Perpetual servant

Thursday 23 August                          Bible in one year: Joel 1-3

Memorise: Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?Be not deceived : neither fornicators,nor idolaters,nor adulterers, nor effeminate,nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 1 Corinthians 6:9

Read: Exodus 21:2-6

It is love that can make a man to wait for fourteen years to get married to the lady of his choice like Jacob did for Rachel( Genesis 29:18-28). A lady once told me that nobody was asking for her hand in marriage. We prayed and few months  later, she had six suitors on line. Then she came to me to ask how she will know the one that is her husband. I asked her to tell them that they should wait for fourteen years, by that time she would be through with her PhD programme and would have worked for some years. Not one of them stayed after hearing that.If there is love, there is strength to wait. Love can be very costly. It can cost a man his freedom.From Exodus 21:2-6 we understand that any servant that is Hebrew is expected to serve for six years and on the seventh, he should be freed.If however he marries and because of love he refuses to go, he would receive a mark so that anybody who sees him will know that he is a slave forever. Occasionally , i hear some people give God conditions before complying with certain divine requests or instructions. This shows that they do not love God, or that they have forgotten they were supposed to be His servant forever.

True love gives you super human strength. When somebody is truly in love, he could survive any adversity for the sake of that love( Romans 8:35-37). Being more than conquerors is a height in love which many do not yet know. If you are truly in love with God,you will gladly die for Him like Stephen( Acts 7:54-60). Today , because many church leaders are afraid for their lives, they cannot go to certain countries or certain parts with their native land to preach Christ. Death is no big deal  but the big deal is what you go through before you die. In the days of communism , it was the torture that a Christian went through that gave him pleasure; today , the reverse is the case. A Christian was arrested and thrown into prison. He began to witness Christ to the inmates so they took him  and gave him the beating of his life until he was bleeding all over. By the time he was returned he asked those he was preaching to , “where did i stop before the interruption?” Loving God can be expensive. How cheap or otherwise is your love for God?

ACTION POINT: Take this confession: Lord Jesus, I confess and acknowledge you as my Lord. I am your servant. You own all i have. And I will worship you with all that You have me until you take me to glory.
Excerpts from Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye

DROP THOSE EXCUSES

Wednesday 22 August                  Bible in one year : Acts 25-28

Memorise: Therefore thou are inexcusable, O man , whatsoever thou art that judgest : for wherein thou judgest another,thou condemnest thyself;for thou that judgest doest the same things. Romans 2:1

Read: Exodus:10-16

After his experience of the supernatural and God introducing Himself to  Moses, he was given specific assignment.He objected with reasons but they were not accepted.From this we learn that when God has decided to send you on an assignment, no excuse is good enough. You will notice that the more Moses excused himself from embarking on the assignment,the angrier God became (Exodus 4:13-14). Making excuses to avoid doing what God has assigned to you  will easily put you on the wrong side of God’s judgement. Excuses can move you from God’s right hand to His left,from favor to disfavor, from blessings to curses. Has the Lord giving you an assignment and you are piling up reasons for not obeying? You are toying with fire.After Moses saw “God’s red eyes”, he dumped his excuses. Drop those excuses and comply with your divine mandate.

When you look at the excuses people give for not ob
eying God, they can be classified as feelings of inadequacy,ignorance ,pride,fear, unbelief ,etc. For instances,Moses felt inadequate in himself to go before Pharaoh but God told him, “I will go with you” (Exodus 3:10-12). Whenever God gives you assignment, He does not leave you alone to do it. He is there with you to supply what you lack.So ideally,every assignment is a joint venture between God and the one assigned to do it. Do you feel inadequate? The One who is assigning you will back you up.If it bothers on ignorance that means there is something you don’t know that will be required of you in performing  that assignment.In Moses’s case, he did not know how to introduce God to the elders of Israel but God told him how to go about it.If only you ask the Lord, He will give you the knowledge you require or direct you to where to get it.Don’t say , “I can’t go because i am not educated” because the Greatest Teacher is ready to supply all you need to know if only you can ask Him, and sit at His feet to be taught.If you feel too big for the assignment,that is pride, and that can easily bring judgement on you. Nobody is bigger than the assignment God gives to him or her.How can a national elder or provincial pastor be sent to pastor a parish of 50 people? If that is what God is saying, run immediately to do it. The most unattractive assignment gets the biggest pay form God. If your refusal is out of fear and unbelief,examine the attributes and abilities of the One sending you. It will strengthen your faith.

KEY POINT: Many people struggle for Kingdom assignments that feed their ego while they run away from some other tasks.Neglected assignments such as sanitation and washing of toilets enjoy Heavens greater rewards.

