NO KING IN ISRAEL

In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 54-60

Judges 21:25 says in those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes.This was a time in Israel when lawlessness was at its peak. There was no king i.e. ruler, everyone did what they liked. There was nothing like parenting, pastoring, disciplining, counselling and so on. During this period, every man was his own lord ; they were responsible to no one and did what they pleased. It was at this time, Bro Elimelech took his family and relocated to Moab – a pagan and God forsaken land. Had it been, Bro Elimelech had a mentor or was under a pastor, he would not have relocated to Moab, his mentor or pastor would have counselled him against the move. But because he was not under any authority - a discipler or a pastor, he moved into a strange territory. At Moab he perished, his two sons perished also leaving Naomi (his wife) with two daughters in laws. It is this kind of independent spirit that does not recognize any authority over one’s life that has led many to take steps that they later regret and in some instances, they lost their lives.

We live at a time where people crave independence; no one wants to be under any authority; no one wants to be told how to live their life ; everyone wants to do things their way not the way of the Spirit. Our sisters do not want to be told how to dress modestly or how to conduct themselves in a relationship. Our brothers no longer want to serve. A lot of us say we want to be like Christ, to be like Christ means we must be ready to serve not to be served. Matthew 20:28 says even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. We live at a time where virtually everyone wants to be free as air, to do what they like, move at will and to where they want. Everyone wants to be independent from their pastors and parents. Some sisters get pregnant before bringing the brother to meet their parents. This spirit of independence , the spirit of it is my life and i will live it they way i want, the spirit of no one can tell me when to come to church ,etc , must be shunned. They are destructive spirits; they have destroyed the life of many, if we do not wage war against them, they will rob us of our glorious destiny.

Had it been, Bro Elimelech was under authority, he would not have moved into trouble and calamity. God has put every one of us under authority in our churches, homes, families and work places. Let us remain under that authority He has put us. If we become independent and leave, the end result may be disastrous. There is a reason why God has put that pastor or youth leader over you. Let us remain under the authority God has placed us.

PRAYER POINT: Father, every spirit that wants to take me away from where you have planted me , please deal with them.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

ENTER YE IN AT THE STRAIT GATE

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7:13-14

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 47-53

Before every man and woman, boy and girl, young and old, believer and unbeliever, white and black, educated and uneducated, master and servant are two gates –the strait gate and the wide gate. Whether you and I like it or not, we must go through one of the gates, it is not negotiable. The choice of the gate to enter through is our decision.

Matthew 7:13- 14 says enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. In our memory verse, Jesus talks of two gates. Not only that, He also gave characteristics of both. Gates are used to limit access into a building. The first gate, wide gate, has a wide entrance. The wide gate leads one to a broad way. This broad way leads to destruction. The second gate, strait gate, has a strait entrance. The strait gate leads to a narrow way. This narrow way leads to life.

The wide gate leads to hell. The way to hell is very broad in other words everything goes. Because the entrance is so wide, one can come in with as much as bag and baggage as possible.One can come in with the bag of malice, bitterness, unforgiveness, hatred, pride, just name it. Because the way is very broad, walking in it very easy. On the other hand, the strait gate leads to heaven. The entrance is so small, not everyone can go through it. Hebrew 12:1 says wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. To go through the strait gate, one must first lay aside every weight and the sin that easily besets him or her. The road that leads to eternal life is so narrow; two people cannot travel on it at the same time. This is why the decision to reign with Christ in heaven is not a group decision but a personal one. Each individual must make up his mind and begin to work towards it. One of the characteristic of the narrow road is that it is a very difficult road to walk on. Jesus Christ gave a hint of how difficult walking on this path is when He said only few people find this path. It is a shame; people are now broadening the narrow way with teachings such as you do not need holiness to make heaven. Hebrews 12:14 says without holiness no man shall see God. Friend, to make it to heaven there is a price you have to pay after salvation. Jesus says in Matthew 24:13, he that shall endure to end shall be saved. 

