COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

MEMORY VERSE: bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name, Psalm 103:1

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deut 22, Ps 110-111, Isa 49, Rev 19

BIBLE STUDIES: Psalm103:1-12

Many of us have forgotten how faithful the Lord has been to us and our family, when we face little challenges we begin to ask if there is really a God. A lot of people complain when they ask God for just one thing, and don’t get a response immediately. They begin to doubt the power of God, some even threaten to stop going to church or stop paying their tithes. The question we should ask ourselves is how about the countless numbers of things we have asked and He has given to us? How about the countless numbers of things we did not even deserve that He gave us? Many sleep and wake up and think it is normal, there are many who sleep and don’t wake up. There are one or two grumbling to God right now because of their situation, what they do not know is that there is someone right now this minute who will gladly swap position with them. There is someone right now who will give an arm to be in the situation you are in just to show you how worse their situation is.

There are some stories I do not like sharing but I will today so that you will count your blessings. Sometimes ago I was sharing our church flier during my lunch when I met a man who I used to work with. With joy I tried to shake him but I noticed this brother was reluctant and I asked what the problem was. He showed me his palms and I saw several small blisters in his palms. This blisters had pus in them and he had a like a thousand in each of his palms. These blisters are very itchy and every time he touches them they will burst open and spread. I have never seen anything like that in my life. He told me it has spread to his back and virtually every part of his body. When the sun is out it is worse. He has been to the doctor and there is no cure. Because of his condition, He cannot carry his daughter or play with her. I said a short prayer with him and he left. As I began to ponder about this man’s predicament, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said that is someone’s dad, brother, son, uncle, friend, husband e.t.c

As from that day I promised the Holy Spirit I will always be grateful. All the doors in this world had been shut on this brother. He told me that all he wants in life is to get well and nothing else matters. There are many who are petitioning God for promotion at work; life partner; new job; fruit of the womb e.t.c but this brother can not even think of such things. You might now have a car but you have your two legs; you might have a job but you have your two hands; you might be single but you are alive and not under life support; your children might be misbehaving but at least you have a child; your marriage might not be going the way you want but at least you are not a patient in a mental institution. We are not better than the people in these places but it is just the mercy of God.

ACTION POINT: Count your blessings and be grateful to God for the things He has done.

IT DOES NOT PAY TO BE WICKED

MEMORY VERSE: with the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright, Psalm 18:25.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deut 25, Ps 116, Isa 52, Rev 22

What is wickedness? Wickedness is a spirit. So also Goodness is a spirit. Psalm 23:6a says goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. ‘Goodness’ and ‘Mercy’ referred to are angels of the Lord. Anywhere you are in the world reading this message, I want to inform you that these two angels are standing right behind you. They will be there as far as you do not rebel against God. The difference between these two is that wickedness is of devil and goodness is of God. This is why we call the devil a wicked devil and God – a good God.

Luke 6:31 says as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. Wickedness is simply doing things you would not want others to do to you. It is wickedness to delay the salary of your staff on purpose. How would you feel if an employer refuses to pay your son or daughter for no good reason? It is wickedness to give what belongs to A to B. An employment opportunity comes along, you know Mr A has the necessary qualification and experience but you give it to Mr B because he is the same color as you or because he is your friend or family member. Please put yourself in the shoe of Mr A, would you be happy if someone does that to you? You borrow money from a friend or a colleague, instead of appealing for more time to pay back you begin to hide or ignore their calls. The question is would you like someone to do that to you?

It is wickedness not to forgive. The person may have hurt you and all that, but haven’t you done worse to God? Psalm 130:3 says if thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? If the Lord were to mark iniquities, the world would not exist again.Do not abuse that brother or sister because he or she is vulnerable. There was a particular abusive senior in High School. This senior hated a particular junior with a passion. He made life hell for him; at times he would beat mercilessly for either petty things or no good reason. The boy graduated and joined a martial arts club. He later became a professional. On his way home one evening, he noticed a figure that looked just like his old senior approaching. When he got close, lo and behold it was the old wicked senior. The senior recognized him and didn’t know what to do. Since it was in a lonely park, he began to shake because there was no one around. The senior forgot that there will be a tomorrow.

ACTION POINT: Remember there is always a tomorrow so don’t be wicked.

BEARING THE BURDEN WITH CHRIST

MEMORY VERSE: and as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross, Matthew 27:32

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deut 24, Ps 114-115, Isa 51, Rev 21

Many have asked that why would such a good and loving God create hell? Brethren, Hell was not created for man but for Satan and his angels, Isaiah 14:12-15. We are all predestined to go to Heaven; God created us to spend to eternity with Him but the fall of man changed that. We are given free will just as the angels – a third of who chose to follow Satan and rebel against God. We are predestined to go to heaven and be with our creator but the choices we make on this earth are what determines where we will go. God sent Jesus so that we might have everlasting life, John 3:16. John 10:10 says the thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Jesus gave His life willingly on the cross of Calvary. He gave his life not because He wanted to be a superhero but out of love. John 15:13 says greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Everything Jesus went through from the moment Judas Iscariot betrayed Him to the cross of Calvary was for you. He was mercilessly beaten for our sake so that by His stripes we will be healed, Isaiah 53:5.