Excerpts form Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye

Service from rivers

Tuesday 21 August                              Bible in one year: Isaiah 49-51

Memorise: I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water , and the dry land springs of water. Isaiah 41:18

Read : Exodus 14:21-31

When Elisha smote the waters of River Jordan and asked for the Lord God of his spiritual father, the river parted(2 Kings 2:14). What is that river before you today? It shall part in the name of Jesus. Interestingly, River Jordan is the only river that parted three times. It parted for Joshua,then for Elijah and now for Elisha. By reason of contact with these three men of God, River Jordan had experienced the anointing on these three men of God at different times.There are a few lessons to learn from this. Water we all know can conduct electricity. In the realm of the spirit, water is also a conductor. God has used water at different times to deliver a miracle to those who need them.For instance ,in 2Kings6:1-7,God made an axe head which felt into the river to float,contrary to the law of gravity and postulations of science.Similarly where there was no road,bridge or ship , God created  a highway for the children of Israel in the Red Sea but drowned all their enemies (Exodus 14:17-31). When the water in the land of Marah was bitter,God made it sweet- that is, a river became a river of wine. Jesus also had to walk on water to get to do the Father’s assignment . The water solidified under His feet.

God can deliver your blessings to you using a river as a channel.There is this story of man who got a bottle containing the will of a very wealthy woman where she wrote that whoever found that bottle will, should inherit all she had.The man found it in a river and his life was totally transformed. Every blessings that requires the service of the river before it can get to you , will receive  the support of the waters and be delivered to you this season in Jesus name.Do you know that some people lose their goods and blessings to the river through ship wreck? Those people,who took loans to ship goods by sea, would feel terrible to hear that the ship sand or that all their goods had to be thrown into the high sea in order to save those on board. Have you suffered such fate before? The Lord will restore all you lost.River Jordan serve a number of people. Rivers shall serve you. Seas shall deliver your blessings to you in Jesus name. Every sea that has swallow your blessings shall vomit it this season in Jesus name.

PRAYER POINT:The seas and rivers are God’s creation and are meant to serve us. Father, cause the seas and waters to cooperate with my helpers to deliver my blessings to me.

Excerpts from Pastor E.A Adeboye

Victim of lies

Monday 20 August                                   Bible in one year: 2 Kings 23-25

Memorise: Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto hananiah the prophet,Hear now,Hananiah; The Lord hath sent thee;but thou makest this people trust in a lie. Jeremiah 28:15

Read: Jeremiah 28:15-17

 Although some people love to believe in a lie,yet God's standard remains . If you enjoy being flattered, you are a lover of lies. Your self-deception will soon land you into trouble ( Proverbs 29:5). Beyond lying to on another, lying has assumed another frightening dimension. How? Lying is now a common feature in the house of God. In fact, lying has become a big money spinner in the house of God. Since people love to hear lies, they flock around those who will tell it to them. If instead of hearing the undiluted Word of God you prefer to run from one prophet to the other;you are a lover of lies and you may soon be a willing victim of deception. Lying in the name of the Lord is a grievous offence. Worse still is giving a pack of lies which you brand prophetic declarations from the Lord. We all know that genuine men of God are revered, so satanic agents and merchandising prophets are also seriously engaged in the business of deception in order to get reverence from people.

If you a lover of visions, beware or else you will become a victim of lies. Any prophetic declarations that has raised your hope, coming from merchandising prophets and pastors will surely disappoint you (Jeremiah 28:15). In some places, when a  lady wants a particular man as husband, all she needs do is "settle" the prophet or prophetess and later in the service  the leader will go into acrobatics. At some point, he will say, "thus says the Lord, Brother so and so , Sister so and so is your wife". Thereafter , the sister will pretend to refuse it or even feign tears asking :" How could God be so unfair to me? Why this particular brother?" Meanwhile , the men at the centre of it all does not know that he is an unwilling actor in a script written be the church leader and the lady. Those of you who go to your pastor to pray for you  and tell you who to marry, if care is not taken , you will become a victim of lies. You are simple lazy. No pastor or prophet should tell you who to marry. They are to pray along with you  , counsel and guide you using the Word of God. If you fail to pay the price to hear from God on that matter, you may be deceived. God can use your pastor or a genuine prophet of God to confirm what He had already told you. Many homes have been established on falsehood and that is why things are falling apart and the centre can no longer hold.

KEY POINT: Some pastors are seriously into match-making. They have taken over from the Holy Spirit. Match-Making remains God's prerogative and He has not delegated it to any any pastor.

Excerpts from Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye.

Arise

Sunday 19 August                              Bible in one year: 2 Kings 18-21

Memorise: Arise, Shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. Isaiah 60:1

Isaiah 60:1 says Arise. Arise is a command. God is not begging,pleading or advising you to arise. This is an order coming form the Commander-in-chief of the heavenly hosts.The command to arise can mean different things to different people depending on their present spiritual location or situation. If you are already dead, arise could mean come back to life.That was the kind of order Jesus gave to Jairus’s dead child (Mark5:35-42).In any way you are spiritually dead, today hear your Master’s command, Arise! On the other hand, to the sleeping arise could mean wake up. When the Lord took Peter,James and John with Him to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane in Mark 14:40-42, they were sleeping because their eyes were heavy. So the Lord told them to wake up. Are you sleeping spiritually? In the name of Jesus , arise today!

