THE TURNING POINT Pt2

James 1:22 but be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 15, Luke 18, Job 33, 2 Cor 3

In part 1 of these series, we defined a turning point as the point at which everything changes either for good or bad. There are three major things that mark the beginning of every turning point in a man’s life. Firstly, what he hears. What a man hears can either make him happy or sad. It can either motivate him or de-motivate him. It can either propel him forward or drive him backwards. Secondly, how he responds to what he has heard. Today we will be looking at the different types of responses and their results.

 James 1:22 says be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 
There are three types of responses. The first type of response is no response. An example of this is found in Matthew 14:22-33. A major turning point was about to take place in the life of the disciples of Jesus. Prior to that day, no man had ever walked on water. The twelve of them heard Jesus say ‘come’ but eleven of them decided to remain in the boat. Heaven had already initiated their turning point but they decided not to respond at all. Since there was no response, there was no turning point. They remained at the level they were, sadly they never had the opportunity again. The second type of response is opposite or negative response. An example of this is found in the life of Uzziah, 2 Chronicles 26:16-21. Uzziah prospered in everything he laid his hands on. One day he decided to go and burn incense on the altar of incense which was improper for kings. On his way, Azariah and eighty other priests of God met him and appealed to the king not to burn incense on the altar of incense. The king did the exact opposite of what he was told and right in the temple he became a leper. A turning point was also initiated in the life of Uzziah; he heard and did the complete opposite. Uzziah became the first king in Israel to become a leper. The third type of response is positive response. An example of this is found in the life of Isaac, Genesis 26:1-13. There was famine in the land and Isaac decided to go to Egypt. The Lord told him not to go and he responded positively by staying in Gerar. Whilst in Gerar, the Lord made him so prosperous to the extent that a whole nation envied him. Isaac heard and he responded positively to what he heard. Mark 4:24 says And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. Thirdly, the outcome of his response. If a man responds positively to what he has heard, he will experience a positive outcome which leads to a positive turning point. The question is what are your responses to what you have heard? You have heard that smoking is bad for your health, what is your response? You have heard that when you pay your tithes the Lord opens the window of heaven and rebuke the devourers on your behalf, what is your response?

PRAYER POINT: Father, give me the grace to respond positively to everything I have heard and will hear from you.

BE AS WISE AS SERPENT

Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 13, Luke 16, Job 31, 2 Cor 1

The serpent is the devil. There are two types of wisdom – Heavenly and worldly. James 3:17 says but the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. The worldly wisdom on the other hand is the wisdom of the devil. According to James 3:15-16 worldly wisdom is earthly, sensual, devilish and where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

Matthew 10:16 says be ye therefore wise as serpents. The devil is the serpent. Why will Jesus ask us to be as wise as the serpent, if the serpent is the devil? Jesus does not want us to employ the wisdom of the serpent. He expects us to be wiser than the devil. He actually wants us to be a step ahead of the devil when it comes to the application of wisdom. The least he expects is that we understand his motives and know what he is up to. When you are as wise as an individual, fooling you or robbing you becomes impossible. Jesus was successful in ministry because He was always a step ahead of the devil especially in the area of wisdom. The devil failed woefully when he tried to speak through Peter, Matthew 16:21-28. He immediately rebuked him saying ‘get behind me Satan!’To be as wise as the devil you need to understand worldly wisdom or wisdom of the devil. When it comes to the wisdom of this world, you come first. It teaches one that it does not matter who is losing, as far as you are making profit. The devil uses the application of worldly wisdom to steal, to kill and to destroy,John 10:10. The end result of this wisdom is loss as a result of theft and death. On the other hand, with heavenly wisdom you come last. When we talk of the wisdom from above, God comes first. Luke 10:27 says thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind. This is why the bible says the fear of the Lord is the beginning is wisdom, Psalm 111:10. After God, others come second. Luke 22:26 says ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. No wonder Luke 10:27 says love your neighbor as yourself. After others you come last. The sky is the limit for anyone in possession of heavenly wisdom. Proverbs 3:35 says the wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools (those in possession of worldly wisdom). According to Daniel 12:3 and they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament. When you are in possession of this heavenly wisdom, serving God in truth and spirit becomes easy. People with worldly wisdom have no problem fornicating or committing adultery becomes they come first. They think of satisfying themselves alone but an individual with Godly wisdom will think of how God will feel about what he is about to do. Next he will think of breaking the heart of the lady and lastly the dangers of going to hell. By the times he considers all these, he will resist the devil and the spirit of adultery will flee from him .

