IT SHALL COME TO PASS

Number 23:19 says God is not a man that he should lie; neither the son of man that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

The Lord holds His holy name in high esteem. In Isaiah 42:8, He said “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” The name of the Lord brings safety. Joel 2:32 says whoever calls on His name, He will save. Philippians 2: 10 say all we need to do is say the name –Jesus and every knee will begin to bow. Do you know that as high as God holds His name, He esteems His word above His name? According to Psalm 138:2, God has exalted His word above all His names. Because the name of the Lord cannot fail, the word of the Lord can never fail. Once He speaks over a matter, you can be rest assured that the matter is settled! He told Abraham that by this time next year, Sarah (Abraham's wife) will be a nursing mother. At the time when God spoke, Sarah was not only old but according to Romans 4:19 her womb was dead. Because the Lord had spoken, it came to pass

I remember many years ago when a chance for promotion came up in my place of work. Although it was advertized as temporary, there was a strong possibility of the successful candidate been made permanent. I went into prayers and the Lord spoke through a man of God that it was done! I applied like every other candidate but did not make it. While I was still recovering from the shock, challenges began. The challenges came from different angles to the extent that I almost lost the job but God was faithful. Two years passed and the post was re-advertised again as temporary for the second time. I tried to apply but I was told I was not qualified to apply. A year later, they decided to fill the post permanently and instead of selecting those that were acting they decided to throw it open for everyone. I applied and got the job permanently. Because the Most High had spoken, while the role was temporary nothing happen but immediately it came out as permanent the Lord fulfilled His words. Numbers 23:19 says God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He now make it good? What has the Lord promised you that is yet to come to pass? As He spoken through a man of God over a matter and you are yet to see manifestation? Do not lose hope because it shall come to pass! That which He has promised to do in your life, He will do. That challenges He has promised to deal with, He will deal with it.

ACTION POINT: God is never late, once He has said it, He bring it to pass

ALL POWER BELONG TO GOD

Psalm 62:11 say God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.

After the Philistines took the ark of God in 1 Samuel 5:1-5, they set it before Dagon their national god. Dagon was a very huge statue. By the time they came back the next morning, they saw this huge statue fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of God. They did not understand, they thought may be a wind blew overnight or the statue was not standing properly so they set in its place again. By the time they came the next morning , the saw Dagon not only fallen on its face to the earth but the head and palms of Dagon broken off on the threshold; only Dagon’s torso was left of it. It was then they knew that, Power exceeds power. There is no power that can be compared

to the power of God. It does not matter what name they call it, before God they are nothing. Who is Baal before God? Who is Dagon? When the Lord visited Egypt in Exodus 7:17-21, Hapi –god of Nile began to vomit blood. When Pharaoh continued to harden his heart because he thought he had Hapi, God ensured that Hapi began to vomit frogs! Exodus 8:5-6.

One early morning while I was walking and praying, I saw a man at a particular bus stop shouting and saying some strange words. The only thing I noticed was there were no one standing with him at the bus stop and everyone passing seem to prefer to use the other side of the road. As I approached him he stopped and when I got to him he began to shout again but because I was really busy praying I ignored him and walk past him. After taking five or six steps past him, something arose in me, I began to feel uncomfortable about this man shouting strange words behind me so I decided to go back and tell him to keep quiet in the name of Jesus. As I turned back to go to him we made eye contact and he kept quiet. I stood there waiting for him to speak but he kept quiet. I turned back and began to walk thinking he will continue shouting but he just kept quiet. I walked for another five minutes but he just kept quiet. The man did not keep quiet because of me, actually as a matter of fact if he were to have his way he will probably harm me. This force in this man kept quiet because of the Jesus I serve. The force in the man saw the spirit of God and it kept quiet. John 1:12 says but as many as received him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Every believer has the right to the power of God.

PRAYER POINT: Father , I have received Jesus as my personal Lord and savior , Please give me power.

The Power of Testimony

Revelations 12:11 says and they overcame by him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

There is power in testifying to the goodness of God. After the healing of the ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19, one of them came back to testify to the goodness of God. Why do we have to testify? By sharing testimonies we are appreciating God. We are simply telling God thank You. Testimonies open doors to more miracles .When we thank God for what He has done, He will do more. Because this man thanked God for his physical healing, Jesus decided to make him whole i.e. healed in all areas of his life. Testimony perfects our miracle and makes it permanent. Any breakthrough or miracle that we have not testified about can be lost at anytime. After the healing of the mad man of Gadara in Matthew 5:1-20, Jesus 

told him to go and testify to his family what the Lord has done for him. Why? So that he would not lose his deliverance.

