LET THE DEAD BURY THEIR DEAD

MEMORY VERSE: Matthew 8:22 but Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 28, John 7, Prov 4, Gal 3

BIBLE STUDIES: Matthew 8:21-22

There are three seasons in the life of every man – past, present and future. Out of these seasons, two of them are out of our control – the past and future. The present is all we have so let us make very good use of it. In our bible studies, we read the story of a man who wanted to first go and bury his dead before following Jesus. The dead referred to in this passage is his past. The father of this disciple did not just die, he had died sometimes back. A very rare opportunity came to this man to enjoy an usual relationship with our Lord Jesus i.e. to move forward in life, but his past (events that have already taken place in his life) wanted to rob him of it.

Just like this disciple, the past of many are robbing them of an opportunity to move forward in life or have a breakthrough. The past of many are robbing them of liberty and happiness .Do not let the enemy rob you of your joy by condemning you about what you did before you met the Lord. Whatever you did before you met Christ, is forgiven! Many are living in bitterness as result of unforgiveness. People have wronged them in the past; people have offended them through what was said against them and instead of forgiving they are holding unto it. There are many who still beat themselves down because of a wrong decision they made in the past. The truth is you cannot change the past so why not let go of it and move on. There are many who believe that because they made a mistake in the past, their future is ruined. It is a big lie, your past does not decide your future, and it is your present that decides your future. Some years back, I and a junior member of staff had an argument over an instruction I gave out. I overheard her threatening to slap me. Later she apologized, I forgave her and we moved on. Some two years after I was suspended over a matter I knew nothing about. Three days to the final hearing, my phone rang and when I checked it was this sister that threatened to slap me. I picked up the phone and she gave me an inside information that turned the case in my favor. If I had decided to stop greeting her because of what happened two years prior, will the Lord have used her to provide me with that information? The past achievements of many are robbing them of an opportunity to move forward. Instead of working harder, they sit and begin to remember how the Lord used them to do A and B. Before you know it, they get carried away and pride sets in. Whatever the Lord has done through you in the past is the past. The most important thing is what the Lord is doing through you in the present. What you did for the Lord in the past is the past, what are you doing for the Lord today! To move ahead in life, one needs to forget about the failures of yesterday; the disappointments and shame of yester-year. One also needs to ignore the achievements of the past to be able to achieve more. Failure to let go of the past would render you stagnant and keep you in the past.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please severe me from every past that is preventing me from going forward.

IF YOU HEAR MORE FROM GOD, YOU WILL SWEAT LESS

MEMORY VERSE: Isaiah 30:21 says and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 27, John 6, Prov 3, Gal 2

 

If there is anything to earnestly seek, it is the ability to hear from God. When you hear from God, your faith grows, Romans 10:17. The whole world may be panicking but your mind will  be at rest because you have heard from the controller of seasons, Daniel 2:21. Not only that, every time He speaks life is injected into your situation. According to John 6:63, His words are life. I remember several years ago when I was given a month to produce a thing or two and attend an interview or leave the country. It was certain that I was going to leave the country because I stood no chance under the heaven if I attended the interview. While I was fasting, crying and praying, a voice thundered from heaven saying   ‘what are you, O Great Mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain’, Zechariah 4:7. Today I am still in the same country where I was giving a month to leave several years ago. The reason why most people sweat and struggle in their endeavor is because they have not heard from God. Isaiah 30:21 says And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. When God begins to speak to you, you will never miss a turning in life again. The reason why many struggle today is because they have missed a major turning in their life. They have studied medicine instead of studying law. They have married brother A or sister X instead of marrying brother B or sister Y. They end up struggling to survive. When you hear from God, missing a major turn becomes impossible. The more you hear from God, the lesser the wrong turns you will take in life.

