ADAM SLEPT (TO THE SINGLES)

Memory verse: And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. Genesis 2:21

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 17-19

In Genesis 2, we see the first instance of an anesthetic being administered. (An anesthetic is a form of drugs administered to facilitate surgery). Depending on the type, it can relieve pain, give you amnesia to knock out your memory of the procedure or how it felt, reduce anxiety (because who doesn't have anxiety when undergoing a medical procedure?) and paralyze your muscles. Without an anesthetic, it will be difficult to perform an operation because the fellow (being operated upon) will cause problems. The moment he sees the surgeons, trying to cut off something from his stomach, he will protest. Not only that, if the operation will last for 16 hours, it will be impossible to keep the fellow still for that long, as such, an anesthetic will be needed to knock out the fellow for the period of operation. In summary, an anesthetic gives the doctor an opportunity to do his job without interference from the patient.

When the Lord wanted to create Eve, the first thing He did was, He administered a divine anesthetic to Adam .Genesis 2:21 says and the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. Eve represents a good thing and God’s favor in the life of Adam. (Proverbs 18:22 says whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD). Had God not administer an anesthetic to Adam, he will not have allowed God to open him up, talkless of take out a rib. Had it been that, God did not cause a deep sleep to fall upon Adam while creating Eve; God would not have been able to create a perfect female. He might have asked God to make her head look that of a lion; her neck like that of a giraffe; her leg like that of a rat, etc. Imagine how Eve would have looked with Adam's specification. To give him His best, He caused him to sleep and formed a perfect female from the rib He took. The reason why God is yet to work in some of our lives is because we are still awake i.e. we are yet to commit everything into His hands and go to sleep. (By sleeping, i do not mean backslide or live a careless life). Unless we “sleep” and allow Him to work on our life, we will never get His best. There are many reading this devotional, God is trying to build things and give them His best, but because they are awake, they are giving God problems. This applies especially to the singles, God brought a brother or sister to complement them, because the sister or brother does not fit the image they have created in their heart, they reject it. You do not marry for the present but for the future. If you want God to provide a man or woman for you, please, first of all, destroy that idol you have set up in your heart i.e. erase that “ideal”, that image of how your future partner should look. Forget about height, stature, look, beauty, ability to preach or sing. Keep on asking God to bring the man or woman and go to bed over how he or she looks, what he or she does for a living, the educational background of the brother or sister. Even while you are in a relationship, do not try to force things, just commit everything in His hands and go to sleep. A lot try to force things, at the end they marry the wrong person. Do not sleep in his house because you want the relationship to work. Do not start cooking for him because you want the relationship to work.

PRAYER POINT: Father, whatever it is that You are not building that I am trying to build, please collapse it immediately.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

RESIST THAT “THING”

Memory verse: And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God.2 Chronicles 26:18

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 14-16

Many of us without intending to insult the Holy Spirit; we refer to Him as a “thing”. I often hear people say, that “thing” told me to give an offering, I gave and a miracle happened; that “thing” told me to give that company a call, I did and they offered me a job; that “thing” told me to take an umbrella with me, thank God I did because on my way back, it started to rain heavily; some “thing” told me not to board that vehicle, thank God I did not because I heard the vehicle was involved in an accident. That thing you are referring to as a "thing" is not a thing; it is the Holy Spirit guiding you. Referring to Him as a “thing” is a big insult. He is a person; He has a personality, He sees, hears, and speaks. You need to refer to Him as a person, not as a “thing”. Please note this, not all thoughts that come to you are leading from the Holy Spirit. Many ask me, how can I tell when the Holy Spirit is leading me to do something? The Holy Spirit will lead you in line with the scriptures. He will not tell you to sin against God or disobey God. The Holy Spirit is holy; He will not lead you to take what does not belong to you. If some “thing” is leading you to shout at your colleague or curse, that is not the Holy Spirit. As you pray and study the bible, you will grow in the Lord and discerning God’s voice will become easy.