When we share testimonies, it builds the faith of others. Also every time we testify, satan loses grip over our life. Revelations 12:11 says they overcame him by the word of their testimony. I believe the Lord wants me to share this testimony with someone. Not too long ago, I was very hungry with no money to buy food. I could not use that opportunity to fast because I had eaten something that morning.  While I was sitting, my phone rang and when I checked it was a sister who I witnessed about Christ to. When I picked up the call, she told me she was preparing an African soup and wanted to know if I was interested. I said yes, and then she asked if I had anything to eat the soup with, I said no. She said ok and within thirty minutes my door bell rang, lo and behold she brought the special African soup with what to eat it with. I thanked her and she left. I descended on the food aggressively and before you know it the dish was clean. A month or so later, she asked me if I knew why she called me and gave me the food. I said no and she went to explain that immediately she left work, she had this urge to eat that particular soup so she went to market to buy the ingredient. When she got home and began to prepare the soup something began to tell her to call Sam and give him some. She tried to dismiss the voice but the voice kept on ringing in her. When the voice will not let her be, she decided to call me and asked if I was interested in the food.

I do not know who the Lord is talking to but I pray that the Lord will touch the heart of people (even people you have not told you need help) to offer help to you in Jesus name, Amen.  Before the food came, I had witnessed about Christ to her. I testified to her how the Lord saved my life. What if I had not witnessed to her? What if I was too shy to testify about Jesus to her? hunger would have dealt mercilessly with me that day. Thank God i testified. Testify about Jesus to someone today.

PRAYER POINT: Father, give me a testimony today and I will tell the whole world of your goodness.

Untapped Potential

1 John 4:4 - You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.

From the moment of salvation we receive the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9 says anyone who does not have the Holy Spirit is not is not of Christ. According to Ephesians 1:13-14, the Holy Spirit is the seal of salvation for all those who believers. Also from the moment of salvation one receives power. Acts 1:8 says but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Once the Holy Spirit enters a man, he begins to do what ordinary man could not do. He begins to achieve what ordinary men could not achieve. In 1 Kings 18:46, the Holy Spirit came upon Elijah and he outran the chariot that was pulling the king. In Judges 14:6, the Holy Spirit came mightily upon Samson ,with his bare hands he tore a lion apart as one would tear a piece of paper. In Daniel 6:3, the Holy Spirit was so evident in the life of Daniel that everyone said He had the Spirit of excellence. The Holy Spirit enabled Jesus to achieve so much within a short period. Acts 10:38 says how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power , who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Every miracle Jesus performed was the work of the Holy Spirit. According to Romans 1:4, the Holy Spirit was responsible for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Potential to achieve all what Jesus achieved, Daniel achieved, Samson achieved combined with what Elisha achieved is in us, is in every believer. Romans 8:11 says the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from death dwells in all believers. This is why the author of 1 John 4:4 says greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. What is in you is enough to cause satan and his host to run at your sight! Whether you believe or not the witches and wizards are scared of you. As a Christian you should not be scared of spiders. Because of what is inside you, if you sit for an exam with Einstein and other world geniuses, if you will study hard enough you will score higher marks than them. The Holy Spirit that ensured that Jesus did not fail in any endeavour is also in you and will ensure you do not fail in that endeavour.

The potential is in all of us. The reason why many of us have not been able to achieve our potential in the Lord is because we grieve the Holy Spirit. How does one grieve the Holy Spirit? Through disobedience to Him. Another reason is our weak spiritual lives. The only way to build our spiritual muscles is through fasting and praying, studying the word of God. Many of us want to be like Jesus but not ready to fast. Jesus started His ministry with forty days dry fasting. Before Moses saw God, he fasted for forty days twice without food. Great power requires a lot of fasting and prayers and study of the word. The potential to exceed the achievements of Jesus on earth is in all of us.

ACTION POINT: Father, help me to rise to my potential in you.

The power of thoughts

THE POWER OF THOUGHT

Proverbs 23:7a – For as he thinks in his heart so is he.

