GOOD IDEA VS GOD'S IDEA

 MEMORY VERSE : But the wisdom from above is is first pure, then peaceable,gentle,and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. James 3:17 

 BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : Lev 16, Ps 19, Pr 30, 1 Tim 1. 

 BIBLE STUDIES : Genesis 16:1-6 

 The word 'good idea' is relative. A good idea yesterday could turn out to be a bad idea today e.g. in the area of Nigeria where I came from, it used to be a good idea to have tribal marks. Today it is not so anymore. Also a bad idea yesterday could turn out to be a good idea today. Hundreds of years ago it was a bad idea to educate girls not anymore . Thank God we now have female doctors, pilots even prime ministers. A good idea in one part of the world could turn out to be a bad idea in another part of the world an vice versa. In western culture it is a good idea to keep eye contact when you are been addressed by someone older. It means you are listening and you are not hiding anything. Meanwhile in Africa it is considered rude and could attract the wrath of the fellow addressing you. 

 A good idea in one religion is a very bad idea in another religion. In Christianity it is ok to eat beef but in Hindu religion cows are sacred. One thing with all good ideas is that it may bring an un-intended response or it can turn out to be a bad idea after all. In our bible studies is a prime example of this. Abram and Sarai thought it was a good idea for Abram to have children through Hagar (Sarai's maid) since Sarai had passed child bearing age. That turned out to be a mistake of a life time because immediately Hagar became pregnant she became rude to her boss. 

 When an idea is of God, it will always turn out good. God's idea always has a God ending i.e. joyous ending. The idea may not seem too good at first but the end is always good. An example of this is found in 2 Chronicles 20:1-26. Two mighty nations - children of Ammon and Moab waged against a very small city of Judah. Jehoshaphat reported this matter to God and the Lord instructed him to go to war with choirs instead of soldiers. This did not seem like a good idea but nevertheless Jehoshaphat obeyed .At the end they won the battle and became rich too.

 ACTON POINT : Always follow God's Idea.

JOY OF A CHRISTIAN MANIFOLD

MEMORY VERSE :My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations.James 1:2

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : Lev 17, Ps  20-21,Pr 31, 1 Tim 2.

Challenges are part and parcel el of life, be it a believer or an unbeliever . The Lord said in Isaiah 43 : 2, when you pass through waters I will be with you not if you pass through waters. Isaiah 54:17 says no weapon fashioned against you shall prosper not if a weapon is fashioned or in case a weapon is fashioned. Weapons will be fashioned but the good news is it shall not prosper. Most people dread challenges. Many pray not to even have them at all but challenges are not such a bad thing. If they are bad the bible would not say count is all joy when you face challenges , James 1:2

Why do we face challenges? One of the root causes of challenges is sin. Jeremiah 5:25 says sin withholds good things from us. According to 2 Chronicles 6: 21-36, sin causes unanswered  prayers, famine, problems e.t.c. Another reason why we face challenges is because Jesus said so. John 16:33 says but in the world you will have tribulations,but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world for you. Matthew 11:12 says from the day of John the Baptist the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violence take it by force. Another reason for challenges is that it helps us to grow in the Lord. It is fire that purifies. James 1:3 says it is the trying of our faith that produces patience. It is this patience that makes is mature in the Lord.

Another reason why we face challenges could be that the Lord wants to glorify Himself in our life publicly.When you study Daniel 3:1-30, you will see that the Lord permitted the three Hebrew boys to be cast into fire because He wanted to glorify Himself in their lives publicly. At the end, the emperor left his thrown and prostrated before these boys praising the Most High God.

 Another reason why we face challenges could be because we are a threat to the Kingdom of darkness. Many people have asked me, why is it that believers face more challenges than others. I always ask them, if you have ten chickens in your cage and one of them escapes what do you do? Their replies has always been 'I will go after it'. The same thing applies to believers, we used to be in the cage of the enemy. >From the moment we give our lives to Christ, we escape death. The enemy would not bother about his own, he knows they are his already but he will go after those that have escaped.The good news is that he can do his worse but over us he will fail. Do you know even before you face challenges, the Lord has provided a way out? Romans 8:37 says we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. This verse was written over a thousand years ago which mean that long before the challenge came, you had already been declared a victor.

PRAYER POINT : Father thank you for making me a victor, please help me never to loose my advantage in You.

