YOUR BREAKTHROUGH WILL FOLLOW YOUR OBEDIENCE

MEMORY VERSE: And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah. 1 Kings 17:15-16

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 16-19

God is love.1 John 4:8 says: “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” He gave His best, His only begotten Son (Jesus Christ), to us out of love (John 3:16). The Lord takes special interest in those who reciprocate this love back to Him. Proverbs 8:17 says: “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.” We express love through gifts. Husbands give gifts to their wives and vice versa, out of love. Love must be expressed verbally and through our actions. Jesus demonstrated His love to us by laying down His life for us. John 15:13 says: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Because Christ demonstrated His love to us, we must also demonstrate our love to Him – if we really mean it. If He gave all, we must be ready to give our best at the minimum. What’s our best? Romans 12:1 says:” I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” We can demonstrate our love to Him through our sacrifices and offerings. If only you will give to Him – and you do it cheerful because He loves a cheerful giver ( 2 Corinthians 8:7)- He will say a big thank you. And, just a thank you from God is enough to change a man’s life forever. Luke 6:38 says: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Also, lovers love to spend time together. It is impossible to love God and dislike church or dislike bible studies.

One thing God loves more than sacrifices is obedience to His word. Jesus said, “And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices (Mark 12:33).” Actually, another way to demonstrate your love to Him is by obeying His commandments. John 14:15 says: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Your obedience to Him will usher in your breakthrough. It will usher in your long-awaited season. It is one thing for God to want to bless a man; it is another thing for that man to receive the blessing. Whether the man will receive what God has in store for him or not will be determined by his attitude to God’s instructions. His instructions are basic and simple. What ushered in that widow’s season of abundance was her obedience to Elijah ( 1 Kings 17:10-16). Verse 15-16 says: “And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.” Although God wanted to bless her, had she disobeyed she would have lost that blessing. She had to first do what Elijah asked her to do before the divine supply came. Many of us would have said to Elijah, “let me go and pray about it”. That’s a polite way of saying, "i refuse to obey that instruction".  Her breakthrough was activated when she obeyed. The same with you -  your breakthrough will be activated when you obey God’s instruction. Has the Lord commanded you to start a project? Please start with whatever you have because the resources needed may not arrive until you start the project. If you decide to wait until you get all the resources you need before starting, you may wait forever because God rarely provides everything you will need for a project before the project starts. God may not move until you move.

NOTE: God is only committed to supplying your needs (Philippians 4:19). Once you start, it becomes a need and God will supply the resources needed.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

WHEN DIVINE GUIDANCE IS IGNORED

MEMORIZE: and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 119:153 - 176, Proverbs 31:13, 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

Recently I wanted to go somewhere, I had the address of where I was going to but I was not sure about the route so I decided to use a satellite navigator. (A satellite navigator guides an individual from his present location to his destination.) I put the address in the SatNav (Satellite Navigator); it calculated how long the journey would take, which was 8 minutes, and then proceeded to guide me to the destination. “Drive straight, at the end of the road turn left,” was the first instruction I received. I ignored it and took the first left. (Remember, I had an idea of the route.) I decided to use my knowledge until I got to where I was not sure. Immediately I turned left, the SatNav re-calculated the route and informed me that the journey would now take 7 minutes. I smiled to myself. It continued to give route instructions and I obeyed until I got to another area where I thought I knew the route better than the SatNav. Instead of driving straight as instructed, I took a right turn to avoid traffic and cut down the journey time. After I turned, it re-calculated the route and instructed me to make a ‘U’ turn at any available opportunity but I ignored the instruction. I continued to drive hoping it will re-calculate the route and give me a new instruction but it kept on instructing me to make U-turn. After a short while, I decided to comply and let the SatNav do its job. I made a ‘U’ turn and followed all the instructions from that moment to the letter. When I arrived at my destination, I checked to see how long the journey took and to my shock, I did an 8 minutes journey in 14 minutes!

