A HEART AFTER GOD

MEMORY VERSE: But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezra 1-3

Acts 13:22 says: ‘And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.’ ‘I have found' implies that a search had already taken place; and, David was the product.

What qualified David to be the king of Israel was not his military experience. Saul said to David when he volunteered to fight Goliath, ‘Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth (1 Samuel 17:33)’. In other words, you lack military experience. What qualified David to be the king of Israel was not his (family) background. Bible scholars have told us that David was a product of fornication. David (himself) confessed and said, ‘Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me (Psalm 51:5)’. It was definitely not his educational background or his years of service in the palace or a spatial competency. What qualified him was the state and inclination of his heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 says: '...the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.'

QUESTION: What is the state of your heart? Is your heart after God or things?

Bro Samuel Oluwatoki

DISCERNING THE VOICE OF DISCOURAGEMENT PART 2

MEMORY VERSE: for with God nothing shall be impossible, Luke 1:37. 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Sam 27, 1 Cor 8, Ezek 6, John 7 

In part one of these series we learnt that the voice of discouragement will always come when breakthrough is around the corner. We also learnt that the voice of discouragement is not of the devil. The voice of discouragement can come in form of a thought as we discussed in part one. It can also come through a total stranger. An example of this can be found in 2 Kings 7:1-17. There was a terrible famine in the land. The situation was so bad. People began to eat their children. Elisha ran to the Holy One of Israel and the Lord told him that in 24 hours there will be abundance. Things will become so cheap, two measures of barley will be sold for a shekel i.e. something that used to cost ten units before the famine will now be sold for one unit. On hearing this, the man of God ran to tell the king of this great news. While speaking , one of the experts at that time – a financial analyst said it is impossible. Even if God were to open the windows of heaven, two measures of barley will never be sold for a shekel. Thank God Elisha rebuked him. This man tried to discourage Elisha that it can’t be done. 

Brethren, all around us today are voices of discouragement from strangers. The voice of discouragement could be from medical experts telling us that disease cannot be cured; it can only be managed. The voice of discouragement could be from the economists, financial specialists telling us because of the recession it will be difficult for us to get a job. 

The voice of discouragement could be from people telling us we are not good enough. Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City star (news paper) because the voice of discouragement through the editor back then said he lacked imagination and had no good ideas. Today, the whole world wants to visit Disneyland to see the work of Walt Disney. The voice of discouragement could be from experts telling us it cannot be done. A great man of God wanted to build a 50,000 seat edifice for the Most High God. When experts around the world saw the design, they said it can’t be done. They told the man of God it will take a minimum of at least three years to complete and there are no guarantees that it will be a success. With the help of God, the auditorium was built within a year. Guinness Book of Records said Faith Tabernacle is the largest church auditorium in the world with inside sitting capacity of 50,000 and outside overflow capacity of 250,000 plus.  Friends there is nothing that can’t be done as far as God is in it for with God nothing shall be impossible, Luke 1:37. 

PONDER:  With God all things are possible.

MERCY REJOICETH AGAINST JUDGEMENT

MEMORY VERSE: for he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment, James 2:13. 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Num 30, Ps 74, Isa 22, 2 Pet 3

The simple definition of mercy is not getting what you deserve for your sins or transgression. A classical example of mercy is found in John 8:1-11. A woman was caught in adultery and brought to Jesus Christ for judgment. This woman was guilty as charged, whether the Pharisees brought the man she was committing adultery with or not she was guilty and she deserved a horrible death – death by stoning. From the day Moses gave the law, anyone caught in adultery had been stone to death so this woman knew that her case wasn’t going to be an exception. Jesus looked at her and offered her a second chance. That day the mercy of the Lord rejoiced over His judgment. Another example is the death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. The wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23. The Lord says in Ezekiel 18:20 –the soul that sinneth, it shall die. For every sin we have committed we deserved a death penalty but Christ decided to die and instead of death penalty we received life.

We serve a God who is full of mercy. Lamentations 3:22 says it is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. In other words we woke up this morning not because we are healthy but because of His mercies. From studying Jeremiah 42:12, we come to the conclusion that God needs to show you mercy first before men can you mercy. In other words His mercy precedes men’s mercy. One important point I want you to know is that God is not obliged to show mercy to everyone . He says in Exodus 33:19 , I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. This suggests that there are certain conditions we need to satisfy before we can expect God’s mercy. The first condition is we must fear the Lord. According to Psalm 103:11, just as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is God's mercy towards them that fear Him. Those who fear the Lord run from all appearances of evil. Proverbs 16:6 says by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. Proverbs 14:16 says a wise man fears the Lord and departs from evil.