Our thoughts play a major role in the events of lives. Our thoughts determine our confession, Luke 6:45 says out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Our confession decides our destiny. Proverbs 18:21 says life and death are in the power of the tongue. Numbers 14:28 says “says to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you”. Our confessions are so important the Lord advises the weak to say they are strong in Joel 3:10.Our thoughts also determine our action .The elders have a saying, they say the ancestor to every action is thought. Our actions determine our rewards both in heaven and on earth. Revelations 22:12 says and, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. Jeremiah 17:10 says I the LORD search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Romans 2: 6 say God will render to each man according to his deeds. Also our thoughts say a lot about us.

According to Proverbs 23:7, we are our thoughts. Someone might ask how? Others may say why? Well thoughts precede action and our action defines us. 1 John 3:7 says little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

The good news is once our thoughts changes, our life changes also. How can we change our thoughts? By changing what we feed our minds. The reason why so many Christians still struggle with sexual sin is because of the dirty jokes or conversation they engage in, dirty movies they watch, dirty songs they listen to – songs talking of sex and all that. These are where dirty thoughts emanate from. According Mark 7:15 the product of our thoughts is able to defile us. Titus 1:15 says to the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. Feeding our minds with spiritual materials like reading the bible, Christian literature will do us a lot of good. Romans 10:17 says faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God. Reading success stories and autobiographies of people who overcame one difficult or other also helps too. These are good for the mind; success thoughts and positive thoughts emanate from them. Before feeding our minds with positive and spiritual materials, we need to purge ourselves of dirty stuff and the purging is done through fasting and praying.

PRAYER POINT: Father, purge me off every thought that is destroying me and causing a gap between you and me.

The all sufficient one

Jeremiah 32:27 - Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

To be sufficient means to be more than enough. What it means is that no matter what happens to one of His children, that He can and will take care of them, if we but trust Him.When it comes to promotion , He is more than enough. In 1 Samuel 16:1-end, He picked David from the back of the desert and set him in the palace. In a matter of hours , he made the last born to become the first.Also in Genesis 41:1-end , He took Joseph from the prison and made him the father to Pharaoh -Genesis 45:8. Joseph without any political party, campaign ,political godfather and election became the prime minister of Egypt.Once you know Him you do not need to do anything funny or dirty to get to the top. He can single-handedly take you to the top.

When it comes to protection, He is more than sufficient. I have always had reservations about bodyguards and all. They can only protect you from men , how about demons or sickness ? Besides that most them needs protection too.Be it the visible or the invisible ,you can rely on the All sufficient one.

When it comes to meeting needs , He alone can provide.  David says in Psalm 23:1 , the Lord is my Shepherd i shall not want.Just like it is the responsibility of the shepherd to provide for the sheep so also is the responsibility of God to provide for His children and He can do that without the help of a man.He used wind to provide meat for the Israelite in Numbers 11:31. He used ravens ( a very stingy bird) to feed Elijah in 1 Kings 17:5-9.
He is also sufficient to save. Imagine Saul a man who was  party to the death of Stephen and many other believers becoming a preacher. He is sufficient to save any president or any man or woman regardless of their past.
PRAYER POINT : Oh Lord, make a beneficiary of your sufficiency today.

YOU SHALL HAVE WHAT YOU CONFESS

Numbers 14:28 “say to them,’As I live,’ says the Lord,’just as you have spoken in My hearing,so i will do to you:
Words are very powerful ,Proverbs 18:21 says life and death are in the power of the tongue. Our words can either bring us goodies for example proverbs 13:2 says From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things; it can also the the opposite ,Proverbs 18:6 says A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calls for blows.
Jonathan told his armor-bearer that  nothing refrains the Lord from saving by many or by few- 1 Samuel 14:6. By the hands of these two ,the Lord caused the host of the Philistine to flee. The bible records in 1 Samuel 14:15 that there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders trembled;and the earth quaked so that it was a great trembling.
Before the Israelites was the Red Sea behind them was Pharaoh and his host , the children of Israel began to panic. Moses said to them ,”do not be afraid but stand still and see the salvation  of the Lord,which He will accomplish for you today for the Egyptians whom you see today , you shall see again no more forever  .The Lord will fight for you , and you shall hold your peace”- Exodus 14:13-14.That day the Lord fought for them and they held their peace.
When Isaac asked his Daddy (Abraham ) where the lamb of sacrifice was Genesis 22:1-13, the old man replied God will provide. Brethren God did provide.
What are we confessing today ?are they positive things or negative things? There are some people called themselves realist or so , they claim to say things as they are . Well 2 Corinthians 5:7 says we walk by faith not by sight.Joel 3:10 says Let the weak say i am strong.
ACTION POINT: As from today , make it a point of duty every morning to prophesy good things into your life, family, your work , your church and your country.