If some “thing” is telling you to do something funny, please resist it. Failure to resist it may put you in a big trouble. When angry, that “thing” that tells us to say something nasty or do something nasty like send a horrible text or a horrible email is not the Spirit of God. That “thing” telling you not to apologize or back down in an argument is the spirit of pride not the Spirit of God so resist it. That “thing” pushing you to give your employer a piece of your mind, is not the spirit of God. That “thing” telling you to damn the consequences and do it anyway, is trying to destroy you please do not listen to it. Uzziah woke one morning and that “thing” told him to go and burn incense on the altar of incense (something that was a taboo). When he got to the synagogue, the priests reminded him that it was not his duty. 2 Chronicles 26:18 says and they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. Instead of Uzziah to listen to the voice of reasoning, he got angry. That “thing” kept on pushing him to go and burn incense on the altar of incense. At the end, when he would not listen, the Lord disciplined him and he became a leper. 

QUESTION: Are you like Uzziah, you have been warned by your pastors, lawyer, business manager, doctor, etc, not to do particular things, but something keep pushing you to do it. That “thing” wants to destroy you, I beg you in the name of God; please rebuke that “thing” before it cuts your life short.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

FOR HE DOTH NOT PROPHESY GOOD CONCERNING ME, BUT EVIL.

Memory verse: And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. 1 kings 22:8

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 11-13

One of the mistakes some of us make is, when we are given counsel, we twist the counsel and claim that we are being insulted. A man, who had just acquired a property, was speaking to his friend who was looking to acquire a property. As they conversed, the one who had just acquired a property asked his friend (who was looking to acquire a property), how much deposit do you have for the mortgage? (The man bought the property on mortgage and the friend was seeking to do the same too). The friend mentioned the figure, (it was enough to get a mortgage), the fellow who had just acquired the property counseled his friend to shelve the idea for a short while and save more. The friend who was looking to acquire a property went ballistic, oh…. what are you trying to say…. Are you calling me a poor man…. Is it because I asked you a question, that’s why you are insulting me...Bla, Bla, Bla. At the end, he stormed out angrily. All the friend said was, you do not have enough funds to secure a mortgage, he took it personal and twisted it to mean that the friend was calling him a poor man. He stopped talking to the friend, later he did something he should not have done and that landed him in jail.

Ahab was guilty of this too. Any time the prophet gave him a counsel that was not what he wanted to hear, he would twist it to mean something else. Because Micaiah had not been saying things he wanted to hear, he told Jehoshaphat that Micaiah hated him. 1 Kings 22: 8 says And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Before Micaiah arrived at the scene, Ahab had concluded in his heart that Micaiah would prophesy evil about him. Most of the counsel, Micaiah gave to Ahab was about his future. Micaiah told Ahab, go back, the Lord will not go with you. Ahab took it personal, and jailed Micaiah. At the end, he went and was defeated. Not only that, he perished. What advice, have you been given, that you have twisted and taken personal? Your pastor said, don’t marry that guy, you said your pastor hates you. You were counseled to study Economics instead of Medicine; you got angry and said, oh they are indirectly telling me that I do not have the brain to study Medicine. The pastor counseled you to submit to your husband, you said he is calling you a rebellious woman. The enemy uses this mindset to put a lot of people in bondage and get them in trouble. I remember a particular sister was denied visa, she got angry and said things are always working against her. Meanwhile, she was the one who did not fill the form correctly. Your boss advised you to smile more; you twisted it to mean that he is saying you are not friendly. Someone asked you for a receipt, you got angry and said the fellow is calling you a thief.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please help me to accept the truths that will transform my life.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

MICAIAH OR THE “FOUR HUNDRED”?

Memory verse: And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. 1 kings 22:8

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 5 -10

Jehoshaphat came down to Israel to celebrate three years of peace between Syria and Israel. Whilst celebrating this anniversary, a thought came to Ahab, Ramoth in Gilead belong to us, let us go and take it out of the hand of the King of Syria. He told Jehoshaphat about it and that one agreed to go with him on one condition; they must get God’s approval before leaving. King Ahab gathered four hundred prophets and asked: “shall i go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall i forbear?” In unity, they told the king to go because the Lord had delivered Ramothgilead into his hand. Jehoshaphat sensed in his spirit that these prophets were fake. For a reason or the other, he was not comfortable with this prophesy so he asked if there was any other prophet they could enquire from aside the "four hundred". 1 Kings 22:8 says And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

