GETTING THE ATTENTION OF GOD

 BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Gen 15, Matt 14, Neh 4, Acts 14

1 Kings 18:38 then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.

BIBLE STUDIES: 1 kings 18:31-39

There are several ways to get God's attention. One of it is by living a life of righteousness. Psalm 11:7 says for the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright. Psalm 4:3 says but know that the Lord has set part for Himself him who is godly; the Lord will hear when I call to Him. Another way to get the attention of God is through giving - giving to the poor and the needy. Proverbs 19:17 says he who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and He will pay back what he has given. Also supporting kingdom projects. Luke 6:38 says give it will come back to you, for with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. Another way is through prayers. James 5:16 says the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

In 1 Kings 18:31-39, we see an effective way of attracting God's attention. After the whole nation had gathered, Elijah stepped forward, repaired the altar and began to Eulogize God. He began to call Him names like Lord God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Israel and before you know it, fire fell from heaven and consumed the offering. If you study the passage carefully, you will notice that Elijah did not even request for fire. According to Numbers 14:28, it is what God hears you say that He will do. If you call Him the great Physician, He will heal you. If you call Him the Help of the helpless, He will help you. Elijah knew this, so he started by calling God “Lord God of Abraham". According to Genesis 18:1-15, with the God of Abraham nothing shall impossible. The impossible happened because fire came from heaven and consumed the offering. He went further to call God "God of Isaac". According to Genesis 26:12-14, the God of Isaac is the God of steady greatness. The family of Elijah was nothing to reckon with in Israel. The bible did not even make mention of his family but from the moment fire fell; the whole nation began to look up to him. He now ended by calling God “God of Israel". According to Genesis 30:41-43 , the God of Israel is the God of exceeding greatness. Elijah ended up as the only man in history who rode on the chariots of fire. When you worship God, He gives to you what you did not even ask for. All Hannah asked for was a son, 1 Samuel 1:9-17. After she got the son, she praised God to the extent that God gave her another three boys and two girls, 1 Samuel 3:21.

ACTION POINT: The more time you spend worshiping God, the less time you will need to make your request known to Him.

TAKE NOW THY SON

 BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Gen 13, Matt 12, Neh 2, Acts 12

Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.

BIBLE STUDIES: Genesis 22:1-19 The way God expresses His love is different from the way we express love. He does not like, He loves.

John 3:16 says for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son. He does not dislike, He hates. Proverbs 6:16-17 says these six things the Lord hates, yes seven are an abomination to Him; A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood. There are two levels of God’s love; there is the general love and special love. Under general love, He loves everyone – the good and the bad. According to Matthew 5:45, He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. This love costs nothing; all that is required is for you to take it. He gives light to everyone. He gives the rain even to farmers to who publicly confess that there is no God.

There is a higher level of love called special love. Those He specially loves enjoy special benefits. In 2 Kings 2:10-11, we see God sending a chariot from heaven to bring Elijah-His prophet home. God loved this man so much he did not want him to see death. When He wants to bless this group of people, He blesses them until their barns can no longer take the blessings. Take for instance the case of David in 1 Samuel 16:1, God told Samuel to fill his horn with oil and go and anoint him. The question is why fill a horn with oil just to anoint a man? Is that not wastage? The oil could have been used to anoint at least a thousand men. That is God for you. When He loves, He cannot stop giving. He anointed David with the Holy Ghost until his cup run over. Also this group of people enjoys special favors from Him. In Genesis 18:1-16, God Himself left heaven to come and eat in the house of His friend – Abraham. What is required of me to enjoy God’s special love? You need to love God. Proverbs 8:17 says I love those who me. John 14:21 says he that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love, and will manifest myself to him. This special love cost something. It might cost you your time, resources or things special to you. That is why it is special. You will be required from time to time to demonstrate that you really love God. In Genesis 22:1-19, Abraham was required to demonstrate His love for God. God told him to go and sacrifice his son and he obeyed. Because he loved God, God loved him back and mightily blessed Him. Peter also demonstrated his love by leaving his fishing career and following Jesus and in return, God filled him mightily with the Holy Ghost to the extent that his shadow was healing the sick, Acts 5:15. I have always nursed the ambition of studying abroad but for one reason or the other it never materialized. During that period, our church was preparing for its annual convention and there was a lot of brick laying works been carried at the convention ground. I joined the brick layers and worked for free for Jesus. Few months after the convention, I found myself on the plane to abroad to go and study. I loved Him and He reciprocated the love back!