As I pondered about the whole thing, it dropped in my spirit that my attitude towards the instructions from the SatNav is exactly the attitude of many of us towards divine instructions. God has told many of us to go straight but we turned either to avoid traffic i.e. problems or take a short cut. My disobedience to the SatNav seemed like a good idea at first- I was even encouraged to ignore it more - but at the end, I wished I had followed the instructions to the letter. Because of the rewards many received from initial disobedience to divine instruction, they are encouraged to ignore divine instruction once a while. Friend, if God tells you to go right and you go left, it may seem like a good idea at first but at the end, you will wish you had gone right as He instructed. Has God instructed you to make a U-turn i.e. turn completely from a particular path or way of doing things but you ignored it hoping to get a new instruction, friend you will not get a new instruction until you turn. God’s counsel is always the same regardless of where you go. If God spoke through a man of God that you should not divorce, you can go to all the men and women of God in the world, the counsel would come back the same.

POINTS TO NOTE: God’s route takes you to God’s destination for your life while your route will ultimately land you in no destination. Every time you follow your route, you waste resources. Every time I took my route, I wasted resources – car fuel, time, energy, etc. Every time you follow your route, the time it should take for you to reach your destination increases. There is a reason for every instruction, that left turn or stay at home and pray could save your life.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please help me to stop working against myself.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

LEARN SIMPLE OBEDIENCE

              

MEMORY VERSE: Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.1 Samuel 15:3

                                          

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 66-70, Proverbs 14

The people of Israel practiced the law of retaliation, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, in Old Testament times. This law was in place to restrict compensation to the value of the loss. Although this law provided one or two advantages, its disadvantages outweigh its advantages. For instance, this old law leaves everyone blind and toothless. The law of retaliation shuts the door of God’s mercy on us. 2 Samuel 22:26 says: “With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright.” The law of retaliation shuts the door of divine forgiveness on us. Matthew 6:14 says: “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:” The law of retaliation also puts one in spiritual bondage. According to Matthew 18:21-35, the fellow who fails to forgive will be handed over to tormentors i.e. the devil and demons. To cancel out the law of retaliation, Jesus introduced the law of love. Love your neighbour as yourself. He also introduced forgiveness.

In Exodus 17:8, without being provoked in any way, shape or form, the Amalekites attacked the children of Israel and killed many of them – young, old, pregnant, nursing mothers, lame, weak, etc. As the law of retaliation demands, the Amalekites had to be paid back in their own coin. (Remember it was an eye for an eye and a tooth for tooth in those days). The Lord sent Saul, through Samuel, to destroy the Amalekites i.e. child killers, nursing mother killers, etc. 1 Samuel 15:3 says: “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” The instruction that Saul received was quite simple. It was unambiguous, easy to understand and simple. God told him, “go and destroy all.” When he got to Amalek, he kept Agag (the king of Amalek), the people with him kept the best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings, lambs and all that was good and destroyed the rest. When he returned to Israel, he received the shock of his life. 1 Samuel 15:23 says: “………..because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” Anyone God rejects is doomed for life. When we say God has rejected a fellow, what we are saying is God has banished the fellow from His presence. In the presence of God is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11), outside of His presence is sadness. We run into problems when we disobey God. Doing God’s work does not exempt us from the rewards of disobedience. Majority of the problems we find ourselves in today has its root in our disobedience to God’s words. Some years back whilst sharing tracts from house to house, the Lord drew my attention to some groups of young boys who were walking towards me. The Lord told me to greet them nicely but I did not. Since I was older, I expected them to greet me first not the other way round. I walked past them, they did not say a word to me, and I did not say a word to them. I thought that was it. As I walked into a street, I saw these boys standing outside a property I wanted to drop some tracts into their letter box. As I opened the gate, I greeted them nicely and they started to swear at me. They even threatened to attack me. God foresaw this, that was why He instructed me to greet to them earlier. Thank God they did not attack me.

QUESTION: Friend, has God asked you to do something?  Has He told you to go and make up with a sister you are not in talking terms with? Has He told you to apologize to your wife? Has He was warned you to stop walking with some group of people? Repent today and do what He has asked you to do.

PRAYER POINTS: Father I repent today, please forgive me and give me a second chance to put things right.

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AVOIDING EVICTION

MEMORY VERSE: That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you, Leviticus 18:28

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2Kgs 2 , 2 Thes 2, Dan 6, Ps 48

BIBLE STUDY: Lev 18:24-30

The land of Canaan was once given to a group of nations. I believe the Lord gave the land to them out of mercy and love. When they defiled themselves and defiled the land, the Lord evicted them. In Jesus no position is guaranteed or secured. That is why we need to run away from sin. As far as we do not defile ourselves, our positions in the Lord are secured, our blessings are secured. Not only that, our advantage in Christ is secured. 

