THE BEST MEAL

MEMORY VERSE: But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.1 Corinthians 11:28

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 9-10

The best food in the world is not the Massaman curry of Thailand, neither is it the Neapolitian pizza of Italy. It is not the Japanese Sushi, neither is it the Peking duck of China. It is not the Shepherd’s pie or Fish ‘n’ chips of England, neither is it the Chicken biryani of India. It is not the Jollof rice common with Nigerians, neither is it rice and peas with stew chicken and fried dumplings of the Afro-Caribbeans. The best food is not the Singapore fried rice, the Gabonese Chicken muamba, the American Donuts or the Iranian Kebabs. It is none of these foods. The best meal in the world is the Holy Communion. It is a meal of bread which symbolizes the broken body of Christ and wine which symbolizes His shed blood. Luke 22:19-20 says, “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”

The best that would happen if anyone tries any of the dish listed above, no matter how palatable, sweet, delicious and yummy it may be, is feel good. None of these dishes can cure any disease - curable and incurable. If one is under a yoke and he eats of any of these delicious meals, nothing will happen. If one has been stagnant for years and he eats any of those delicious meals, his stagnancy will still continue. The Holy Communion, on the other hand, is a symbolic meal. It is not only symbolic but powerful. If eaten worthily, one’s spiritual eyes will open. Luke 24:31 says, “And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.” Not only that, one will receive divine health and sickness will disappear. After the children of Israel ate Passover (which is what we now call Holy Communion (Exodus 12)), all their sickness vamoosed. They left Egypt with a clean bill of health. Psalm 105:37 says, “He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there wasnot one feeble person among their tribes.” And if eaten unworthily, one may fall sick. 1 Corinthians 11:29 -30 says, “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” Before eating such a powerful meal, one must carry out a thorough examination on one's life. Are you still on the 'narrow' path that leads to heaven or the 'broad' path that leads to destruction? 1 Corinthians 11:28 says, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.” Before approaching the Lord's Table to partake in Holy Communion, one must ask himself or herself , ‘am i still a child of God?’ Are there any un-confessed sins in my life? Are there any brothers, sisters or family members i am not in talking terms with ? Are there any restitution am yet to carry out? Is my heart pure? Are my hands clean? The reason is that one cannot approach the Lord’s Table with an unclean hand or an impure heart or whilst bearing grudges. One cannot come to the Lord’s Table whilst living a life of immorality. One cannot come to the Lord’s Table whilst living a double life, no. One must first examine himself and make amendments where necessary before coming to the Lord’s Table.

NOTE: The Holy Communion is not a church ritual. It is an invitation to dine with the Lord.

WARNING: Don’t come to the Lord's Table with an unforgiving heart.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

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.

WATER TO WINE PART 3

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Gen 40, Mark 10, Job 6, Romans 10

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

Immediately the wine finished, the organizers of the party did something interesting; they ran to Jesus. Instead of complaining to God or blaming God or worse still ask God why me? They ran to Jesus. The mistake most of us make when something goes wrong is we begin to apportion blame to people. Apportioning blames never solve problems, it only create enemies. When you blame people all you are doing is destroying the opportunity of God using that fellow to bless you in the future. Even if the individual is actually the cause of the problem, blaming them will not solve it. Many instead of going on their knees to pray begin to blame witches or wizards .Others even take it to another level by making negative confessions. They begin to used words like ‘my life is destroyed’, ‘finally my enemies have caught up with me’, ‘where will I start from’,’ I am in trouble’. Using words like these never solve problems, it only compounds it! Also complaining about our challenges never solves it. Actually the more we talk about it the bigger it becomes. One thing you should never do during challenges is ask God why me? Many even ask God ‘is this how you are going to pay me for all the things I have done for you- my offerings, my services, my this and that?’ This is not a wise thing to do. If you have ever done this before please apologize to Him.

John 2:3 says and when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, they have no wine. From studying this verse you will notice that the people waited for the wine to finish before crying for help. Why wait till the wine finishes before going to Jesus? In 2 Kings 4:1-7 the widow waited until her creditors began to threaten to sell her sons to pay of her debt before running to Elisha. Stop waiting till something happens before you pray. Don’t wait for challenges to come before you fast. Don’t wait for something to go wrong before you start going to church every Sunday or attend mid week services. Start fasting and praying now. Start attending all the services now. Don’t wait a week before the exams before you start praying. If the exam is in four months, start praying about it now. Don’t wait till you begin to have challenges in the family, work or home before you start asking God to uproot every tree He has not planted in your life. Start asking Him to do that now before challenges begin. Don’t wait until you are sick or begin to develop symptoms before you go for medical checkup. Go for check up from time to time so that if there are any concerns you can pray about it early. If you are over the age of forty, make sure you check your blood pressure regularly and do other necessary check up. Don’t wait for high blood pressure symptoms or any other disease related symptoms before you go for medical check –up. Many leave things too late; they rush to God in the last minute expecting God to jump into action. God is always ready to act on our behalf but it is wiser to take things to Him early. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says pray without ceasing. It is not too early to begin to pray about anything, actually the earlier the better.

