“AND YE SHALL FIND THEM”

MEMORY VERSE: To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 2 Chronicles 20:16

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 39-44

Wisdom, the correct application of knowledge, is profitable to direct (See Ecclesiastes 10:10).  Since wisdom is profitable to direct, knowledge, also, is profitable to direct. Wisdom, the right application of knowledge, is the principal thing (See Proverbs 4:7). Again, if wisdom is the principal thing, it then follows that knowledge is the principal thing. Knowledge is invaluable. Our lack of knowledge can lead to untimely death (See Hosea 4:6). Note: A Christian without knowledge may end up as lunch for the enemy. Divine knowledge is key to successful living (See Daniel 11:32). The lack of knowledge makes one vulnerable. Also, the lack of knowledge makes one a prime candidate for exploitation.

One may end up as a captive due to lack of knowledge (See Isaiah 5:13). The Lord wants the best for His children; you’ll agree with me that captivity or untimely death is not God’s plan for His children. As such, He invited us to call on Him with the promise to answer and show us things we don't know. The reveal things in several ways. You don’t decide how God speaks to you. He decides when, where, what, and how He wants to speak. Jeremiah 33:3 says: “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” From this verse, you will observe that prayer is linked to revelation. In other words, many a time prayer precedes revelation. If you want God to show you things, you must call on Him; viz, pray. Three major countries – Ammonites, Moabites and inhabitants of Mount Seir- came together to fight Judah (2 Chronicles 20). Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, gathered his people and they prayed to God. As they prayed, the Lord revealed the location of their enemies. 2 Chronicles 20:16 says: “To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.” Victory is not too far away the moment a man knows the location of his enemies.

NOTE: The Lord releases secrets during prayer. If you talk to Him (in prayer), He will respond back with mysteries – greats things you don’t know.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world.

GETTING TO KNOW PEOPLE

MEMORY VERSE: But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand. Isaiah 32:8

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 33-35

One thing you can’t do without, as far as you are alive, is relating with people. It is humans God will use to answer most of our prayer requests especially ones pertaining to material needs. You and i, can’t do without relating with people and as such, there is a need to know them. Our knowledge of people informs how we relate with them. Our knowledge of people determines who we do business with, who we employ as a nanny for our children, who we put in positions in our ministry or business, who we entrust with things, who we go to for counselling and many more. Even when we don’t know people directly, we depend on the recommendations of people we know who knows them or who have dealt with them. Knowing people, very well, before doing business with them, bringing them under our roof, putting our integrity on the line for them or relating with them at any level is crucial. A lot has lost life savings, valuables, inheritances, ministries, visions and things of eternal value because they dealt with the wrong people. Many have scars that only God can heal because they went into relationships with people they thought they knew.

When it comes to knowing people, the only One you can trust His assessment of people is God. If you really want to know a man or a woman, you have to check his or her heart. Proverbs 23:7a says, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” The only One who knows the content of every heart is God. According to 1 Samuel 16:7, He sees the heart. Not only does He know the present heart condition of a man, He knows how that fellow’s heart will be in fifty years time. Isaiah 46:10 says, “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:” One way to know a person is go to God in prayer and ask Him to reveal who the fellow is. Or you ask Him to give you the gift of discernment. With the gift of discernment, as an employer, you don’t need to ask a lot of questions before you know who the right candidate is, in an interview. Another way to know people is by checking their fruits. Matthew 7:16 says, “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” Unfortunately, we have some wolves among the sheep. Among us, there are people who appear genuine, they look like us, they quote the bible like us, they shout and jump in the church, they talk like us but they are not part of us. How can we know them? Jesus Christ says, “By their fruit ye shall know them”. What type of fruits? Fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22). How else can we know people? By their association. I can’t claim to be a child of God and my best friend enjoys sin. How can that be? According to 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, “For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” Another way to know people is by what they do, not what they say. A wise man once said, ‘action speak louder than words.’ 1 John 3:7 says, “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.” Lastly, you can know people by what they stand for. Isaiah 32:8 says, “But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand.” How can one identify a genuine child of God? Firstly, they fellowship with other children of God. Secondly, they live their life as a child of God. Thirdly, they stand for godly principles. They stand for purity. They stand for mercy and kindness. They stand for fairness and integrity. They stand for love.

NOTE: People will judge you by your association.

QUESTION: What do you stand for?

