MAKE THE TREE GOOD

MEMORY VERSE: Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. 1 Corinthians 15:33

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Acts 11-12

Jesus said, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit” (Matthew 12:33). There are several lessons to learn from this verse. One of them is you know a tree by its fruit not by its leaves or appearance. You know a man (tree) by his works (fruits) not by his words. Actions, they say, speak louder than words. Another lesson we can learn from this verse is that "the tree" has the potential to be good. Unfortunately, it also has the potential to be bad. No wonder Christ says “either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt.” Every man has the potential to misbehave. Every man has the potential to be proud. Every man has the potential to be rebellious. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” However, every man also has the potential to behave well. Every man has the potential to be humble. Every man has the potential to be law abiding. Proverbs 23:26 says, “My Son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe me ways.” If you give your life to Christ, He will come into your heart and dwell there. He will take away the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh and you become a totally different person (2 Corinthians 5:17). The moment Christ comes into a man’s heart and becomes his personal Lord and Savior, the man realizes his potential to be good. There was a sister who used to argue and fight with her husband all the time. One day she gave her life to Christ and everything change. She changed so much that the husband followed her to church and also gave his life to Christ.

Another lesson we can learn from this verse is that a bad tree can be made into a good tree. Sadly, a good tree can also be made into a bad tree. One of the ways this happens is through association. Proverbs says, “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” Association changes people. If a foolish man makes friends with wise men and learns from them, within a short period of time he will become wise too. Just as association can change people from bad to good, it can also change people from good to bad. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.” One way to bring about good fruit is sow good seeds which in turn grow into good trees that bear good fruits. Everything you listen to or watch is a seed that goes into your spirit and soul. Unfortunately, whatever goes into your spirit and soul will come out under pressure. Remember, fruits are the physical manifestation of the seeds that have been sown in your heart. If you sow seeds of faith, you will produce a tree that bears the fruit of faith. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” If you read and meditate on the scripture regularly, your faith will grow and you will begin to make confessions of faith. However, if you feast on newspapers, doctor's report on your medical condition, and other articles that causes fear and depression, fear will grow in you and you will begin to make fearful confessions. 

NOTE: Your association will determine your fruit. 

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

KNOWN BY ITS FRUITS

MEMORY VERSE: Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. Matthew 12:33

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: James 1-3

BIBLE READING: Matthew 12:33-37

Some people brought a man who was possessed with a devil to Jesus Christ (Matthew 12:22-29). The demon in the man made him blind and dumb. Jesus healed him; he regained his sight and began to speak. Everyone rejoiced with the man and praised the name of the Lord. Within a short space of time, the news of his healing traveled around the city. When the Pharisees heard it, they belittled the great work Jesus had done in the man’s life. Matthew 12:24 says, “But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.” Jesus knew what they were thinking so He said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand” (Matthew 12:25-26)? He said many other things to them to prove that He healed the man by the power of Holy Spirit. 

Today, we will look at something He said in Matthew 12:33, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.” There are several lessons we can learn from this verse. Firstly, you know a tree by its fruit. On a mango tree, you will find mangoes and on an orange tree you find oranges. You will never find an orange growing on a mango tree. A tree is known by the fruit it produces not by its leaves or branches. The tree here is the man and the fruits are his works. You know a man by his works (fruits) not by his appearance (leaves or branches). Sometimes back, four young girls between the ages of twelve and fifteen sat opposite me on a bus, and they began to talk. As they talked – and they talked so loud that everyone around them could hear them – i wept inside. They were talking about contraceptive injections -  one of them had just had it and was showing others the mark on her hand. They were talking about sex – the things they had tried - at a point i had to change my seat as these girls were raw. I couldn’t imagine these young girls, at that age,  being exposed to such. When you look at them, they looked innocent but they are not. Looks can be deceptive. You know a man by his deeds (actions) not by his confessions. Recently, one of my sisters was telling me a story about a lady who met a brother online . The brother came across as a Christian-  always talking about church, always encouraging her to read her bible and all that. Fully convinced that he was a child of God they started to court. It was then she realized that the brother wasn't a Christian brother at all. At times he will video- call her and ask her to do unthinkable things. Friend,  a man is known by his conduct not by what he claims to be. Single sisters be aware, not every brother who quotes the bible is a child of God. Remember, Satan can also quote the bible. A tree is known by its fruit not be its location. Regardless of where you plant an orange tree it will produce oranges. Also a mango tree will produce mango regardless of where it is planted. 

NOTE: The only way to identify a tree is by its fruits. 