KEY WORD: Don’t wait till the last minute before you run to God.

WATER TO WINE PART 2

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Gen 39, Mark 9, Job 5, Romans 9

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

In part 1 of ‘water to wine’ series, we learnt that water symbolizes challenges and wine symbolizes celebration. Therefore water to wine simply means challenges to celebration. We touched the subject of Christians and alcohol. We also talked about one of the things that needs to be in place for water to turn into wine-for challenges to turn into celebration.

The fact that you love God does not mean there will not be challenges or problems. Problems and challenges are part and parcel of life - believers and non believers. The believer is only at an advantage because right in his boat is the Prince of Peace and a word from Him will still the storm. If anyone tells you that once you give your life to Christ there will not be challenges it is a lie. The bible says that many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all, Psalm 34:19. Jesus even told His disciples that in the world they will have tribulations but they should be of good cheer because He has overcome the world for them, John 16:33. The Most High God says in Isaiah 43:2 that when you pass though the waters, He will be there. He did not say if you pass through waters, He said when you pass through waters.Jesus was in the boat when a great windstorm arose and the waves began to beat into the boat, Mark 4:35-41. When Jesus is in your boat, there could be storms but be rest assured that the boat will never sink. Jesus was at the wedding in Cana of Galilee and when the wine finished, John 2:1-11. When Jesus is at your wedding or function, the wine may finish but be rest assured that He will provide a better wine in excess. The fact that you have accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior does not exempt you from trials of faith. Several years ago I was about to close from work when the manager called three of us into his office. He told us the department was overstaffed and our services were no longer required. Our contracts were terminated right on the spot ; no notice period was given. Since we were temporary staffs, there was nothing we could do except leave. Today in that same place of work I have been made permanent, received recognitions, been promoted, participated in several recruitment e.t.c. The wine finished on that day but the Lord provided a better wine at the same place work. Whilst serving the Lord in spirit and truth, the enemies may attack and your wine finishes. I want to tell you the God you serve will provide a better wine. In that endeavor of yours, things might go wrong unexpectedly, I want to tell you there is God on the throne and you will not suffer disgrace. Anytime I am facing any challenges, i will tell people please do not pity me because Christ in me is the Hope of glory, Colossians 1:27. The wine may finish one hundred times but I very confident that Jesus will produce a better wine one hundred and one times.

KEYWORD: Challenges are part and parcel of life. When going through any challenges remember Christ in you is the hope of glory not of shame.

WATER TO WINE PART 1

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Gen 38, Mark 8, Job 4, Romans 8

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

Water is a symbol of calamities and challenges. Isaiah 43:2 says when thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. Wine on other wine is a symbol of potency, joy, celebration, bounty, banqueting e.t.c. Isaiah 25:6 says in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full or marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. The summary of the story in John 2:1-11 is Jesus turned calamities and challenges to joy and celebration.

I have heard many Christians argue that there is nothing wrong in consuming alcohol, after all Jesus turned water to wine. They will round it up with 1 Timothy 5:23 where Paul advises Timothy to take little wine for his stomach problems. In Proverbs 31:4 -5, we see the mother of a King –to- be advising her son that it is not for kings to drink wine ,lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the justice of all the afflicted. One thing I know for sure is that Jesus did not and will never offer wines that will cause people to forget the law and the wine Paul referred to was not the type that helps pervert the justice of all the afflicted. There is nothing wrong in consuming fruit wines but wines containing alcohol even 0.5 percent is not to be touched by believers. Proverbs 23:29 -30 says who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Proverbs 20:1 says wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise. Isaiah 5:11 says woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! Not only that our body is the temple of the living God not a beer pub or alcohol storage facility. The organizers of the wedding at Cana in Galilee did one very wise thing; they invited Jesus to the wedding. One thing the devil hate is joy. He hates to see celebration and shouts of joy. That is why you would never see the devil around places where they are always shouting Hallelujah! He hates that word with a passion. The wedding planners planned the wedding to the best of their abilities but they still invited Jesus just in case. The One who can turn water into wine is Jesus. He only can turn challenges into celebrations. You may have had it all planned up, you have put measures into place, you have done all that needs to be done, dotted all the I's and crossed all the T's ,despite all that you still need Jesus. He only can keep the devil away or turn situations around. You may have everything in the world; once Jesus is missing you have nothing. Accept Jesus as your personal Lord and savior today and begin to enjoy a life full of celebrations.

KEY WORD: The only One who can turn water to wine is Jesus.