HAVE YOU TURNED?

MEMORY VERSE: And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.Exodus 3:2-4

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Lamentations 1-3

From the moment Moses turned, his life and ministry never remain the same. Let us take a brief look at what happened after he turned away from the goat and cattle (issues of the current moment), to behold the glory of God. Firstly, God spoke to him. The bible says: “and when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am i.” Not until Moses turned, the Lord did not say a word. When you study the book of Exodus, you will observe that after he turned; the ministry he had tried and failed at received a new life. Moses knew deep within himself that he was born to deliver the children of Israel from the bondage of the Egyptians. He was convinced that, that was the purpose of God for his life. He made an attempt to deliver his people in Exodus 2:11-15, and got into trouble. After he turned, his ministry received a touch from above. Not only that, where he had failed forty years earlier, he succeeded there.

The question is, have you and I turned? Some of us call ourselves a Christian and still accept bribes. Some do not accept bribe but give bribe. When I hear of people fornicating to get a job or for one favor or the order, I wonder if these people have really turned to Christ. The sad thing is, they come to youth fellowship and lift up holy hands. Lord, have mercy! Have you turned? Some of us call ourselves tongue speaking Christians and yet we keep malice. To make matters worse, some keep malice with their pastors. Is your own turn partial or full? You do not smoke but you consume alcohol; you do not fornicate but you touch ladies at inappropriate places; you do not miss church services but you indulge in exam malpractice; you do not fornicate but you masturbate; you do not commit adultery but when no one is around, you know how you do it with your toys. Is that how to turn to Christ? The reason why a lot of us are suffering is because we have not turned. We turn with our lips not with our hearts. Not until Moses turned, the Lord did not speak. The moment he turned, all changed. God has been waiting for an opportunity to speak to some for over three years, because they have refused to turn , He has decided to keep quiet. If you will turn today to Him, He will speak. There are a lot of us owing vows, pledges, robbing God in tithes and offerings, not until we turn from these things, He will not speak. Turn from beating your wife; turn from not looking after your children; turn from cursing your children when you are angry; turn from being hard headed, and the Lord will speak.

ACTION: Pray for revival, a lot of believers have grown cold in their service to God.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

HE OWNS TIME SO HE IS NEVER LATE

Memory verse: He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. Daniel 2:21

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 50-52

Yesterday, we looked at the story of Lazarus – the friend of Jesus. He took ill so his sisters – Mary and Martha, sent a message to Jesus , Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. On getting this message, Jesus could have sent His word to Lazarus and he would have been healed right away but he did not. He could have rushed to the home of Lazarus and lay hands on him, but he stayed a bit longer. He purposely delayed so that He can give this family a bigger miracle. Which is bigger, the healing of Lazarus or the raising up of Lazarus from the dead? Obviously, the raising up of Lazarus from the dead. Finally, He arrived a few days later, by this time, Lazarus was now dead and buried. To everyone, it was over. To the family of Lazarus, Jesus arrived too late. Martha said if only you had been here few days ago, my brother would still be alive (John 11:21). Mary said Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died (John 11:32).

One thing everyone failed to realise was that, it is impossible for God to be late. One of the reasons why He can never be late is that He controls time. Daniel 2:21 says He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He owns time. He can pause time, for instance in Joshua 10:12, God caused the Sun to stand still at Gibeon and Moon in the valley of Ajalon. Not only can He pause time, He can reverse time. Sarah had not only passed child bearing, her womb was dead (Romans 4:19). The Lord reversed her time so that the woman who had stopped menstruating for over 30 years began to menstruate again. Within a year, she gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. He can also fast forward time. What you are meant to receive in two years time, He can decide to give it to you today. In John 2:1-10, Jesus was invited to a wedding in Cana of Galilee and the wine finished. When the mother approached Him for a miracle, He said mine hour is not yet come, shortly after that, being an obedient child, He fast forwarded His time just to give the couple a miracle.

