Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee. Genesis 12:1
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 37-40
BIBLE STUDY: Genesis 12:1-3
In Genesis 12:1-3, God told Abram to pack his bag and baggages and leave town for a place He will show him. A lot of us have read this story but not really grasped what God was asking Abram to do. Imagine for a second, whilst busy at work reading your emails, God told you to go home, pack your bags , pick a bus going out of town and drop at a station He will show you. Ordinarily , people don’t like changing their enviroment. One thing I dread most is moving house, it takes a week to pack everything , 2 – 3 days to move , another week or two to unpack and rearrange stuffs and forever to settle into the new enviroment. Asides the fact that God is asking you to move from a familiar enviroment – friends and family, He is asking you to go to an unknown place. At least if you know the place , you will be able to prepare for the new town. If it is a warm area, you will buy some T-shirts . If it is a cold area, you will buy some sweaters and jumpers. More over you will be able to arrange for an accomodation in advance, but in this case , God is saying leave all - your work, family and friends, support network ,everything familiar to you to a place He will tell you. You agree it is a hard one. This was what God was asking Abram to do. His case was harder because he had to go with his family. In every way we look at it, emotionally , mentally, financially, it wasn’t an easy one for Abram.
The question is why did’t God tell him the location before leaving .God did this to check if Abram would trust Him with his life and family. He did that to see if Abram would obey His instruction without arguing. God wanted to see if Abram would depend on His word not his knowledge. Because Abram trusted God with his life and family , God gave him seven blessings. Firstly, He made him a great nation. Secondly, He blessed him. Thirdly, He made his name great. Fourthly, He made him a blessing. This is why today we say Abraham’s blessing are ours. Fiftly, He blessed all those that blessed Him. Sixtly , He cursed all those that cursed him and Seventhly, He ensured that through Abram all the nations of the world are blessed.
TO PONDER: In our walk with Christ, we will be faced with situations and circumstances that will demand that we trust God’s word with all.Can you trust God’s word with your life and family?
Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.
Showing posts with label test. Show all posts
Showing posts with label test. Show all posts
Saturday, 5 July 2014
Saturday, 28 June 2014
THE FIRE SHALL TRY EVERY MAN’S WORK OF WHAT SORT IT IS
Each man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 1 Corinthians 3:13
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 19- 21
BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 3:11-15
On the last day, we (all believers) will stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ to give accounts of our deeds. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says for we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ; that everyone one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. When I say ALL believers will stand before Christ, I mean ALL believers – founders, pastors, evangelists, intercessors, ushers, choirs, counsellors, members just name it. All of us will stand in a single file with our works and give accounts of how we lived our lives. On that day, there will be no secrets, the ‘works’ of every man will be revealed in the open! This is why Jesus said in Luke 12:2, there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.
After everyone must have lined up, the angels will start to call names, Bro A please step forward with your ‘works’. Bro A will step forward with his ‘works’, the angels will pass it through the fire to test and critically appraise the character and worth of the ‘works’. If his ‘works’ are good, they will remain and Bro A will be presented with a reward or rewards as the case maybe, but if the fire consumes his ‘works’, he will get nothing, which means all his efforts on earth will be equal to zero. 1 Corinthians 3:13 says Each man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. Another name will be called, maybe Sister C this time, she will step forward with her ‘works’ and the angels will pass it through fire. One of the things that will shock many is, some names will be called and the fellow will come out with his ‘works’ as big as a skyscraper. As the fellow is marching forward with his ‘works’, everyone will be clapping. Jesus will say don’t clap just yet, pass the ‘works’ through fire and we will see. By the time the angels pass the ‘works’ through fire, all that will be left could be an ordinary pin!
It is not the number of ‘works’ or the size of our ‘works’ but the quality of our ‘works’. One of the things that will determine the quality of our ‘works’ is the heart with which we do God’s works. Are our ‘works’ an eye service or a show off? Did we do them to please men? How did we do them? Did we build according to the pattern Jesus the Master builder gave? What pattern did Jesus give? According to 1 Corinthians 16:14, we are to do everything in love. We are to do every thing without grumbling (Philippians 2:14). We are to do our ‘works’ with diligence. 2 Peter 1:10 says wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure, for if ye do these things, ye shall never fail. Whilst doing God’s work, we are to practice what we preach. Romans 2:21 says thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Many of us pray a lot in the public, do we pray a lot in the secret? Is who we professed to be on the outside, who we are on the inside?