From our bible study, the first thing we come to realize is that the land of Canaan evicted its previous occupants. I pray in the name that is above every other name that you will not be evicted from your land of Canaan in Jesus name, amen. It is disheartening, disappointing and shameful for a fellow to work very hard, engage in many battles before entering his promise land only to be evicted almost immediately. I pray that this shall not be your portion in Jesus name,amen. Friend, it is possible for a fellow to be evicted from his land of Canaan, that is why you and I need to be very careful. It is far harder to receive a blessing than to lose it. It can take years of fasting and fervent praying to get a blessing or particular gift of the spirit, if care is not taken one can lose the blessing or gift of the spirit through fornication. It takes only a few minutes to lose the blessing or the gift of the spirit if care is not taken. I pray for anyone who has lost a particular gift of the spirit or the other that the Lord will restore those gifts in the mighty name of Jesus name, amen.

In every blessing God gives to us, there is something inside it that is capable of ejecting us if we sin. The blessings God has given a fellow can turn against him if he offends the owner or the giver of the blessing. There is nothing as sad as been evicted. What makes it so sad is that the fellow might not get a second chance. It was God who appointed Saul as the king of Israel. When he defiled himself through disobedient, God replaced him with David; King Saul was evicted from the throne. You may not have been the first person to occupy that position or political office or post in the church of God. If you are not ready to meet God’s terms of residence, that post, political office will spit you out. I know you will do everything to meet God’s terms of residence so that senatorial seat will not spit you out. 

ACTION POINT: To avoid eviction, investigate what led to the eviction of your predecessor or the people who have occupied that post before you and run from it. Some of the things that defile a man are bribery and corruption, favoritism and tribalism, fornication and adultery, pride and stubbornness etc.

Bro Samuel - Reaching the world for Jesus.

WONDERS OF OBEDIENCE

MEMORY VERSE: if ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the Land, Isaiah 1:19

BIBLE VERSE: Josh 18-19, Ps 149-150, Jer 89, Matt 23

BIBLE STUDIES: Luke 5:1-7.

A wonder is anything that makes you wonder. I believe the Lord wants to make someone a wonder, that’s why He has permitted these series. One of the quickest ways of becoming a wonder is by obeying God. In Luke 5:1-7 Peter obeyed a simple instruction, he let down his net and caught so much that two boats began to sink. The question is where did all the fish suddenly come from? This is really a wonder. Do you want to become a wonder? Simply obey God. When you begin to obey God, every little effort you make will yield a mighty result, not only that the Lord will begin to do wondrous things in your life.

The key to becoming a wonder is total obedience to the word of God. Malachi 3:10 says bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house. The question is this, are you bringing all? What you bring to the house of God, is a tithe of your gross (total amount before any deductions such as tax) or net pay (total amount when all deductions are made)? Can you tell God you have brought all when you tithe on your net pay not gross? Your tithe is ten percent of your gross pay not your net pay. During a meeting a brother challenged the whole congregation that he would give an equivalent of what everyone gave as offering. When the brother heard the total amount collected that day, he announced that they should take the offering again because the first one was too small for Jesus. After everyone gave, he wrote a cheque equivalent to the total amount collected. Later some brothers met him and asked what the secret of his success was? He told them he decided that it was an insult to give God ten percent and keep ninety so he decided to give God ninety percent and keep only ten.

Proverbs 3:9 says honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase. When you get an increase in salary, the difference between the old and new salary is an example of your first fruit of increase. First fruit is the first agricultural produce of the harvest. In modern day, the entire January salary will be your first fruits. The difference between the first fruit of increase and the first fruit sacrifice is in divine response. In the first fruit of increase, God promised that your barn will burst while in the first fruit sacrifice, you blessing will become global, they will be irreversible and they will extend to your generations to come, Genesis 22:15-18. By the grace of God I can tell you that first fruit sacrifice does not kill. It only forces doors open. James 1:19 says if you are willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the Land.