 

There are one or two reasons why people do not hear from God. Firstly, they do not spend time with God. They are too busy with work, family, career e.t.c. If you want to hear from God, go close to Him. James 4:8 says draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Secondly, they disobey God in little things. There are many who God have been asking to do a thing or the other for years and they have not done it. If you are not ready to obey little instructions, what are they chances that you will obey instructions that will turn your life around? Has the Holy Spirit been nudging you to preach to someone at work or in the college? Stop ignoring the Holy Spirit and witness to them. If you continue to ignore the leadings of the Holy Spirit, He will stop leading you. Thirdly, lack of gratitude. No one loves to talk to an ungrateful fellow let alone a fellow who is always complaining. Instead of complaining of what the Lord is yet to do, thank Him for what He has done.

 

ACTION POINT: Spend more time with God praising Him. Not only that stop ignoring the leading the Holy Spirit.

TYPES OF VESSELS – VESSEL OF GOLD AND SILVER/ VESSELS OF EARTH AND WOOD

2 Timothy 2:20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 26, John 5, Prov 2, Gal 1 BIBLE STUDIES: 2 Timothy 2:20-22

Yesterday we looked at some of the contents of a great house. We have discussed about borrowed vessels; vessel unto honor and unto dishonour. As we discussed, the great house mentioned in our bible studies is the present day church. The owner of the house is Jesus, Colossians 1:18. The vessels are the believers.

Also present in this great house are vessels of earth and wood. We know that the wood and earth have little or no use. Wood and clay are reserved for ignoble use. Wood and clay vessels are used for dishonorable purposes, perhaps in the kitchen or to carry out garbage or human waste. They often get broken and are cheaply replaced. The vessels of wood and clay are believers who are like dry wood. They are destitute of the grace of God, and are fit matter for Satan to work upon, and by them raise and increase the flames of contention and division in the church. Every time there is a quarrel or contention in the church they are always involved. They are sensual, carnal, and wordly. They are void of spirituality and lack spiritual mindedness. They are the ones you will see fighting most of the time for positions in the church. If they are not put in posts, they start a quarrel and turn the church upside down. Also in this great house are vessels of gold and silver. These vessels are for noble uses. No one uses china cups to feed dogs. These vessels are kept clean so that they may be used for honourable purposes, such as dinner parties. These vessels are prominently displayed as decorations or used for serving important guests as a gesture of honour while the vessel of earth and wood are strictly utilitarian. They are used for duties that are never seen and are kept out of sight as much as possible. These persons or believers are comparable to gold and silver for their worth and value, and preciousness in the sight of Christ. To the Most High God they are His jewels and peculiar treasure because of their excellency and usefulness in the church. These vessels are known for their purity and worthiness while the vessels of earth and clay are known for their impurity and unworthiness. The question is what type of vessel are you – gold or clay, silver or earth? How useful are you in the house of God? How useful are you in that department in the church? Are you the type the pastor is always calling to settle quarrel between you and your spouse or other members of the church? How valuable are you in the hands of God?

PRAYER POINT: Father please open my eyes to myself as You see me. Also help me to take to correction when You rebuke me.

TYPES OF VESSELS – VESSEL UNTO HONOR AND DISHONOR

 

2 Timothy 2:20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 25, John 4, Prov 1, 2 Cor 13

BIBLE STUDIES: 2 Timothy 2:20-22

 

We have discussed about borrowed vessels. They are instruments the Lord uses to bring joy, cause a turnaround in a life or win souls. Through them the Lord changes lives but their lives are never changed because of sin. Borrowed vessels are either discarded or relegated to the background. I pray that you will not be a borrowed vessel in the mighty name of Jesus. 