ACTION POINT: Demonstrate your love for Him today, by working for Him and watch Him deal with your channges.

HEARING FROM GOD

 BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Gen 14, Matt 13, Neh 3, Acts 13

Amos 3:7 surely the Lord God will do nothing, unless he reveals his secret unto his servants the prophets.

BIBLE STUDIES: Jeremiah 42:1-22

God is still in the business of speaking to His children. He speaks through dreams, vision, prophesy, the bible. He speaks to our heart; He speaks in a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:11-13); He speaks in an audible voice and you hear him clearly as if you are speaking to a friend. He speaks concerning all issues. In Genesis 21:12, He spoke to Abraham about his marriage. In 1 kings 17:2-9, He spoke to Elijah about his sustenance in the midst of famine. He spoke to Isaac about where to live in Genesis 26:1-6. He told Gideon of his assignment to deliver his nation, Judges 6:11-40 e.t.c. If you want His input in that choice or decision you are about to make, why not go to Him today.

For God to speak concerning a matter or issue, there are one or two things that needs to be in place. First of all, if you want His input on any matter you need to go to Him. James 4:8 says draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Every time you go to God in prayers, He comes close to listen. Before we go to Him, we must make sure that we have dealt with whatever can hinder Him from speaking to us. The reason why we don’t actually hear from Him when we call on Him is sin. Psalm 66:18 says if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. How can God answer when He cannot hear us calling on Him? John 9:31 says we know that God heareth not sinners: but he does listen to anyone who worships Him and does His will. This is why if you are yet to give your life to Christ, please do so today and if you have giving your life and you are still living in secret sin, ask Him to forgive you and wash you in the blood of Jesus. Another thing that must be in place to hear from God is the readiness to do whatever He says whether it is pleasing or displeasing. If you are expecting him to always say what you want to hear, am afraid you are wasting your time. Long after Abraham had separated himself from Lot, he was expecting God to commend him or say something he wanted to hear. God told him “walk before me and be perfect “, Genesis 17:1 . That was the last thing Abraham expected but he listened and God visited him. Lastly be ready to wait on Him. God is no one’s servant and He is not obliged to answer you immediately. If you petition the president of your country or your boss in the office, he will reply at his convenience and you have no option but to wait. If you can wait for mere men, how much more the King of glory, King of kings and the Lord of Lords. The Most High is not a talkative; anyone who wants to hear from God must learn patience. In our bible studies, Jeremiah heard from God after ten days of praying and fasting. If you come to God in fasting and prayers and you do not hear from Him, do not get tired, come back to Him again. Been patient with God is profitable because once He speaks concerning any matter, success is guaranteed.

ACTION POINT: Put measures in place to deal with anything that might hinder God from hearing you this season.

KEYS TO UNLIMITED GREATNESS

 BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Gen 11-12, Matt 11, Neh 1, Acts 11

Jeremiah 29:11 for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

One of the questions we ask from time to time is what is God’s plan for our life? When the bible talks of an expected end, what is the meaning of an expected end? According to Joshua 1:8, the end God has promised for us is good success; to be successful in all endeavors. Good success to mean sustained success. To be the head always and never be the tail. The expected end according to 3 John 1:2 is for us to prosper and be in health even as our soul prospers. I am not talking of prospering at the expense of our soul. I am talking of prosperity that comes as a result of living a life of holiness, a life sold out to God completely. Also the expected end is unlimited greatness.

Three of the most essential things that you must have so that you can have unlimited greatness are vision, health and power. Let’s look at them briefly. Firstly vision, Proverbs 29:18 says where there is no vision the people perish. Which means where there is no vision, nobody becomes great. The bible makes it abundantly clear that when we talk about vision, it is whatever you see that you can have. In Genesis 13:14-17, God said to Abraham ‘lift up your eyes and look from where you are –northward, southward, westward, and eastward’. He said ‘whatsoever you see I will give it to you’. He then said ‘let me help you further, I want you to get up and walk in the breadth of the land because the more you walk the more you see’. Vision is very crucial to unlimited greatness. Secondly health, even if you have great vision, without health you cannot achieve much. You can have vision of greatness but if you are sick, it will be just a dream. 3 John 1:2 talks about prospering and been in health. Because without health, prospering becomes difficult. Moses was able to successfully lead the children of Israel out of Egypt all because of good health. According to Deuteronomy 34:7, Moses at the age of one twenty was still strong and healthy. The bible records that even his eyes were not dim. Only the healthy can dream of becoming a mighty evangelist that will win a million souls for Christ. Only the healthy can dream of becoming the president of a nation or inventing things. Thirdly power, I am referring to the power that only God can supply. Unlimited greatness comes with a lot of responsibilities and challenges. Isaiah 40:30-31 says even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall. No matter how strong you are, you will get tired one day but the bible further goes on to say that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. Unlimited greatness will challenge your human ability; you need divine strength to cope. We need power to be witness for Jesus in the world. Acts 1:8 says you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Jesus in all areas of the world. Brethren to win a single soul for Jesus requires power talk less of winning a hundred or thousand or if you are greedy like me a million. According to Deuteronomy 8:18, we need power to get wealth.