PRAYER POINT: Father , make your blessing in my life trans-generational

SIN BRINGS FEAR

Isaiah 33:14 the sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 36, John 15, Prov 12, Eph 5

 

MEMORY VERSE: Genesis 3:1-8

 

Sin is one thing we must do away with. According to Jeremiah 5:25, sin turns away blessings and withhold good from an individual. This is why the psalmist says that  the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon, Psalm 92:12. Asides from the fact that sin robs us of good things; sin is also a major cause of fear. Anyone who knows how fear works will fast and pray for the spirit of faith. 

 

In our bible studies Is a story we all know – the fall of man. Before Adam sinned against God, he had a good rapport with God. The Most High God would leave the heavens and visit him in the garden. Every time Adam heard God in the garden he would rush out to meet his maker and soak himself in the presence of God. The best moments in the life of this man was when the Lord visited. Psalm 16:11 says thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Immediately Adam sinned he began to dread the presence of God. He heard the voice of God in the garden and began to hide. The man that would rush to meet God every time he heard his voice suddenly began to hide due to disobedience.

 

 There was no man like Saul in the land of Israel. He was the definition of a perfect king. He stood shoulder high above everyone in Israel. He was a strong and mighty man. He was the sort of man everyone wanted to go to war with. Through the hands of Saul, God won many battles for the people of Israel. Immediately Saul sinned against God by disobeying Him, fear crept into his life. The same Saul who attacked the Philistines and the earth shook suddenly heard the voice of a Philistine soldier and began to shake. The bible actually records that he was so scared that his knees shook, 1 Samuel 17:11. Isaiah 33:14 says the sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? The God who the Israelite gladly referred to as the God of our fathers suddenly became a devouring fire to them all because of their sin. The reason why people fear the second of Jesus Christ is the presence of sin. A child who knows that he has behaved himself, clean the house and done all the assignments his parents gave to him will be happy when he hears his father’s footstep, but the child who has misbehaved or done something he should not have done will begin to panic when he hears his father’s footstep. If every time you hear of rapture you begin to panic and fear, it is a sign that you are not ready and there are one or two things you need to sort out. Not only that, it is a sign that you are lacking behind in God’s plan for your life.

 

ACTION POINT: Ask God to prepare you for rapture.

WATER TO WINE PART 4

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Gen 41, Mark 11, Job 7, Romans 11

John 2:3 and when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, they have no wine.
Bible studies: John 2:1-11

After the wine was exhausted, Mary approached Jesus to inform Him of the situation of things. After a brief chat with Jesus, she gave an instruction to the disciples of Jesus and left. Today we will be looking at the instruction she gave as it was pivotal to the miracle that turned water to wine. She said “whatever He says to you, do it”. Let us look at the word ‘whatever’ closely. Whatever He says simply means anything He says. In other words she was telling them to carry out any instruction from Jesus, whether it is convenient or not, whether it appeals to common sense or not, whether it is logical or not, whether it is demanding or not, whether it will make them look stupid or not, whether it will cause them to lose friends or not but whatever instruction from Jesus, they should carry it out. There is no point running to Jesus if you are unwilling to carry out the instruction He will give. Isaiah 1:19 says if you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. The good of the land is available for all but only the obedient will eat of it.

After she left, Jesus instructed them to fill the water pots with water and they did. He then asked them to draw out some and give it to the master of the feast. They did as they were told and there was a miracle.There is a big lesson to learn here. The first instruction Jesus gave was they should fill the water pots with water. Secondly He told them to draw out of the water pots and give it to the master of the feast. The obedience to the first instruction brought the organizers of the party a step to closer to the miracle that turned water to wine. If they had disobeyed Jesus and not fill the water pots with water, there would not be anything to draw from when Jesus told them to draw from the water pots and give to the master of feast. Disobedience to the instruction of Jesus would have hindered the manifestation of God’s glory in the groom’s life. For one reason or the other I love King James Version of the bible but I own a New King James Version. I have always wanted to buy one but for a reason or the other it did not materialize. After service on a very cold Sunday, I walked into a corner shop or supermarket to buy some beverages with the last seven pounds on me. As I walked into the shop, an elderly man saw me with my huge NKJV bible and began to tease me. He asked about the church service and we got talking about bible and all that. While we were chatting, the Holy Spirit laid it on my mind to give this man two pounds out of the seven pounds to get a beverage for himself. I did as I was told but this old man refused. Instead he invited me to his house which was around the shop and I went with him. On getting to his house, I got to know that he was a pastor and a theologian. He had the bible in every language. To cut the long story short, I left his house that day with a brand new TBS KJV bible worth over sixty pounds. Because I was willing to part with my two pounds and I obeyed the Holy Spirit, I got a gift of over sixty pounds. Whatever the Lord asks you to do, please do it. He has a reason for asking you to do it.Brethren every of God’s instruction you carry out is a step towards your breakthrough. Every time you obey God, you are a step closer to your miracle.

