THE PROMISE IS FOR ALL

MEMORY VERSE: For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Acts 2:39

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Proverbs 8-9

READ: Acts 2:38-39

There are many Christians who do not believe in tongues. Someone, not from the Pentecostal circle, once told me that the gifts of the Holy Spirit especially ' tongues' have been done away with. He assured me strongly that gift of tongues is not for this dispensation and he backed it up with a bible verse. 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, “Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” Do you know people mis-quote and mis- apply the scripture? Some years back, a colleague at work sat me down and began to lecture me on God’s will on marriage. Since i am always willing to learn i gave him my rapt attention. “Do you know that Christians must only marry from their tribes”, he said. Yoruba Christians (Christians from Yoruba tribe in Nigeria) must only marry Yoruba Christians; Zulu Christians (Christians from Zulu tribe in South Africa) must only marry Zulu Christians; Oromo Christians (Christians from Oromo tribe in Somalia) must only marry Oromo Christians; Bihar Christians (Christians from a Bihar tribe in India) must only marry Bihar Christians. “Oh great theologian and prophet, where did you get this heresy from?” i asked. He said the bible says, “to your tent oh Israel” (1 Kings 12:16). In other words, if you want to marry go to your tent i.e. your tribe. This is a wrong application of the scriptures. The only thing the bible says is Christians must only marry Christians. It does not matter where the fellow comes from, as far as he or she is a Christian you can marry them- provided you are led by the Spirit of God.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit especially tongues have not been done away it. It is still relevant in this dispensation. Acts 2:39 says, “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” What promise is that? The gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 says, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Peter was referring to the infilling of the Holy Spirit which is also known as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. At new birth, the believer receives a measure of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-8, Romans 8:16). But there is also a work of the Holy Spirit that God desires to perform in the life of every believer subsequent or following the new-birth experience, and that is called the infilling of the Holy Spirit or the baptism in the Holy Spirit ( Luke 24:49 , Acts 1:8). You say, “yes I believe in the infilling of the Holy Spirit but i don't believe in tongues”? Acts 2:4 says, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Speaking in tongues is an evidence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit. According to Acts 10:45-46, speaking in tongues goes hand in hand with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

NOTE: Since the day God gave the gift of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, He never took back that gift.

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

THE NEED FOR VISION

MEMORY VERSE: Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 10-12

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” The reason why some do terrible things is because they have no vision. Why will a (single young) woman send her naked pictures to a man in the name of love? First of all, she needs Jesus in her life. Secondly, she lacks vision. What if the relationship turns sour and the man dumps her for another woman? Or, what if she becomes a respectable woman in the society and the man starts blackmailing her with the pictures? Why will a man tattoo a woman’s name on his body all in the name of love? Firstly, God categorically speaks against tattoos and body piercing (Leviticus19:28). I am always in shock when i see so-called prophet and prophetess flaunting their tattoos and body arts. That aside, what if the lady dumps him for another man? I think it is high time we intensify our prayers for the youths because some of them do things without thinking. Why on God’s green earth will a lady lend her school fees – money her parents suffered to get - to another man because she is in a relationship with him? Apart from the fact that she is a wicked child, she is unserious. A brother once said, “i will die if i don’t marry that girl.” Brother, you are unserious! You are naive. Why end your precious life because someone does not want to be with you? I see you don’t study your bible regularly and you don’t have a vision. That’s why you are coming up with such jargons!

When i see young boys joining gangs and the occult, i know they don’t have vision. When i see people hopping from one party to another, i wonder if they have vision. Or, when i see people going from one relationship to another, i know they don’t know what they want. As a sister, you don’t have to give your contact details to every man who asks for it. As a brother, you don’t have to give your time to everyone who demands for it. Time is one resource you don’t have much of so don’t squander it in the name of being humble. When i hear of couples who fight daily, i know they don’t have vision. Or when i meet couples who have different visions ( the husband is going towards the north and the wife is heading southwards), i know they won’t go far because they have not married their vision. The bible says, “Can two walk together, except they be agree?” (Amos 3:3).

A lot of us put effort into our appearance which is good. We buy expensive suits, shoes, bags, perfumes, etc, which are not bad if you have the means but we don’t invest in our mind. You may dress nice but without a good character you are going nowhere. Expensive perfume cannot make up for bad character. When i see young men running after women because of their looks, i feel sorry for them because they don’t know what they are doing. Don’t marry a lady because of how she looks today or because of her figure. That beauty and figure you are looking at will fade away, either when she gives birth or when she grows old. A man or woman with vision marries for the future. That brother or sister may be able to bear burdens with you today, but will they be able to bear burdens with you in the next 30 years?

QUESTION: What is your vision for marriage? What is your vision for your life? What informs your decisions?

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

AND THE LORD OPENED THE EYES OF THE YOUNG MAN

MEMORY VERSE: And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Philippians 1-2

It is one thing to have a pair of eyes; it is another thing to be able to see. A fellow who had eyes but could not see was Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52). He met the Jesus one day and his story changed. As you read this devotional today, in the name that is above every other name your story will change, Amen. It is one thing to be able to see; it is another thing to be able to 'really' see. An example of a brother who could see but could not really see was the servant of Elisha. In 2 Kings 6:11-17, the king of Syria sent a great host to arrest Elisha, the man of God. When the servant of Elisha saw them, he ran back home - shaking like a jelly fish. He was confused when he told his master about the great host that were on their way to arrest them, and the master began to smile. Elisha told the young man, “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them”. What informed Elisha's calmness? He saw beyond the physical world into the spiritual world. He saw the host of heaven all round them. 2 Kings 6:17 says, “And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”

When God opens a man’s eyes and he begins to really see, his confession will change. Whilst others are shaking, he will be calm and collected. When God opens your eyes and you begin to really see, your high blood pressure will come down because you will worry less. Such a man will see that the secret behind his success is not hard work but Jesus. Such a woman will see that the secret behind her happy home is Christ not her ability to cook delicious meals. When the Lord opens a man’s eyes, although there are problems all round, he will see Jesus sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. King Uzziah had just died and there was a black cloud over the nation. In the midst of this national mourning, the Lord opened the eyes of Isaiah and He saw Jesus sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up (Isaiah 6:1). Another thing that happens when the Lord opens a man’s eyes is that he will see how mighty God is and how insignificant he is and becomes humble. In Isaiah’s vision, Isaiah 6, he saw God and he saw himself. He contrasted himself with the majesty of God and became aware of his insignificance. The man who had been saying "woe to this, woe to that", started saying “woe is me! For am undone.” I used to think that going to church regularly on Sundays and having a christian name was enough to get me into heaven until God gave me a dream. I saw myself, in the dream, waiting behind a big door that leads to God’s judgement throne. Just before the door opened, my life was played back to me. From what i saw, i didn't need anyone to tell me where i was heading to. Thank God for mercy.

ACTION: Ask the Lord to open your eyes so that you can really see yourself and make amendments where necessary.

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

WHAT A MAN DOES NOT VALUE, HE CAN’T HAVE

MEMORY VERSE: And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 2 Kings 2:9

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Proverbs 5-6

It is one thing for a thing to be available for grabs; it is another thing for that thing to be grabbed. It is one thing for a pastor or bishop to have the gift of working of miracles and the gift of healing; it is another thing for the people who come in contact with him or her to receive miracles or divine healing. It is one thing to have a good mentor around; it is another thing to benefit from mentoring. It is one thing for a brother to obtain favor from the Lord i.e. find a wife – help meet for him; it is another thing for that brother to enjoy all the help God has ordained for him to enjoy in his wife. Unfortunately, many of our brothers still think their mothers are the help meet for them. No! The help-meet for a man is not his parents, neither are his siblings. The help-meet for a man is not his best friend, neither are his work colleagues. The help-meet for a man in ministry is not the prayer warriors or his prayer partners. The only ordained help-meet for a man is his wife. Others are secondary helpers. Many of our brothers prefer to share the challenges they are facing at work and in ministry with fellow brothers or their parents not their wives - the help meet for them. That is not how God ordained marriage. Asides this, there is no one who wants you to succeed in ministry and in life like your wife. Whether you believe it or not, she is your number one fan. She is your number one supporter. The person who will feel it the most if you fail (God forbid) is your wife. That’s why she is the only one who can really intercede for you. You need to value and love her, so as to be able to tap into the resources God has deposited in her life for you.

Also, it is one thing for a sister to have a god-fearing, caring, loving, spirit-filled, focused, bible believing, wise husband; it is another thing for that sister to enjoy all the resources that God has put in the brother for her spiritual growth and nurturing. If you (as a sister) do not value your husband and instead of submitting to him as your head, you disrespect him and don’t honour him, you will not benefit from the grace of God upon his life. So also if you don’t value a genuine man or woman of God, you may mistreat them and inherit a curse or miss out on a blessing you would have received if you had respected them. People do everything to keep what they value. If you value your wife, you won’t wait for her hair to look unkempt before you give her money to make a new one. If you value her, you will take care of her soul and body. You will feed her with the Word to grow her spirit. So also a wife who values her husband will celebrate him in front of her friends not put him down or belittle him. A man will always commit his resources into what he values. Resources include time, energy, strength, money,etc. A brother who valued his prophet was Elisha. This brother served his master very well. The bible records that he poured water on the hands of Elijah (2 Kings 3:11). When Elijah was about to be taken away, he gave this young man a blank cheque. 2 Kings 2:9 says, “And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” Because Elisha valued his master , he received the double portion of anointing on Elijah.

QUESTION: Do you value the gifts of the Holy Spirit in your life? When was the last time you thanked Him for the ability to pray in tongues?

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

FORMED BY GOD

MEMORY VERSE: And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Philippians 1-2

Everything God created, He did by calling them into existence. Genesis 1:3 says, “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Genesis 1:20 says, “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.” He called everything (the skies, trees, plants, fishes, rivers, waterfalls, oceans, animals, etc,) into existence. When He wanted to create man He settled down, got some clay, mixed it with water, and formed man with it. Genesis 2:7 says, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” God formed everyone one of us. He told Jeremiah “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). No wonder the Psalmist says, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” (Psalm 139:14).

The man whom God formed, in Genesis 2:7, was a perfect man. God did not only form his frame i.e. his physical body, He formed his mind, his character, his intellect, etc. This man was all-round perfect. He was the perfect husband, perfect friend, perfect dad, etc. He was holy, pure, and godly, just name it. After the Lord had formed him, he started to operate as god on earth. He had dominion over everything God had created. He operated in his full potential. To operate at the level this man was operating before sin entered into his life, we must submit to God, the Holy Spirit, so that He can re-form us. We need to be reformed because some part of us have been formed by our experiences, pasts, experiences, association, etc. There are brothers who have sworn never to trust any woman again because of what a lady did to them before they gave their lives to Christ or because of a story they heard. Because these brothers won't trust their wives, they are unable to enjoy the good things the Lord had deposited in their wives for them. Also, there are women who belief all men are the same because of their past experiences or stories they have heard. Some are very bitter, as we speak, and they resent certain people because of their experiences with these people in the past. A lot of us were formed by our environment. A lot never used to womanize until they travelled abroad. Sodom formed the daughters of Lot. These girls hatched a terrible plan to make babies by sleeping with their father. Some were formed by their association. Proverbs 13:20says, “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”

NOTE: The clay was absolutely surrendered in the hands of the Lord before He made man with it. We must be absolutely surrendered in the hands of God before He can re-form us and make a man out of us.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please give me a teachable spirit.

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

WHO IS A WISE WOMAN 2 ?

MEMORY VERSE: Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. John 15:16

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 13-18

Who is a wise person? A wise person is someone who wins souls for Christ. Proverbs 11:30 says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.” A wise woman is a woman who wins souls for Christ. Whenever we talk about soul winning many think it is for brothers only. My dear sister in the Lord, the work of evangelism is for everyone – brothers and sisters. Christ categorically said that whoever is not winning souls with Him is working against Him. Luke 11:23 says, “He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.” We are either gathering with Christ or scattering what He is trying to gather. Many of us find it easy to invite our friends to our birthday parties, marriage ceremonies, wedding anniversaries, etc, but we find it hard to invite our friends to church. A wise person not only wins souls for Christ, they also do follow up. John 15:16 says, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” A wise woman bears fruits for Christ. After winning souls for Christ, we must ensure that those we have won for Christ remain in Christ – our fruit must remain. Have you checked on that brother who was not in church last Sunday? How about that sister who has been missing for two weeks? How about that family that has stopped coming to church, have you gone to look for them?

Who is a wise person? A wise person is a builder not a destroyer. A wise woman builds her house. Proverbs 14:1 says, “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.” The house being referred to here is her household – her husband, children and other members of the family. A wise woman acknowledges the fact that her husband comes before the kids. One of the ways a wise woman builds her house is by laboring in the place of prayer for them. There is nothing wrong in working to bring home some income as a woman, but this should not be an excuse for not praying. Wise women don't compete with their husbands. They support their husband's vision and stand by him. A wise man also appreciates a praying wife. Asides praying for her household, she trains her children to respect and honour their dad. A wise woman does not report her husband to her children. A wise woman works with her husband not against her husband. She knows that if her husband succeeds, then she too has succeeded. There is a popular saying: ‘Behind every successful man, there is a strong, wise and hardworking woman’. A wise woman pays attention to the diet of her family. Sugar kills !

QUESTION: When was the last time you prayed for your husband?

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

WHO IS A WISE WOMAN?

MEMORY VERSE: Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands. Proverbs 14:1

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 13-18

Proverbs 14:1 says, “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.” Who is a wise person? A wise person is someone who fears the Lord. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” What does it mean to fear the Lord? Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” A God-fearing sister will not sleep with a man she is not married to. The bible clearly states that fornication and adultery are sins. 1 Corinthians 6:18 says, “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.” If you are having sex and you are not married, you are not God-fearing. Even if you are in courtship, you must not sleep with each other. It does not matter whether you can speak in tongues or not, if you are married and you are sleeping with a woman who is not your wife, you are not God-fearing. A wise woman is a woman who is at first 'God-fearing'. A wise woman will encourage her husband to have nothing to do with bribes.

Who is a wise person? A wise person is someone who properly applies his or her knowledge. A wise woman is a woman who properly and practically applies what she knows, especially things written in the Holy Scripture. A wise woman recognizes these two things: a man is not superior to a woman and God expects the man and the woman to play certain roles in marriage. The role of the man is to lead as the head of the family and the role of the wife is to submit to the head. Ephesians 5:22 says, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” As a woman, even if you are more educated than your husband, earn more salary than your husband, or older than your husband, you are to submit to your husband as unto the Lord. There are a lot of women who submit to the pastor but not their husband. Those women, according to the Ephesians 5:22, cannot be regarded as wise women. There are some sisters whose husbands are afraid of; i want you to know that those sisters are not God-fearing at all. If your husband is afraid of you that means you have not submitted to him. There are some sisters who the husband cannot correct talk less of rebuke, they are not wise at all. They are not also God-fearing. It does not matter what post a woman is holding in the church, if she is not submitting to her husband she is not God-fearing. As a man of God, it is important that you get permission from a woman’s husband before ordaining her into positions. That is her head - the man who God has put her under. If the man says no – it does not matter how spirit filled the woman is- please don’t put her into any position.

NOTE: A woman who is not ready to submit to her husband will not submit to church authority. We should not even permit a sister who is not ready to submit to her husband or a sister that is rude to her parents to lead us in praise and worship.

QUESTION: Are you a wise woman?

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world