DID HE SEND YOU?

MEMORY VERSE: And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things. Luke 10:41

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Job 41-42

READ: Luke 10:38-42

Luke 10:38 says: “Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.” I want you to take note of this sentence - “Martha received him into her house”. Jesus didn’t force His way into Martha’s house; she opened her door to Him out of her own volition. Jesus will never force His way into your life except you open the door to Him. He said in Revelations 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” No one has ever opened his door to Jesus and regretted it. Whoever opens his or her heart to Jesus will receive everything Jesus has to offer. Every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17), and He will give them to anyone who asks in faith.

Jesus sat and taught in Martha’s house. Mary, Martha’s younger sister, sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His gracious Words. I want you to take note of where Mary sat – “at Jesus’ feet”. Bro, where are you currently sitted? Mary had a teachable spirit. She sat at Jesus’ feet to learn. Martha, on the other hand, was in the kitchen preparing food. She was busy preparing food for Him without asking Him if He wanted to eat and what He wanted to eat. What if He was fasting? No wonder, Jesus rebuked her when she came to report Mary for not assisting her in the kitchen. Luke 10:41 says: “And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things.”

Did Martha bother to know what Jesus wanted to eat? NO! Had she asked, Jesus would have told her not to bother. Many of us are like Martha in that we are busy serving without asking the Lord what He wants us to do or in what capacity He wants us to serve. Martha wasted all that food, time and effort doing what she was not sent to do. I doubt she got a thank you from the Lord for the food. Many of us are expecting a "thank you" from God for doing what He has not sent us to do. Who sent you on that mission you are on? Don’t expect a reward for a task He has not given to you. Those unassigned tasks are “weights” and they can pull you down. Hebrews 12:1 says: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” Don’t join groups in the church because your friends are part of that group. The Lord may want your friend to be part of the protocol team and you, a choir. You will know if the Lord is leading you to join a group. Many a time, the Lord will speak to your pastor who will then direct you to the right group to join.

NOTE: You must ask yourself from time to time, "Why am I doing what I am doing?" Brother, why are you in the prayer warrior group? Is it because it is convenient or because you want to stand in the gap? If you are doing it because it is convenient, you will leave once it becomes inconvenient. If you are in a group because your friends are there, if care is not taken you will leave when they leave too.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world.

HAVE YOU TURNED?

MEMORY VERSE: And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.Exodus 3:2-4

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lamentations 1-3

From the moment Moses turned, his life and ministry never remain the same. Let us take a brief look at what happened after he turned away from the goat and cattle (issues of the current moment), to behold the glory of God. Firstly, God spoke to him. The bible says: “and when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am i.” Not until Moses turned, the Lord did not say a word. When you study the book of Exodus, you will observe that after he turned; the ministry he had tried and failed at received a new life. Moses knew deep within himself that he was born to deliver the children of Israel from the bondage of the Egyptians. He was convinced that, that was the purpose of God for his life. He made an attempt to deliver his people in Exodus 2:11-15, and got into trouble. After he turned, his ministry received a touch from above. Not only that, where he had failed forty years earlier, he succeeded there.

The question is, have you and I turned? Some of us call ourselves a Christian and still accept bribes. Some do not accept bribe but give bribe. When I hear of people fornicating to get a job or for one favor or the order, I wonder if these people have really turned to Christ. The sad thing is, they come to youth fellowship and lift up holy hands. Lord, have mercy! Have you turned? Some of us call ourselves tongue speaking Christians and yet we keep malice. To make matters worse, some keep malice with their pastors. Is your own turn partial or full? You do not smoke but you consume alcohol; you do not fornicate but you touch ladies at inappropriate places; you do not miss church services but you indulge in exam malpractice; you do not fornicate but you masturbate; you do not commit adultery but when no one is around, you know how you do it with your toys. Is that how to turn to Christ? The reason why a lot of us are suffering is because we have not turned. We turn with our lips not with our hearts. Not until Moses turned, the Lord did not speak. The moment he turned, all changed. God has been waiting for an opportunity to speak to some for over three years, because they have refused to turn , He has decided to keep quiet. If you will turn today to Him, He will speak. There are a lot of us owing vows, pledges, robbing God in tithes and offerings, not until we turn from these things, He will not speak. Turn from beating your wife; turn from not looking after your children; turn from cursing your children when you are angry; turn from being hard headed, and the Lord will speak.

ACTION: Pray for revival, a lot of believers have grown cold in their service to God.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

God will always be there for you.