The second condition is we must always show mercy. James 2:13 says for he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. God is only oblige to show mercy to those who are in the habit of showing mercy. Sometimes last year one of the staffs in my team did something that he should be sacked for right on the spot. The truth of the matter was it was unintentional, he did what he did with a noble intention but what he did was gross misconduct. To make matter worse it reflected badly on me as his supervisor but for a reason or the other I was not comfortable with the idea of sacking him partly because he was hard working. I prayed and I approached my manager and this staff was offered a second chance. Not too long after that I found myself in the same shoes. I investigated a matter sincerely and my findings where used against me. On technical grounds I should be sacked even without any hearing despite the volume of evidence against me. I had no one to appeal on my behalf but I had Jesus who could show mercy. Today I still have my job. The mercy of the Lord rejoiced against the judgment at the hearing.

PRAYER POINTS: Father as I show mercy please show me your mercy too.

GOD’S ATTITUDE TO BACKSLIDER’S OR BELIEVERS WHO MAKE MISTAKES

Memory Verse: So when they continued asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her, John 8:7

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 39, John 18, Prov 15, Phil 2

BIBLE STUDIES: John 8:3-11

We read a very interesting story in our bible studies. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus. The interesting thing there was they left the man at home and brought the woman. At first Jesus ignored them but when they continued to probe him and ask him questions, he replied them saying “he that is without sin, let him first cast a stone at her”. When they heard that, they all left one by one leaving the woman with Jesus.

When you study the story closely, you will notice that the woman was not a harlot or a prostitute. If she was a harlot the bible would have mentioned it. For example the bible specifically mentioned that Rahab was a prostitute, Judges 2:1.Anyway for one reason or the other the woman fell into the sin and the whole neighborhood gathered to kill her. The attitude of Jesus to this woman clearly shows us God’s attitude to backsliders or believers who fall into sin. Ezekiel 18:23 says have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? Saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? God is not interested in the death or naming and shaming of backsliders or people who fall into sin, He wants them to repent!

When Jesus heard what the woman had done, he did not say “and she calls herself a Christian”. He did not call his disciples and gist them about the sister who had falling into the sin. He did not add to the story like many usually do and make it a point of conversation anywhere He goes. Instead of judging the woman, He showed mercy. He helped the woman get back into line instead of spreading the news which will further break the woman. We need to learn from this and begin to follow the footsteps of Jesus. When we hear the stories of brothers and sisters in Christ or men and women of God who make mistakes, it is not for us to judge them or spread the news. It is not an opportunity to make fun of any church. It is a time to be sober and help them back to Christ. As we celebrate Easter, let us not forget the reason why Jesus came. Jesus said “I came not call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). Easter let us remember backsliders all over the world and ask for mercy for them.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please show mercy to all backsliders and bring them back to Christ. Also pray for our brothers and sisters who are yet to give their lives to Christ that the Lord will save their souls.

MERCY WITHDRAWN OR RENEWED

Matthew 5:8 says blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

God is abundant in mercy. It is His mercy that keeps us alive, Lamentations 3:22. We are saved by His mercy. Romans 5:8 says while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. For every sin we commit there is a death penalty (Romans 6:23), but instead of giving us what we deserve which is death by crucifixion God gave Jesus to die for our sins. God’s mercy over a life can either be renewed or withdrawn. Mercy can be withdrawn if abused or not appreciated. In the case of Uzziah the king of Judah, mercy was withdrawn as a result of abuse, 2 Chronicles 26:1-21. God’s mercy took this sixteen year old boy and made him king. He also prospered him but when he was strong pride set in. Uzziah began to bully the prophets of God and mercy was withdrawn immediately and he became a leper. In the case of Saul, mercy was abused. God’s mercy took this farm boy and made him king. He was giving a simple instruction to wait for Samuel but he decided a king should not be kept waiting so he went ahead to do the sacrifice in the absence of Samuel. Through God’s mercy he received pardon .He graduated to a level whereby he began to pick and choose which of God’s instruction to follow. He was instructed to destroy everything in Amalek; he decided to kill some and spare some and mercy was withdrawn. When David erred by taking a man’s wife and devised a scheme that led to the death of the husband, instead of destroying David God renewed His mercy over him. Why?