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

IS THE WORLD STILL INSIDE OF YOU?

MEMORY VERSE: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:1-2

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Habakkuk

The first thing you do when an individual drowns in water is you get the individual out of water. If he is unconscious you resuscitate him. You do CPR and press hard on the chest several times to get him breathing again. In the process of doing this, the individual may spit out of a gob of water and then wake up. In a nutshell, to save a drowning person, you have to get the person out of water first and then get the (excess) water that may have entered into the individual’s system out. The Lord, by the hand of Moses, delivered the children of Israel out of the hands of the Egyptians. The children of Israel were taken out of Egypt but Egypt was not taken out of them. Although they were finally out of Egypt – not under the influence of the Egyptians anymore – they still reasoned like Egyptians, spoke like Egyptians, dressed like Egyptians, saw life the way an Egyptian would see life and so on and so forth. When Moses went up into the Mount to collect the Ten Commandments, they reverted back to Egyptian ways. They got Aaron to mold a golden calf with their earrings and began to worship it. The question is where did they get the idea of the molten calf from? Egypt. They learnt the art of worshiping idols in Egypt and now in the desert, far away from Egypt, they still worshiped a golden calf like the Egyptians (Exodus 32). 

The first thing the Lord does when a man gives his life to Christ is that He takes the man out of the world. Colossians 1:13 says, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” He then proceeds to take the “world” out of the man with the man’s cooperation. Romans 12:1-2 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Although we have been taken out of the world, the “world” needs to be taken out of us. For many of us, we have given our lives to Christ but our dressings and mannerisms are still very much of the world. Our brothers wear earrings which is a worldly thing. Our sisters dress bearing their cleavage, wearing transparent dresses like the women of the world. Someone once said our dressing does not matter. Really? Friend, it matters. Moses was a Hebrew man but the children of Reuel described him as an Egyptian because of the way he dressed. Exodus 2:19 says, “And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.” Many are out of the world but they still listen to worldly music and do worldly dance moves even during praise and worship. Someone said he wants to praise the Lord in “Shoki” way. (Shoki is a dance step from a worldly music that glories fornication and adultery). How can you praise God with such dance steps and expect the Lord to accept such dance offerings? We can’t praise a holy God in a worldly way. He won’t accept it. I see many young people doing Azonto dances in church; do you even know the origin of Azonto dance? You can’t do a worldly dance to a Christian music, No. My heart bleeds when i see Christian gospel artist even doing Azonto dance.

NOTE: The more of the world you have in you, the less of Christ you will have in you. 

PRAYER: Father, please purge me of every worldly appetite. 

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

“THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL”

MEMORY VERSE: Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:24

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ecclesiastes 1-2

There is a connection between ‘asking’ and ‘receiving’. The Lord Jesus said (in Matthew 7:7a), “Ask, and it shall be given you;” He went further, “For every one that asketh recieveth (Matthew 7:8a).” The reason why you don’t have could be because you have not asked. James 4:2b says, “ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.” You may not be believe it but there are people who don’t like asking questions, asking people for help, asking for direction, asking for counselling, etc. One of the reasons why they don’t ask questions or ask for direction is because they don’t want people to know that they don’ know. In other words, they don’t ask to hide their ignorance. It is deception to pretend to know something you don’t know. Anyone doing this is only fooling himself and very soon, the truth will come out. No one knows it all. Even Paul – a learned man – confessed that there were areas he didn’t know as much as he should know. No wonder he said, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Philippians 3:10). The fact that you don’t know something is nothing to be ashamed of. Another reason why many of us don’t like asking for direction, guidance, etc, is because we don’t want to disturb people. Many erroneously think it is impolite to ask for direction from strangers. Friend, it is not impolite to ask questions from people as far as you are not rude about it. Actually, a lot of people are willing to help. They don’t mind when you ask them questions. Some of them will go out their way to get you the answers you need. If you are around me and you know something i don’t know, God help you. Because I will ask you – oh yes, and you won’t go until i get my answers.  

People don’t ask for help because they don’t want anyone to take credit for helping them. What is more important, to you, getting an answer to your question or people taking credit that they helped you? All i need is answers, if people want to take credit they should go ahead. It is very common especially in lecture rooms to find students who don’t want to appear stupid so they don’t ask questions. Friend, it is better to ask a stupid question than to make a stupid mistake. Firstly, a stupid mistake costs more than a stupid question. Secondly, the embarrassment of making a stupid mistake is bigger than that of asking a stupid question. Thirdly, some stupid mistakes could leave a permanent mark on your life. Fourthly, some errors are irreversible. Once you make them, you have no other option than to live with the consequences for life. Some don’t ask questions because they don’t want people to think they doubt them. The fact that you are asking questions or challenging a report does not mean you don’t trust the person. It simply means you are seeking greater understanding. There are several advantages of asking questions for instances, the more you ask the more you know. The more you know the lesser time it will take you to make progress. Also, the more questions you ask, the fewer the mistakes you will make in life. John 16:24 says, “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” The best time to start asking is the moment you discover that your joy is not full over a matter. And, you stop only when your joy is full or when you are satisfied that God has answered you. One thing many of us do is we stop asking too early. We erroneously believe that when we ask God for a thing twice or thrice and we don’t get the answer, it means that thing is not God’s will for us. That’s not true.  

NOTE: Persistence is one of the keys to receiving answers to prayers. 

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

YOUR THOUGHT CREATES YOUR REALITY

MEMORY VERSE: For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. Job 3:25

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 122-124

Job 3:25 says, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.” There are one or two things we can learn from Job’s statement when the enemy attacked him and he lost all he had. There is a connection between your thoughts and your reality. There is a connection between your dominant thought or what you think about most of the times and what will happen in your life. If your dominant thoughts are sickly thoughts, you will fall sick. Everything was falling perfectly into place for Job, and instead of rejoicing he began to wonder when disaster would happen because life couldn’t be so good. One day disaster finally struck and he was shattered. Many of us are exactly like Job. When things are falling perfect into place in our lives instead of rejoicing we begin to wonder when something terrible will happen to us because life couldn’t be so good. When some couples have not quarreled for a month, they begin to wonder when the next quarrel would take place, who will offend who or who will say what and all that, because marriage couldn’t be so peaceful. Instead of expecting something to go wrong why not thank God for what He is doing in your life and marriage. 

There is a connection between your present situation and your mentality. If you are fearful, everything God has created will intimidate you. And, where you are supposed to occupy, you will manage there. The Lord created Gideon to be a mighty warrior. Judges 6:12 says, “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.” Yet, he was scared of his own shadow. He had the potential to deliver a whole nation, yet he was found hiding by a wine-press threshing wheat. Worst of it all, he was hiding from the same enemy he was created to deliver his people from. He had all it takes to be a great leader. Judges 6:14 says, “And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?” Yet, he was far from that. When the Lord sent him to deliver his people, he began to give all sorts of excuses. The Lord had to literally push him before he went. Gideon saw himself as a weak person and his life bore a testimony of this. 

Also, your greatest fears have way a coming to pass. You attract what you fear. How? Fear is in a thing of the heart. Luke 6:45 says, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” If you are afraid or you abhor fear in your heart, you will begin to make fearful confessions. You begin to make confessions like “i don’t think i will do well in my exams”....”i don’t think i will marry a good woman”.... “i don’t think i will ge that job”... and so on. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” The moment your fear begins to find expression in your confession you begin to call your fear into reality. Job admitted that he had been in fear about his family and had been speaking that fear for some time – out of the abundance of heart the mouth speaks – which gave Satan the opportunity to come in and steal his goods and kill his children and servants. Thank God Job later realized that Satan is energised by his words of fear. Friend, the same way God is energised by our words of faith, the enemy, Satan, is energised by our words of fear

NOTE: Your dominant thoughts will become your reality.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

LIKE A FLINT

MEMORY VERSE: For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. Isaiah 50:7

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: II Chronicles 25-28

Two things are needful if you are going to become who God created you to be: Decision and Determination. Once these two are in place, one becomes unstoppable. Why are these two very crucial to success? God abhors 'sitting on the fence'. Revelations 3:16 says, “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” As far as God is concerned, it is better for a man to be cold than to be lukewarm. Lukewarmness is a form of indecisiveness. You want to be the best you can be for Jesus? Make a decision today. Make a decision today that you will be different in this generation. Make a decision today that you will read your bible daily. Make a decision that you will fast once a week. Make a decision that you will do one personal night vigil every month. A decision to do the right thing will put you on the path to greatness but determination – a strong one- will keep you on the path. On your route to greatness, you will find a lot of road blocks, ups and downs, disappointing moments, stressful moments, etc. Without  strong determination, you may turn back. 

Isaiah 50:7 says, “For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.” Certain things happen the moment a man make up his mind to do something or achieve something, and he is determined. One of them is God backs such fellow up. Daniel made up his mind not to eat the king’s meal. He was so determined that he told the eunuch in charge that he will not touch the food offered to idols (Daniel 1:8-14). What did the Lord do? He backed Daniel and his friends up and gave them favor in the presence of the eunuch. Verse 14 says, “So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days.” In addition, things/ circumstances suddenly begins to work in your favor. Doors suddenly begin to open. Doors that have refused to open to others will begin to open to you as a result of your determination. 

In addition, fire loses his ability to consume you. The three Hebrew boys (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) decided not to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's image. When the king threatened to throw them into the fiery furnace - because they were so determined- they told him “be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” (Daniel 3:18). They threw them into fire, and the fire did nothing except burn the ropes that were used to tie them. When you are determined, instead of the fire to destroy you it will  burn the ropes that have been used to tie you and you become a wonder. The moment a man makes up his mind to do something and he is determined in his heart, God strengthens the fellow to do the thing - even at times when it is very difficult. Because Ruth determined in her heart to remain with Naomi all the days of her life, God gave her the strength to carry on even when Orpah looked back and returned to her people. According to our bible text,  when a man sets his face as a flint, shame leaves his boat and glory enters. Shame left Ruth’s life and glory came in; she married and became the great grandmother of King David.  

NOTE: Success in any endeavour is not for those who want it. It is simply for those who are determined i.e. those who are willing to pay the price. Everyone wants to succeed but only the determined and diligent end up succeeding. Success is for those who will continue long after others have quit. 

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

THE POWER OF FASTING

MEMORY VERSE: And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. Luke 4:14

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Deuteronomy 4-6

One spiritual activity that is fast becoming unpopular today is fasting. Yet, fasting is one of the most important spiritual activities that a believer must engage in. The body of Christ have been so weakened as a result of our lack of fasting. There are certain things you need to know about fasting. Firstly, fasting is a must for believers. Jesus told His disciples, “But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face” (Matthew 6:17). Take note of the phrase “when thou fastest ”. It is ‘when’ you fast not ‘if’ you fast, in other words Jesus expects His disciples (believers) to fast regardless of whether they have a need or not. You should fast when things are not going as planned. Also, you should fast when things are going as planned. Another reason why you must fast regularly as a believer is that there are some things you can’t get done without fasting. As i said recently, anyone who does not fast is limited. The disciples of Jesus loved God. They left all, followed Jesus and served Him with all their heart. They obeyed God; they were righteous men living a life of holiness. Yet, they were limited. They brought a child possessed by a demon to them and they could not cast the demon out (Mark 9:14-32). If you leave fasting out of your spiritual activities, you will be limited and that’s the gospel truth! 

One of the advantages of fasting is that it increases your spiritual capacity to receive spiritual power. Our spiritual life is like a pipe. Food is like a sponge that blocks the pipe so that the power of God is not able to fully flow through us. The power of God may flow through us but it will be very limited. Fasting drains that pipe. Fasting makes you completely open to God and His power is able to flow through you in an unusual manner. Some years back a great man of God shared how after a long fast, he hugged one of his friends and that one fell under the power of the anointing. The man was flat on the floor for over 5 minutes. 

Fasting is also a means of sharpening your spiritual senses so that God can get through to you. When Moses wanted to receive the Ten Commandments, what did he do? He fasted. When Jesus wanted to start His ministry, what did He do? He fasted. You want to be able to hear God when He speaks? Fast. When you fast you become spiritually empowered. After Jesus fasted for forty days and forty night, the bible records that He returned in the power of the Holy Spirit. Luke 4:14 says, “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.” I had been witnessing to a particular sister for a while and nothing happened. One day, i saw her in the rain outside her house shaking. When i asked what happened, she told me her husband locked her out of the house due to a misunderstanding and walked off. I used that opportunity to witness to her – i told her Jesus is able to resolve the whole matter and bring the man back home. She gave her life to Christ and we said a simple prayer. An hour later, the man who had been gone for over 7 hours returned.  A week later, she told me that she had just attended a job interview but she was scared. We prayed again in the name of Jesus and she got the job – after several years of unemployment. You want power to be released every time you mention the name of Jesus? Cultivate a lifestyle of fasting and praying. 

NOTE: There are also medical benefits of fasting. Fasting helps weight loss. It promotes longevity. Believe it or not, the less you eat the longer you will live. It improves your brain function.  It improves immune system because it reduces free radical damage, regulates inflammatory condition in the body and starves off cancer cell formation. Also, fasting helps clear the skin and prevent acne. 

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world