KEY WORD: What He says to you, do it. Every time you obey God, you are a step closer to your miracle.

INCOMPLETE OBEDIENCE

Isaiah 1:19 – if you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the Land.

In Genesis 12:1-4, God gave Abram 7 blessings subject to 3 conditions. He told Abram to 1- get out of his country; 2 – get out from his family and 3 – get out from his father’s house to a land He will show him. In return He promised to 1 – make him a great nation ; 2- bless him ; 3 – make his name great ;4- make him a blessing ; 5 – bless those who bless him ;6 – curse those who curse him and 7- through him all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Abram got out of his country, his family but not his father’s house - he took Lot along with him. When he arrived where God told him to go, he met famine there. He ran out of there and went to Egypt with Lot. In Egypt, Pharaoh took his wife but God intervened on his behalf. He left from there to the south of Bethel still with Lot. At this new location, fight broke out between the servants of Abram and Lot. Suddenly Abram came back to his senses and he put measures in place to fully obey God by getting out of his father's house. Immediately Lot departed from Abram, God spoke to him and that marked the beginning of a new life for Abram. From the day Abram parted with Lot, He never ran into famine again all his life. From the day he decided to obey God completely, no one ever came near his wife again. From that day, his name changed from Abram to Abraham and God paid him a visit. Today we call ourselves the children of Abraham all because this man decided one day to begin to obey God completely.

Until our obedience to God’s word becomes complete, we will not experience God as we should. God is interested in all our challenges. He has more information about us and about those challenges we are going through more than we can ever imagine. God is ready to fight for every of His children. He is ready to cause an earthquake if need be to secure the victory of any of His children. He is ready to make them the head permanently only if they are willing to completely obey Him. When it comes to obedience, He prefers people not to obey Him at all than obey Him partially. This was why God got angry with Saul. Because of Saul’s incomplete obedience, the God who anointed him to become the king of Israel rejected him .It is half obedience to pay half tithe. It is half obedience to pray and study the bible. Joshua 1:8 says this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night. It is half obedience to pay full tithes and not witness about Christ. Matthew 12:30 says He that is not with Me is against Me, He that does not gather with Me scatters. Doing all these and still fornicating or stealing, is still incomplete obedience because 1 Peter 1:16 says be holy, for I am holy. Today, we can make a decision to obey God completely so that we will begin to enjoy Him as we should. God wants to have fellowship with His children, He wants to visit them. He wants to have a supernatural encounter with them. He wants to reveal His plans to them. He wants to be called Daddy by all His children but this will not happen until we begin to obey Him completely.

PRAYER POINT: Father, help me so that my obedience to You will be total.

THE NEED TO BE HOLY

Ezekiel 33:13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trusts in his own righteousness, and commits iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he has committed, he shall die for it.

What Is Holiness? Holiness is simply obedience to God. When a man is holy, God puts a covering around him. This covering serves
as a shield from the enemy. In Job 1:7-10, Satan could not come near Job or his belongings because the Lord had placed an edge around him. Why did God put an edge around Job? Because of Job’s life of obedience to God. God testified in verse 8 that there was none like job in all the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil. When a man is obedient to God, he becomes untouchable. According to Psalm 91:7, a thousand may fall at his side, ten thousand at his right hand but nothing will come near him.

When we disobey God, the reverse is the case. This is why we need to avoid sin. Prior to sin, Adam was fully protected by God. He was clothed in God’s glory but immediately he disobeyed God that glory left and he was exposed. Once the covering of God over one’s life disappears, such person is at the mercy of the devil. Sin exposes us to attack from the enemy. Some brothers were travelling for a revival in another part of town when they were stopped by armed robbers. One of the armed robbers singled out a particular brother and began to beat him up. He pushed this brother to the ground and took out a big cutlass to kill him. This brother said immediately he saw this huge cutlass, in split seconds he remembered all the sermons he has heard about living holy. He said at that point he asked God for one more chance. The Lord answered him and from nowhere the leader of the armed robbers shouted stop. That was how God spared his life that day. Although he was Christian brother, because he indulged in sin the covering of God over his life disappeared. He only discovered that he was exposed to attack when the armed robber took out the huge cutlass to kill him. Civilization is not an excuse to disobey God. Malachi 3:6 says God does not change. Many a times we believe because we live in a civilized environment we can now disobey him, we cannot! Ezekiel 33:13 says if the righteous commits iniquity all his righteousnesses will not remembered and because of the iniquity he has committed, he shall die for it. I pray that this will not be our portion in Jesus name , Amen.