Matthew 5:8 says blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. The reason why mercy was renewed in the case of David was because David was a merciful man. David had several opportunities to kill Saul but he did not kill him. Out of mercy David gathered vagabonds and those the world had rejected and made them mighty men of valor. When you study the life of Uzziah, there was not even a single act of mercy recorded against his name. Saul on the other hand was wicked and merciless. The first war he fought, three hundred and thirty thousand children of Israel went to war with him, 1 Samuel 11:8. These men left their occupations to join Saul’s army. After winning the war, Saul choose two thousand out of these three hundred and thirty thousand and sent the rest away with nothing, 1 Samuel 13:2 . He had no need for them again so he just dumped them. Any man who will bask in God’s mercy must be ready to show mercy at all times. Anyone who does not forgive or show mercy will suddenly find mercy been withdrawn from him when he errs. If you are the type who does not give second chance or forgive or you are too harsh, please be careful so that God’s mercy will not be withdrawn when you need it most. I think I have shared the story of my traffic warden friend who was stopped by a traffic police for exceeding the speed limit for a particular stretch of road. He explained to this police officer that he exceeded the speed limit because he was late for work. The officer ignored him and began to write a speeding fine .As the officer was about to hand the speeding fine to him, he asked my friend, as a traffic warden do you give second chance( my friend was in his uniform)? And my friend replied that everyone deserves a second chance. The police officer tore the speeding fine and said there you go your second chance.

KEY WORD: The amount of God’s mercy you are entitled to is dependent of the amount of mercy you are willing to show.

RESPONSE TO MERCY

2 Chronicles 34:31 – then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord , to follow the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statues with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book

Bible Studies: 2 Chronicles 34:1-33

Josiah was only eight years old when he became king in Jerusalem. Imagine an eight year old child, becoming the president of USA or any other country? What does an eight year old know? What experiences of life has he got? Mercy gives one an opportunity he does not deserve. The woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11 did not deserve mercy according to the Law of Moses. Actually allowing her to live is a sin, but when they brought her to Jesus, He had mercy on her and gave her life back. If not for mercy, the Leper in Luke 5:12-13 would have been stoned to death. According to the Law of Moses lepers are not allowed in towns except they are passing through and to do that they need to inform the community priory to passing. The man risked his life to come and meet Jesus and the Lord had mercy on him and healed him. Through the tender mercies of Jesus, one of the two criminals received salvation on the cross, Luke 23:39-42. Lamentations 3:22 says it is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. Out of mercy Moses saw God and lived, Exodus 33:17-33.

To appreciate God’s mercy, Josiah went out and completely destroyed everything (idols and gods of the land) that could come between him and this merciful God. God was impressed with the way this young king responded to His mercies, so He promised him that all his life he will never face any challenge or see calamity. Josiah knew what it meant to spend a year without facing challenges and now the Lord was promising that all his life he will neither face any challenge not see calamity. This king decided to make a covenant before God that he will serve God like no one had ever done. He will spend for God and be spent by God. He promised to live holy. In Judges 15:11- Judges 16:1, three thousand men of Judah (brothers of Samson) bound him with a rope and gave him to the Philistines. The enemies with-in caught him and handed him over to the enemy with-out to kill. Out of mercy, the Lord delivered him that day. Instead of thanking God for the victory, he began to question God about his thirst. Out of mercy the Lord provided water again. Immediately he drank the water and was satisfied, he went straight into the house of a prostitute to celebrate his victory. How are we responding to God’s mercy today? The fact that we are alive it is by His mercy. Do we wake up to thank God for the gift of life or we just go about our business. Our salvation how do we take it, do we bring others to Christ, invite people to church or just watch them on Sunday go to play football or sleep of all day long? That business or job, do we tithe on our earning or just spend everything? .The good health He gave to us, do we use it to party and fornicate or join the workers in the church and work for Him in His vine yard? The way we respond to God’s mercy will determine the level of His mercies we will get. The next time the enemy caught Samson they plucked out his eyes immediately, Judges 16:21. Actually he did not leave the camp of the Philistine alive .Not even a single soul mourned Samson but till date it is a custom in Israel to lament about the death of Josiah.

KEY QUESTION: How are you responding to God’s mercies over your life and family?

FORGIVE! FOR YOUR SAKE

Matthew 5:7 says blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Unforgiveness is a powerful tool in the hands of the enemy and he has used it rob many of their healings, breakthrough and blessings. What unforgiveness does is it shuts the heaven over an individual. One can pray but as far as there is unforgiveness, there is a possibility that such prayers will not b
e answered. Mark 11:25 says and whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. Before God restored Job, He first dealt with the unforgiveness that could stand in the way. He told Eliphaz and
the other two friends in Job 42:7-9 to take an offering to job so that he can forgive them and pray for them.

