ANY DIVIDEND OF MENTORING

Tuesday 31 July                                     Bible in one year :1 Kings 20-21

Memorise: Be ye followers of me, even as i also am of Christ.1 Corinthians 1:1

Read: 2 Timothy 3:14-17

After Elijah’s rapture to Heaven , Elisha moved on to the next phase of his life. Anyone who lives in the past will definitely experience a bleak future. One way to recognize those living in their past is that they will not have fresh testimonies. If all you can do is testify how God used you to win several souls some years ago, or how you were used in the area of healing in time past, you are still in your past. If you nothing to show today as an evidence of your present walk with God, you are becoming history. Move forward today!
When Elisha got to the River Jordan, he smote the waters with his mantle like his father Elijah did ( 2KIngs 2:14). From this we see that anyone who will be great must have someone he follows- a mentor. Mentoring is not only relevant in business but also in ministry. God has provided in the Christian faith for His children to be mentored by the leaders He has given to them, so that they can know what their leaders know and even be greater than them. Elijah was great but his protege Elisha was greater. Moses was great but could not take God’s children into the land of promise but his protege Joshua did. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul Said:
Be ye followers of me, even also i also am of Christ.

A good mentor would always follows Christ and at the same time bring up his or her proteges to follow Christ by a lifestyle that mirrors Christ. Do you have a mentor? Do you have a pastor you can virtually pattern your life after? However, in every mentor-protege relationship, there is a always a limit. From the words of Paul, the student(learner) must stop copying his mentor(teacher ) at any point the latter stops following the Lord. Today, there are some leaders who started on a good slate but they have gone into error. Anyone following such a leader will go deeper into the error of his or her mentor. Are there still Christian apprentices ? Too many people want to become their own boss- start up a church or becoming the General Overseer of a church without necessarily undergoing tutelage. No wonder they bring shame and disgrace to the name of the Lord all too often. But if you follow a bona fide spiritual head and humble yourself to study, observe, ask questions, carry out practicals , and be properly taught under him, you will be better prepared for the assignment God has for you.

PRAYER POINT: Father, open my eyes to see the mentor you have given me and grant me the grace to faithfully follow him.

Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye

PRESUMPTOUS?

Monday 30 July                                Bible in one year: 1 Kings 17-19

Memorise: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily , as to the Lord, and not unto men; Colossians 3:23

Read : Deuteronomy 1:42-44

God promised in Proverbs 23:18 that the expectations of the righteous shall be met,but many expectations are not granted today and people are wondering why. Why do expectations of believers fail? Expectations based on presumption will most likely fail. In other words,what you base your expectations on will determine whether it will be granted or not. When expectations are based on assumptions ,disappointment is inevitable. Great expectations are founded on God’s promises which are forever settled in Heaven . Deuteronomy 1:42-44 documents an account by Moses, where he warned the Israelites not to go and fight the Amorites because God was not with them. They paid deaf ears to his warning and went into the battle and got the disgrace of their lives. God has a strategy for every battle. There are some battles He will not want you to fight, some He will want you to ignore and others He will fight Himself. Never fight any battle when God is not on your side. It is presumptuous to assume that because God gave you victory yesterday when you were in obedience, God will give you victory now that you are in disobedience ; you will be disappointed!

When God says don’t go ,you have no business going except you want to go and make a fool of yourself; that is if you even live to tell the story. Those Israelites assumed that since they had all the soldiers , war know-how backed up by their zeal, they can still manage to win the battle, but the lost out a nation which normally would not be able to face them. Any expectation based on assumption is nothing but foolishness. When God disapproves of you doing something, it means He will not back you up. If you go ahead, you are on your own. Never blame God for what you suffer thereafter. Many people are entering marriages God told them not to. By the time they start facing the music of their self guidance, they call on God but He may chose not attend to them. Presuming that a particular business will give you lots of profit because it is doing so for others, without God’s permission or direction may lead to disappointment. Are you entering ministry or starting a church based on presumption? You will be disappointed! Go back to the Lord today!

KEY POINT:

God is not committed to what He has not commanded.

Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye

Avoid this trap

AVOID THIS TRAP

Sunday 29 July Bible in one year:1 Kings 14-16

Memorise: A man that flaterreth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet. Proverbs 29:5

Read: 1 Samuel 18:6-11

David had victory over challenges he faced. His problems started not long after God gave him victory over Goliath; some devil-inspired and highly immodest women began to sing his praise

…..Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. 1 Samuel 18:7

Immediately King Saul heard the song, he was very angry and began to see David as a threat. He saw him as someone who was out to take over his throne form him; no wonder he fought this young boy with all the military might of Israel! but how was their relationship before then?