PRAYER POINT: Father , help me to obey you to the letter.

Whom the Father Loves

Psalm 94:12 - Blessed is the man whom you instruct ,O Lord , and teach out of Your law.

Love is very powerful. When you watch parents of new born babies ,you will marvel at the power of love. They will do anything to make the new born baby comfortable. They do unbelievable things for example in the part of the world where i come from where medical science is just developing , i have seen fathers use their mouth to suck mucus out of the nose of their new born when they have catarrh .They do this to clear the blocked nose.It does not stop there , as the babies grow up they ensure that the baby eats before they eat.They ensure the baby sleeps before they sleep and before the baby wakes they are awake. Even when they are unlearned , they go out of their way to make sure the child goes to school. They might not be able to afford shoes for themselves but they ensure the kids have shoes. Why does these parents go through all of these ? it is out of love for that child. Many of them can not remember the last time they bought gifts for themselves but they buy gifts every birthday. No wonder Colossians 3:20 says Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. God disapproves of any form of disobedience to our parents - physical or spiritual. Please If there is anyone of us not in talking terms with  our parents please before the end of the day lets ensure we put things right .

We will also notice that these parents out of love still disciplines this child. While other children are playing football , they might ask this child to sit and read not out of hate but love. They want such child to succeed in  life.They same thing applies to the Most High God, According to John 3:16, He gave His only begotten son to die on the cross for our sins. This is the greatest act of love .When He chastises us or instructs us to live a holy life it is not out hatred or make life hard for us but out of love.Revelations 3:19 says Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.Whom the Father loves He expects obedience to His word from , He expects 100 per cent commitment from . The rebuke may come from our earthly parents , spiritual parents or through a sermon . Regardless of the source , if the Lord is asking us to do something , it is for our own good  and out of love.

ACTION POINT: Do everything to please God ,this include get back into talking term with our parents if we are not in talking terms.

FINGER OF CREATION

Tuesday 4 September                       Bible in one year: Daniel 1-3
Memorise: When i consider thy heavens,the work of thy fingers the moon and the stars,which thou hast ordained; Psalm 8:3
Read: Psalms 19:1-6
When the Lord sent Moses to ask for the release of the children of Israel, nothing happened until the magicians saw the finger of God.
Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened , and he hearkened not unto them ; and the Lord had said.Exodus 8:19
Thereafter,it was no more business as usual. This season , you will encounter the finger of God and your situation shall change dramatically in Jesus Name. The finger of God is significant in many ways and has definite implications for us.According to Psalms 8:3, it is an agent of creation.
When i consider thy heavens,the work of thy fingers,the moon and the stars,which thou hast ordained;
God created what we can see on earth today with His hands;hence Psalms 19:1 says the firmament is God’s handiwork. The implication of this is that when the finger of God comes into a situation ,the power of creation steps in, ready to create or recreate whatever is needed.Does your body need some new parts?The finger of God will recreate what is needed.When Jesus came across a man with the withered hand in Mark 3:1-5, the finger of God was brought into his situation and his hand was recreated to be like other hand.Is one of you hands or legs shorter or smaller than the other? The touch of His finger shall correct the defect. In addition to this,if you are lacking in ideas,useful suggestions and plans and the finger of God touches you,your creative abilities will suddenly  receive a boost. Are you short of ideas that can give your business or church a positive turn around? The finger of God will touch you and what you lacked shall be created.As the Lord touches you today,everything that is lacking in  your ministry,finances , and family shall come into being. They shall be created. Ask the finger of God will touch you today. Release your faith and expect the impossible but desirable take place.Your  situation is about to turn around for the best.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in any area I am in need,by Your finger supply that need
Excerpts from Open Heavens by Pastor E A Adeboye