PRAYER POINT: Father, I want to be great for you , please give me new vision, divine health and power.

BE YOUR OWN PROPHET

 BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Gen 7, Matt 7, Ezra 7, Acts 7

Proverbs 12:6 the words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.

BIBLE STUDIES -2 KINGS 4:18-37

Many of us listen to newspaper reporters-wonderful people; prophets in their own right. We listen to economics – wonderful people; prophets in their own right. At times we even listen to doctors – lovely people; highly educated people; qualified professionals; prophets in their own right. The question is why don’t we learn to prophesy to ourselves?

The great Shunamite woman in our bible studies prophesied to herself. She did not even wait for Elisha to tell her all will be well. She kept on prophesying that it shall be well. On her to see the man of God, her husband asked if all is well and her reply was “it shall be well”. Again when the man of God saw her coming afar off, he sent his servant to check if all is well and she told the servant “it shall be well”. Despite the fact that her son was dead she kept on prophesying to herself that it shall be well and at the end all was well because her dead son lived again. When you study the scriptures you will notice that almost everyone who had a major breakthrough prophesied to themselves before the breakthrough. In Genesis 22:1-18, God told Abraham to go and sacrifice Isaac to Him as a test. On his way to the mountain, Isaac asked Abraham where the lamb for burnt offering was and Abraham said “my son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering”. He prophesied into his own life and that was the exact thing that happened. In 1 Samuel 17:26-56, David told Goliath “this day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you”. He prophesied that he was going to severe the head of Goliath from his body. Do you know that when David prophesied, he did not even have a dagger on him talk less of a sword? But because he had prophesied that was the exact thing that happened. Immediately Goliath fell he ran to him, since there was no available sword around, he took Goliath’s sword and used it cut of his head. The woman with the issue of blood prophesied to herself, she said “if only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made whole” (Mark 5:25-34). That was the exact thing that happened when she touched the clothes of Jesus. Proverbs 12:6 says the mouth of the upright shall deliver them. Before Jesus got to the house of Lazarus, he prophesied to Martha, John 11:17-45. He said “your brother will rise again” and that was the same thing that happened that. Your prophesy in adversity will determine the result. Joel 3:10 says let the weak say “I am strong” meaning let the weak should prophesy strength to themselves. Cultivate a habit of prophesying good things yourself. Ignore people’s opinion on your challenges; just continue to prophesy the result you want. Be your own prophet this year, it is what God hears you say that he will do not what the doctors say or people around you.

KEY WORD: It is what God hears you say that he will do not what the people around you say or the expert about your challenges.

GUARD YOUR MOUTH

 BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Gen 5, Matt 5, Ezra 5, Acts 5

Proverbs 21:23 whoever guards his mouth and tongue, keeps his soul from troubles.

Proverbs 18:21 says death and life are in the power of the tongue. With the tongue, one can either start a war or put an end to war. With the tongue, one can either ask for help or reject help. With the tongue, one gather people or scatter what has been gathered. The rightful use of the mouth can bring deliverance. In Acts 16:25-27, Paul and Silas were bound and put in prison. In the middle of the night, they began to sing praises to God and before you know it there was an earth quake which lead to their deliverance. The rightful use of the mouth can lead to healing. Joel 3:10 says let the weak say I am strong and Numbers 14:28 says whatever God hears you say is what He will do . Do you know that just by witnessing with your mouth, you can inherit glory and begin to shine like the stars? Proverbs 10:31 says he that winneth souls is wise. According to Proverbs 3:35, the wise shall inherit glory. In other words those that witness (the wise) will inherit glory. Daniel 12:3 says the wise (those that win souls) shall shine like the brightness of the firmament and those who turn many to many into righteousness like the stars forever and ever. There is an African proverb which says words can either bring kola from the pocket or clubs from the bag.

