus. When the Lord needed food , he decided to fast- to go hungry so that somebody else-even if it one person, could have something to eat. He did not share his meal; He gave it all like the poor widow did with her mite.  Sacrificial giving is what brings out the extreme giving qualities of God. In 1 Kings 17:8-16, God turned the last meal of an extremely needy widow into long-last supply but remember the widow first surrendered her last meal. She had the choice of eating her last meal and facing death or sacrificing her last meal to live.She chose right. Many people have found themselves in similar state as the widow but their momentary ,fleshly pleasure did not let them choose right, hence they have plunged themselves into more misery, thereby loosing what God had reserved for them.

A lot has to do with your decision.God may tell you what to do but He will not force you to do it. A right decision is a right decision and a wrong decision is wrong irrespective of the circumstances or excuse that are advanced. Ask God for grace to take the right decision  always no matter its immediate effect on you and your family. Sacrifice is a step in the right direction.Romans 12:1 says you should lay your entire life, achievement, family and plans upon the altar of sacrifice. Paul says if i will at all it is to live for Christ and if He wants me to die, there is even greater pain for me ( Philippians 1:21). That means either way, I am a winner. You too can win either way. According to 2 Corinthians 9:6 , to get God’s best , give bountifully. The ultimate of giving bountifully is when you give everything including yourself. If you do this, He will respond and say :’ From today whatever I have is now yours”. Yes , God can be your portion.

KEY POINT: The sacrifice to make God your portion may be enormous but cannot be compared with the unending flow of blessings that will flow