IDOLS FRUSTRATE EXPECTATIONS

Monday 27 August                         Bible in one year : Obadiah 1, John 1-4

Memorise: The hope of the righteous shall be gladness:but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.Proverbs 10:28

Read: Isaiah 44:10-18

Before you receive a prophetic declaration, check out the the fruit of the vessel-the prophet,pastor,or servant of God, whether the fellow is still in league with God. Some people say, “thus says the Lord, “but the Lord did not say anything to them. Some of them heard from themselves and spoke. Be careful of what you accept as being from God. In Jeremiah 28:1-4, Hananiah  a prophet prophesied that in two years God was going to set Israel free from the yoke of the King of Babylon, but it was all a lie! Imagine  the joy of the people when they heard that. But after two years, and the prophecy did not come to pass,all the expectations of the people failed.Instead of two years, they spent 70 years . In other words, the prophetic lies of prophets cannot change what God wants to do or alter its timing.Stick with genuine men of God and particularly the Word of God i.e. the Bible.

Apart from lies,expectations that are based on the support of an idol , another power or spirit will definitely be disappointed. Sincere Idol worshipers and cultist know that there are severe manipulations and falsehood regarding the predictions of their idols or deities.They also know that promises of fame, power and wealth made to them are actually in return for long life,health,the lives of their loved ones,etc.being taken from them. Satan does not offer any free gift but at the time of offer, he will make everything appear as if it’s free. The recipient of such offers would have been trapped before there is a realisation of what the devil would have in return ( Isaiah 40:19-20,24). The expectations of the wicked including idol worshipers shall fail (Proverbs 10:28). This involves confidence in local deities,charms,amulets,magic rings,love portions,anything and anyone you love to a point of taking the place of God in your hear. According to Psalms 92:7 and Isaiah 45:16, Idol worshippers with their hopes shall be dissapointed because they to share what God cannot with anyone - His glory. The prophets of Ball who contested with Elijah on Mount Carmel were disappointed and lost their lives (1 Kings 18:17-40). Are you using evil powers or contesting with a bona fide child of God? Your expectations shall fail and you may even lose your life. Repent today, and apologise to the child of God you are fighting before the Lord faces you.

ACTION POINT: Make this confession: Every idol taking God’s place in my hear, i tear you down and enthrone the Lord Jesus Christ at the centre of my life.

Excerpts from open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye.

God has a sense of humor

Wow! How can one make such a statement?

Friends, God is not a comedian and He does not tell jokes- that’s more like it , but what do you mean by God has a sense of humour then?

Well, might I implore you to suspend your judgments and opinions on my topic just for a second? Will you? Cheers!

Couple of years back, the children of Israel were going to war with a town called Jericho. The ONE WHO HAS NEVER LOST A BATTLE picked interest in the war and advised Joshua to march around Jericho for six days with priests playing trumpet and on the seventh day repeat the exercise seven times and shout; awesome. What! You mean they were asked to march around a city they wanted to attack, playing trumpets? Common, I thought if you going to war you need to be tactical which means plan on strategies to attack. Strategies that include hiding and attacking when they least expect not match around the city playing trumpets, trumpets of all instrument not even a flute.
Ok, doing this once is understandable at least the enemies will have this impression that these guys don’t really mean any harm-look at them entertaining us, but doing that for six days and on the seventh day repeat  the  exercise seven times and shout? Guess what! They did just that and what happened? The walls of Jericho collapsed. I bet the next time someone says praise the Lord; your HALLELUJAH will be the loudest. Hallelujah collapses the walls of your problem.

Not too long ago, Elijah was advised by the GREAT PROVIDER to go a widow in Zarephath and stay there during famine. Really, who goes to a widow’s house to stay during famine? A widow normally is not very rich; no man to provide and cater for her not to talk of during famine. Let me ask you a question, someone who is struggling on a normal day will pray for recession in it? Capital no.
Anyway Elijah obeyed. When he got to Zarephath he saw the widow gathering sticks to prepare the last meal for herself and her son. Elijah did not know how to go about it because as a man of God you pray for people every time and you understand what it is to be a widow not to talk of coming to stay with one during famine. After he exchanged greetings with her, he requested for a jug of water put it in mind that it has not rained in months. The widow said ok, she turned around to go and fetch him a jug of water. Elijah said in a low voice “can you add small bread please”. I believe if you were in his shoes, you will not tell a widow during famine to fetch you jug of water with bread with a big grin on your face. Will you utter such words with the great enthusiasm? She turned around pretending not to be angry and said the sticks over there are more my last meal. Actually when you came in I was preparing to go and make my last meal for myself and my son
and die, so do you still want the water or not? Ok she didn’t ask if he still wanted the water but asking will not be rude because as a man on God, he should know better- you know I have enough problems as a widow and you are asking me to prepare my last meal for you. To cut the long story short she complied with the man of God and the GREAT PROVIDER multiplied the bread. I hope you are not planning to stop paying your tithe because of recession or half your offerings the next time you go to church.