And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he love him greatly; and he became his armourbearer. 1 Samuel 16:21

King Saul had a mental challenge and David was brought to play harp to get him relieved.When he first saw this boy, it was love at first sight. The bible says he loved David greatly to the extent that he specifically asked Jesse his father to allow him to stay in the palace. He even put him over the soldiers (1 Samuel 18:5). Even when David offered to go and fight Goliath, King Saul tried to prevent him. However,after hearing David’s testimonies and seeing his faith in the God of Israel, he reluctantly released him, transferring his personal armour to him and praying for him( 1 Samuel 17:31-38)

After David defeated Goliath, what should have given David a higher leverage in favour before his boss was suddenly reversed to disfavour because of unguided praise singers. It was not David’s fault but when he heard the song exalting his achievements above the king’s , he could have asked the ladies to stop that song, but he didn’t. I don’t think he enjoyed the persecution that followed.Beware of praise singing and praise singers! One thing that is causing supposed good leaders to miss the mark is the sycophants that surround them. Beware of those who come to you to say that you are the best thing that ever happened to the church, community or organisation. Many of them have hidden agendas. If you are easily carried away by such flattering lips, you will fall into their net and regret it for a long to come. Surround yourself with those who can tell you the truth and correct or check your excesses. They may appear unfriendly but at the end of the day, they may be the only true friends you have.

ACTION POINT: Pray that every tongue that will sing your praise to your detriment will shut up in Jesus name.

Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye

MASTER YOUR DESIRES

MASTER YOUR DESIRES

Saturday 28 July                                 Bible in one year: 1 Kings 11-13

Memorise:All things are lawful unto me,but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me,but i will not be brought under the power of any.1 Corinthian 6:12

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:11-13

If God has blessed you with wealth and riches,be cautious so that your prosperity will not become your undoing.Solomon was so blessed he could afford most things that came his way,he went on an acquisition spree.He bought everything money could buy and acquired all his eyes liked. He found himself in a pit of self-indulgence.In Ecclesiastes 2:10 , he said

and whatsoever my eyes desire i have kept not from them, i withheld not my heart from any joy;for my heart rejoiced in all my labour:and this was the portion of all my labour.

He had lost control! His money was now pushing him in every direction. Has God blessed you?Praise God! But never let it get to a point where you are no longer led by the spirit but by the spirit of mammon.You should remain in control of what you have not the other way. To this end Paul says:

All things are lawful unto me,but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me,but i will not be brought under the power of any.1 Corinthian 6:12

You don’t have to buy something because you can afford it.There are many things you can buy off the shelf but you don”t because you do not need them. Abundance can kill and power with control corrupts.To distinguish themselves according to their class,rich men eat certain processed  foods which at the end give them special illness which the poor do not have.Many like power but they fail to realise that it is a two-edged sword. Keep your power under lock and Key! Deliberately refrain from over indulging yourself. If a water bed will take away your prayer life,don’t buy it or if you have bought it, get it out.If television programs will continue to tempt you, avoid the box. If a particular type of car or house will make you to become proud, do something about it.Never allow what was meant to serve you become your lord.

PRAYER POINTS: Father, help me to put my desires under the control of your Spirit in me.Thank you for the past conventions of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). I pray that this year’s convention will witness God special visitation,power and harvest of souls as never experienced.

Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye

which israel is it?

Friday 27 July                                   Bible in one year:1 Kings 8-10

Memorize:For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly neither is that circumcision , which is outward in the flesh;Roman 2:28

Read: Romans 2:25-29

When it’s all been said and done, good will always have victory over evil.In Revelations 3:9 , the Lord made a promise to the church Philadelphia saying:
Behold, i will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, are not,but do lie;behind, i will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I loved thee.

This is a powerful promise but appears somewhat controversial. How can you tell the Jews that are not regarded as Jew by God?Earlier, God specifically choose to reveal Himself to the world through the children of Israel.This started right from the old testament. Even Jesus came, He said He was not sent to the gentiles but the lost sheep of Israel.hence he sent His disciples only to them( Matthew 10:5-6). But when they took for granted that they were Jews and the children of Abraham and thought they could do whatever they liked, John the Baptist told them that God could replace them with children from stones ( Luke 3:8). But they did not believe.At some point, when the Lord was done reaching out to them, He left them desolate ( Matthew 23:37-39).