PRAYER POINT: Father, help me to endure to the last.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

YET HONOUR ME NOW, I PRAY THEE, BEFORE THE ELDERS OF MY PEOPLE

Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, i pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. 1 Samuel 15:30

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 44-46

God’s plans are always better than our plans. According to Isaiah 46:10, He declares the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done. Therefore, it is better for us to leave Him with the planning. The Lord had a good plan for the children of Israel; no human king would rule over them, He would be their king. The children of Israel rejected His plan and requested for a human king like the neighbouring nations.1 Samuel 8:5 says and said unto him, behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. Since they requested for a human king, God gave them a human king. The first king (Saul) tore a prophet’s garment ( 1 Samuel 15:27) ; the second king (David) killed Uriah and took his wife although, he later repented ( 2 Samuel 11:5-27) ; the third one (Solomon) married so many strange women ( 1 Kings 11:1-2) , in other to cater for them , he increased the taxes and the people groaned ; the fourth one ( Rehoboam) swore from the first day that he would increase taxes even more (1 Kings 12:11-13). If only they had allowed God to be their king, they would have enjoyed peace.

Saul had one big problem; he was a people pleaser. God told him to destroy everything in Amalek, when he got Amalek, he left the fat cows, and Agag because the people persuaded him to do that. Because he did not want to offend man, he ended up offending God and that cost him his throne. When he got back home, he invited Samuel to a sacrifice and that one refused to go with him. Samuel’s presence at the sacrifice would have validated him before the people. Because Samuel refused, he began to beg. 1 Samuel 15:30 says Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, i pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. Instead of begging God for forgiveness, he was begging Samuel to honour him.

Saul was only concerned about receiving honour before men not before God. He cared about people’s opinion of him not God’s opinion of him. In what ways are we acting like Saul? We know what is right; because we want to please people, we do what is not right. As a Christian, you know you should not go to nightclubs, because you do not want to offend your friends, you went to the birthday they threw in a nightclub. Is one not honouring his friends and dishonouring God? As a Christian, you know it is wrong to dress provocatively, because of your fans; you dress provocatively to entertain them. Because you want to sell albums or want to be accepted by the media, you lower your standard. May God have mercy! Humans may accept us but they cannot take us to heaven. We cannot disobey God because we want to be accepted. We cannot lower God’s standard just because we want to be recognized
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PONDER: In what ways are you and i lowering God’s standard just to be accepted in our places of work, family, and church?

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

AND THOU SHALT ANOINT ME HIM WHOM I NAME UNTO THEE

And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom i name unto thee. 1 Samuel 16:3

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 41-43

The Amalekites were a wicked set of people. For no just reason, they attacked the Israelites and killed some of them (Exodus 17:8). God was not happy with this, when Saul became king, He instructed him through Samuel to wipe out the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:1-35). When Saul got there, he and his men destroyed the worthless things and kept the valuable things for themselves. The next morning when Saul met Samuel, he told him that he had destroyed everything as God commanded. Oh really, what is the noise of sheep and goats am hearing, the old man asked. They are the animals we brought to offer sacrifice to God, he responded. The Lord saw that Saul was unserious so He told Samuel to go and anoint his replacement. 1 Samuel 16:3 says And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom i name unto thee.

On reading 1 Samuel 16:3, one may wonder why God did not tell Samuel who he was going to anoint before he left home. Why wait until Samuel got to Jesse’s house before telling him who to anoint? God withheld that information from Samuel to teach him some life lessons. Firstly, God does not see as man sees. Men always look at the outward qualities, the stature, the suit, the degree, but God looks at the heart. Samuel was looking at Eliab’s stature but God was looking at his heart. Secondly, a man’s heart is far more important than his outward appearance. Eliab and Co’s outward appearance was great but their heart was not right with God. The Lord rejected them all and selected a young boy whose heart was right with Him. Thirdly, not all that glitter is gold. Eliab and Co were shining; they looked every part like the perfect candidate but they were rotten inside. This is one lesson all singles must learn. The fact that a sister can sing does not make her an angel and the fact that a brother wears a nice suit does not make him a gentleman.