As far as you remain steadfast in your service to God and committed to the things of God, I can assure you, God will answer your prayers. As far as you continue to live a pleasing life to Him, He will come through for you. As far as you do not substitute Jesus for something else, you will rejoice at last. One fact of life is, your timing is not His timing. What you are looking at and thinking, I need this right away, God could be looking at the same thing and thinking, this thing will kill this boy if I give to him right away. I will delay it for another six months when He would have grown more spiritually and will be able to handle it. Asides from that, God could even have a better thing in mind than what you are asking for. Do not lose hope, do not relent, do not back slide, keep on serving Him, you will rejoice at last.

ACTION: Pray for all those looking for the fruit of the womb that the Lord will give them their babies soon.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

AND SAW HIM, SHE FELL DOWN AT HIS FEET

Memory verse: Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. John 11:32

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 47-49

While on earth, Jesus had a friend named Lazarus. This friend had two sisters - Mary and Martha. Because of His love for their family, He would visit from time to time, spend time with them, fellowshipping and teaching about the Kingdom of God. One day Lazarus fell sick, so his sisters (Mary and Martha) sent a message to Jesus. John 11:3 says therefore his sisters sent unto him saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. One thing about this family is, despite Jesus’ relationship with them, they respected him. Do not look down on a man or woman of God because he or she is close to your family or because you now know one or two things about them. If a man of God frequently visits your home, do not take him for granted. Despite the fact that Jesus was close to this family, these girls still referred to him as Lord. Because your church pastor spent 45 minutes with your family at your place, is that why you now refer to him by his name when discussing with your wife? Instead of referring to him as pastor L, you refer to him as L. Some have even taken it to another level by nicknaming men of God. The Lord will have mercy.

Shortly after, Lazarus passed away. These girls were in pain. You can imagine how these girls felt, Jesus received the message that their brother, Lazarus, was sick and did not show up. Jesus, who had been there for total strangers, was nowhere to be found when his beloved Lazarus fell sick. The first day passed, Jesus did not turn up or send any message. The second day, the same. The third day, no sign of Jesus, even to come and mourn His beloved friend as custom demanded. Finally, on the fourth day, Jesus arrived at Bethany. When Martha heard, she went to him. John 11:32 says Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. Instead of Mary to abuse Jesus, she worshipped him. Immediately she got to where Jesus was, she fell down at His feet. Mary could have cursed Jesus, she could have said things out of anger but she did not. Although she was in pain, she still called Him Lord. She did not ask Him any questions, she just bowed at His feet. When you are in pain, what do you say to Jesus? Do you threaten to stop serving Him? Do you talk to Him to rudely? Do you talk to Him as if He is your servant? Do you still call Him Lord when it seems that you have lost the battle? Do you worship Him after you must have prayed and prayed and nothing happened? Have you stopped going to church because He did not answer that prayer? Have you stopped paying your tithes because Jesus was nowhere to be found when you needed Him most? Jesus purposely waited so that Lazarus would die and raise him. Had it been, Martha had decided to curse Jesus out or stopped worshipping Him, she would have lost her brother for life and missed that miracle

NOTE: In pain worship God not denounce Him.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

BUT I SAY UNTO YOU

Memory verse: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. Matthew 5:32

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 44-46

Yesterday, we talked about what God said concerning Jesus. He said: “this is my beloved Son, in whom i am well pleased (Matthew 3:17).” Jesus is God’s Son and God is well pleased with Him. In Matthew 17, the Lord gave the same testimony but this time around, He added an instruction. Matthew 17:5 says While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. The Most High is instructing you and i to listen to Jesus. Friend, saying the sinner’s prayer is not enough to get you to heaven. You must listen to Jesus too. If He says forgive, please forgive. If He says you must witness, please witness.

In Matthew 5 Jesus preached a powerful sermon, I want us to look at some of the things He said. According to the Law of Moses, adultery is a sin. Matthew 5:28 says But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. The moment you look at a woman and imagine things, you are already guilty of adultery or fornication. If the bible says a man is guilty of adultery if he lusts after a woman, as a woman, should you encourage men to lust after you through the way you dress? Dress modestly so that men will not see you and begin to imagine things. To the men that feed their eyes by looking at women, you are not feeding your eyes but committing adultery.

