A NEW WAY TO LOOK AT CHALLENGES 5

MEMORY VERSE: And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. Zechariah 3:1

BIBLE READING: Ruth 4 – 1 Samuel 3

In combative sports, your size determines your opponent. In boxing, you will get an opponent from the lightweight division if you are a lightweight; and, an opponent from the heavyweight division if you are a heavyweight. The same rule applies in the spiritual realm. Your level will determine the class of demons or the types of challenges that will come your way. Zechariah 3:1 says: ‘And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.’ In God's kingdom, the most senior person is the high priest. In Satan's kingdom, the most senior person is the prince of demons which is Satan. The only opponent in the class of Joshua, the high priest, was Satan. That was why Satan withstood him; and, as God would have it , he failed. The level of your challenges will give you an idea of your class or how much of a threat you are to the kingdom of hell. You may not rate yourself, but God rates you highly.

Asides the obvious fact that your destiny will determine the kind of challenges you will face; the grace of God upon your life will, also, determine the type of challenges you will face. In 2 Kings 1:9, King Ahaziah sent an army captain with fifty soldiers to arrest Elijah. The question is, why would a king send an army captain with fifty soldiers to arrest one old man. It was because of the grace, the anointing of God upon his life. Mind you, the captain and his fifty men were roasted. When it came to Elisha's turn, the man who had the double portion of anointing on Elijah, the kind sent a whole army. 2 Kings 6:14-15 says: ‘He sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?’

NOTE: Those unusual challenges could be because of the grace of God upon your life. You many not know it, but the enemy knows it.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world.

A NEW WAY TO LOOK AT CHALLENGES 4

MEMORY VERSE: And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea. Mark 5:21

BIBLE READING: Judges 21- Ruth 3

We have been looking at challenges from a different perspective. Whether you believe or not, challenges can be a blessing in disguise especially when you are in Christ.

The size of your challenges is a reflection of your destiny. The bigger your destiny, the bigger the challenges the enemy will throw your way. So, if you are facing unusual challenges, it could be because you have an unusual destiny. Take for instance the mad of Gadara (Mark 5:1-20). The Bible records that a legion demon took possession of him. A roman legion is between 3,000 and 6,000 troops. The question is, what is it about this man that made Satan fill him with so many demons? A demon or two would have sufficed, why that many demons? Satan somehow figured out that this man was destined to be a mighty evangelist who would cause problems for his kingdom. Mark 5:19-21 says: ‘Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea.’ He knew this man had the potential to cause him trouble so he attacked him to stop him, but he failed.

Many years ago, a man had an unusual immigration challenge. He met all criteria, ticked all boxes; still, the Home Office insisted that he must return to his country. They didn't even take into consideration that his wife and children were citizens of the country. One morning, he went to sign in at the police station and they took him to the airport to deport him, but God intervened. Today, he is a pastor, an author, and a successful immigration lawyer whom God had used to deliver many from the clutches of immigration. Why was the enemy doing everything to get him out of the country? He somehow knew that this pastor was destined to deliver many, so he attacked him to prevent that from happening and failed.

NOTE: Those unusual challenges could be an indication that you have an unusual destiny. Don’t give up. God will see you through and you will fulfil destiny!

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world.

IT LIES IN HIS HANDS

MEMORY VERSE: The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. Proverbs 21:1

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Thessalonians 2- 1 Timothy 1

Proverbs 21:1 says: “the King’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” Who is a king? A ‘king’ is anyone in position of authority. Ecclesiastes 8:4 says: “where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, what doest thou?” A king is someone who runs the show. When the bible says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord,” it means the heart of everyone who is in position of authority is in the hand of God. Several years ago, a senior manager, in my place of work, instructed me to release a particular member of staff back to his agency because he did something wrong. This member of staff was diligent and reliable, besides this was his first time of getting into trouble so I tried to plead with this manager but she refused. Whilst explaining how to go about this release, a colleague came in to see her so she excused herself and attended to him. I began to pray in my heart that she would show mercy. All of a sudden, she just turned to me and said, “Sam, it seems you do not want us to release so and so, in that case give him a final warning”. The Lord touched her heart for me! I left her office dancing.