I want us to take a close look at this comment, “there is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” Ahab knew deep within himself that Micaiah was a genuine prophet of God. He knew that this man was an oracle of God but he hated him because Micaiah always speaks the truth and the truth is bitter. He preferred the “four hundred” because they told him what he wanted to hear not what God had to say. There are many of us like Ahab today, when we hear a sermon that touches us or reveal parts of our life that we need to change, instead of repenting, we get angry at the preacher. Many have changed churches because of this; they heard their pastor preach a sermon that hit them, instead of crying for mercy, they take an offence with the pastor. Pastor is preaching against me, they will say. That sister preached against sex before marriage, you got angry and changed church. That minister of God preached on submission to one’s husband, you got angry and left claiming that the minister is encouraging wife bullying. You heard a sermon about tithing, instead of repenting; you said all that these modern day pastors talk about is tithes. The problem with many is that they do not like to hear what God has to say. You heard a message on holiness and you frown. Oh that pastor is too strict, you said. Many who have stolen from the government, the moment they hear about restitution, returning the money they embezzled from the government, they stopped coming to church.

QUESTION: Which do you prefer, words of encouragement or the unadulterated word of God?

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

WHEREFORE KICK YE AT MY SACRIFICE

MEMORY VERSE: wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but nowthe Lord saith, be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. 1 Samuel 2:29-30

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lamentations 4 –Ezekiel 4
There was a prophet in Israel called Eli. This prophet had two sons – Hophni and Phinehas. These boys were rotten, the bible referred to them as sons of Belial (base and worthless). They are everything the sons of a prophet should not be. The custom of the priest was when any man offered sacrifice, while the flesh was boiling, the priest’s servant will come with a flesh hook of three prongs and dip it into the pan; all that the flesh hook brought up, the priest took for himself. In the case of Hophni and Phinehas, it was different, before one boils the flesh, they will come with their big knives and cut whatever they want and go. They will take a very large portion and leave the small one for sacrifice. One dare not argue with them because they are the sons of the priests. Not only that, they defiled any woman that came to the church to worship. People reported the activities of Hophni and Phinehas to Eli (their father), instead of taking serious disciplinary action against them, he will warn them and leave them. These boys kept on abusing their position and dishonouring God. Out of mercy, God sent a prophet to Eli to warn him. 1 Samuel 2:29-30 says wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever: but now the Lord saith, be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. At the end, these two perished in one day.
In what way(s) are you kicking against God’s sacrifices? In what ways are you doing God’s work anyhow? Many of us, who serve in the vineyard of God in one capacity or the other, as a worker – usher, prayer warrior, counsellor, sanctuary keeper, etc, or as a minister have forgotten that we are being accessed by God. You are never late to work, but you come to church at any time you want. Some even leave at any time they want. While ushering, you are busy checking football scores. With what heart are you serving in God’s vineyard? Do you attend choir practices at any time you want? Do you travel without taking permission from your leaders? We cannot do God’s work anyhow, although it is voluntary, we have to serve as if God is our supervisor. As a leader, in what way(s), are you directly or indirectly encouraging second-class behaviour in your group? When your pastor asks for someone in your team, you tell a lie to cover up for the fellow. Everything we do in God’s vineyard is a form of sacrifice. Are you the type that if they do not allow you play the keyboard or drums , you protest and do not come to church for weeks. Until the pastor gets involved, you do not do what you have being asked to do and even when you do it, you do it anyhow. The Lord is saying only those who honour Him will He honour, those who despise Him He will lightly esteem.

TO PONDER: In what way(s) are you doing God’s work as you like, please repent today.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

HAVE YOU TURNED?

MEMORY VERSE: And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.Exodus 3:2-4

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lamentations 1-3

From the moment Moses turned, his life and ministry never remain the same. Let us take a brief look at what happened after he turned away from the goat and cattle (issues of the current moment), to behold the glory of God. Firstly, God spoke to him. The bible says: “and when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am i.” Not until Moses turned, the Lord did not say a word. When you study the book of Exodus, you will observe that after he turned; the ministry he had tried and failed at received a new life. Moses knew deep within himself that he was born to deliver the children of Israel from the bondage of the Egyptians. He was convinced that, that was the purpose of God for his life. He made an attempt to deliver his people in Exodus 2:11-15, and got into trouble. After he turned, his ministry received a touch from above. Not only that, where he had failed forty years earlier, he succeeded there.

