ATTACK ON LOVE

MEMORY VERSE: All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days. Esther 4:11

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Luke 11-12

Love is powerful. Lovers give gifts to each other. Because God loved the world He gave His only begotten son (John 3:16). Because Jesus loved His friends, He gave His life for them (John 15:13). In addition, lovers love to spend time with each other. They will pay any price to be together. Jacob so loved Rachel that he was willing to pay any price to have her by him all the days of his life. Genesis 29:20 says, “And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.” King Ahasuerus chose Esther to be his queen because he loved her. Esther 2:7 says, “And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.” He could have picked any of the virgins presented to him but he picked Esther out of love .

Esther 4:11 says, “All the king's servants, and the people of the king's provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.” For thirty days, Esther did not set her eyes on her husband. The king did not set his eyes on her too and he didn't bother to send for her. Why? This is unusual between two lovers. What some of our sisters are facing is similar to what Esther faced back then; it is as if they no longer exist to their husbands. It is so bad, some husbands don't even notice when their wives make a new hairstyle talk less of compliment her.

A lot 'could have' contributed to Esther loosing relevance before the king or his dwindling love for her , for instance, maybe Esther stopped putting effort into looking good for the king. Dearest sister, do you still put effort into looking good for your husband? Maybe Esther's priority changed. Her number one priority used to be to please the king but now it is something else. Maybe her number one priority used to be to serve the king but that has now changed? Beloved sister, could it be that your priority has now changed? Your career or children are now your number one priority not your king i.e. husband. It could be that Esther became familiar with the king. It could be that she took the attention he showed to her for granted. It could be that she began to treat the king as her equal not her head. Sister, do you now talk to your husband any how? Do you now shut him up and disrespect him? Esther was a good and respectful woman. She could not have been guilty of any of these. What happened was the enemy attacked her marriage. The enemy is still in the business of attacking Christian marriages. He attacks the husband's love for his wife and vice versa. The enemy wanted to destroy the Jews. He knew the only way to succeed in the task was to attack the king's love for her so that she will not be able to stop the destruction of the Jews.Thank God she prayed and the attack was repelled.

PRAYER POINT: Father, we come against every attack of the enemy on Christian marriages and courtship.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

CHOSEN TO BE WITH HIM

MEMORY VERSE: And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach. Mark 3:14

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Galatians 4-6

It is a good thing to serve in the vineyard of God. Firstly, anyone that wants to be great in the kingdom of God must serve. Matthew 20:26 says, “But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister.” The word ‘minister’ literally means ‘servant’. Those who ‘only’ want to come to church to listen to sermon and go back home are indirectly saying to God, “I don’t want to be great in Your kingdom”. Asides this, there are a lot of benefits in serving in the vineyard of God. For example, God renews the strength of those who serve so they can mount up with wings as eagles in their careers, family, and things that pertain to them. Isaiah 40:31 says, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” To ‘wait’ means to serve as waiter i.e. wait tables. In addition, God honors those who serve in His vineyard. John 12:26 says, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.” When you serve in the vineyard of God you are honouring Jesus, and the Lord will honour you in return. Also, God has a special love for those who serve in His vineyard. There are two basic types of love. There is the general love. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave.....” Then, there is the special love. Proverbs 8:17 says, “i love those who love Me...” Those He loves specially are referred to as conquerors. Romans 8:37 says, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” One way to express our love to God is by serving in His vineyard. Whilst others are too busy to clean the church, too big to be an usher or too important to work in the media department, you create time out of no time to serve Him and watch Him make you a conqueror.

Without a shadow of doubt, God loves those who serve Him and serve in His vineyard. If you are serving in the vineyard of God, i can assure you of one thing and that is God loves you specially. However, the number one reason why God saved our souls, washed us in the blood of Jesus, sanctified us, etc is not to serve. The number one reason why He chose us is to be with Him. Mark 3:14 says, “And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach.” You are I were chosen to be with Him first , not to preach, evangelize, sing in the choir, do crusades, write Christian articles, sow a big seed, work in the media department, counsel people, work as a charity worker, etc. All these are good and God appreciates them, but that is not the number one reason why He chose us. Our Lord is more interested in what we are becoming in Him than what we are doing for Him. He is more interested in winning our whole hearts than in our wining the world for Him. Many of us are busy with His work that we no longer have time to be with Him. God is not impressed by this. You can be an usher, prayer warrior, choir, and sanctuary keeper at the same time, if you are not spending time communing with Him ( praying and fasting, reading His word), it means you have a misplaced priority.

