AS YOU ARE

MEMORY VERSE: With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. Psalm 18:25-27

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Acts 9-10

There are certain basic things you need to know about God. One of them is He is love. 1 John 4:8 says, “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” He is so loved the world that He gave Jesus, His only begotten Son, to us. 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.” Jesus, Himself, said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)”. God is love. Another one is He is full of mercy. Psalm 103:11 says, “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.” According to Psalm 145:8, “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” Thank God for His mercies. Lamentations 3:22 says, “It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.” I don’t need to tell you that He is kind. Another thing you need to know – in case you don’t know – is that God is never late. How can the One who owns time and controls seasons be late (Daniel 2:21)? One important thing you need to know about God is that is He is holy. In heaven, the angels are always singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of the Heavenly Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!” Because He is Holy, He wants everyone associated with Him to also be holy. 1 Peter 1:16 says, “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

God is not a respecter of persons. Romans 2:11 says, “For there is no respect of persons with God.” He is a respecter of principles not a respecter of persons. As such, He deals with people individually. Revelations 3:20 says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” Jesus addresses Himself to individuals not multitude. He said, if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. He didn’t say if any group hear my voice. The Psalmist says, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life ( Psalm 23:6), not goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives. Jesus addresses Himself to individuals. Not only that, He deals with people as they are not as they claim to be. According to 1 Samuel 16:7, He sees the heart and He knows who people really are. Psalm 18:25-27 says, “With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.” This is why He is always blessing those billionaires who spend a lot on charity. Although, most of them are not believers, because they are generous to the poor, the Lord is generous to them. And to those who are wicked to the poor, especially dictators and tyrants, He deals with them the way they are. The good news is you can change the way He deals with you. If only you will become more kind, He will be kind to you. If only you become more patient with people, He will become more patient with you. 

NOTE: Matthew 6:15 says, “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” If you are not willing to forgive those who have offended you, the Lord is also not willing to forgive you. Actually, don’t bother to ask Him for forgiveness if you have not forgiven those who have offended you. If God does not forgive you, how do you expect Him to grant your petitions? It is impossible. Why not forgive today, and let Him forgive you and grant your petitions

twitter@BroOluwatoki 

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

DON’T LEAVE YOUR DUTY POST

MEMORY VERSE: In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. Psalm 18:6

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Hebrew 11-13

Someone once asked, “why is it that only believers face challenges; unbelievers don’t.” This is a lie from the pit of hell. Challenges are part and parcel of life. Everyone (believers and unbelievers) go through difficult times. The only advantage believers have is they have Jesus in their boat (life). And, as far as you have Jesus in your boat, storms may arise but you will never sink. Psalm 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” The fact that you are serving the Lord faithfully and living a holy life does not mean you will not face challenges either. Let’s look at God’s testimony of the Zechariah’s. Luke 1:6 says, “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” Despite the fact that they were both righteous before God, walking in all the ordinances of the Lord blameless, verse 7 says “And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.” So your service or labour of love does not exempt you from challenges. However, those challenges shall turn to you for a testimony (Luke 21:13).  

When storms of life arises, how you respond matters. Many of us respond by blaming God. We accuse him as if He is responsible for what we are going through. We complain and murmur and some of us even stop attending church. The truth of the matter is this, staying away from church will not still the storm in any way. Also, alcohol is not the solution either. You can drink from today till tomorrow, that will not solve the problem. Backsliding only compounds the issue. It is better to remain in the presence of God than to head back to Egypt (enemy camp). The time to serve God like never before is when you face challenges. The time to cry to God like never before is when the storm of life arises. Psalm 18:3 says, “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.” The time of challenges is not a time to murmur or cry. When you cry, your emotions get the better part of you and you are not able to think clearly. At times, God may even be speaking to you but you will not hear because you are all over the place. 

The Psalmist says: “In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears (Psalm 18:6)”.  David cried to God in the temple, during his challenges, and the Lord heard his voice. This is why you must never stay away from church for any reason when you are going through challenges. The bible records that Hannah prayed in the temple and the Lord heard her in the temple (1 Samuel 1:9-15). In Luke 1:8-11, God visited Zechariah whilst at his duty post in church and told him that he was going to have a child. The old man could have stopped serving God but He didn’t. He kept on serving in the vineyard of God and the Lord met him whilst he was serving. Friend, have you stopped serving in the vineyard of God because of a thing or two? Have you stopped serving because of your current situation? Have you stopped serving because nothing seems to be happening in your life? For several years nothing seemed to happen in Zechariah’s life but he remained in church and continued serving. One day God visited his church, checked at his department and found him. If you have stopped going to church, you better return so that when God visits He will find you. If you have left your post to chase money you better return so that in the day of God’s visitation you will not be missing.

COUNSEL: Return to your duty post because God may visit at any time. 

twitter@BroOluwatoki 

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

“FOR A TIME SUCH AS THIS”

MEMORY VERSE: Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Esther 4:13-14 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Nahum

Haman, a wicked man with an evil heart, wanted Mordecai dead because he refused to bow to him (Esther 3). What did he do? He hatched a plan to exterminate all the Jews in the land. He went to King Ahasuerus, told him that the Jews were working against him and asked for permission to conduct an ethnic cleansing. He even volunteered to personally foot the bill. Which king wouldn’t want to see the end of those working against him? None. So, the king gave him his blessings ; Haman spoke with the law makers and they passed a bill that says all the Jews must be exterminated on a certain date. Mordecai heard this news and passed it on to Queen Esther, his adopted daughter. At first, Esther began to give excuses but the tough old man said to her “Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

There several lessons we can learn from the old man’s response. Firstly, “whatever” position you find yourself in life you are there for a reason. Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy Jewish man who secretly followed Jesus, was a member of the Sanhedrin for a reason. God deliberately put him in the Sanhedrin– a position that gave him access to Herod - so that He would use his contact, connection and position to collect the body of Jesus Christ from Herod after His crucifixion (Mark 15:42-64). That young slave girl was in the house of Naaman, waiting on Naaman’s wife, for a reason (2 Kings 5:1-19). God deliberately had her there so as to use her to bring healing to Naaman, one of the high ranking officers in the Syrian army, which will in turn mend the relationship between the Syrians and the Israelites- God wanted to use an Israelite prophet to heal a top brass in the Syrian army. Sadly, Gehazi’s conduct hindered it as he took money from Naaman for his healing. 

Secondly, “whatever” position you find yourself as a child of God, you are there for a "particular time". This translates that you will not be there forever. Also, you are there for a particular purpose. As such, “whatever” position you find yourself as a child of God, you must behave yourself in a way that will not jeopardize the fulfillment of your purpose there. Thank God that young slave girl behaved well whilst waiting on Naaman’s wife. Had it been she was a lazy girl or a thief, Naaman’s wife would not have listened when she spoke to her about the prophet in Israel. Thank God Joseph of Arimathea was a responsible man. Had it been he was irresponsible, Herod would not have granted him audience talkless of release the body of Christ, a treasure of inestimable value, to him. We thank the Lord for the life of Queen Esther. She was a humble woman who never took the king for granted. Had it been that she behaved like her predecessor Vashti, she would not have been able to save her people. Please note that all we have been talking about only applies to children of God. As a child of God, if you find yourself in a position you don’t like i want you to know that your Father in heaven knows about it, and He will work things for your own good (Romans 8:28). However, if you are yet to give your life to Christ or you are living in sin and you find yourself in a situation you don’t like, it could be the devil punishing you for fun since you are in his camp. Today, you can change camp by confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9).

QUESTION: How are you behaving in that position God has put you? Are you behaving in a way that will jeopardize the fulfillment of God's purpose for having you there? 

twitter@BroOluwatoki 

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

THE PRINCIPAL THING

MEMORY VERSE: They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. Matthew 22:21

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Proverbs 31

Proverbs 4:7 says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” The word “principal” means first in order of importance; main. There are a lot of important things. One of them is knowledge. They have a saying in the secular world “Knowledge is power “. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” To destroy means to damage or to ruin. Hosea 4:6a says, “My people are destroyed (ruined,damaged) for lack of knowledge". This should give you an idea of how important knowledge is. Yet, the bible says wisdom is the principal thing. Another important thing is vision. The elders have a saying, “In the country of the blind, the one eyed man is their king.” In other words, it is better to have little vision than no vision at all because a man with little vision will rule over a nation of blind people. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” To perish means to die, especially in a violent way or sudden way. This definition summarises the importance of vision. Yet, the bible says wisdom is the principal thing.

There are several reasons why wisdom is the principal thing. For instance, you need wisdom to make difficult decisions. Two women, who had just put to bed, brought a very difficult case to King Solomon (1 Kings 3:16-28). While they slept, one of them rolled over her baby and the baby died. She picked the other woman's living baby and claimed it was hers. Mind you, at that time there was nothing like DNA test. Solomon ordered a soldier to divide the baby into two. The real mother begged the king to give the baby to the other woman because she didn't want the soldier to kill him.  The fake mother, on the other hand,  wanted the child to be cut into two at all cost. Solomon automatically knew who the real mother was and gave the baby to her. You need wisdom to avoid the traps of the enemy. In Matthew 22:17-22, some Herodians asked Jesus, "is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" They asked this question to trap Him. If He said it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, the Pharisees would accuse him of being against the Jews. If He said it was unlawful to pay taxes to Caesar, they would accuse Him of being against  Caesar and report Him. He deployed wisdom; He requested for a coin and asked whose inscription was on the coin. Matthew 22:21 says, “They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.” Also, you need wisdom to get out of tight corners. The Pharisees brought a woman caught in the adultery to Jesus and said the Law of Moses commanded us to stone such women to death but what do you say (John 8:1-10). If He told them to stone her, He will be working against Himself because He came to save sinners. If He told them not to stone her, they would accuse Him of going against the Laws of Moses. He said to them, “he that is without sin let him cast the first stone”. On hearing this, they all left quietly. The real reason why wisdom is the principal thing is this: you need the wisdom of God to make heaven. Jesus is the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:24 says, “But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” Jesus is the way to the Father (John 14:6).

PRAYER POINT: Father, please fill me with your wisdom. 

twitter@BroOluwatoki 

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

WHO YOU KNOW MATTERS

MEMORY VERSE: And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. Daniel 11:32

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 120-121

BIBLE READING: Mark 5:25-34

In the secular world, it is not what you know but who you know. For instance, if there is a request for tender (a formal, structured invitation to suppliers, to bid, to supply products or services) in an organization, and you happen to know one high ranking officer in that organization, you could end up being awarded the contract. Or, if there is a job vacancy in an organization and you happen to know someone who knows the chairman of that organization, you can be rest assured that you will automatically get an interview; if you perform well you will get the job. I have heard many say the concept of 'it is not what you know but who you know' only happens in poor countries;it is a lie. It happens everywhere even in the so-called advanced nations. Hence the need to always pray for divine connection. If you know the right people – men of timber and caliber – and you are humble, the sky is your limit. The Lord will use them to help you.

When it comes to spiritual matters, who you know matters. Daniel 11:32 says, “And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” It is possible to have a PhD and still be jobless. There are instances of people with ordinary ‘O’ level result employing PhD holders. It is possible to be a medical doctor and be barren. It is possible to be a General Practitioner (GP) and still fall sick. So it is not what you know, but who you know. I don’t think the woman with the issue of blood was a novice when it comes to general health and wellbeing. She had spoken to several top physicians and she had lived with that condition for over twelve years so she must know a lot about her condition and other issues relating to health. Even the so-called doctors who knew a lot about blood hemorrhage could not help her. Thank God she met Jesus Christ. She made contact with Him by touching Him and her condition of twelve years was healed.

Not only was the woman with the issue of blood sick, she was poor. Mark 5:26 says, “And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse.” This woman was poor not because she was wasteful or because she didn't have financial intelligence. She was poor because she was too weak to work and she had spent all her savings trying to get a cure for her sickness. After Jesus made her whole, she was able to seek employment or start a business and tithe and enjoy expansion. Asides from the fact that she was sick and poor, she was also lonely. She neither had a husband nor a child. She was lonely for several reasons. Firstly, she had a flow of blood which rendered her unclean and as far as a woman is unclean, no one especially men will come near her. Even if a man came near her, she couldn’t conceive because she kept on bleeding. However, one day she heard about Jesus and came to Him. After He made her whole, loneliness became a thing of the past in her life. She could now marry and have children. Who you know matters. The word of the Lord says Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). If you know Christ, you are assured of a great tomorrow. How does one know Christ? Accept Him as your personal Lord and Savior. Spend quality time at His feet studying and meditating on scriptures. Also spend time praying and fasting. The more time you spend with Him in the closet, the more revelation He will give to you. Revelation will set you apart in this generation.

QUESTION: Do you know God? If you know God, do you things that He loves?

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

EXPECT A CHANGE OF NAME

MEMORY VERSE: Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. Isaiah 62:4

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicles 21-24

Names are very important. They are so important, the word of God says if you are asked to pick between a good name and great riches; pick a good name. Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” Why are names so important? Your name can either make your or break you. Bro Jabez – whose name means pain – suffered from pain all his life until he cried unto the Lord (2 Chronicles 4:9-10). His life, from the day he was born, was synonymous with pain. On the other hand, Solomon also known as Jedidah (Beloved of the Most High) enjoyed God’s attention and love all through his life. When he asked God for one thing, the Lord game him two. He asked for wisdom, the Lord gave him wisdom and great riches. Just by changing your name, your lot in life can change. Not until God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, and Sarai’s name to Sarah, the promise of a child did not materialze. What you call yourself matters. This is why you must never call yourself a failure because you failed one exam. Thomas Edison failed several times before he invented a light bulb.If names were not important, the Lord would not have bothered to give Jesus a name.

We live in a world where people prefer to address one by his challenges not name. Everyone knew Elizabeth’s name yet they called her “barren” because she had no child. Luke 1:36 says, “And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.” Everyone knew Bartimaeus’ name. His name was Bartimaeus Timaeus, yet people referred to him as blind Bartimaeus. Jesus healed him over 2000 years ago, yet, many of us still refer to him as blind Bartimaeus. Whilst we were in high school, there was one of our classmates who was nicked name “Egbon Jebete” because he was very short.(Mind you he didn't like the name ). Although he was very short, he was very tough. Most of the junior students who were taller than him could not bully him. Several years after we graduated from high school, he came to the UK and we decided to meet up. When I saw him, he had changed. We were almost the same height. I could not call him by his nickname anymore because he had grown so tall. He is now taller than most of those who referred to him as Egbon Jebete back in high school. Isaiah 62:4 says, “Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.” I don’t know what name people are calling you but the Most High God will change your situation, and people who used to call you funny names will no longer be able to do so. God turned my short friend's -now very tall - life around so much that we don't even remember "the" nick name. Expect a new name because in this season God will grant your petition and those who have been calling you barren will now be forced to call you a mother. In this season, God will work wonders in your life and those who have been regarding you as Ms 'so and so' will begin to refer to you as Mrs. 'so and so'. In this season, God will change your name from a borrower to a lender.

PRAYER POINT: Father, remember me oh Lord.

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

BUT BY MY SPIRIT

MEMORY VERSE: David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. 1 Samuel 17:37

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 1-3

BIBLE READING: Judges 14:5-6

Zechariah 4:6 says, “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” There are several facts we can draw from this popular text. Firstly, with human strength - synonym for might - you are limited. For instance, no matter how strong you are, you will experience tiredness from time to time especially after a hard day’s work. Even the youths (symbol of strength) grow tired and become weary (Isaiah 40:30). You will accomplish very little with your human strength. Hence, the word of God says: “Not by might”. When it comes to dealing with the issues of life and challenges, human strength will avail you nothing. 1 Samuel 2:9 says, “He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.” Secondly, with human will /influence /talent /skill -synonyms for power- you are limited. The centurion whom Jesus healed his servant had power /authority /influence /connection but could not heal his servant (Luke 7:1-10). That centurion, despite all he had, was limited. You will accomplish very little with your human power. If you don’t believe me, speak to people who make New Year resolutions at the beginning of each year. With all their power (physical, mental and emotional), five weeks into the New Year they would have broken their New Year resolutions. Might i add to it, you will accomplish very little with your boldness. The enemy is not intimidated by your boldness. It is only by the Spirit of the Lord that you will emerge as a victor! It is only by the Spirit of the Lord that you will start a project and complete it.

You will only defeat Goliath by the Spirit of the Lord not by swords or Saul’s armour. 1 Samuel 17:37 says, “David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.” David couldn’t have killed the lion and the bear by his power or might. An average adult lion weighs 190kg. The average height of a fully grown lion is 4ft tall and 6ft long. How can a boy, under the age of 16, kill a lion? The average weight of a fully grown bear is 365kg; average length is 7ft long. David stood no chance with a bear talk-less of a 9ft giant. But by the spirit of God, he defeated the lion, the bear and Goliath. Samson couldn’t have killed the lion by his strength. Judges 14:6 says, “And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.” Without the Spirit of the Lord, you cannot defeat Goliath. (A goliath is simply anything that is standing between you and God’s plan for your life). Only the Spirit of the Lord can help you defeat that fellow who is standing between you and your promotion at your place of work. Without the Spirit of the Lord, you cannot destroy those lions that are harassing you and roaring at you. Your human strength has yielded no results, why not try Jesus. He saves – not only from sin but - from everything!

NOTE: Human power may fail but Jesus never fails.

PRAYER POINT: Father, deal with every lion harassing me in Jesus name.

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world