DON’T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Gen 42, Mark 12, Job 8, Romans 12

Mark 6:3 is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us? And they were offended at him

Bible studies: Mark 6:1-6

Mighty signs and wonders were happening in the ministry of Jesus. Everywhere He went to preach, people received major miracles. One day He decided to visit His own country to bless them, heal their sick, raise their dead, perform mighty signs and wonders, fellowship with them and spend a nice time with them. When He got there, He could not heal them or render much assistance because of their unbelief. Instead of exercising their faith they began to doubt and look down on Him. They said ‘is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us? And they were offended at him, Mark 6:3. Because they knew the family of Jesus, they took Him granted. Because Jesus grew among them instead of taking Him as a prophet, they took him as the son of an ordinary carpenter. They did not even listen to Him and because of this they missed out on their blessings. They took the relationship they had with Jesus for granted and they missed out on the benefits of that relationship. The relationship that could have resulted in having unlimited access to Jesus was taken for granted. Because they took the relationship and visit for granted, the bible did not record Jesus going back to His country again after that incident. People who take their relationship with people for granted end up not benefiting from that relationship. Do not take your husband or wife for granted. There are many single who crying to God day and night for a husband or wife. Do not take your children for granted. Do not take your Pastors for granted. Do not take your friends for granted. There are people who are looking for a shoulder to cry on and there is none. If you have people who care about you and call you from time to time to check on you ,please do not take them for granted.

Judas Iscariot did not value the opportunity to be the disciple of Jesus so he exchanged Him for thirty pieces of silver, Matthew 27:3. At the end he regretted and committed suicide. People who take opportunities for granted lose them. Maximizing the benefits you can get from a relationship will be impossible if you take it for granted. Please never take anything for granted. Thank God for everything you own. Please do not take your spiritual gifts or your advantage for granted. I know of a sister who did dry fasting for fourteen days for the gift of speaking tongues, if you speak in tongues don’t take it for granted. Do not take your employment for granted, there are people who will do anything to get a job. Do not even take your freedom and liberty for granted, there are many innocent people in the prison.1 Thessalonian 5:18 says in everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ concerning you. You might be looking to God for one thing or other, thank God for the gift of Life because only the living has needs.

KEY WORD: Opportunities taken for granted are lost. Benefiting from a relationship taking for granted is impossible.

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.

GOD’S ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE PREGNANT

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Gen 37, Mark 7, Job 3, Rom 7

 

Genesis 16:7 and the angel of the Lord her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

 

Bible studies: Genesis 16:7-14

 

Every one of us is pregnant . Some are pregnant with babies, ideas for expansions and other good things. In Genesis 16:7-14 is a story we all know. Immediately Hagar became pregnant her conduct and attitude changed towards her mistress - Sarai. Because of her disrespectful behavior, Sarai began to deal with her harshly and at a point she ran away. On her way the angel of the Lord met her and advised her to return to her mistress. She heeded to the voice of the angel and returned home.

 

There are one or two things to learn from this story. Firstly, God acknowledges and appreciates pregnant women. He pays special attention to them, and He expects us all to respect and care for them. It is a shame that in the society we live in today, people do not really appreciate them as they should and I believe there is more we can do when it comes to caring for them. There are some wicked husbands who physically abuse their pregnant wives or neglect them. There are some who will rather sit and watch a pregnant woman stand in the bus. This is bad and it should not be happening. Because of the stress Hagar was going through - a pregnant woman physically running away from her harsh mistress, God had to send an angel from heaven to her rescue. God has the same attitude towards anyone pregnant with ideas or any good thing. God loves serious minded people - people with vision and purpose. He will always go out of His way to send an angel to rescue them in trouble. Secondly, God is interested in what you are carrying. He puts measures into place to ensure that you do not miscarry what is inside you i.e. the baby, ideas, projects e.t.c. Hagar could have easily suffered miscarriage whilst running and the stress she was under would not have help matters. In other to ensure that she does not miscarry the baby, God sent an angel to guide her. God is very much interested in the safe delivery of the baby or ideas. This is why God frowns at abortion. Whether you believe it or not , abortion is the equivalent of murder. People may argue otherwise but according to Leviticus 17:11a , life of the creature is in the blood. The foetus in the womb has blood flowing through it and that is life.If you are reading this message and contemplating abortion , please refrain from it. If you have once had an abortion, please go to God for forgiveness immediately . If you are a guy who has consented to abortion with your partner in the past, please go to God for forgiveness.

 

PRAYER POINT: Father, help me not to miscarry my good plans in 2013!

THE GOD OF PEREZ

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Gen 34, Mark 5, Job 1, Romans 5

Genesis 38:29 and it came to pass, as he drew back his hand , that behold , his brother came out; and she said , How hast thou broken forth? This breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Perez.

Bible studies: Genesis 38:27-30

In our bible studies we read an account of events that took place in a particular labor room. Tamar the daughter in law of Judah was pregnant with twins and was putting to bed. The part of the baby that usually comes out first is the head and then the body. In this case one of the twins put out his hands first. The midwives then tied a scarlet on his wrist indicating he was the firstborn. The boy withdrew his hand and the midwives thought he was going to come out with the head but something shocking happened. The other twin in the womb came out instead. The midwives wondered out that happened? They literally asked the baby how he managed to do that i.e. this breach be upon you! They named him Perez. The other twin with the scarlet on his wrist came out and they called him Zerar.

At the beginning Zerar took the lead by putting out his hands and he was recognized immediately. They put a scarlet thread on his hands (form of an award). The midwives concluded he was the first born. They decided his destiny and put him ahead of his brother. As from that day, Zerar would always come before Perez. When it comes to inheritance, Zerar would get the lion share. When it comes speaking in the family, the opinion of Zerar will supersede that of his brother Perez. At that point, the destiny of Perez was also decided that he would be a follower all his life. Even if he tried, the best he can get is second. The God of Perez moved into action and changed things. Zerar withdrew his hands and Perez came out with the head making him the first born. The life of many can be compared to that of Perez; no one has ever paid attention to them because they felt they are second best. There are many who are unhappy because they consider themselves as been behind in life. They are yet to gain admission into the university while all their friends have all graduated and gotten jobs. They are single while their friends are now married with children. They are still applying for jobs while their friends are getting promotion at work or setting up their business and prospering. It is a bad place to be in life because people will start coming up with funny things. Some will say it is because you are too lazy or you are too proud that’s why you are single.At times people even attribute it to sin .The God of Perez is alive and He will help you in Jesus name. The meaning of Perez is making an opening through constant hammering. Whilst in the womb Perez did not give up. Despite the fact that Zerar had already put out his hands and had been recognized, he continued to make an effort. Perez also means to cause an interruption in a pattern. When you continue to make an effort you cause an interruption in pattern. Perez was a product of persistent effort and trust in the Lord. Psalm 25:3 says no one who trusts in the You will be disgraced. You may be behind today but as far as the God of Perez is concerned, the race is far from over. Keep working and trusting the Lord, I will soon hear your testimony, Amen.

KEY WORD: Perez was a product of persistence and trust in the Lord.