Jesus lost a lot of blood when He was beaten, when the time came to carry the heavy cross He could not because there was no more strength in Him. Theologians and Bible scholars said He fainted several times because of the weight of the cross. Out of nowhere a man called Simon appeared and agreed to carry the cross for Jesus. God strategically positioned this man to help Jesus bear the burden. Only God knows if Jesus would have made it to the cross, if Simon had not carry the cross that day. Today the Lord is looking for men and women like Simon who will bear the burden with Jesus. Simon gave up his time, energy, ambition, family, freedom e.t.c. to bear the burden with Christ. He could have been anywhere in the world but He chose to bear the burden with Jesus. He could busy doing a thousand and one things, but he abandoned all to carry the cross of Jesus. You might not be able to work as a missionary but you can support mission work by sponsoring a missionary today. You can give food, clothes, shoes, bags, bibles, used toys and other things the Lord lays on your mind to mission work. You can also pledge to give a small amount to support missionary monthly. Nothing is too small. Your gift of love would be used to win souls for Christ.

ACTION POINT: Support missionaries with your resources. They also need your prayers too.

HIDDEN MINISTRY

MEMORY VERSE: that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly, Matthew 6:18

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deut 23, Ps 112-113, Isa 50, Rev 20

BIBLE STUDIES: Luke 2:22-39

In our bible studies, we read about two important figures in the life and ministry of Jesus. They are Simeon and Anna. Although their names were only mentioned once in the bible, their ministry was the engine behind the success of the ministry of Jesus. They were involved in what is called ‘hidden ministry’. They spent the most part of their lives in closed doors interceding for Jesus and everyone connected to His ministry. Immediately the Holy Ghost revealed the plans of God concerning Jesus to them, they began to pray about it. Through the power of praying and fasting, they destroyed the plans and agenda of the enemy over Jesus. The plan to terminate the life of Jesus at birth failed because these two prayed. No one knew about their existence, but the Lord mightily used them in the secret and there were physical manifestation like the raising up of Lazarus from death.

Today there are a lot of people involved in the hidden ministry and I congratulate them. The people in this ministry are the engine behind the mighty works the Lord is doing in the world today. Some of them fast once in a week and intercede for the missionaries all over the world. Some of them pray for an hour twice a week for the barren in the body of Christ. Some of them pray daily for the unsaved souls that the Lord will touch their heart and save them. Some of them intercede for ministries all over the world. Whatever it is you are doing I want to let you know that the Lord sees it and your reward awaits you.

The question is why should I join the hidden ministry? The hidden ministry is the engine behind all the Lord is doing today. Just as car owners pay special to their car engines, the Most High pays special attention to the people involved in these ministry. Passengers and even the driver of the car might not bother about the condition of the engine but the owner of the car does. The Most High also cares about His children who are involved in this ministry. The only part of the car that gets serviced from time to time is the engine. People in this ministry receive regular servicing from the Most High. At the age of over a hundred, Anna the prophetess was still very strong because of the regular MOT she received from God. While most people sleep in the Lord unfulfilled, Simeon slept a happy man because he saw His savior before He died.

ACTION POINT: Dedicate time and begin to intercede for the body of Christ today.

AND IT CAME TO PASS, THAT, AS THEY WENT

MEMORY VERSE: and when he saw them, he said unto them, Go and shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed, Luke 17:14

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deut 21, Ps 108-109, Isa 48, Rev 18

BIBLE STUDIES: Matthew 14:19-21

When the going gets tough, look up to the heavens. When it seems like the enemies are closing in on you look to heaven. When you are weak and lack the strength to continue look to heaven. When you look to the right and to the left and there is no one to call on look up to the heavens. The Psalmist says I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth, Psalms 121:1-2. After looking up to the heaven, what next? First thank Him and then table your concerns before the Almighty. If you cannot think of anything, thank Him for the gift of life. As we discussed yesterday, only the living has challenges and only the living has hope. Job 14:7 says for there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that tender branch thereof will not cease. If there is hope for a tree when it is cut down, there is hope for you!

After Jesus blessed the name of the Lord, He did something interesting. Matthew 14:19 says and he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looked up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. After praying, He took actions in other words He took a step of faith. After blessing the Lord He broke the five bread and two fishes and gave His disciples to share them. The problem with many believers is they want the bread and fish to multiply before they start sharing. That is not how it is done, after praying you take a step of faith.