KEY WORD: With worldly wisdom you come first ; with heavenly wisdom God comes first

PROFITTING FROM WISDOM

Proverbs 11:17 the merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ex 12, Luke 15, Job 30, 1 Cor 16 

What is wisdom? Wisdom is simply the application of knowledge. It is founded on the fear of the Lord. Psalms 111: 10 says the fear of the Lord is beginning of Lord. One thing with the wise people is that they are always reflecting. They reflect on the consequences of their actions and words. Before they reply an email or text messages in anger they sit and think. It is very unwise to reply or send e-mails or text messages in anger or engage in a heated conversation with your spouse in the kitchen.  The bible admonishes us to pray and watch, Matthew 26:41. Many pray day and night but do not watch. Applying wisdom is a form of keeping watch. God has answered many prayer requests but the lack of wisdom has delayed the manifestation. There are many today who have lost their advantage in Christ by not applying wisdom. 

 The question is how does one profit from wisdom? I will share a story which will shed light on the importance of wisdom. Some police men went to arrest a young man. Whilst trying to arrest this man, there was a bit of misunderstanding. The senior brother of this man heard people shouting and ran out. When he came out, he saw around four police men with his brother and instead of asking what the problem was, he ran and grabbed an iron rod and broke the windscreen on the police car. The police men shot him right on the spot and he died. The case was taking to court and the police defended their action by saying they shot him in self defence. Looking at the damage done to the police vehicle, they were freed. The disappointing thing was the brother of the diseased was later found innocent. Although they paid him compensation, the senior brother lost his life because of few moments of anger .If only he had asked what the problem was; he could still be alive now. Proverbs 11:17 says the merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubelth his own flesh. Some years ago myself and a member of staff engaged in a heated argument. She stormed out and joined her colleague. Ten minutes later, I called her colleague to check something with him and i overheard her in the background threatening to slap me .I was angry and the fact that it was coming from a junior member of staff in public did not help matters. I had the option of conducting a 1-2-1 and that would have led to her dismissal because she was threatening a management staff but I reflected on the consequences and decided to address the issue later. I tried to discuss the matter with her but she gave me a terrible attitude. God so good I knew a brother who attended the same church with her so I contacted her pastor. After a brief a chat with the pastor, the sister apologised and we moved on. Two years later, I heard a major challenge at work and I was suspended. During this period the only person who called me to give me inside information of what the management were planning against me was this lady. It was not because others did not care, they cared but this lady was the only one who could get me this information. God mightily used her during this period. The question is if I had reacted in anger and orchestrated her sack, who would helped me get during the challenge?

PRAYER POINT: Father as from now on help to profit from wisdom.