God has a habit making up nobodies and making them somebodies

PRIVATE PREPARATION DETERMINES PUBLIC PERFORMANCE PT3

MEMORY VERSE: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.1 Peter 4:13

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lev 15, Ps 18, Prov 29,2 Thes 3

BIBLE STUDIES: Matthew 14:22-33

In our bible studies is a very popular story. It was late at night and there were no ships around to take Jesus to His disciples so He decided to walk on water to them. Peter saw Jesus walking on water and asked if he could join Him? Jesus said ‘come’, Peter jumped out of the boat and began to walk on water towards Jesus. After taking few steps, the wind began to blow and he began to panic. Before you know it Peter began to sink, thank God he quickly called on the name of Jesus and was saved. It is important to know that the presence of Jesus could not prevent Peter from sinking . Why? Because of fear. Anywhere fear is present,failure is inevitable. It does not matter whose errand you are running. You could even been acting on the word of God like Peter, once fear comes into the equation failure is not far away. No wonder Hebrew 11:6 says without faith it is impossible to please God. Even in the ministry, if you give room to fear instead of faith , you may fail.I pray you will not fail in Jesus name.

1 Peter 4:13 says but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

To be glad with exceeding joy , you must be ready to suffer for Christ. In Part two of these series ,i shared the testimony of a brother who the Lord paid his tuition and expenses throughout the duration of the course in the university. I also talked of this brother's labor of love in the private .I do not know why but i believe there is someone the Lord wants to publicly reward and He wants me share a little bit more about this brother to encourage that fellow. I mentioned in part two of these series that this brother is part of virtually all the groups in the church. Do you also know that this brother holds the key to the church i.e. he is the first to get to the church and last to leave? Not only that around eighteen months ago ,this brother challenged the faith of everyone by turning down a job that pays around £1,800 a month for a job of £200 a month all because he didn't want anything to come in between his commitment with his maker ; this brother is married with 3 kids. You are wondering why God provided a scholarship worth over £50 ,000 for this brother? You are wondering why God would go out of His way to pay for the tuition and expenses of this brother before he even started university? This brother suffered greatly for Christ in the private and today he is glad with exceeding joy because he is going to study for free while others have to pay.

PRAYER POINT: Father please open my eyes that i might do what will make me qualify for your exceeding joy.

PRIVATE PREPARATION DETERMINES PUBLIC PERFORMANCE PT2

MEMORY VERSE: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. Matthew 6:4

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lev 14, Ps 17, Prov 28,2 Thes 2

BIBLE STUDIES: Matthew 14:22-33

In Matthew 14:22-33 is a story we all know. It was late at night, there were no ship around and the disciples of Jesus were in a ship far away in the middle of the sea. Since there were no means of transportation, Jesus decided to walk on the sea towards them. Peter saw Jesus walking on water and requested to join Him. Jesus told him no problem and immediately Peter got on water and began to walks towards Jesus. After Peter had taken few steps he noticed the wind and began to panic. Before you know it Peter began to sink, he called on Jesus and was saved.

One very important lesson from this passage is that immediately you allow fear in your heart, you begin to sink and if you don’t take time the challenges might drown you so please do not entertain fear in your heart. Jesus and Peter walked on the same water, how come only Peter sank? Aside from the fact that Peter entertained fear, while Jesus was on the mountain praying, Peter was busy chatting away with his fellow disciples. Because Peter had not made any private preparation (spiritually), a little wind made him lost his composure and he began to sink.

Matthew 6:4 says that thine alms may be in secret: and thy father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly. What this literally means is everything we do in the secret will be rewarded in the open. If you are pretending that you are Christian in the open and you are committing secret sins like adultery and fornication e.t.c ,the reward is coming except you repent. If on the other hand you are serving God sincerely, laboring for the propagation of the gospel day and night, people might not see it or take notice of it but the Lord who sees your effort in the secret will reward it in the open. Just of recent a brother was sharing a big testimony with me. The brother won a scholarship and the university said they were going to pay his tuition and other expenses throughout the period of his study in the university i.e. for three years he wasn’t going to pay a dime! When he calculated the whole expenses, it was over fifty thousand pounds and the Lord paid it before he even started university. I know the Lord really loves this brother and this is a public show of affection by the Most High but do you know that this brother belongs to virtually all the groups in the church? Oh yes, he is part of the evangelism group, prayer warrior, drama, sanctuary cleaner, usher, church greeters e.t.c. Most people do not even know how much this brother labors for God in the secret but the Lord who saw his activities in the secret has rewarded him in the open. 

QUESTION: What are you doing for God in the secret that He can reward you in the open for?