POWER WITHOUT CONTROL

Sunday12 August                                               Bible in one year : Joshua 19-21

Memorise: out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be . James 3:10

James 3:5-12

Elijah was one Bible character that experienced victory all the way. In 2 Kings 1:19-15 , some sets of soldiers came to arrest him but soon realised that they were the ones being arrested. Those who surrendered , he spared but those who refused to surrender, he roasted alive.He was so full of power. Power is good but very dangerous. It is commonly said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.If you have power , you need lots of restraint less it turns your victory into defeat. With the power of God, you can easily secure victory but you need humility and the fruit of the Spirit to sustain that victory. A minister of God who uses his or her tongue unadvisedly will soon erode the gains of victory earlier obtained. What is the use of power without control? One reason God had not increase His anointing on some of His children or answered some who are petitioning Him for higher levels of anointing is because they cannot handle it , that is to say, they cannot control it.

If you are the type that easily curses your children or wards ,if God anoints you , you will not know when you will place a curse on them and it will stick. Pastors who curse members or workers are fast eroding their victories. If you have common sense, you will know that it is wrong to curse anyone who volunteers his or her service to God just because the fellow made a mistake . There are better ways of correcting the fellow but not through a curse. If you are fond of cursing those you should be protecting ,something is wrong with you; you should rather be blessing them. In addition, if God’s power in your life makes you proud, or to feel that you are better than your neighbour , you will lose your victory. One attribute God cannot stand is pride.God fights the proud because they compare themselves with Him, so He will want to prove a point that they nothing without Him. Are you proud of your achievements,You may soon lose them. To keep your victory permanent , handle with them lots of humility, thanksgiving and giving all credits to God alone. God hates the proud: are you proud? Repent today!

ACTION POINT: If you pray for power, pray doubly for the grace to control it.

Excerpts from Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

NEGLECTING THIS DOOR?

Friday 20 July                           Bible in one year: 1Samuel 17-20

Memorise: And all things,whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing ,ye shall receive. Matthew 21:22
Read : Matthew 21:18-22

In Corinthians 16:8-9 , Paul said God opened a door for him.God still open doors for His children. God open doors to missionary opportunities.Also,there is a door of prayers.This door is open to everyone. You do not need the permission of anyone to pray.You are free to pray anytime and anywhere.Even when a government outlaws prayers like it happened in the time of Daniel, those like Daniel will still pray. Any government that passes such an obnoxious decree must be prepared to stay awake 24/7 because some of us may choose to start our prayers at 3am. How effectively have you been using your open door in prayer? Your success in Christian faith depends on how you utilize this door. You cannot be anything of repute in God’s kingdom if you neglect this door. One thing that is common to those who rise and fall from the faith so often is that they fail to utilize their open door in prayer. A prayer-less Christian is not only powerless but also a misrepresentation of the Christian faith. Such a Christian will end up a victim and will struggle in his walk with God.Power is released in the place of prayer. You need power to live as a Christian(John 1:14). Without such power, Heaven will be a mirage. If you are neglecting effective prayer life, it means you do not want to go to Heaven.

You are neglecting this door when you see the need to pray but procrastinate,saying :”i will pray about it tomorrow”. That tomorrow may never come. Or when you have a negative dream but only mutter some positive confessions and push it aside or leave it to fate by saying:”if God delights in me, He will do something about that dream so I leave it to Him’. You also neglect this door when you see a sharp or major character flaw in your  spouse , or leader but rather than intercede, you make  it a subject of discussion or gossip. Do you know that about 70% of what happens to most believers could have been averted if only they have effectively utilized the open door in prayer? There is gross prayerlessness in Christendom today. Repent and never take anything for granted. Monitor your dreams and revelations and make the most of them by the door of prayer.

KEY POINT: For the prayerful, prayer is a sieve which determines what they will go through and what they will not, while the prayer-less goes through everything projected their way by the enemy.