According to the Law of Moses, once you don’t like a woman, issue her a divorce letter. Matthew 5:32 says but I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. You cannot divorce because of irreconcilable difference. The only ground for divorce is adultery and you cannot just wake up one morning and accuse your husband or wife of adultery without being able to proof it. You cannot divorce your wife because your mother said so. You cannot divorce a woman because she has failed to give you a male child. It is not your wife that gives a male child, it is God. So also you cannot divorce your wife because she has failed to give you a child, it is not your wife that gives children, it is God. You cannot divorce your husband because He has changed. Before you start courting that divorced man or woman, investigate what happened. If you marry someone who left her husband because of irreconcilable difference, you will be guilty of adultery.

ACTION: Let us remember marriages that are going through storm that the Lord will restore peace.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

PUBLIC TESTIMONY

Memory verse: Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 14:14

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 41-43

BIBLE STUDIES: Ezekiel 14:13-15

As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven opened and a voice was heard. Matthew 3:17 says and lo a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Heaven gave two important testimonies about Jesus Christ. Firstly, He is the son of God. Jesus is not a slave of God neither is He, a prophet of God. Secondly, God is well pleased with Him. There are few instances in the scriptures where we find God referring to an individual or a nation as His sons, none of them lived up to His expectation. In Exodus 4:22, God referred to Israel as His firstborn. By the time we get to Exodus 32, the children of Israel had begun to worship a molten calf. Before Solomon was born, the Lord choose him to be His son. 2 Samuel 7:14 says i will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men. After God blessed Solomon, he went and marry strange women, these strange men led him into Baal worship. Jesus is the only One who never disappointed God for once. The Most High was not only pleased with Jesus; He was well pleased with Him. This was heaven’s public testimony of Jesus.

All through the scriptures, we see God giving public testimony about people. He said of Abraham in Genesis 18:19 : “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” Concerning Moses, He said, Moses was meek above all the men on the face of the earth (Numbers 12:3). Concerning Job, He said to Satan, that boy Job eschews evil (Job 1:8). Can God give such testimony about you and me?

In our bible studies, God gave a wonderful public testimony about Noah, Daniel and Job. He said the righteousness of these three would deliver them from harm. They were so righteous; God could not allow anything to harm them. Can God testify that if you find money on the floor, you will not keep it? Can the Most High say, I know that boy, if you slap him on the right cheek, he will turn the left. If you are a politician, can God say that if you get into power, you will not embezzle public money? In this age where oppression is the other of the day, can the Lord say, if I bless that family, they will not oppress anyone? Can God say of you, if I give her a child, that child will not replace Me in her life? Can God testify that if you become the MD, you will not only promote people from your ethnic group? Can God testify that, wealth will not take you from Him?

TO PONDER: Is my lifestyle pleasing to God?

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

BUILD ACCORDING TO PATTERN

MEMORY VERSE: Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, see, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. Hebrew 8:5

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 37-40

When God wanted to dwell among the children of Israel, He commanded Moses to build a tabernacle for Him. A tabernacle is a place of worship. God loves worshippers. He loves those who worship Him in truth and in spirit not those after Him for bread and butter. It is easy to worship God when you have just gotten a raise in your salary. Shouting Hallelujah comes naturally, when you have just passed your driving test. Worshipping God in the beauty of His holiness is easy when your wife finally gets pregnant after five years of delay. Praising God becomes extremely difficult when you receive a letter of redundancy from your place of work. Shouting Hallelujah becomes difficult when your visa application has just been refused. A true worshipper will still praise God even after he has lost his job.