PRIVATE PREPARATION DETERMINES PUBLIC PERFORMANCE PT1

MEMORY VERSE: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. Matthew 6:4

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lev 13, Ps 15-16, Prov 27,2 Thes 1

BIBLE STUDIES: Matthew 14:22-33

In our bible studies is a story we all know. After Jesus had fed five thousand men not counting women and children, He constrained His disciples to get into a ship, to go before Him, while He sent the multitudes away. When everyone had left, He went to a mountain to pray. Later in the evening, he came down from the mountain and began to walk on water towards his disciples.

Water spiritually signifies challenges or trials. Isaiah 43:2 says when you pass through waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. The water and river referred to in this passage are challenges and trials. I believe the Lord is telling someone that the challenge you are going through will not sweep over you because He is with you, Amen. When you study this story you will notice that before Jesus Christ actually walked on water that night, He had first spent quality time in prayer. He had first prepared Himself spiritually. He had first suspended the laws of gravity in his prayer closet before going out in the open to walk on water. The athletes and sportsmen we see during Olympic don’t just turn up without preparing in the private. They practice for years and years for activity that lasts for only an hour or less. Many of us want to take over the world, to do that you need to first take over the spiritual world in your prayer closet.

I remember a particular incident when my boss wanted to sack one of the very hardworking staffs in my team because he made a mistake. I was called into the office and told that Mr. ‘A’ needs to go. In all honesty I could not defend this man because he was a guilty of a gross misconduct. While she was advising me on how to go about the dismissal, a colleague of mine came in to check something with her. As she was speaking to this colleague, I quickly used that opportunity to mumbled some words and pray in tongues for around a minute or two. After attending to this colleague, she looked at me and said it seems you don’t want us to sack this man and I said yes. She said ‘ok then, let’s give him a warning’. The Lord’s name be praised that this man escaped the sack that afternoon. I know that’s a very good testimony and I pray that such testimony’s and many more will happen through you In Jesus name but do you know that before going to work that morning , I had spent at least an hour speaking in tongues ? Before starting that day by the special grace of God, I had spent nothing less than ninety minutes with the Most High. For the world to see the glory of God in your life in the public, you need to spend quality time with Him in the private. 

KEYWORD: If you don’t prepare in the private the enemy will disgrace you in the public.

ANOINTING VS SKILLS

MEMORY VERSE: And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. Isaiah 10:27.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lev 11-12, Ps 13-14, Prov 26, 1 Thes 5

BIBLE STUDY: Luke 5:1-7

In our bible studies, we read the story of Peter who fished all night and caught nothing. He was a skilled fisherman. Not only that, he was very experienced and to add this he was a hardworking man. Despite all these he still failed.

There are one or two points I will like to highlight from this story. Point 1 - skills and experience can fail you. You can be an expert in your field, it does not guarantee anything. Plans can fail you. I don’t believe that Peter left home that day without a plan or strategy . He must have planned his day, where he was going to start and all that. I also believed that he had contingency plans too i.e. what to do if plan A fails. Support networks do fail. That night Peter had a companion with him and their combined experience could not produce result. Hard work guarantees nothing. A fellow who decides to put in extra effort by working when others are sleeping is not a lazy man. That was Peter's intention , at the end he had nothing to show for all the effort. Everything can fail ; Jesus cannot fail. Immediately Jesus came into the scene, the man who had failed repeatedly made only an effort and results began to flow in.

Point 2 – To become what God has created you to be, you need the anointing of the Holy Spirit. What is anointing? Anointing is what makes an ordinary man do the supernatural or extra ordinary. You cannot fulfill God’s destiny for your life through skills alone. You cannot win souls for Jesus through skills or experience. I remembered the times when I will search on the internet for questions people ask during evangelism. I will get all the answers, prepare myself and go and witness. I found out that you can answer all the questions people ask you and they still would not give their life to Christ. I know how many religious arguments I have won based on knowledge, there are even times when the other party will agree with me and at the end still say 'I don’t want to give my life to Christ.' I remembered the case of a particular fervent sister who backslidded for one reason or the other. She had an answer to all the bible verse I gave to her. At a point I gave up because I was exhausted. Then a day came we were just discussing over the phone over a matter and she began to cry. I asked her if she wanted to give her life to Christ and she said yes! All this while I had been using skills and experience but that day I allowed the Holy Spirit to do His work and within two minutes she returned to Christ. Point 3 – anointing produces more results than skills. Jesus who was anointed with the Holy Ghost (Acts 10:38), gave a simple instruction and Peter caught so much fish that two boats began to sink.

PRAYER POINT: Father, anoint me with the Holy Ghost