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

THE PRUDENT DEALETH WITH KNOWLEDGE

MEMORY VERSE: Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly. Proverbs 13:16

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 119:33- 48, Proverbs 31:6, 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

To be prudent means to be careful, aware, cautious, mindful, observant, watchful, etc. Anywhere you find the word ‘prudent’ in the bible, you can substitute it with any of the words above. As a child of God, the Lord expects you to be prudent. The word of God says this: “see then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise” (Ephesians 5:15).  You are expected to be prudent in how you spend the resources – time, energy, money, gifts, talents ,ideas – the Lord has put into your hands. Why do you need to be prudent in spending? Every one of us shall one day give accounts to God (Romans 4:12). If you have ever been a party to aborting a baby - either you were the doctor who performed the abortion or you had an abortion yourself or you encouraged your wife or girlfriend to have an abortion or you encouraged a friend  to have one or worse still, you forced someone to have an abortion – you will one day give account to God. Not only that, if you have ever accepted bribes to pervert the course of justice, and I hope you have not done any of these terrible things, you will one day give account before the Almighty God! This is why if you are still living in sin, you need to repent now! 2 Corinthians 6:2b says this: “behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.” Do it now because tomorrow might be too late.

Prudent people act with knowledge. Proverbs 13:16 says this: “Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.”  A prudent man will never invest into a business until he has made inquiries about the business. He will never go into a business because everyone in the neighbourhood is into that business. A prudent parent will first of all, make inquiries about a university before sending his children there. A prudent man does not do things just because everyone is doing it.  He has a reason for doing whatever he does. Many parents, especially Christians, do not mind their children participating in ‘Trick or Treat’ during Halloween. (Trick or Treat is a request by children as they pass from door to door asking for treats – threatening to play tricks on those who refuse to give). Many celebrate Halloween without knowing what it stands for. The Celtics, who started the Halloween celebration, believed that souls of the dead roamed the streets and villages at night. Since not all spirits were thought to be friendly, gifts and treats were left out to pacify evil and ensure that next year crops would be plentiful. This is what evolved into trick –or –treating. A prudent leader does not just promote people into position without first knowing them.  In addition, a prudent minister does not just ordain people as deacons because they speak in tongues. No! We want to know what they do or what kind business they are in to. A prudent man does not give contract to people or employ people because they go to the same church. There is nothing wrong in employing people from your church or giving out contracts to them but we want to know them before we employ them. We want to speak to their former employees or those who have given them contracts in the past.  A prudent sister does not just enter into a relationship with a man because her senior sister recommended him or because the brother attends the same church with her aunt. No Way! We need to ask the One who knows that brother inside out. The same applies to brothers too.

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY:  Some mistakes are irrevocable, some are costly and some marks the end of a man.  Before taking any decision, pray and ask questions from people who know.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please help me never to hit the self-destruct button.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

DO YOU KNOW YOUR GOD?

Daniel 11:32 – and such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

In Daniel 3:1- 30, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were put to test to check if they really know the God they claimed to serve. Nebuchadnezzar told them to either bow to his golden stature and live or refuse and end up in the burning furnace. It emerged that they know their God because they refused to bow to the stature and the king threw them into the furnace. The God they served delivered them. If you read the story carefully, you will notice that the furnace was so hot that the heat from it killed the men standing by it and yet those that were thrown in it came out without a mark even on their clothes. God has a way of rewarding people who know Him and are willing to stand for Him. By the end of that day, the three men were promoted. In Daniel 6:1-24, Daniel was also giving the opportunity to show that he knows the God of Israel. The king passed a law that no one should pray to any God except to the king. Daniel decided that nothing will separate him from the love of the Holy One of Israel .While he was praying some people saw him and reported him to the king. Anyway they threw him into the lion’s den and His God delivered him.

When you study those who know their God, they talk in a different way. In the midst of strong challenges, the words that come out their mouth will shock you. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego told Nebuchadnezzar “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, Daniel 3:17. This statement really made the king angry but made God proud. How do you know a fellow who knows his God? Watch him when things are not going as planned or seems as if he is about to lost the battle. Those who know their God will never ask God “why me”? They will never be rude to God when the challenges of life come. You will never see them try to help God or go to false prophets for help. Those who know their God confidently confesses that 'our God will help us'. At times they even defend God when people ask them ‘where is your God?’ Their answer is ‘our God is in Heaven and He reigns’. When people start mocking them, they tell their mockers ‘i know my redeemers lives’ just like job. They are so sure of their God; they will say 'even if He decides not to save at this time that does not mean He cannot save, He is the savior! The question is do you know your God? Not only will your confession change once you know your God, you will begin to make unusual progress. Leading people to Christ will be easy because you will be able confidently tell your friends and family ‘with my Jesus nothing is impossible.’ When you know your God, you become an eagle. The fowls have decided to permanently remain on the ground, other birds fly not too high, just below the wind current so as not to fail but the eagle flies in the heavens. Once you know your God, the fear of failure will vanish and once that is gone, the sky is your limit.

ACTION POINT: Since you know your God, change your confession to I know the God I serve, nothing is impossible for Him. He will sort my matter out!