REWARDS OF HOSPITALITY PART 2

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Ex 10, Luke 13, Job 28, 1 Cor 18
Hebrews 13:2 says be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
BIBLE VERSES: 2 Kings 8:1-6
In part 1 of these series, we discussed about one of the rewards of hospitality. In 2 Kings 4:8-17 is the story of the great Shunamite woman and Elisha. This woman took it upon herself to host the man of God every time he passed by. After a while she took her hospitality to another level by making a small upper room on the wall for Elisha so that he can also spend the night. Unknown to this woman, the God of Elisha was taking note of all these. Few weeks before a major famine broke out in Israel, the Lord sent Elisha to inform this woman that there was going to be famine in the land for seven years and she needed to leave, 2 Kings 8:1-6. She obeyed the man of God and moved to Philistine. This was how God fed her during famine. When she came back after the famine, the Lord ensured that everything that belonged to her was giving back to her. All the produce from her land for the last seven years was giving back to her all because the God of Elisha decided to repay her back for her hospitalities.
Sometimes back I had challenges at work and was out of work for almost three months. During this period, I could not keep up with some bill payments. One morning I received a letter giving me ten working days to pay a particular bill or face court action. I turned to God and began to cry to Him. The tenth working day fell on a Friday and failure to pay the bill by 3pm the next Monday would automatically result in court action. The Sunday before the Monday, a particular brother who had been promising to visit visited me. When he arrived, I went to make him a cup of tea as it was very cold. I could have offered him some hot snacks too but I had none at home and had no money to buy any. To make matters worse, I had an almost empty can of milk to make tea with. As I was about to add part of the little milk left to the tea, the Holy Spirit nudged me to add all the milk in the can. The question is if I use all the milk (little milk) in the can to make tea for him, where will I get milk for my tea? I obeyed and decided not to drink tea. The brother enjoyed the tea and we chatted. When he was about to leave, he handed me some notes. I thanked him, we prayed and he left. Later when I checked, the money he gave to me not only covered the bill but was enough to get myself some snacks and at least two cans of milk. As we discussed yesterday, at times opportunities to practice hospitality precedes a breakthrough. The opportunity to host this brother preceded the answer to my prayer request. Not only that, God used that little cup of tea to provide for me during famine.
KEY WORD: Hospitality feeds during famine.

Like Jesus

Saturday 1 September                        Bible in one year: Esther 1-3

Memorise: Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth unrighteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 1 John 3:7

Read: 1 John 3:7

The call to salvation is a call to holiness. After you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour, it does not end there; the journey to heaven as only just began. Before you were saved, you manifested the works of flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). But now that you have encountered Jesus Christ at salvation, the fruit of the Spirit is expected from you (Galatians 5:22-23). Every attempt at righteousness before your salvation was equal to self righteousness which is as filthy rags to God ( Isaiah 64:6);hence Paul says his self –righteousness no longer counts but the righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:9). God has not only saved us and given us the spirit of righteousness, He also expects us to live a life in agreement with His standard. Today, some people think that it is enough to be born again and that nothing else is required. No! It is not enough! The truth is your new birth gives you the platform on which to build on, having secured God’s righteousness through your faith in Christ Jesus.

We are called to be like our Saviour Jesus Christ. In 1 John 2:1, Jesus is called the righteous, and verse 29 says

If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that everyone that doeth righteousness is born of him
This means that the fruit of righteousness that you bear will be used to determine whether you are born of God or not. 1 John 3:7 says
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
God is not saying you should be holier than Jesus. Even Jesus says it is enough for a servant to be like his master (Luke 6:40). If God expected works or righteousness from Jesus, He expects the same from you. If you look at the letters the Lord wrote to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, you will notice that He kept repeating that those who will qualify for those wonderful rewards are only the believers who overcome as he also over came. In every point Jesus overcame, you too should. You must live a life that manifests that victory Christ has given you over the flesh, Satan and the world. You must allow Him to live His righteous life through you. Are you daily living a life of righteousness?
KEY POINT: Jesus is God’s unchangeable standard for man. Be like Him in everything including living righteous living.
Excerpts from Open Heavens by Pastor E.A  Adeboye.