TO PONDER: What people see outside and what is inside us, do they conflict?
Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 19- 21
BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 3:11-15
On the last day, we (all believers) will stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ to give accounts of our deeds. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says for we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ; that everyone one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. When I say ALL believers will stand before Christ, I mean ALL believers – founders, pastors, evangelists, intercessors, ushers, choirs, counsellors, members just name it. All of us will stand in a single file with our works and give accounts of how we lived our lives. On that day, there will be no secrets, the ‘works’ of every man will be revealed in the open! This is why Jesus said in Luke 12:2, there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.
After everyone must have lined up, the angels will start to call names, Bro A please step forward with your ‘works’. Bro A will step forward with his ‘works’, the angels will pass it through the fire to test and critically appraise the character and worth of the ‘works’. If his ‘works’ are good, they will remain and Bro A will be presented with a reward or rewards as the case maybe, but if the fire consumes his ‘works’, he will get nothing, which means all his efforts on earth will be equal to zero. 1 Corinthians 3:13 says Each man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. Another name will be called, maybe Sister C this time, she will step forward with her ‘works’ and the angels will pass it through fire. One of the things that will shock many is, some names will be called and the fellow will come out with his ‘works’ as big as a skyscraper. As the fellow is marching forward with his ‘works’, everyone will be clapping. Jesus will say don’t clap just yet, pass the ‘works’ through fire and we will see. By the time the angels pass the ‘works’ through fire, all that will be left could be an ordinary pin!
It is not the number of ‘works’ or the size of our ‘works’ but the quality of our ‘works’. One of the things that will determine the quality of our ‘works’ is the heart with which we do God’s works. Are our ‘works’ an eye service or a show off? Did we do them to please men? How did we do them? Did we build according to the pattern Jesus the Master builder gave? What pattern did Jesus give? According to 1 Corinthians 16:14, we are to do everything in love. We are to do every thing without grumbling (Philippians 2:14). We are to do our ‘works’ with diligence. 2 Peter 1:10 says wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure, for if ye do these things, ye shall never fail. Whilst doing God’s work, we are to practice what we preach. Romans 2:21 says thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Many of us pray a lot in the public, do we pray a lot in the secret? Is who we professed to be on the outside, who we are on the inside?
TO PONDER: What people see outside and what is inside us, do they conflict?
Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.
Thursday, 6 September 2012
Love will be tested
Thursday 6 September Bible in one year :Daniel 7-9
Memorise: Hereby perceive we the love of God ,because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren .1 john 3:16
Read :Genesis 22:1-2
Not only is love expensive, it may also undergo a trial.if you don’t believe ask Abraham. At a time, Abraham was town between his promised child Isaac and God. It became inevitable for God to test whether he still loved Him (Genesis 22:1-2).Whether you like or not ,your love for God will be tested.Usually it will be based on someone or something you really love. Isaac was about 15 years before the test. Abraham had become so fond of him to the point of been inseparable from him. I went through my own test some years ago. It was during a Christ the Redeemer’s Congress which held on the 24th December. It was my custom to spend the Christmas and New Year holidays with my mother because of my love for her.I therefore decided to visit her on the 23rd of December, just to see her and give her some few things before the Congress.I arrived at her house very late . As i knocked, somebody else opened the door and rejoiced that i had come. I was briefed on my mother’s illness and told she was almost at the point of death. At this time, there was no telephone to communicate with others to delegate my assignment. So i prayed for her and told her that i love her but i love God more, that after the Congress i would come back to see her , alive or dead. That was tough then but after the Congress she was still alive when i returned and she lived for another 15 years. In other words, God extended her life like Hezekiah’s after helping me through that test of love.
Your love may be tested in the fiery furnace or in the lion’s den. Since Jesus laid down His life for you, He expects nothing less from you to your brethren (1 John 3:16). It is either you love God to the extreme or you don’t.I once shared with my children that to succeed could be quite expensive because of the requirement to study at night when others are sleeping, or study in the day while others are playing. One may even be called a bookworm and other names, yet that is a far cheaper price to pay than failure. If you fail,you will become a servant to your colleagues who succeeded. Every Christian may claim to be born again and on their way to Heaven ,yet it is only the few who really love Him that will make it on the last day.You can be part of the few!
Action Point: Every disciples of Jesus will be required to take the test of love,Ask for grace to scale through.
Excerpts from Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye.
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