A ‘king’ is a judge. The children of Israel told Samuel, “give us king to Judge us” (1 Samuel 8:6). A king through judgment decides the fate of others. When the bible says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord,” it simply means the heart of every Judge is in the hand of God. When the enemies of David brought him before Achish, King of Gath, Goliath’s master, he feared greatly. Many a times, fear causes people to do the unthinkable. Out of fear David pretended to be insane, scratching on doors and drooling down on his beard. The Lord touched Achish’s heart and instead of killing David, he showed him mercy (1 Samuel 21:11-15). A ‘king’ is anyone born of a woman. So when the bible says, “The heart of a king is in the hand of God,” it means the heart of anyone born of a woman is in the hand of God. The heart of your manager at work is in the hand of God. The heart of that man that is always gambling with his children’s school fees is in the hand of God. The heart of that wicked lecturer is in the hand of God. The heart of that stubborn child is in the hand of God. A brother received a particular sister some years back. When he approached the sister to tell her that God had revealed to him that she would be his wife, the sister went ballistic. She shunned him and sent him away from her house. Out of embarrassment and multiple insults, the brother left it in the hands of God. Today, that brother, now a pastor, is married to the sister, also a pastor. Along the way, God touched the sister’s heart and everything changed.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: God can touch people's heart and they will volunteer to help you without you asking for help.

PRAYER: Father, we pray for every believer having interview this week that you will touch the heart of their interviewer.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

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BUILD ACCORDING TO PATTERN

MEMORY VERSE: Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, see, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. Hebrew 8:5

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 37-40

When God wanted to dwell among the children of Israel, He commanded Moses to build a tabernacle for Him. A tabernacle is a place of worship. God loves worshippers. He loves those who worship Him in truth and in spirit not those after Him for bread and butter. It is easy to worship God when you have just gotten a raise in your salary. Shouting Hallelujah comes naturally, when you have just passed your driving test. Worshipping God in the beauty of His holiness is easy when your wife finally gets pregnant after five years of delay. Praising God becomes extremely difficult when you receive a letter of redundancy from your place of work. Shouting Hallelujah becomes difficult when your visa application has just been refused. A true worshipper will still praise God even after he has lost his job.

Before building the tabernacle, the Lord called Moses up to a mountain and gave him the pattern of the tabernacle. Just before work started, God reminded him to build according to the pattern shown to him. Exodus 25:40 says and look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed in the mount. God wants to build you to become His tabernacle. He wants you and I to be His residing place. He wants to change the world through us but to do that; we must build our life according to pattern. Who are we to pattern our life after, Jesus Christ. He spent 33 years on earth showing us how to live our lives, how to conduct ourselves, how to relate to our parents, how to speak, how to behave in marriage, how to relate to God. Are you building that relationship after the pattern of Jesus when you and your fiancé kiss and do all sorts when alone? You said he has never slept with you but you undress before him. He has never slept with you but he touches you in inappropriate places. Would Christ have built that way?

The only way to build according to the pattern of Jesus is by doing what Jesus did and avoiding what he did not do. Jesus lived a life of prayer. He prayed at all times. Anyone doing what Jesus did not do or doing what Jesus will not do is building his life after his own pattern. Many build their life after the pattern of a great man of God. They want to talk like the man of God, behave like the man of God; there is no problem in this as far as you know the man of God is building his life according to the pattern of Jesus. However, the truth is, we are not to build our life after any great hero, not even after Martin Luther, John Wesley or John Calvin. Building our life after a particular man or woman is dangerous. If they get it wrong, you will get it wrong also. Jesus never for once got angry unnecessarily; He never said a wrong word once. If someone cuts Jesus in traffic, I can assure you; He will not swear at them or show them the middle finger. Jesus will not see black and call it white. Jesus will not attend a nightclub or go to a strip club. Jesus will never get into a physical fight or verbal abuse. He will never use the ‘F’ word, the ‘C’ word, or any offensive language. Jesus was not a rebellious youth; He was into neither the pop culture nor punk culture. He was not a Rastafarian. Many of our youths today are building their lives according to the pattern of a rock star. Many are building their life according to what they see on soap operas and movies. We cannot build our life after the pattern of a character in a secular soap opera or romance novel and expect the Lord to make us His tabernacle.

TO PONDER: What are the things you are doing that you know Christ will never do , repent immediately and turn a new leaf.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.