ACTION: Ask the Lord to forgive you for not spending as much time as you ought to with Him. Create time out of your busy daily schedule to always spend time with Him especially to pray and read the bible.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

SOWING AND REAPING: WE REAP THE FULL HARVEST OF GOOD ONLY IF WE PERSEVERE

MEMORY VERSE: And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Proverbs 2-3

Galatians 6:7 says,” Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Firstly, be not deceived. Some are being deluded into thinking that they can reap without sowing. That’s impossible! Unless one sows, there will be nothing to reap. Unless one sows mercy, one will not reap mercy. Matthew 5:7 says, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Not until we let go and forgive those who have wronged us, our sins will not be forgiven. According to Matthew 6:12 not until we forgive the debts of others, our own debts to God will not be forgiven. If one sows a smile, one will reap a smile too. Except one puts orange seeds into the ground, one will not reap an orange tree. Except one trains one’s children in the fear of God, they will not grow up to fear God.

It is one thing to sow; it is another thing to reap. Also, it is one thing to reap; it is another thing to reap the full harvest. Not everyone who sows reap the full harvest. To reap the full harvest one must persevere. Good edible plants must be planted and cultivated. Weeds, on the other hand, grows naturally. A godly man must be trained and mentored. A man that will fulfil destiny must be mentored. So also, a sister who will become a good wife must be trained and mentored. Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” We cannot plant a garden and then just forget it. If we do, very little will come from the planting because of the many forces that work against a good harvest. A garden requires continuous labour and care in order to reap an abundant harvest. This is true in the spiritual world and physical world. Regardless of where one plants the seed, weed will grow. It is now left to the farmer to destroy them as they grow. Circumstances that will discourage one from sowing will definitely come up. Friends that will discourage one from sowing will always show up. You may have been keeping yourself from the world, friends who will encourage you to mix with the world, go to night clubs and parties (to increase your chances of getting a wife) will come. You may have been dressing in a decent way, friends who will encourage you to ‘show some skin’ or wear something tight i.e. something that pronounces your figure so as to attract single men will turn up. To reap the full harvest, you must persevere. You must continue to witness to that friend who does not want to hear about Jesus. You must continue to witness to that colleague who makes fun of your Christian beliefs. You must continue to pray for that child that is always causing problems in school. You must continue to pray for that man who is always returning from work drunk. You must continue to preach the unadulterated word of God to people. You may not be popular for preaching against unmarried people living together. You may not be popular for preaching against fornication and other forms of immorality. But, persevere in preaching the truth. Don't preach what people want to hear but the message that will save them from hell. Persevere in teaching women that the man is the head of the family and as such, they must submit to their husbands. Persevere in instructing men to love their wives just as Christ loved the church. Continue to sow those good seeds in the midst of opposition. Continue to show love to that mother in law who thinks you are not good enough for her son.

NOTE: According to 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, it is God who gives increase and He will give increase to your seeds.

CONFESSION: I refuse to be tired of sowing good seeds. I refuse to be fed up of living a godly Christian life.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

SOWING AND REAPING: WE REAP IN PROPORTION TO WHAT WE SOW

MEMORY VERSE: But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.2 Corinthians 9:6

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 66-68

Every living thing God created is designed to produce after its own kind. Genesis 1:24 says, “Then God said, "Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.” According to John 3:6, flesh gives birth to flesh and the Spirit gives birth to the spirit. Galatians 6:8 says, “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” One of the ways people sow into the flesh is by enjoying secular music or watching pornographic movies, viewing nude pictures, etc. These things pollute our lives. The enemy of our soul is gradually making it readily available for everyone to view. Today, there are several videos all over the internet showing these ungodly pictures and movies, and as such be on your guard. You don’t know what you are losing every time you watch these things. What many of us do not know is that we open the door for the spirit of lust and other demons to enter into our lives when we indulge in theses things.

