AND GOD SAID, ASK WHAT I SHALL GIVE THEE

MEMORY VERSE: and the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 1 Kings 3:4-5.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Daniel 1-3

Whether a man will succeed in life or not will be determined by how he treats opportunities that comes his way. But, to take advantage of an opportunity, one must be able to identify the opportunity first. Hagar thirsted, not because of lack of water but because she could not identify the well nearby (Genesis 21:15-17). The widow struggled to pay her debts, not because God was against her but because she could not see the potential in her oil (2 Kings 4:1-7). There are a lot struggling today, simply because they cannot identify the opportunities around them.

Any time God wants to give a man breakthrough – financially, materially, spiritually, etc, He will start by throwing an opportunity to give at him. Take for instance Solomon, before he was born, God already purposed it in His mind to bless him. No wonder when he was born, God gave him the name , Jedidah , which means beloved of the Most High ( 2 Samuel 12:25). When his season of breakthrough came, God threw an opportunity to give a thousand burnt offerings at him. 1 Kings 3:4-5 says and the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. From the day, Solomon gave that thousand burnt offerings, his life never remained the same. Some months ago, a sister shared a testimony with me. She needed money to buy somethings, she had 9,000 naira on her but it was not enough. One day, while she was praying, the Lord told her to give that 9,000 naira as an offering and she did. Few days later, a family friend (she had not spoken to in months) called from abroad and said, ‘the Lord laid it on my mind to send some money to you.’ By the time she received the money, she was speechless. As a young boy, one of my desires was to study in England. My parents wanted the same too but the resources to make that a reality was not available. One day, the Lord laid it on my mind to buy a megaphone for our church and i obeyed. On receiving the megaphone, the pastor prophesied that i was going to study abroad ( mind you , i never told him of my intention to travel )’. Few months later, I was on the plane to England to study. Anytime God wants to give a man breakthrough, He will start by giving the fellow an opportunity to sow a powerful seed. Has God laid it on your mind to give something special to Him? Do not hesitate; you could be missing the opportunity of a lifetime.

PRAYER: Father, please help me never to miss an opportunity again in my life.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

YOUR SIZE

MEMORY VERSE: There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.1 Corinthians 10:13

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 45 -48

In boxing, there is something called boxing weight class. They are Heavyweight, Cruiserweight, Light heavyweight, etc. Your weight determines your weight class. For example, as a boxer, if you weigh Kg 90.8 /14 st lb upward, they will put you in the Heavyweight weight class. Anything below that, they will put you in the Cruiserweight weight class and so on. In boxing, your weight determines who you can and cannot fight. The same rules applies to life challenges, the size of your destiny will determine the size of your challenges. This is why i do not envy those who do not face challenges at all. Firstly, you will never know what you are truly capable of until you face tough challenges. No one knew Jesus could raise the dead until someone died and He raised him up. David never knew he had the potential to kill a lion with his bare hands until a strange lion took one of his father’s sheep (1 Samuel 17:36). He ran after it and clubbed it to death. Secondly, stress causes expansion. There is a saying, ‘it is the stress in the catapult that drives the stone forward.’ Thirdly, if you are a threat to the kingdom of darkness, the enemy will throw challenges at you.

It does not matter, how rich your parents are, if you are going to be great in life, you will face big challenges. Actually, great challenges are inevitable for anyone with a great destiny. For instance, Joseph, at a tender age, God showed him his future. This boy saw his brother’s sheaves bowing down to him, meaning he will be ahead of his brothers (Genesis 37:7-10). He saw the sun and the moon bowing down to him. Before his dreams came to pass, he saw horror in the hands of his brothers. Firstly, they tried to kill him, when they did not succeed at that, they sold him to slavery. The route to Egypt was through Sahara desert, Joseph and other slaves had trek on foot through this hot desert in chains. Great testimonies come from great trails.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. The size of your challenges speaks volume. Great men face great challenges. A husband has only his family to worry about but the president has the whole nation to worry about. Goliath’s size clearly reveals how God saw David. Men saw him as a young boy, but by God’s standard, he was a champion! The fact that you are facing challenges does not mean that God hates you. On the contrary, your destiny is so big; the enemy knows you will touch many lives, that is why, he is throwing all those challenges at you to break you. Before God permitted that challenge to come your way, He first gave you enough strength to stand in the midst of it. Do not backslide because of that challenge. Do not compromise because of what you are going through at work or in marriage.

PRAYER POINT: Father, glorify yourself in my life.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

THE WIDOW GAVE MORE

MEMORY: And he said, of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. Luke 21:3

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 42-44

BIBLE STUDIES: Luke 21:1- 4

God does not see things as men see them. Isaiah 55:8 says for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. Whilst men look at the outward appearance – the suit, smell of cologne, stature, professional qualification, etc, God looks at the heart. This is why He picked David over his brothers. If God were to look into your heart right now, what will He find? Eye service? Lip service? False humility? Selective humility? God prefers quality to quantity. He would rather work with two serious individuals than waste His resources on 100 others who are not ready to take on responsibilities. When He wanted to defeat the Midianites in Judges 7, He picked 300 out of the 30,000 available. As far as He is concerned, the 29,700 were not ready.