 

In our bible studies we read of a great house. Present in this great house are vessels of various types. There are some that are relegated to the kitchen e.g. vessels or pots used for cooking – cooking pots e.t.c. Since they are in the kitchen, the owner of the house rarely sees or touches them. Because they are in the kitchen, anyone can go in and touch them. The owner of the house never really invests his resources on them. These vessels do not really worth much and they are replaced from time to time. They are known as vessels unto dishonor. The great house referred to is the house of God or church. The owner or the house is Jesus. Colossians 1:8 calls Jesus the head of the church. The vessels are believers or workers in the vineyard of God. The vessels unto dishonor are vessels that are to the dis-reputation of the church, the dishonor of religion and scandal of the gospel. By them God is dishonored, His ways evil spoken of, His doctrines blasphemed, and His name reproached. Such vessels Jesus (the owner of the house) never invest His resources on them. He never touches them i.e. anoint them. They are at the mercy of different kind of demons. Jesus rarely bothers about them. They are vessel unto dishonour because they bring shame to Christ. They commit abortion, adultery, take bribe just name it. Also in this great house are vessels you find in the dining room e.g. drinking vessels. They contain costly viands. They are always on display for the world to see. The owner of the house heavily invests on them. He touches them daily and kisses them. They are known as vessels unto honour. These are believers who behave honourably and are worthy of honor in the church. They live a blameless life. It is hard to find a fault in them. Jesus invests His resources on them and He daily touches them. If they tell you good morning, you can be rest assured it is morning not afternoon or evening. You can live them in a room with 1 billion dollars and they would not touch a dime out of it. At the end whilst the vessels unto dishonor are covered with shame, vessels unto honour enjoy glory, immortality and eternal life. The question is what type of vessel are you? Is your life bringing honour to Christ or dishonour to Him?

 

PRAYER POINT: Father, the grace to bring You honour all the days of my life please give to me.

TYPES OF VESSELS – BORROWED VESSELS

2 Kings 4:3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 24, John 3, Job 42, 2 Cor 12

 

BIBLE STUDIES: 2 Kings 4:1-7

 

In our bible studies we read the story of one of the wives of the sons of the prophet. This woman was facing serious challenges, she was in big debt and her husband was dead. To worsen her situation, the creditors threatened to take her two sons (the only source of her joy) as slave. She ran to Elisha for help and that one asked her if she had anything in her house, something the Lord can touch? You see whatever the Lord touches begins to multiply as we see in the case of Jesus feeding five thousand men not counting woman and children, Matthew 14:13-21. She confessed that she had a small jar of olive oil so Elisha asked her to go and borrow some empty vessels and pour her little oil in them. She did as she was told. Her oil filled the vessels and she sold them to pay her debt.

 

Let us look at these vessels that were borrowed a bit closer. These vessels were instruments the Lord used to bring joy into the life of this widow. Not only that they were instruments the Lord used to cause a turnaround in the situation of the widow. The Lord used these vessels to inject life into the dead situation of this widow. Without those vessels, her oil would have remained in the small jar and she would have ended up losing her two sons. One important thing I want to point out is that after these vessels were used to work a mighty breakthrough in the life of this widow, they were dumped and we never heard of them again. These vessels were only relevant when oil was in them; immediately the oil was sold and the debts were paid, they were discarded to the background. Many today are like these borrowed vessels. Through them the Lord touches the life of people. Through them the Lord wins souls. Through them the Lord meets the needs of other believers. Do not grow wings because the Lord is using you. Do not get carried away, the fact the Lord is using anyone is not a yardstick that their standing is perfect with God. In Numbers 22:30 we see the Lord warning Balaam through a donkey. If the Lord can use a donkey- an unclean animal to warn a prophet, He can use anyone .After the Lord spoke through the donkey, we never heard of the donkey again. Who are borrowed vessels? They are the people who do not practice what they preach. They encourage people to be humble but they are not humble. They talk of giving to God but they never give. They are the ones you will see talking of evangelism 24 hours but they never evangelize. Galatians 6:7 says be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. The end of a borrowed vessel is not always good because they are usually relegated to the background.

 

Prayer point: Father, please give me the grace to be the hearer and doer

OCCUPY TILL I COME

Luke 19:13 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 23, John 2, Job 41, 2 Cor 11

 

Occupy till I come can be a request which simply means be in charge until I come. An example of such request is found in John 21:15 which says so when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. Occupy till I come can be an instruction for example, Mark 16:15 says go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Occupy till I come can also be a call to take over. One of God’s plans for His children is that they will be the head and not the tail. According to John 16:33 , Jesus has overcome the world for us so all we need to do is take over our place at the top as the head. 