You may not belief this but there have been cases of women who the Lord told to go and forgive their husbands or someone who mistreated them before they can conceive and have children. I think I should this testimony of a pastor friend. Several years ago when he was still a brother, he went into transport business with his very close friend. The business was doing well, they normally meet at the end of the year to share profits and plan for the next year. This particular year they met as usual and the friend declared no profits but loss. After investigation, the brother found out that his friend had misappropriated the funds and he was unhappy. He became angry and never forgave this friend. Several weeks later the Holy Spirit fished out the friend in the church and he confessed. He was asked to go and make restitution. The friend approached this brother to apologize but this brother did not want to even see him. No matter what the friend did, this brother did not forgive. Few months passed, the friend began to prosper and buy new cars while things began to go the other way for this brother. This brother petitioned God that why should the man who dupe him prosper while He suffers. The Lord told him listen “your friend is prospering because I have forgiving him but you are yet to forgive. I cannot forgive you and bless you until you forgive him.” Thank God the brother was wise, he quickly forgave his friend and things changed. I think I should share this too. A particular sister suffered break down because her fiancée made another lady pregnant. Her world literally collapsed because that man was the only man she ever trusted in her life. She was so disappointment and this caused a deep wound in her heart. A year later due to the recession; she lost her lucrative job and was employed for almost two years. She was a trained accountant; she applied for all sorts of jobs and got nothing. She prayed and fasted nothing happened. The pastor bounded and loosed nothing happened. While discussing this year, for some unknown reasons I began to talk to her on the subject of forgiveness. She said there is someone that offended her but she forgave but not from the heart. We advised her
to forgive and she did. A month later she got a job after two years and to cap it up God has brought another brother!

ACTION POINT: Forgive that brother, sister, friend, family out of mercy so that God can show you mercy.

Legalistic vs. Mercy

Here lately I have been sitting back watching people, I am a people watcher by nature. I find humans a fascinating group. I have noticed that when we as humans look at each other we like to judge someone else’s sin in legalistic eyes. But not our own we are very happy to look upon our own sin with mercy, the mercy that the Lord gives us. Funny isn’t it we hold others to a higher standard than we hold ourselves.

I have also noticed a very dangerous game being played not only by the world but by Christians. I like to call it ‘Rank that sin’. Those in the world look at others of the world and reason with themselves that they are a good person because at least they have never done A-B-C. Christians also like to partake in this game when looking at fellow Christians. Don’t we like to think ourselves better. We think hey at least I don’t struggle with the bottle or at least I have never cheated on my spouse or I have never stolen, the list can go on. We loose sight with the fact that sin is sin, black as coal. Doesn’t matter what it is, we are no better than those that we are placing ourselves over in judgement.

We all struggle, my struggles may not be your struggles, your struggles may not be mine. But that does not give us the right to place judgement upon each other. How about helping each other.. Wow there is a thought. If we spent less time playing our little minds games trying to make ourselves feel better about our own sin and more time helping each other overcome what ever it is we are dealing with. Think what a better place this might be to live in. Think about how much easier it might be to go to our Brother’s and Sister’s and ask for prayer, knowing that they will be standing in the gap for us not placing judgment upon us.

I have also noticed that some like to preach Grace and Mercy. Then you have those on the other side of the fence that like to preach Holiness and Righteousness. What would happen if we met each other somewhere in the middle, think about it. Don’t we need all of these elements in our walk?

Grace - Mercy - Holiness - Righteousness

Think about all of the inner bickering that could be cleared up if we were just willing to meet somewhere in the middle. Think about what that could do for the Body. Just maybe healing could begin to take place, just maybe the fracture that has plagued us for so many generations could slowly heal. Then what would Christianity look like.

I read a account from a prophet here recently that said until the fracture in the Body was healed true revival could not take place. After reading this account the Holy Spirit told me this was true. All this time I have been praying for revival, just maybe I need to shift my attention for a season and begin to pray for healing. Maybe all of us need to shift our attention for that season and begin to pray for this, just think what could happen if we all could come together in unity. Think about the difference we could make, think about the lives that could be changed, think about those that could be saved. But to do this it has to start with all of us individually in our prayer room and also in how we deal with one another.

I am not a trained theologian, I am but a humble servant of Christ. My thoughts do not flow as they should but please know that I speak what the Lord places upon my heart. The Spirit has been heavy upon me today, I have been moved to tears a few times, my heart has ached. And this is what He gave me to share with you today, I pray blessing upon each and everyone of you.

In His Love

christineingram