There are a lot to learn from the story in Luke 21:1-4. Although this widow gave the least in monetary terms, according to Jesus, she gave the most. Luke 21:3 says and he said, of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all. There are several reasons why Jesus said she gave the most. First of all, while some gave grudgingly, she gave cheerfully. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. Some may ask, how do you know she gave cheerfully? If she had not given cheerfully, Jesus would not have said she gave the most. Secondly, her gift cost her something. Luke 21:4 says for all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all that living that she had. When was the last time you gave God a gift that cost you something? Thirdly, her gift reflected her faith in God. On a normal day, she would have saved her last for the rainy day but she gave it because she believed that God will provide for her. Lastly, she gave all.

TO PONDER: The services you render in the house of God, do you do them grudgingly or out of necessity or with a cheerful heart? What has your service in the house of God cost you? Do you give your best when given an assignment or act as if you are doing the pastor a favour?

Bro Samuel| Reaching the world for Jesus.

THUS THEY WERE FINISHED

MEMORY VERSE: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. Genesis 2:1 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 39-41

Genesis is popularly known as the book of beginnings. This book gives us an idea of how God works. The Most High God is very organized and meticulous. He does not work anyhow or haphazardly. Maybe i should add this; He is excellent at keeping records too. Psalm 56:8 says thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? He has a record of our labour of love and He will reward. He also has records of unredeemed pledges too, so if you have made a pledge, please redeem it or put plans in place to redeem your pledges. Our God works according to a plan, first He forms, and then fills. He formed the earth and then filled it with plants and animals. He formed the firmament and filled with stars and planets. He formed the seas and then filled them with living creatures. Has God laid it on your mind to form something, please form it and watch Him fill it? Has He laid it on your mind to start a business? Do not wait until you have customers before starting. Start the business first, and the customers will follow. Is God leading you to start a drama group or music band? Do not wait until you have everyone, start with whatever you have and He will bring the rest. If you and I will yield to Him, He will form and fill our lives.

Whatever God starts, He finishes. Genesis 2:1 says thus the heavens and the earth were finished, all the host of them. Whatever God has started in my life and your life, He will not stop until He finishes it. Philippians 1:6 says being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Have you stopped paying your tithes because you are trying to build a house or get a mortgage? In other to save up to pay for a holiday, have you stopped tithing? Please repent immediately. Whatever He starts, He finishes. Therefore, every child of God must desist from starting something and not finishing it. It is not a good practice. There are many who have abandoned projects. An abandoned project is not useful to anyone and it does not give God glory too. Are you the type that picks up a book, reads it for a while, dumps it, picks another one and dumps it half away? This not a good practice, once you start a book, do everything in your power to finish it. Once you start a course, do every thing in your power to finish the course. Do not start a course and stop mid way, it is not good. Have you started learning to speak a new language or musical instrument, finish it. If you are struggling to complete something you have started, take it to the Lord in prayer. Do not abandon that Masters Program you are on, it may be tough but continue, at the end you will rejoice. Have you started writing a book and you are under pressure to quit? Receive the divine strength in Jesus name, amen. God wants every of His children to finish whatever project they have started. Are you under pressure to quit your apprenticeship? Finish it, the experience will be useful somewhere else in the future.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please give me the grace to finish everything i have started.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

ALL SHALL BE RAISED.

MEMORY VERSE: marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life: and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. John 5:28-29 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 36-38

In the beginning, God did not intend for man whom He created in His own image to die. Sin, disobedience to the commandment of God, is what brought about death, and that is what gave the grave, power to hold man down in death. Our Christian faith is based on the fact that Christ paid the full price of our sin, this He did when He died on the Cross and shed His precious blood for our redemption from sin and to restore man to the original plan of God. His resurrection is a mark that God has accepted His atoning sacrifice on the cross. Not only that, His resurrection is a proof that the dead will rise:death is not the end of life. 1 Corinthians 15:17-18 says and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If Christ had not risen, our hope would have been a dead hope but thank God, He rose from the dead.

That Christ rose from the dead is a surety that all shall be raised to life again. One day all shall be raised – some to honour and some to dishonour. Daniel 12:2 says And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Jesus said in John 5:28-29 marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life: and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. Therefore, the question is not whether the dead will rise again, but the question now is, unto what shall you be raised? Is it to everlasting joy or to everlasting damnation? The life you are living now, where will it lead to – everlasting joy or damnation? Make haste and repent while the door of mercy is still wide open. A time will come when you will want to give up everything and pay any price but it will be too late.

Because Christ resurrected, your service is not in vain. There is a reward for every service we render unto the Lord. Everyone of us who has accepted Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour will stand before the Judgement seat of Christ and we will be rewarded based on what we have done – good or bad ( 2 Corinthians 5:10). God is not unfaithful to forget our labour of love. Therefore we should spend and be spent for our Master. We must continue to witness about Christ to friends, family, and everyone who is yet to give their life to Christ. We must also live our lives as someone who is expecting the second coming of Christ. We must continue to run from anything that could defile us or stain our robes.

QUESTION: How many souls have you led to Christ this year?

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

WHO IS THE BUILDER?

MEMORY VERSE: For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. Hebrew 3:4

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 30-35

There are several types of buildings all round us. Some are bungalow, duplex, storey building, mansions, palaces, etc. In big towns, we have estates, skyscrapers and so on. Every building (tangible and intangible) has a purpose. Libraries are built to keep books and Car Parks are built to park cars. Just by looking at a building, you can deduce the class, taste, status, wealth, etc, of the owner/builder. Kings and Queens do not live in ordinary houses; they reside in palaces and mansions. Billionaires prefer to live on private islands. All these reflect class and status. If you will accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour today, your class will change. You will join the class of those who will reside on the streets of gold in eternity (Revelations 21:21). Today, i may not have an island but something is very certain, i am going to live on the streets of gold in heaven and that is more important than a palace or island on earth.

Just as we have tangible buildings all around us, we also have intangible buildings all around us e.g. ministries, families, homes, relationships, lives. No building exists without a builder. Hebrew 3:4a says for every house is builded by some man. As i mentioned earlier, every “building” has a purpose or every “building” was erected for a reason. For all the possible reasons, please do not build due to pressure either from your peers or parents or relatives. Do not study a particular course because your friends studied it or because it is lucrative. It may be lucrative today, what of tomorrow? Also, do not build because of fear. Many “buildings” are the product of fear (not godly fear). Before i gave my life to Christ, i met several people who built due to fear. Because they wanted to keep a particular brother, they fornicated and became pregnant. Ninety nine percent of the cases i saw, despite the fact that they got pregnant, the brother still left them and married some else. That will not be your portion in Jesus Name. They all ended up raising the child alone. I plead to you in the name of God, do not fornicate talk less of get pregnant for any man because you want to keep him. If God brought him, God will keep him. Your life is very precious.

According to Psalms 127:1, except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it. Friend, is God the builder of your life? Are you building with human knowledge or God’s words? Before you laid that foundation, did you get a go- ahead from the Most High? For a brief period, a "building," built without God or with human reasoning may appear fine. People may even appreciate the “building” but wait until the storm comes. Storms of life are inevitable, if the house is not built on God’s words, am afraid it will fall. Please do not compete with anyone. Let everyone build his or her own way, but i beseech you child of God, let God be your builder. The Most High does not build in a rush and whatever He builds, last forever.

ACTION: Pray that the Lord will build your life.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

CAN YOU SEE WHAT GOD IS DOING?

MEMORY VERSE: Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. John 5:19

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 25-30

One of the secrets behind Jesus’ success in ministry and all He laid His hands on is prayer. This is not the two minutes ones, we say before going to bed at night. Such prayer lasts for at least an hour. When Jesus found His disciples sleeping when they should be praying, He turned to Peter and said, can you not pray for at least an hour (Mark 14:37)? Before making a move, Jesus would first put it to God in prayers. Please do not do things first and then consult God later. Anytime Jesus wanted to take a life changing decision, He would set out time for serious prayers. When He wanted to choose His disciples, He went to a mountainside and prayed all night. The next morning, He picked twelve men. Those men (except Judas Iscariot) took the gospel to every part of the world. No decision is a small decision so pray before any decision. Learn to pray for yourself. There is nothing wrong in asking brethren in Christ or your pastor to agree with you in prayer but do not leave the business of prayers especially about your life to people. Let us learn to pray for ourselves, our families, business, etc. A lot of us rely on our parents to pray for us instead of praying for ourselves. Some do not want to pray at all, all they want to do is give tithes, offerings, and go. The pastor obviously prays for everyone, but you must also go on your knees and pray too.

In John 5, we see another secret behind Jesus’ success. John 5:19 says then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. Jesus only invested time and effort in whatever God was interested in. Jesus did not visit all the cities of the earth. He did not eat at everyone’s house. He did not do everything; He only did what He saw God doing. He saw God trying to heal a man, He prayed for the man and the man was healed. He saw God trying to save a sinner (Zacchaeus), He said to Zacchaeus, this day salvation is come to your house (Luke 19:9). What do you see God doing in that ministry? A lot are unknowingly working against God because they are trying to destroy what God is building. Success only comes when we invest time, effort, skill, etc, in what God is doing. No wonder the bible says, except the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain they that build it (Psalm 127:1). We need to see what God is doing in the lives of our children so that they will not go and study Law when they should have studied Economics. We need to see what God is doing in our lives. He may be setting up a house fellowship or a cell group that will trigger your long awaited promotion in that place of work.

ACTION: Pray that the Lord will open your eyes to see what He is doing in your life.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.