REWARDS OF HOSPITALITY PART 1

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Ex 9, Luke 12, Job 27, 1 Cor 13
Hebrews 13:2 says be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares
When we talk of success keys, we mention things like diligence, vision, goal setting, patience, e.t.c. One key you never hear people talk about is hospitality.  The truth of the matter is a fellow who is good at hospitality stands a better chance of reaching the top before a hardworking fellow. The bible says a man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men, Proverbs 18:16. 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. The question is why will Jesus stand at the door and knock if not that He yearns for hospitality? I pray the Lord will open our eyes in Jesus name.
Hebrews 13:2 says be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Asides from the fact that you stand a very good chance of entertaining angels when you host people; there are others rewards for practicing hospitality. When you search through the scriptures, you will find out that an opportunity to host guests precedes major breakthroughs. The opportunity to host four thousand men not counting women and children with seven bread and a few little fish preceded the breakthrough of seven large baskets of breads and fish, Matthew 15:32-39.  The opportunity to host men of God also precedes major breakthrough. When I said men of God, I am referring to all ministers of gospel, all children of God – both men and women. I am not talking of people who preach A and do B, I am talking of real children of God. In 2 Kings 4:8-17 is the story of the great Shunamite woman. She was very wealthy but had no child and to make matters worse her husband was very old. An opportunity to host a prophet preceded her breakthrough. She started by inviting the man of God for lunch from time to time. She took her hospitality to new level by making a small upper room on the wall for the man of God to rest after eating lunch. One day while Elisha was sitting in the room she made, he called her and asked her for what she wanted. Nine months later, she became the mother of a baby boy. The widow of Zarapheth had been crying to God for provisions during the famine but nothing seems to be happening, 2 Kings 17:8-16. The more she cried, the more her situation got worse because her food supplies kept on going down. An opportunity to host a man of God with her last meal presented itself. She took the opportunity and what was meant to be her last meal became the first of many. Abraham and Sarah waited patiently for twenty five years for the promise of a child. They did everything they knew how to do but there was no result. They must have prayed, fasted, sown special seeds and nothing seems to be happening. On a faithful day, an opportunity to host three strangers presented itself. As they would normally do, they welcomed and fed them. They took very good care of them .Unknown to them, right in there living room was the Most High God sitted and enjoying their hospitality, Genesis 18:1-18. A month later Sarah conceived and nine months later, the promise of a male child materialized.
PRAYER POINT: Father, please open my eyes so I will not miss the opportunity that will precede my long awaited breakthrough

SPIRIT OF FEAR

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Ex 8, Luke 11, Job 25-26, 1 Cor 12

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

From our memory verse we conclude fear is a spirit. Faith is also a spirit. The difference between fear and faith is that fear is of devil and faith is of God. According to Hebrews 11:6, without faith it is impossible to please God. Fear is like a thief. John 10:10 says the thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. Fear also steals, kills and destroys.  It can either rob one of his or her peace; cause one to worry unnecessarily which might lead to the development of some terrible disease or cause one to take an irrational decision one might live to regret for life. Fear at times could lead to impatience and the price of impatience is very costly. Impatient people always live to regret their impatience. Faith on the other hand leads to peace and life.

God is not a God of fear but of faith. He does not put fear in people’s heart. God never comes with a message of fear but of courage and faith. In Acts 27:8-24, a tempestuous wind called Euroclydon rose against the ship Paul was sailing in. This wind tossed the ship everywhere; for fourteen days they neither saw the sun nor the stars. As terrible as the situation was, the first thing the angel of the Lord said when he appeared was fear not Paul. When the children of Israel found themselves in trouble and began to fear for their future, the Lord sent his word through His prophet telling them fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness, Isaiah 41:10. When you search through the Holy Scriptures, most of the time when God sends an angel or messenger to people, they will always start with ‘fear not’. While Zacharias was burning incense in the temple, angel Gabriel appeared to him and he was very troubled. The first thing angel Gabriel said to him was fear not Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard, Luke 1:12-13. When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant with child of the Holy Ghost, he was scared and he began to consider putting her away privily. The angel of the Lord appeared to him in the dream and said ‘fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, Matthew 1:18-20. The bible says for God hath not giving us the spirit of fear but of love and sound mind. If there is any one giving you messages of fear, be wary of them. Any prophesies or messages that bring fear rebuke them because it is not of the Lord. Most of the time people use messages of fear to con you out of money. They ask you to bring money so that they can pray or fast for you to prevent something terrible from happening to you. Fear indicates the absence of love and anywhere love is missing, God is missing because God is love, 1 John 4:8. As you begin this week, do not allow fear in your heart. Do not give room to the spirit of fear. Do not entertain fear thoughts – thoughts that something terrible will happen to you; thoughts that you will not get what you want; thoughts that you will fail or suffer shame e.t.c. All these thoughts are from the devil.

KEY WORD: Fear is of the devil. In the presence of God, there is fullness of Joy not fear.