Proverbs 21:23 says whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from trouble. The mouth of many has landed them in trouble. A wise man once said “we may forget blows but not words”. Proverbs 6:1 warns us that our mouth can be snare to us. As powerful as Samson was, his unguarded mouth cost him his two eyes, Judges 16:4-21. Samson who was a terror to the Philistine became a grinder in the prison because he could not keep secrets. Proverbs 18:6 says the mouth of a fool calls for strokes. To have relationship with God, one must learn to guard his mouth. There is a time to speak and there is a time to be quiet. If one speaks at the time he is meant to keep quiet he will end up facing embarrassment. Many of the quarrels and the enemies we have today could have been avoided if only we guarded our mouth. They say silence cannot be misquoted. Proverbs 14:23 says in all labor there is profit: but the talk of the lips leads only to poverty. Unguarded mouth leads to unnecessary arguments and confrontation. Also the unguarded mouths of others can put us into trouble if care is not taken. Herod was an orator. He had his way with words. Because of his eloquence, some people with unguarded mouth started comparing him with God and instead of stopping them, he enjoyed it. They shouted “the voice of a god and not of man!” Right on the spot, the angel of the Lord struck him and he was eaten by worms alive (Acts 12:21-23). David suffered the same fate. After conquering Goliath, some ladies with unguarded tongues began to compare him to the king, I Samuel 18:7-9. Instead of stopping them, he too just enjoyed it and then the King went after him. The king that took him as a son started to throw javelins at him. Thank God he survived but he spent half of his life running from Saul all because of unguarded mouth.

PRAYER POINT : Father , please help me today to guard my mouth.

THE RIPPLE EFFECT

 BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Gen 6, Matt 6, Ezra 6, Acts 6

John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

What is a ripple? A ripple is simply a small wave along the surface of water. An example of ripple is a small wave that occurs when you drop a rock into a pond. Ripple effect is the spreading effects experience as the result of a single event.

Some forty-something years ago, a young promising concert pianist fell in love with an African American boy. She got pregnant and her parents sent her out of the house. Due to the pressure of becoming a dad at a very young age, the boy began to misbehave. Things began to fall apart in the life of this lady and because she had no mentor she began to use drugs. The government of the state deemed her as an unfit mother so they decided to take the baby off her once she puts to bed. This deepened her sorrow. One day a Christian sister noticed this pregnant girl with the burden of the world on her shoulder crossing the road without checking the traffic. She ran to her and helped her. This sister witnessed to this lady and she gave her life to Christ. Several months later, the young lady to put to bed and gave birth to a boy. This boy grew up to become a Grammy Award –winning American Christian singer and a worship leader. Some of his songs include Alpha & Omega; I am a friend of God e.t.c. Later this lady (now an elderly woman) re-united with the sister (now an elderly woman too) who preached to her while she was crossing the road and got talking. It was a powerful re-union. Whilst talking, the Lady asked this sister, “What made you come to my assistance while I was crossing the road? What made you preach to me?” The sister replied “I had just met the Lord recently so I was preaching to everyone I saw”.

Because this sister received Jesus and began to witness, a young pregnant girl who was on drugs gave her life to Jesus. Instead of aborting the baby, she kept the baby and gave a birth to a son who leads millions to the presence of God through praise and worship. Today we have one of the leading Christian gospel artist- ISRAEL HOUGHTON, all because a sister decided to witness to that young pregnant girl who was crossing the road forty something years ago. The decision of this sister to witness caused a ripple effect that is still affecting the body of Christ till today. Today your decision to share Jesus with every one you come in contact with could cause a ripple that could lead to the birth of a world renowned evangelist. Your decision to do good or show kindness or help someone could cause a ripple effect that could change lives. The decision of Jesus to die on the cross caused a mighty ripple that shaped humanity. Whatever you do produces a ripple. It could lead many to Christ or lead many from Christ. It could put food on someone’s table or take food from their table. It could open an opportunity for some to succeed. Today we have men and women mightily used by God all because someone decided to witness to them or invite them to church

ACTION POINT: You can start a ripple today by giving your life to Christ. You can start a ripple today by deciding to be kind to everyone you come in contact with. You can start a mighty ripple today by deciding to share Jesus with everyone you come in contact with.