Afterward the Lord created another entity which is His body, the church believers,comprised of believing Jews and believing Gentiles. These are the spiritual Jews or “Israel of God”. In these group ,there is no discrimination (Galatians 3:28-29;6 :15-16). All God’s dealing according to His covenant with Abram are now realized through being a spiritual Israelite.All promises of God to Abram are now also appropriated thought this body of believers.They are the bride of Jesus Christ. In Revelations 3:9 , God promised that the enemies of His church will bow down and worship before the spiritual Jews.The physical Jews expect Isaiah 49:23 to be fulfilled but they have failed to realized that a change has occurred.These promises have now been transferred to the church. Any physical Jew who fails to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior will together with other unbelievers will bow to us Christians someday. Those who are persecuting the church today will one day bow to us.Are you part of the  true Israel of God? If you are , do everything possible to keep it so.

KEY POINT: To be relevant in God’s end time plan, everyone, including natural Jews heed to become a part of the church-the spiritual Jews

Lust or Love

Thursday 26 July                                          Bible in one year: 1 Kings 5-7

Memorise : God commendeth his love toward us , in that , while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.Romans 5:8

Read : 5:7-8

A discuss on love would normally focus on a minimum of two people-the lover and the loved. The lover is the subject while the loved is the object. In a true love situation, the subjects seeks the welfare of the loved, whether the object deserves it or not. Romans 5:7-8 says Jesus Christ died for us at a point no one else could have. While we were separated from Him as sinners with enmity between us , He died for us. How many of you can die for your enemies? If anything , most people would want their enemies dead this minute. What love can be greater than that of Jesus Christ? Most times, we misunderstand the word “love”. A man telling a lady,”i love you”,might really mean “I am lusting after you”. This is a counterfeit of God’s love. Lust is selfish, self-centered and seeks to exploit the object. Lust is dirty and does not care how it satisfies its ungodly desire, hence you find men raping ladies or being involved in incestuous sex, same sex intercourse or bestial sex. The one in lust is seeking for somebody to use. To him, the object of lust is only an object-just like any tool or machinery used for work.

When a subject is lusting after an object, he will show a lot of interest, shower gifts and feign care for the object. The man will do anything to convince the lady he loves her. But as soon as he gets what he wants, the object will mean nothing to him. In some cases, after the man has succeeded in sleeping with the lady, the so called love turns into extreme hatred(2 Samuel 13:1-15). Just as it is in human relationships, so it is in our relationship with God. Many people who claim to love God but do not love Him but are only desirous of what they can get from Him, He has become an object they can use to get what they want(John 6:25-27). Do  you love God? Why do you love God? Examine yourself to see that your love is not really lust?

KEY POINT:  Are you seeking God or His works?

VALUE GIVER

Wednesday 25 July Bible study in one year : 1Kings 1-4

Memorize: And he is the head of the body,the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. Colossians 1:18

Read: Colossians 1:15-18

If we study the lives of those who in bible times carried the glory of God, we will understand their secrets.We can partake of the same glory by using these secrets. However , it must be stated here that the glory of the Lord made available to New Testament saints by His blood far surpasses the entire glory of the Old Testament as the Old was only a shadow of and a fore runner of the New,Yet many of us are yet to manifest the glory of the Old testament, how much more the New Testament, May you partake of this latter House glory in Jesus name.

An outstanding carrier of His glory under Covenant was Moses.But how did it all begin? Exodus 3:1-6 says it started with a personal encounter with the Lord. For every true carrier of God’s glory, there must be a day in his or her life that the personally encountered with the Lord .This is more than your parents dedicating you to the Lord while you were still a babe. It is beyond a family community decision. Personal conversation to Christ is sacrosanct and foundational to partaking in God’s glory. Some years ago, a particular “man of God” rose with predictions for each year. He became a quite popular. One day, he was interviewed by the press on how he started up till his point of fame. While perusing his comments, it was observed that there was no mention of a day in his life in which he gave his life to Christ. He claimed to have certain gifts from the womb which brought him to his current level. Going by God’s word, he has not started. There are yet many people who are presiding over churches today and preach salvation messages because it is in vogue,but have never received Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal savior. They have not started. In God’s kingdom, you can not skip a very foundational experience like salvation and think you can be relevant. All you will do will be without record and without reward. Do all the good in this world and all you get for each is zero. Jesus is the only One that can add value to any life. Receive Him to today

KEEP POINT: John 1 vs 9 says Jesus gives light o all who comes into the world. Anyone who has not received Him will spend his or her years in darkness,