Recently, a blind man encountered JESUS CHRIST .He was expecting a miracle from him but the next thing he heard was someone spitting on the ground and making mud. I bet, the thought on the blind man’s mind was did I just hear someone spit? I know it can be Jesus, why will he spit on the ground .Wait a minute, is he actually rubbing mud on my eyes? It must be a dream.
Come to think of it , mud don’t have healing properties, even our eyes are built to shut when a foreign object is coming to too close may be spec of sand or something. Spitting on the ground and making mud of it and rubbing it on a blind man’s eyes, you mean Jesus actually rub mud on a blind man’s eye? He must have a great sense of humour. Well guess what, the man got his sight back!!!

We can go on and on, is it Elijah and prophet of Baals? After flooding the altar with water called for fire from heaven to burn the sacrifice or Elisha who threw a stick in a river expecting the axe head that mistakenly fell into water to automatically float .A stick to float an axe head made of iron?

Friends whatever God has asked you to do, just do it because He means every word. It might sound funny, ridiculous, foolish or counter productive .Please just do it and you will reap the reward of obedience. Remember Isaiah 1:19 , If you are willing and obedient , ye shall eat the good of the land.

If you have not giving your life to Christ, it’s not too late. He will forgive all your sins, did I hear ALL? Yes all.

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 me by giving me peace ,joy and supernatural love for others. Amen .

Once you do so join a living church.

NB. Stories are excerpts from the bible (John 9:1-6 ,1 kings 17:7-12,Joshua 6:1-20,1 kings 18:16-40,2 kings 6;1-6)

Shalom

HARVEST: ANY PRIOR SEED?

Friday 10 August                                      Bible in one year : Joshua 13-15
Memorise: Be no deceived: God is not mocked: for whatever a man soweth , that shall he also reap . Galatians 6:7
Read: Isaiah 45:11-13
One of the promises of the Lord made to the church in Philadelphia was that He would keep them from the hours of temptation that would come upon the world.
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation,which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.Revelations 3:10
The lesson here is that whatever you do to God has way of coming back to you.If you draw near to Him,He will draw near to you (James 4:8). If you obey all He commands faithfully , He will not only cause the work of His hands to obey you, but will also ask you to command Him and He will give life to your decrees (Isaiah 45:11). Some people issue decrees based on Isaiah 45:11 and Job 22:28 but are surprised when they are ignored. If you decrees are not honoured, it shows that there is something missing. You cannot reap where did not sow. If you have not sown total obedience to His commands, your own decrees will be ignored. Obedience is reciprocal . The way you treat the Lord and the things of His Kingdom clearly shows God how He should treat you. Since the church in Philadephia kept His word, He too promised to keep them. The Lord will keep you from every evil, but ensure you keep His commands.
In the same vein, you can sow seeds of patience and get a harvest from it. How patient are you towards God? Some people while in church, continuously check their wrist watches as if that is what will deliver their needed miracle to them. They are so impatient with God. They are too much in a hurry when they are praying to know God’s will in marriage. If they have not received the answer by the third or sixth months, they will walk out on God and go ahead to choose for themselves. “Who does He think He is anyway?” They would say in their hearts. It is how you deal with God that He will deal with you. King Saul  was very impatient with God. How can a man of God not keep to time? So he went ahead and did what he was not supposed to do . Some delays are designed by God to test you. If you are impatient, you will fail the test. No wonder God soon ran out of patience with him! However David was patient with God and when he messed up , God had no choice but to be patient with him.
ACTION POINT: Carefully write out how you want God to treat and respond to you. Go ahead and do so to Him.
Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye