SPIRITUAL VIOLENCE REQUIRED

MEMORY VERSE: And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:12

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 115-120, Proverbs 24

One day, Jesus was in a place teaching and everyone around gathered to listen to Him. People from neighboring villages heard He was around and they came too. (Within hours, the whole area was packed. Some had to stand because there was no place to sit). Everyone brought his or her challenges, sick friends and relatives to Jesus. After teaching, He began to minister to the sick, pray with those who wanted Him to agree with them in faith over a thing or other, counsel those that needed counseling, etc. As He was doing these, the disciples of John the Baptist arrived and asked, “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? (Matthew 11:3)” In other words, are you the messiah, are you the one who the prophets prophesied about? He answered and said, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard (Matthew 11:4).”

As John’s disciples departed, Jesus began to testify about John the Baptist. He said, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12).” All the prophets before John prophesied of the coming messiah. They spoke of Him in obscured terms or represented him under dark shadows and figures. Whereas John spake of Him as already come, and in plain terms, directed people to His very person. John said in John 1:29, “...Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” From the day, John started his ministry – preparing the way of the savior and pointing to Him as the way to access the kingdom of God - the kingdom of darkness have been doing everything it can to prevent people from accessing the kingdom of God and its benefits. As such, violence is required to access the kingdom of God and its benefits. Violence against every opposition is mandatory.

Your number ‘one’ opposition is Satan and his demons. All that he and his demons stand for must be treated with violence. This is why the bible admonishes us to resist him (James 4:7). The word ‘resist’ is a violent term. The word ‘resist’ implies that he will try to block you from accessing the kingdom of God and its benefit. Except you do something about him and his demons, they will block your way. As for his demons, the bible admonishes us to cast them out (Mark 16:17). The word ‘cast out’ is another violence term. You number ‘two’ opposition is the flesh. Mr Flesh is an ally of the devil and it does not want to please God but itself. The only way to deal with Mr Flesh is by mortifying it (Colossians 3:5), in other words keep it under. Deny it its cravings. Your number ‘three’ opposition is the world system of evil. The bible admonishes us not to conform to it (Romans 12:1-2). Last but not the least, ‘anyone’ who invites you to sin is an opposition and to deal with them say a Big No!

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Matthew 11:12 says: “And from the days of John the Baptist until now.....” The word ‘now’ means ‘at the present moment’. The kingdom of heaven still suffers violence and this will continue until Christ returns.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please help me to stand firm against every opposition.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus. 

DOES '1 TIMOTHY 2:12' FORBID ALL WOMEN FROM TEACHING.

MEMORY VERSE: But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 1 Timothy 2:12

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 110-115, Proverbs 23

1 Timothy 2:12 says: “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” The issue of women teaching in the church is the most hotly debated issue in the church today. It is very important not to see this issue as men versus women. There are women who believe women should not teach and that the bible places restrictions on the ministry of women, and there are men who believe women can serve as preachers and that there are no restrictions on women in ministry. This is not an issue of chauvinism or discrimination. It is an issue of biblical interpretation. Does ‘1 Timothy 2:12’ forbid all women from teaching? No!

Women are allowed to teach women in the church. Titus 2:3-5 says: “The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” Women may teach men in the assembly. Colossians 3:16 says: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Paul was speaking to the church, which includes men and women. Priscilla, a woman, was involved in teaching Apollos - a man. Acts 18:25-26 says: “This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.” And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.” ‘1 Timothy 2:11-12’ does not forbid a woman from asking or answering a question in a public adult Bible study or during Sunday school.

The two functions – teaching and exercising authority – mentioned in ‘1 Timothy 2:12’ are the function of the elder. It is not a problem for a woman to minister in hundreds of ways in the church but the office of leadership and teaching of men is preserved for spiritual and godly men. A woman ‘teaching and exercising authority’ over a man has the sense of usurping authority. However, she is not usurping authority – when teaching the youth, or even teaching from the pulpit, or running a ministry – as long as there is a man over her. There ought not be a woman that is the head of the church, or women on the council, because then they would be in a position of ultimate authority, which this supposedly restricts. The argument that she may not teach anything in any way (i.e. read scripture, ask or answer a question in a Bible class) in the presence of a man because she would be doing some teaching, is not consistent with the teaching and admonishing (Colossians 3:16) which she does in songs and hymns and spiritual songs in the public church assembly.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: it is true that women preachers are a sign of the times, but more one of the abdication of responsibility by men than of anything else. Men need to stand up and be counted. They need to wake up and take their rightful position before God as leaders.

PRAYER POINT: Father, we come against every spirit causing division among the body of Christ.

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

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BE A GOOD FRIEND

MEMORY VERSE: A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 106 -110, Proverbs 22

READ: Luke 5:17 -20

Jesus was teaching in a house one day when some men, around four, brought their friend who was taken with palsy. When they arrived at the house, it was packed full of people who had come to listen to Jesus teach. They appealed to the people, especially those who were standing by the doorway, to pave way for them to bring their friend in and lay him before Jesus but they refused. Since they could not find a way in, through the doorway, one of them got a ladder, climbed the roof of the house, looked for where Jesus was standing and removed some tiles around that area - creating a hole in the roof. Another one joined him on the roof and they made the hole big enough to fit a stretcher. Those on the ground passed the sick man to those on the roof. Using a rope, those on the roof carefully let down their friend to where Jesus was standing. On seeing this, i thought Jesus was going to get angry with them for disturbing Him while He was teaching. He did not! Instead, He commended their faith. Friend, you are not disturbing Jesus when you bring your request to Him. It does not matter how many times you come to Him in a day, instead of rebuking you for disturbing Him with your requests, He would commend you for your faith.

The friends of the man who was sick, with palsy or paralyzed, were good friends. They were determined to go extra miles to get help for their sick friend. To carry their heavy friend - paralysis causes the body to become very heavy – through the roof requires a lot of effort, yet they did not mind the pain because they were determined. Naturally, friends tend to run away when one faces challenges. Proverbs 19:7 says: “All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.” For the friends of this man to have stuck by him during this period says a thing or two about the character of this sick man. Firstly, he (himself) was a good friend. He (himself) was a friend in ‘deed’ and a friend indeed. Proverbs 18:24 says: “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” Secondly, he was a giver. Proverbs 19:6 says: “Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.” Thirdly, he was a helper too. According to the law of sowing and reaping – give and it will come back to you (Luke 6:38) - this man reaped what he had sowed into the lives of the people around him. He helped people and others helped him. Fourthly, he was a grateful fellow. The reason why many people cannot get help is not that they are not prayerfully. Many a times, it is simply because they are ungrateful. They are ungrateful first to God, and to men. Never think you deserve anyone’s help. You do not! People have the right to say 'no' to you, so when they say 'yes' to you, appreciate it. The friends were motivated to help because they knew he would appreciate their effort.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: What kind of friend are you? Are you a friend in ‘need’, in ‘deed’or a friend when it is rosy?

PRAYER POINT: Pray that the Lord will uproot every tree (friends) He has not planted in your life.

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DO IT WELL

MEMORY VERSE: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 101-105, Proverbs 21

God demands that His children be like Him. They must love whatsoever He loves and hate whatsoever He hates. They must be holy for He is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). They must be merciful for He is merciful (Luke 6:36). They must forgive just as Christ forgave (Colossians 3:13). They must be perfect just as He is perfect (Matthew 5:48). Many say it is impossible to be perfect especially in this generation. The disciples of Jesus said the same thing too. After hearing Him preach powerfully about salvation one day, they asked Jesus, “who then can be saved (Matthew 19:25)” To which Jesus responded, “with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).” In other words, humanly speaking it is impossible but God is ready to help anyone who is willing, obedient and determined to make heaven. He is ready to help anyone who will present his or her body to Him as a living sacrifice, who will not conform to the world but renew his or her mind (Romans 12:1-2). One way to renew your mind is by daily meditating on the word of God. The word of God is a cleanser (John 15:3). When I counsel people who are addicted to masturbation, I always tell them to meditate on the scripture daily. As they meditated on the scripture daily, the urge to do this terrible thing reduced drastically and God freed them from that bondage.

Whatever God does is good, that is His signature. When you read Genesis 1, you will observe that whenever God creates anything, He will first check to see if it is good before moving on to another thing. This is why “And God saw that… it was good” is repeated several times in Genesis 1. James 1:17 says: “ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” The Lord expects His children to have this ‘signature’ too. Do not do things anyhow. Do not do things haphazardly. Whatever you do, do it properly. It can be demanding at times but it is profitable. Jesus created the world; He created the womb and every part of it. When He wanted to come into the world, He came through one of the womb He created. Thank God, He created it perfectly. Had it been He created the human womb anyhow or imperfectly, He would have had problems inside Mary’s womb or worse still, He would not have been able to come through a human womb. This is why whatever your hand finds to do, do it well. As a custom officer, do not allow people to import fake drugs into the country. Asides the fact that it is a sin, what if your children falls sick and the doctor unknowingly treats them with one of the fake drugs you allowed into the country? A rich man once gave his servant, who had served him for 20 years, one last job - a contract to build a beautiful mansion. He showed him the design and gave him enough money to complete the project. Since it was the servant’s last job, he decided to use that opportunity to steal from his master and enrich himself. He used cheap second-hand materials to build the house and kept the rest of the money. After completing the project, he gave the keys of the house to his master and the master thanked him. On the day of his send-off party, his master gave him the keys of the house he had built with cheap second hand materials as his send-off gift. He thought he was stealing from his master but unknown to him; he was robbing himself. He had the opportunity to build himself a nice house but he squandered it.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Do to people, as you would want them to do to you.

PRAYER POINT: Pray that you will not use your hands to destroy what God has built for you.

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FAITH PERFECT FOR SALVATION

MEMORY VERSE: Not every one 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: Psalms 96-100, Proverbs 20

BIBLE STUDY: Romans 12:1-2

What is faith? Hebrew 11:1 says: “ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” In other words, faith is a confident assurance, a well-grounded assurance that something we want and hope for is going to happen. It is a conviction of the reality of things hoped for, which we cannot yet see. To have faith in God means to completely trust in God. It means being absolutely convinced that God would do what He has promised to do. Faith must have a basis of which it must be firmly rooted and grounded. Our faith is grounded in the Gospel, we believe that the Gospel being preached to us is true, and the bible on which the Gospel was written must be true. We are absolutely convinced that Jesus died and rose again. His resurrection from the dead becomes a guarantee to us that we who put our faith and trust in Him will one day rise from the dead to ever live with Him.

There are things you need to know about faith. Firstly, faith becomes useless when it is without deeds (James 2:20). Secondly, faith alone is dead without works (James 2:17). Thirdly, faith can be perfected. James 2:22 says: “seest thou how faith wrought with works, and by works was faith made perfect?” A perfect faith is one, which results in a transformed life. For one’s faith to be perfect for salvation , one must do the will of God. Matthew 7:21 says: “Not every one 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.”

To do the will of God, one must first discover God’s will. To discover God’s will, one must first present his body as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). A sacrifice is something that is totally and absolutely given with nothing held back. To present your body as a living sacrifice means to put your body on God’s altar as a living sacrifice. From now on, you do not own your body. God owns it. You do not decide where you are going to go or what you are going to wear. They are now God’s decision. Your body becomes God’s personal property. The good news is that God accepts maintenance responsibility of what He owns. Secondly, one must not be conformed to this world (Romans 12:2). The phrase “conformed to this word” refers to anything pertaining to the habit, manner, dress, style of living, music, of this sinful world. Christians are to dress modestly which means not drawing attention to themselves. Modesty is rule of the Christian’s apparel and dress that does not draw attention to one sexually. Thirdly, one must be transformed. To transform something means to change it. We are to be transformed from living a life of seeking worldly pleasures and self-goals and desire to one of living for the Lord. For transformation to take place, our minds must be renewed. The old carnal mind is replaced with one that seeks the Lord and is able to understand God’s truth and apply it one’s life.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: God’s will is that we live today for Him, giving our lives sacrificially to Him.

PRAYER POINT: Father, help me to live my life daily for you.

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SEVEN THOUSAND PREPARED REPLACEMENTS

MEMORY VERSE: Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.1 Kings 19:18

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 91-95, Proverbs 19

We do not know much about Elijah’s background except that he was a Tishbite who resided in Gilead (1 Kings 17:1). One thing we know is that he came from a humble background. The Jews are very proud of their heritage so when they want to write about a great figure e.g. Jesus Christ, they will start with the family genealogy. This is why you see a lot of ‘A’ begat ‘B’, 'B' begat 'C' and 'C' begat 'D', 'E', etc in the bible. If the person is a prophet/prophetess, a king, or some important personality, they will start by mentioning the person’s name followed by the father’s name for men and husband’s name for women. For instance, the bible introduced Elisha the prophet as Elisha the son of Shaphat (1 Kings 19:19) and Deborah the prophetess as Deborah, the prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth (Judges 4:4). Elijah’s father was poor and so insignificant in their community that the author of 1 Kings did not even bother to mention his father’s name. Despite his humble background, he became a man who even the king could not ignore. Despite his not-so-fortunate background, he became a man who God used to start a national revival. At the end of his ministry, God sent a chariot from heaven to bring him home. He was one of two men- the other one is Enoch – who did not die. Friend your background means nothing when God is with you.

Through Elijah’s ministry, we saw the impossible become possible. In 1 Kings 17:11-16, he told a woman who was about to prepare her last meal that her jar of flour shall not spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty and it happened as he said. For many months, without any source of income, the woman fed herself, her son and the prophet without borrowing because her jar of flour was not spent. In 1 Kings 17:17-22, he prayed for a dead boy and he woke up. He was so anointed that he could shut the heaven and there will be no rain for many years (1 Kings 17:1-2). In addition, he could open a shut heaven on his knees (1 Kings 18:46). At the height of his ministry, this prophet began to see himself as indispensable. He began to have an exaggerated view of himself. One day something happened and he told God, “and I, even i only, am left(1 Kings 19:14).” In other words, You (God) are stranded without me (Elijah). The Lord replied and said: “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.(1 Kings 19:18)” In other words, I have seven thousand people who i could pick one from to replace you. God had prepared an excess of seven thousand people who He could pick to replace one of the greatest prophet of the Old Testament. If God had seven thousand men who He could pick from to replace Elijah, how many do you think He could pick from today to replace you and i, if we allow pride in our hearts or become too big for Him to carry? Friend, you are not indispensable. You are what you are, where you are because of Him. If the Lord is using you in any capacity, please take it as a very big privilege. I want you to know that He had many people to pick from before giving you an opportunity.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: When we talk of giving to God, many of us think that we are doing God a favor when we give to Him. God can touch the heart of any billionaire to give to Him if He needs money. Besides, He owns the whole world – the gold mines, oil wells, etc. He asks us to give so that He can multiply whatever we give to Him and return it to us.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please help me never to become too big for you to carry.

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DON’T STRAY AWAY FROM GOD

MEMORY VERSE: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Matthew 23:37

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 86-90, Proverbs 18

BIBLE STUDY: Genesis 34:1-2

The way God protects us, His children, can be compared to how animals protect their babies. I will never forget my experience with a dog that had just given birth. My mum sent me on an errand one early Saturday morning. When i got to her friend’s house, unknown to me her dog had just given birth, i opened the gate and walked in. Immediately her dog saw me, she started to bark and run towards me. (She probably thought i came to steal her puppies). I knew something was not right so i ran for my dear my life and the dog chased me. From that experience, i knew that animals, especially dogs, passionately protect their babies. Matthew 23:37 says: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” Jesus compared the way He would have loved to protect Jerusalem to the way a hen protects her chickens under her wings. The mother hen keeps her chickens close to her because she knows that danger menaces them. She is aware that a cold night is a threat to their lives so she keeps them underneath her wings. She provides food, protection, warmth, and nurture.

How Mother hen protects her chickens is similar to how God protects His children. Actually, God does a far better job! The chickens respond to Mother hen’s love by staying close to her. Friend, the only way to respond to God’s love is by staying in His presence. Dinah’s parent did everything any parent could do to protect their daughter. She had everything a young girl could dream of. One day she decided to go out and have fun with the daughters of the land. She left her house, her refuge, God’s presence and strayed into strange territory. Shechem, an unbeliever, a wicked man, caught her and raped her. She had kept her flower to give it to the love of her life – her husband. Shechem, a man without a soul, forcefully took this flower from her. Dinah lost it because she strayed away from where God placed her. Many are beginning to stray away from God and His counsels. Many young men and women are straying away by watching pornography on the internet. Many sisters are beginning to stray away by taking marriage counsel from unbelievers. What do you expect to hear from them? Divorce your husband is all you will hear. Many brothers are beginning to stray away by asking their ungodly friends to show them how to make fast money maybe through fraud or something. Some have already strayed away like Dinah. I believe Dinah must have been straying out of the house to see the daughters of the land for a long time. She must have had one or two friends amongst the Hivites women. You may have strayed away too by committing fornication and adultery. You had better repent before Shechem grabs you. One of the Shechem of our time is STD.

WORD OF THE DAY: What is now sustaining you, out of the presence of God, is the mercy of God and that mercy will not last forever if you seize to return to where God placed you.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please keep me from falling.

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