After Jesus prayed nothing really happened. The bread and fishes did not suddenly become a 1000. Before He prayed, He had five bread and two fishes. After He prayed, He still had five bread and two fishes, the question is what then multiplied the bread and fish? His step of faith.Don’t wait for physical manifestation before you know God has answered. Jesus told the ten lepers to go and show themselves to the priests, Luke 17:11-19. After Jesus prayed for these men, nothing really happened. They were lepers before the prayers, they were lepers after the prayer but the bible records that as they went, they were cleansed. As they took the step of faith, the power of God was activated in their matter. You situation will change when you take a step of faith!

KEYWORD: Your step of faith activates the mighty of power of God.

FIRST GIVE THANKS

MEMORY VERSE: and he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the fives loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples and the disciples to the multitudes, Matthew 14:19

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deut 20, Ps 107, Isa 47, Rev 17

BIBLE STUDIES: Matthew 14:19-21

In our bible studies is a very familiar story. Jesus was in the desert with his disciples, some people heard about it and they told their friends. Before you know it the desert was jam-packed with people who were seeking solution to the thorny issues of their lives. When Jesus saw them he was filled with great compassion and began to heal them. By the time it was evening everyone was very hungry and there was nothing to feed them with. The disciples suggested that they send the people away to go and get food themselves, but Jesus was against the idea. With five loaves of bread and two fishes, He fed five thousand men not counting women and children.

If your ministry is facing challenges, I want to inform you that the ministry of Jesus faced challenges too. Your ministry is not the first to face challenges and it will not be the last. The challenges Jesus had was He had to feed around 30,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fishes. The bible only mentioned 5000 men but we know that the number of woman always triples the number of men in the church and the number of children always quadruples the number of men. Jesus needed food to feed this crowd. To make matters worse it was in the evening which meant that virtually all the shops in the villages nearby were already closed for the day. Since there was nothing He could humanly do, He looked to heaven.

 When the going got tough for Jesus, He looked up to His Father in heaven. The mistake most of us do when the going gets tough is that we look down and bow our head in shame. We feel sorry for ourselves and some even begin to cry. Brethren, Jesus looked up to Heaven so I admonish you to look up to heaven for that ministry need. The first words that came out His mouth when He looked to heaven were father I thank you. The bible records in Matthew 14:19 that He blessed in other words he said a prayer of thanksgiving. The first thing you must always do when you go to God is thank Him. Thank Him for His faithfulness and other things He has done in the ministry. Thank Him because it could have been worse but He did not permit it. Thank Him for the salvation of your soul and the gift of life. After all only the living has challenges, the dead don’t have challenges. After Jesus blessed the Lord, He took a step of faith. Brethren after you must have blessed the Lord and tabled your request before Him, take a step of faith.

ACTION: Thank God first before you table your request before Him.

GOD ALWAYS ALWAYS HAS SUBSTITUTES

MEMORY VERSE: Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?, Isaiah 43:13

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lev 2-3, John 21, Prov 18, Col 1

 

When God decides to do something on earth whether in a life or a church or a place or country, there is no one or Jupiter who can stop Him. Actually Psalm 33:9 says once He says it, consider it done. When God wants to do something, please never sit on the fence. It is very dangerous to neither be for Him nor against Him. He hates lukewarm attitude with a passion. Revelations 3:16 says so then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. That is why if you want to serve God, serve Him wholeheartedly if you don’t want to serve Him no problem with that but please, do not be a lukewarm Christian. 

 

It is unwise to be against God. The Lord told the children of Israel to go and posses the land of Canaan but they refused. The whole nation cried and said they were not going because there were giants in the land, Number 14:1-45. The Lord said no problem, I have promised to take the children of Israel to Canaan land – a land flowing with milk and honey. If you elders don’t want to go, I will take your children. Everyone from age twenty and above died but the young ones got to Canaan. If the Lord is asking you to do something and you are refusing to do it, no problem He will get another person to do it. If He is asking you to go and start a ministry or do one thing or the other for Him and you are acting like a big man or big woman to Him, He will just leave you and ask someone else. If you decide not to partake in God’s project or refuse to contribute financially to it, He will finance His projects with or without you.

 

Every time God calls a man or woman to do one thing or the other for Him, He prepares a substitute in case they misbehave or suddenly get too big for Him. When He called Moses, He had Joshua. Moses worked with God for forty years but at a point he allowed his anger to get the better part of him and the Lord decided that Moses was no longer fit to carry on so He picked Joshua. It was God that picked Saul. Saul grew too big and began to pick and choose which of God’s instruction to follow. God replaced Him with a substitute- David. I remember while I was growing up we had a young boy in the choir who was very good at playing drums. When this young man mounted the drum sets, praise and worship changed. At a point, he began to come late to church and at times he would go and play football during the service and there will be no one to play the drums. After every little thing he will get angry and people will have to beg him to play the drums. Few months later, the Lord brought a family and their son was a drummer. This boy was not as good as our drummer but the Lord so much anointed this boy that in a short while this boy took our drummers place. Our drummer will be in the field playing football but this boy will be busy playing for Jesus. Today that boy plays at concerts but our ex-drummer only sits and watches!

 

PRAYER POINT: Father, help not to be too big for you to carry.