Before building the tabernacle, the Lord called Moses up to a mountain and gave him the pattern of the tabernacle. Just before work started, God reminded him to build according to the pattern shown to him. Exodus 25:40 says and look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed in the mount. God wants to build you to become His tabernacle. He wants you and I to be His residing place. He wants to change the world through us but to do that; we must build our life according to pattern. Who are we to pattern our life after, Jesus Christ. He spent 33 years on earth showing us how to live our lives, how to conduct ourselves, how to relate to our parents, how to speak, how to behave in marriage, how to relate to God. Are you building that relationship after the pattern of Jesus when you and your fiancé kiss and do all sorts when alone? You said he has never slept with you but you undress before him. He has never slept with you but he touches you in inappropriate places. Would Christ have built that way?

The only way to build according to the pattern of Jesus is by doing what Jesus did and avoiding what he did not do. Jesus lived a life of prayer. He prayed at all times. Anyone doing what Jesus did not do or doing what Jesus will not do is building his life after his own pattern. Many build their life after the pattern of a great man of God. They want to talk like the man of God, behave like the man of God; there is no problem in this as far as you know the man of God is building his life according to the pattern of Jesus. However, the truth is, we are not to build our life after any great hero, not even after Martin Luther, John Wesley or John Calvin. Building our life after a particular man or woman is dangerous. If they get it wrong, you will get it wrong also. Jesus never for once got angry unnecessarily; He never said a wrong word once. If someone cuts Jesus in traffic, I can assure you; He will not swear at them or show them the middle finger. Jesus will not see black and call it white. Jesus will not attend a nightclub or go to a strip club. Jesus will never get into a physical fight or verbal abuse. He will never use the ‘F’ word, the ‘C’ word, or any offensive language. Jesus was not a rebellious youth; He was into neither the pop culture nor punk culture. He was not a Rastafarian. Many of our youths today are building their lives according to the pattern of a rock star. Many are building their life according to what they see on soap operas and movies. We cannot build our life after the pattern of a character in a secular soap opera or romance novel and expect the Lord to make us His tabernacle.

TO PONDER: What are the things you are doing that you know Christ will never do , repent immediately and turn a new leaf.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.

SAYERS OR DOERS

Memory verse: Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 7:21

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Jeremiah 34-36

BIBLE STUDIES: Matthew 21:28-32

In our bible studies, Jesus told the story of a father and his two sons. One day, the man approached his first son and said: “Son, i need help in my vineyard, go there and work for me.” The boy answered and said: “Dad i am tired, please send my brother.” The old man said no problem and left. Shortly after this, being convicted by his conscience, he repented and went straight to the vineyard. The old man then approached the second son and said: “i need your help in my vineyard.” Oh, that is not a problem, he said. The moment the old man turned his back, he continued his business. The question is this, which of these two boys did the will of their father, the one who refused but later repented, or the one who promised to go and never went? Which of these two deserved a reward, the “sayer” (the fellow who promised to go but never went) or the “doer” (the fellow who refused to go but later repented)? Obviously, the “doer” i.e. the son who refused at first but later repented.

There is a popular saying: “actions speak louder than words.” It is not what a man says that matters, but what he does. A lot say A but do B. Matthew 7:21 says not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Jesus is not interested in those who will quote the Word alone; He wants believers who will do what the Word says. Are you a “sayer” or a “doer”? Not everyone that says the sinner’s prayer will enter into the kingdom of heaven but those who do the will of God.

In what ways are you and I, saying Lord, Lord but not doing the will of the Father? The Lord said in Romans 12:19, vengeance is mine and I will repay, you said no way, you must pay that fellow back in his coin. Are you doing the will of God when you pay that brother back in his own coin? The bible says pursue peace with all men (Hebrews 12:14), you said you will never speak to that sister –in-law who called you barren because you experience delay in childbirth. Is that the will of God? God promoted a family friend, instead of rejoicing with them; you started envying them. Is that how you do the will of God? You are not married to that man but you live together under the same room, are you doing the will of God? The whole church calls you a brother, but you secretly steal from the offering bag. Is that how to do the will of God? You said you wanted to build an orphanage, people contributed towards the project, you took the money and married a second wife. Is that how a Christian should behave? You were tasked to go and pay some money into the company accounts; you took the money and ran away. Is that the will of God?

TO PONDER: Are you a doer of the Word?

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.