 

The fellow asking you to occupy till He comes must be the owner of what He has asked you to occupy. According to 1 Corinthians 10:26, the earth is the Lord and the fullness thereof. Not only that, all authority in heaven and on earth are His, Matthew 28:18. The fellow asking you to occupy till He comes must be able to take care of every obstacles on your way. He must also be able to deal with forces that may prevent you from occupying what He has told you to occupy. Psalm 62:11 says God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth to God. Psalm 33:8-9 says let all the earth fear the Lord, for He sake and it was done, He command, and it stood fast. There are one or two things you need to know. The fellow who will occupy must be ready for battle. John 16:33 says in the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Psalm 34:19 says many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivers him out of them all. The fellow who will occupy must be ready to leave everything to occupy. Matthew 16:24 says if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Before Elisha received the double portion of the spirit on Elijah, he had to let go of his farm and follow Elijah. James 4:4 says ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. The fellow who will occupy must be ready to spend for God and be spent by God. The problem with most believers today is that they do not want to be spent by God.1 Samuel 2:30 says be it far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Proverbs 8:17 says i love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Before Peter caught so much fish that two boats began to sink, he spent for Jesus and was spent by Jesus

 

PRAYER POINT: Father, please deal with obstacles on my way to fulfilling destiny.

CONFESSION BRINGS PROSPERITY

Proverbs 28:13 he that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 22, John 1, Job 40, 2 Cor 10

 

BIBLE STUDIES: Genesis 3:6-13

 

In Genesis 3:6-13 is a story we all know. Adam and Eve sinned against God by disobeying Him; they ate from the forbidden tree. Suddenly their eyes were opened and they saw that they were naked. They began to run from the same God they use to sit and fellowship with. The Lord knew what they had done so He asked Adam if he had eaten from the tree He commanded them not to eat from. Instead of Adam answering in the affirmative, he tried to cover up his sin by telling God that it was the woman He gave to him that gave him of the tree and he ate. He tried to play a fast one on God by trying to shift the blame on God. Eve (wife of Adam) did exactly the same thing when the Lord asked ‘what is this that thou hast done?’ Instead of confessing and asking for mercy she tried to cover her sins by blaming the serpent. Because they refused to confess their sins, their relationship with God began to suffer. Instead of blessings they received curses.

 

Proverbs 28:13 says he that covereth his shall sins not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. A man cannot cover his own sin. It is only God who can cover a man’s sins and it would be an instance of His grace. It is also right in one good man to cover the sins of another, reproving him secretly and forgiving him; but it is wrong in a man to cover his own sin. What God expects is when a fellow is charged with sin, and reproved for it by his fellow Christian; such fellow should not cover it to save their honor. He expects them to own up to it. Failure to acknowledge a sin you committed when confronted is an attempt to cover the sin. Denying the sin you committed which is covering a sin with a lie is like adding sin to sin. Justifying sin as if you have done the right thing is an attempt to cover up a sin. Worse still giving excuses for a sin you committed or imputing it to others that they made you sin is an attempt to cover up sin like Adam did.Prospering in soul or body, in things spiritual or temporal is almost impossible for a fellow who covers us his sin. Such a fellow would not have peace of mind and conscience. Every covered up sin robs one of God’s mercy. How much can a man achieve without God’s mercy? If you successfully manage to cover it on earth, it will be reveal on the Day of Judgment. Luke 8:17 says for nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither anything hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. On the Day of Judgment every secret will be revealed. If you have cheated on your partner or stolen from the church, you better go to your pastor and confess to Him. Not only that also confess to your partner because whether you like it or not he or she will know one day. The reason why many have not been able to walk in to their prepared prosperity is because of covered up sins.  

 

KEYWORD: Every covered up sin robs one of God’s mercy. How much can a man achieve without God’s mercy?