Fourthly, failure to wait on God results in mistakes. God categorically told Samuel, anoint who i will show you in other words do not anoint until i show you. If Samuel had waited on God to speak before making a move, he would not have made the mistake of trying to anoint Eliab. Fifthly, mistakes are inevitable when you and i choose by the flesh. Samuel chose by the flesh at least twice and got it wrong. Just as Samuel experienced God’s silence, we are going to experience His silence too. He does that, not because He hates us but to teach us life lessons. Mistakes are opportunities to learn, Samuel learnt from his mistakes, have you and i learnt from ours? Mistake is inevitable for anyone who tries to walk ahead of God.

PONDER: In what ways are we moving ahead of God? Let us repent now and wait.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

TEST OF TRUST

Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee. Genesis 12:1

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 37-40

BIBLE STUDY: Genesis 12:1-3

In Genesis 12:1-3, God told Abram to pack his bag and baggages and leave town for a place He will show him. A lot of us have read this story but not really grasped what God was asking Abram to do. Imagine for a second, whilst busy at work reading your emails, God told you to go home, pack your bags , pick a bus going out of town and drop at a station He will show you. Ordinarily , people don’t like changing their enviroment. One thing I dread most is moving house, it takes a week to pack everything , 2 – 3 days to move , another week or two to unpack and rearrange stuffs and forever to settle into the new enviroment. Asides the fact that God is asking you to move from a familiar enviroment – friends and family, He is asking you to go to an unknown place. At least if you know the place , you will be able to prepare for the new town. If it is a warm area, you will buy some T-shirts . If it is a cold area, you will buy some sweaters and jumpers. More over you will be able to arrange for an accomodation in advance, but in this case , God is saying leave all - your work, family and friends, support network ,everything familiar to you to a place He will tell you. You agree it is a hard one. This was what God was asking Abram to do. His case was harder because he had to go with his family. In every way we look at it, emotionally , mentally, financially, it wasn’t an easy one for Abram.

The question is why did’t God tell him the location before leaving .God did this to check if Abram would trust Him with his life and family. He did that to see if Abram would obey His instruction without arguing. God wanted to see if Abram would depend on His word not his knowledge. Because Abram trusted God with his life and family , God gave him seven blessings. Firstly, He made him a great nation. Secondly, He blessed him. Thirdly, He made his name great. Fourthly, He made him a blessing. This is why today we say Abraham’s blessing are ours. Fiftly, He blessed all those that blessed Him. Sixtly , He cursed all those that cursed him and Seventhly, He ensured that through Abram all the nations of the world are blessed.

TO PONDER: In our walk with Christ, we will be faced with situations and circumstances that will demand that we trust God’s word with all.Can you trust God’s word with your life and family?

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

LORD, LORD, HAVE WE NOT PROPHESIED IN THY NAME.

Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 7:21

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 34-36

BIBLE STUDIES: Matthew 7:21-23

The bible is full of kingdom truths! One of them is, if we do not sow, we will not reap. Galatians 6:7 says be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. We can pray and fast for 100 days, if we do not put something in the soil, nothing will germinate. If you and i do not sow, we will harvest nothing. This is why you and I must abhor such things as pool betting and lottery. People that get involved in these are those trying to get money without the sowing the seeds of labour and hard work. They are doing something wrong because they are flouting the divine principle of sowing and reap.