We reap in proportion to what we sow. 2 Corinthians 9:6 says, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” If an individual sows few orange seeds, he or she will get one or two orange trees. But, if the same individual sows a lot of orange seeds, he or she may end up with an orange plantation. If one sows sparingly into the life of his or her children, one will reap sparingly but if one makes the effort and sacrifices his or her time to look after them and raise them in the way they should go, one will go to the grave a happy father or a happy mother. The brother or sister who sows his or time / resources/ talents sparingly when it comes to the service of God will reap in proportion to what he or she has sown. So also, a brother or sister who sows his or her time / resources/ talents bountifully will reap in proportion to what he or she has sown. Just as those who are generous to God and His servants will reap in proportion to what they sow, those who are stingy to God and His servants will also reap in proportion. God encourages us to live as children of God, according to the principles and promises that our generosity will not be forgotten. Bountiful sowing is always to be the result of the outworking of biblical insights, values, commitment and the spirit filled life.

We give so that our God is glorified and others are blessed. When giving life uncertainties will be there. Ecclesiastes 11:4 says, “He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.” Life uncertainties are one of the things that keep people from giving and ministering to others when they have opportunities. The world’s philosophy on sowing is this: 'Get all you can, can all you get, then, sit on the can.' But the Lord’s philosophy on sowing is the opposite of this. If you want to be rich, give. According to Luke 6:38, if you give it will come back to you in big measure. If you want to be poor, grasp. Proverbs 11:24b says, “and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” If you want abundance, scatter. Proverbs 11:24a says, “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth;” If you want to be needy, hoard.

QUESTION: Are you generous to God?

Confession: I enjoy giving to God. I sow bountifully to the things of God and reap bountifully too.

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ACCORDING TO THEIR KIND

MEMORY VERSE: Then God said, "Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so. Genesis 1:24

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Kings 5-9

It is what a man or woman sows that he or she will reap. Galatians 5:7 says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” We have discussed few things about sowing and reaping for instance, the harvest is always greater than the seed planted. If one sows few orange seeds, one will get an orange tree in return. Not only that, we reap in a different season than we sow. One don’t harvest corn the same day one plants it. There is always a waiting period. Plants don’t grow overnight. Also, Rome was not built in a day.

Also on the subject of ‘sowing and reaping’, we reap the same kind as we sow. As we continue in this ‘sowing and reaping’ series, please take note of what the Lord is revealing to us. God determined in creation that all will multiply after its kind. Genesis 1:24 says, “Then God said, "Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds.” Just as sheep reproduce after their own kind, goats also reproduce after its kind. Just as eagles reproduce after their own kind, chickens also reproduce after its kind. You will never find an eagle giving birth to a chicken. John 3:6 says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

When we go through the Bible, we will find that people have always reaped the same kind of what they have sown. In 1 Kings 17:7-16, the widow of Zarapheth fed the prophet of God with her last meal and the Lord fed her and her child all through the famine. In 1 Samuel 1-2, Hannah gave her only child, Samuel, to God and in return she got 5 children (3 boys and 2 girls). That boy who sowed his meal (five bread and two fishes) and received in return twelve baskets of bread and fishes ( Mark 6:30-44). In 1 Kings 21, Ahab killed Naboth and took his land. The Lord sent a message to him saying “ Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, in the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine” (1 Kings 21:19). By the time we get to 1 Kings 22:38, we read about dogs licking the blood of Ahab at the same spot where Naboth’s blood was licked. It does not matter what one sows, one will reap the same kind as one has sown. In 2 Samuel 11, David coveted another man’s wife, committed adultery with her, killed the man, and stole the man’s wife. He reaped the same kind. Had it not been God's mercy he would have been murdered.Do you know that if an individual hears a person crying for help and the individual pretends as if he or she cannot hear, that individual will also cry for help one day and people around will pretend as if they cannot hear. Proverbs 21:13 says, “Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.”

QUESTION: Are you sowing into the flesh or into the spirit? Remember, those who sow into the flesh will reap corruption whilst those who sow into the Spirit will reap eternal life.

PRAYER POINTS: Father, Let your death on the cross not be in vain over me.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

SOWING AND REAPING: WE REAP ONLY WHAT HAS BEEN SOWN II

MEMORY VERSE: Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.Psalm 51:5

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 37-40

What we reap was planted either naturally or purposely either by God or by man for either positive or negative results. We reap the good others have sown. We reap blessings because of what God has done on our behalf. One of the blessings we reap is that of common grace. God is gracious towards all men whether they realize it or not, or whether they give Him thanks for His blessings. Another blessing we reap as a result of what God has done on our behalf is that of salvation grace. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Regardless of man’s lack of thankfulness, God has given man the greatest gift of all in His Son who became man that we might have live by faith in Him.

We reap blessings of what others have done on our behalf. It was some missionaries who labored to bring Christianity to Africa and other parts of the world, and we are reaping blessings from their labour of love. Any honest study of Western civilization will admit that the blessings being enjoyed in the Western world today, of freedom, of law, of ministering to the suffering, the poor and the like, are all the by-products of Christianity and their godly heritage. Take for instance USA. It rests upon four cornerstones: the English Bible, the English language, the common law, and the traditional liberty. But, liberty, language, and the law were drawn from the Bible. Without the Bible, USA will not have become what she is today and when she loses its guidance and wisdom, she will be USA no more. Being a good Christian model is a form of sowing that can result in reaping Christ like changes in the lives of others.

Just as we reap the good others have sown, we also reap the wrong others have sown both before us and around us. Firstly, we reap from some of the wrong things our parents have done.Numbers14:18 says, “The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.” We may not want to hear this but it is the truth , just as our children and the next generation will reap from the good we are sowing, they will also reap the wrong we are sowing today. Secondly, we all reap from the sin of Adam and we pass that along to our children. This means not only a sinful nature, but things children can learn like how to be critical from a fault-finding parent. Psalm 51:5 says, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” Thirdly, we reap of the wrong of foolish and corrupt leaders and the consequences of a decaying society. Just as our children and the next generation will reap from the good our fore fathers have done, unfortunately they will also reap from the wrong our fore fathers have done have done. Just as our children and the next generation will reap a lot of good things from the good education we are giving to them now, sadly, they will reap a lot of not-so-good things from our unfaithfulness to God and to ourselves, destruction of natural resources, etc.

NOTE: Our children and the people around us will reap from our relationship with the Lord. Just as we reap from the good things others have done, we also reap from the bad things they have done. People will reap from the good we are doing today, and the bad things we are doing. As such, we must do good and run from everything that God hates.

PRAYER POINTS: Father, please have mercy.

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SOWING AND REAPING: WE REAP ONLY WHAT HAS BEEN SOWN I

MEMORY VERSE: Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.Psalm 51:5

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Luke 9-10

Except something is sowed, there will be nothing to reap. What we reap was either planted naturally or purposely, either by God or by man, and either for positive or for negative results. Firstly, we reap fruits from the labours of others. John 4:38 says, “I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.” We reap blessings from the seeds others have sown. For instance, the seed of the blessings of Abraham we are reaping today was sown over 4000 years ago (Genesis 22). Verse 16-18 says, “And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

Several years back, in late 1800s a Scottish missionary, a young woman, sowed a powerful seed in Calabar area of Nigeria, West Africa. Prior to her arrival in Calabar, Natives considered the birth of twins an evil curse. They feared that the father of one of the infants was an evil spirit, and that the mother had been guilty of a great sin. Unable to determine which twin was fathered by the evil spirit, the natives often abandoned both babies in the forest. It was known as the ‘twin murder superstition of the Dark Continent’. A lot of young twins were killed during this period. Whilst working in Calabar, someone brought a twin which had been left for dead in the forest to this lady missionary. She took the child into her home as her own. This marked the beginning of a marvelous career of twin-rescuing which finally resulted in the natives abandoning the practice entirely. Today, many families are reaping from the seed she sowed over 100 years ago. A lot of twins born in that part of Nigeria have now become doctors, surgeons, lawyers, etc. The young woman’s name is Mary Slessor. This brings us to this soul searching question, 'what are you sowing today that the next generation can benefit from' ?

We reap blessing because of what God has done on our behalf. One of the blessings we reap from what God did on our behalf is that of common grace. Matthew 5:45 says, “that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” The Lord is good to all (believers and unbelievers) and everyone benefits from His goodness even atheists. Every good gift we enjoy comes from God. 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.” Had He not given them to us, we would not have been in receipt of them. John 3:27 says, “John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.”

QUESTION: What are you sowing into you spiritual life? How is your quiet time with the Lord? Do you still read the bible? What do you want to be remembered for when the Lord calls you home? What are you sowing today that your children can reap from?

PRAYER POINTS: Father, please make me a world changer for Jesus.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.