The question is, have you and I turned? Some of us call ourselves a Christian and still accept bribes. Some do not accept bribe but give bribe. When I hear of people fornicating to get a job or for one favor or the order, I wonder if these people have really turned to Christ. The sad thing is, they come to youth fellowship and lift up holy hands. Lord, have mercy! Have you turned? Some of us call ourselves tongue speaking Christians and yet we keep malice. To make matters worse, some keep malice with their pastors. Is your own turn partial or full? You do not smoke but you consume alcohol; you do not fornicate but you touch ladies at inappropriate places; you do not miss church services but you indulge in exam malpractice; you do not fornicate but you masturbate; you do not commit adultery but when no one is around, you know how you do it with your toys. Is that how to turn to Christ? The reason why a lot of us are suffering is because we have not turned. We turn with our lips not with our hearts. Not until Moses turned, the Lord did not speak. The moment he turned, all changed. God has been waiting for an opportunity to speak to some for over three years, because they have refused to turn , He has decided to keep quiet. If you will turn today to Him, He will speak. There are a lot of us owing vows, pledges, robbing God in tithes and offerings, not until we turn from these things, He will not speak. Turn from beating your wife; turn from not looking after your children; turn from cursing your children when you are angry; turn from being hard headed, and the Lord will speak.

ACTION: Pray for revival, a lot of believers have grown cold in their service to God.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

HE OWNS TIME SO HE IS NEVER LATE

Memory verse: He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. Daniel 2:21

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 50-52

Yesterday, we looked at the story of Lazarus – the friend of Jesus. He took ill so his sisters – Mary and Martha, sent a message to Jesus , Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. On getting this message, Jesus could have sent His word to Lazarus and he would have been healed right away but he did not. He could have rushed to the home of Lazarus and lay hands on him, but he stayed a bit longer. He purposely delayed so that He can give this family a bigger miracle. Which is bigger, the healing of Lazarus or the raising up of Lazarus from the dead? Obviously, the raising up of Lazarus from the dead. Finally, He arrived a few days later, by this time, Lazarus was now dead and buried. To everyone, it was over. To the family of Lazarus, Jesus arrived too late. Martha said if only you had been here few days ago, my brother would still be alive (John 11:21). Mary said Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died (John 11:32).

One thing everyone failed to realise was that, it is impossible for God to be late. One of the reasons why He can never be late is that He controls time. Daniel 2:21 says He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He owns time. He can pause time, for instance in Joshua 10:12, God caused the Sun to stand still at Gibeon and Moon in the valley of Ajalon. Not only can He pause time, He can reverse time. Sarah had not only passed child bearing, her womb was dead (Romans 4:19). The Lord reversed her time so that the woman who had stopped menstruating for over 30 years began to menstruate again. Within a year, she gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. He can also fast forward time. What you are meant to receive in two years time, He can decide to give it to you today. In John 2:1-10, Jesus was invited to a wedding in Cana of Galilee and the wine finished. When the mother approached Him for a miracle, He said mine hour is not yet come, shortly after that, being an obedient child, He fast forwarded His time just to give the couple a miracle.

As far as you remain steadfast in your service to God and committed to the things of God, I can assure you, God will answer your prayers. As far as you continue to live a pleasing life to Him, He will come through for you. As far as you do not substitute Jesus for something else, you will rejoice at last. One fact of life is, your timing is not His timing. What you are looking at and thinking, I need this right away, God could be looking at the same thing and thinking, this thing will kill this boy if I give to him right away. I will delay it for another six months when He would have grown more spiritually and will be able to handle it. Asides from that, God could even have a better thing in mind than what you are asking for. Do not lose hope, do not relent, do not back slide, keep on serving Him, you will rejoice at last.

ACTION: Pray for all those looking for the fruit of the womb that the Lord will give them their babies soon.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.