In the book of Matthew, Chapter 7 verse 21 is another kingdom truth. Jesus says, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven.” I want you to know that those Jesus was referring to here are not the people in the occult or hired assassins. They are not Atheists or Agnostics. Jesus was referring to those who say they are Christians but not doing the will of God. He was speaking of churchgoers or workers in the vineyard of God; choir masters who are fornicating with choir members; ushers who are stealing from the church; deacons who forge invoice to get extra cash. Jesus said not all those who call Me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. There are those calling Lord, Lord, who are married and still committing adultery; there are singles especially brothers who call Lord, Lord, who visit brothels and watch pornography; there are pastor’s children who call Lord, Lord, who smoke Indian hemp and crack cocaine, some even commit abortion. If we are calling Lord, Lord, we must do the will of God!

Jesus then went further to say, many would say to Him in that day, Lord, Lord, I prophesied in Your name and it came to pass; i prayed for the sick in Your name and they became healed; i conducted revivals in Your name and many souls were won. Jesus said in that day , He would look them in the eyes , eyeball to eyeball and say i don’t know you, depart from Me, you that work iniquity ( Matthew 7:22-23). I pray that will not be your portion in Jesus name, amen. A lot of us use our spiritual gifts to measure our relationship with God. God still used to me heal the sick so i am all right; God still used me to minister in the church and everyone began to cry, after that, they became sober, really? After fornicating, Samson was still able to take hold of the doors of the city gate, together with two posts, put them on his shoulders and carry them to the top of a hill (Judges 16:1-3).

TO PONDER: Am i truly, doing the will of God?

Bro Samuel- Reaching the world for Jesus.

RUN FROM FIRE

Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:22

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 31-33

For any man or woman to think that the devil is a fool is a big mistake. He is very cunning. He has been around for over 6000 years and has acquired a lot of worldly wisdom. To think that you and i can take him on with our ‘own’ strength is also a big mistake. Even the angels had to use the blood of Jesus to overcome him. Revelations 12:11 says and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. In Acts 19:13 – 17, seven sons Sceva tried taking on a demon with their physical strength, the man in whom the demon resided grabbed them, beat them up, and seized their clothes. At last, they managed to escape naked with wounds. Anyone who will be victorious over the devil must first accept that he or she is weak and solely depend on the name of Jesus. The bible says, at the mention of the name of Jesus, all knees should bow including the devil and his hosts (Philippians 2:9-10). The fellow must also avail himself of the provision provided, which is the armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). Lastly the fellow should abstain from all appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

That 'thing’ does not have to be evil before you run from it, even if you are not sure whether it is evil or not, if i were you i will run because it is better to be safe than sorry. Putting on the armour of God and not abstaining from all appearance of evil is being foolhardy. (Foolhardy means to be recklessly or unwisely bold). As believer, one must not lie to anyone, but someone we all lie to is ourselves. To think that you are strong and cannot fall into temptation is a big lie. To think that the opposite sex cannot lure you into fornication or adultery is a lie from pit of the hell. Brethren, let us be very careful especially when dealing with the opposite sex. If you have the grace of God upon on your life like Paul, then be like Paul and do not frustrate the grace of God upon your life (Galatians 2:21). By being careless around the opposite sex, you are frustrating the grace of God on your life. Sisters, the moment you begin to feel somehow around a man you are not married to, please keep distance from that man. Brothers, the moment you notice that you always get excited when you are around a particular sister, please for Christ sake keep a distance. Even if the fellow is your fiancé or fiancée, avoid two of you standing or sitting alone in a secluded area especially at night. You maybe 100 per cent sure of yourself (which is being foolhardy), are you 100 percent sure of the other person? If you are in a secluded area with the opposite sex for a long time, the conversation will start drifting into wrong territories, you will begin to discuss what you should not discuss and hear what your ears should not hear. In addition, we must flee from nudity of any form. You may look at those nude pictures and feel nothing, after a while when you must have forgotten that you saw a picture, your brain will bring back the pictures to your mind ,before you know it you are imagining things. At times, while you are praying, the enemy will bring back the pictures, to continue praying or concentrate becomes difficult. Avoid nude pictures or sexual joke.

NOTE: It is better to be safe than sorry.

Bro Samuel- Reaching the world for Jesus.