If you were not dead or asleep but sitting , arise could mean stand up and begin to move. In John 14:30-31, the disciples were sitting as Jesus talked with them. If you are sitting, it means there is work to be done but you are yet to do them. Are you procrastinating over the souls you should win to the kingdom? Arise. Are there pending jobs for you to do? Arise! But if you already on your feet,what does arise mean? it could mean to jump into action. For instance, when Samuel came to the house of Jesse in 1 Samuel 16:11-13 , and could not find God’s choice there , he said nobody should sit down until David was brought from the backside of the desert. By his orders to arise; he was saying move into action now. Are you already on your feet in certain areas? God is saying put in more effort ,more life, and more time to get a better results. What if you are not just standing but already walking? To you , arise means start running like David did towards Goliath(1 Samuel17:48). But if you are already running, to arise means grab some wings and do some flying.A woman delivered a baby in Revelation 12:13-16 and was being chased by the dragon so she arose by getting wings and soaring high above its reach. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says you should move from glory to glory. Wherever you are , God is saying to you ,arise!

PRAYER POINT:  Father,wherever i am presently located, help me to arise and make a difference in your kingdom.

Excerpts from Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye

JUBILEE RELOCATES

Saturday 18 August                                              Bible in one year: 2 Kings 15-17
Memorise: so we say that they could no enter in because of unbelief. Hebrew 3:19
Read:11:39-45
God can restore your lost dreams and destiny when your Jubilee comes. Jubilee is also a time of relocation.The one in bondage is free to go back to his family,another location,a new position , etc. When the day of Jubilee came for Moses ,God moved him from the backside of the desert and placed him at the centre of history.He went from where nothing was happening to where history was being made.Are you where nothing is happening presently? The Lord will soon relocate you to where your contributions would be most valued. Another person who was relocated during Jubilee was Joseph. He was in prison for doing nothing wrong and seem to have forgotten by those he thought could help him. Yet, in Genesis 41:37-46 , when his day of jubilee dawned , God relocated him from prison to throne. Before you were born God had a place you will fit into like a jigsaw puzzle. That place is designed with you in mind. On the day of your Jubilee the Lord will move you form where you are into that position of His entire plan. He has promised that you shall be the head and the tail. That will be your portion this season in Jesus name. What of Lazarus? people ,including his sisters protested that the stench  from his body would drive everyone away. This meant , it was better Lazarus was left dead and buried. But because his day of Jubilee had dawned unknown to his sisters, the Lord relocated him from the grace and turned him into a celebrity. Have people, including your family members written you off? Have they said nothing good can come out of you? Have your teachers told you that you are so daft that you cannot graduate? Have you become a laughing stock to those around you?Have people been looking down on you  and treading on you all your life? Wait a minute! Something good is about to happen.All those people are about to receive the greatest shock of their lives. God is relocating you right to the top. You are moving to the other side of sorrow.

PRAYER POINT: Father , because my jubilee has come , cause me to walk upon my high places.

Excerpts from Open Heavens by Pastor E. A Adeboye

Dangerous desires

Friday 17 August                                Bible in on year : 2 Kings 11-14

Memorise: And he gave them their request ;but sent leanness into their soul. Psalms 106:15

Read: Numbers 11:31-35

Some believers are so much in a hurry that they cannot wait on God for anything. If God expects you to wait, then you have nothing else to do but wait. In fulfilling His promises, God expects you to wait on Him.The Christian race is a marathon where patience is a key component.God rewards the patient. He also rewards the impatient. When you are impatient with God concerning a blessing,by the time He gives you the blessing prematurely , it will either cause you shame for the rest of your life or may even kill you. Psalms 106:15 says God gave Israelite their requests but added leanness to their souls. Why? While in the wilderness, God gave them a mono-food product- manna but they soon got tired of it and began to lust for meat. At some point , in virtually all the families, after complaining so bitterly,they sat by the front door weeping because they did not have meat to eat. In a wilderness situation, you are under trial and therefore you are not the one to dictate what you will go through but God.In Matthew 4:1-11, our Lord Jesus Christ also went through a wilderness situation. In His case , He fasted throughout. But because the Isrealites wanted to dictate to God how they should undergo their trial, God gave them flesh. As they put it in their mouths , the Lord sent a plague which destroyed many of them.

Self-will is a destroyer. Many people have severely hurt themselves as a result of their personal desires. If you find it difficult to submit your tastes, desires and habits to God, you will continue to hurt yourself. Some sisters so pressed the Lord for a particular brother as a husband to the point that the same God who had said "No" eventually said "Yes". How such sisters would have rejoiced and bragged about their accomplishment , not knowing that they had just signed up for their own unhappiness. Sometimes when God gives you your heart desires contrary to His will, everything may appear right but your soul will be plagued with leanness. A lean soul is on its way to destruction. The voice of God is cut off from the fellow and he or she will walk about as one who does not know where he or she is going.Check your desires!

PRAYER POINT: Father, every request I make or desire i have ,that can bring your judgment up on me,please do not grant such request and take such desires away from my heart.
Excerpts from Open Heavens by Pastor E.A Adeboye