IS THIS MIND IN YOU?

MEMORIZE: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: Philippians 2:6-7

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Revelations 7-8, Proverbs 18

Philippians 2:6 says this: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” The word ‘mind’ in Philippians 2:6 means mindset. What is a mindset? It is a particular way of thinking. “Let this mind (set) be in you,” implies that you currently have a mindset i.e. there is particular way you think or see life. “..., which was also in Christ Jesus,” implies that Jesus, whilst on earth had a mindset too. He had a particular way of thinking. When the Pharisees caught that woman in adultery (John 8:1-10), they saw it as another opportunity to enforce the Law of Moses. However, Jesus saw it as an opportunity to show mercy and give her a second chance- although the woman took it as her last chance. Do you know from that day, she never committed adultery again?

Your current mindset, if you are yet to exchange it with that of Jesus, will frustrate the plan and purpose of God for your life. Virtually everything Jesus achieved - success in ministry, completion of His divine assignment, can be attributed to His mindset. Let us briefly look at one of His mindsets. Philippians 2:6-7 says, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” It is difficult to tell if a sister is truly humble until she gets married. Likewise, it is difficult to tell if a brother is humble until he becomes rich or gets into power. There is an adage, where i come from, which says, “you will never see the true colour of a man until he achieves something.” Humility is a thing of the heart. It is borne out of a particular mindset. Jesus knew who He was. He was God the Son i.e. God. He knew He owned everything. He knew He had the power to kill and to create. Despite all, the bible records that “He made Himself of no reputation.” He deliberately and purposely made Himself of no reputation. He owned all the gold in the world, yet He never wore a single gold ring not to talk of wearing a big chain with a massive gold cross or pendant. (I am not saying gold is a taboo for believers, if it was so, God would not have tarred the streets of heaven with gold). He was the King of kings, yet He walked around the streets of Judea on foot. He had no bodyguards or protocol officers swarming around Him. Despite all He had, He made himself like a normal man. He sat on the grass to teach people. He touched lepers. He ate with normal people. Looking at Jesus, it was difficult to tell if He was rich or not. He was the Teacher of teachers, yet He never gave Himself any title. One of His creations called Him by name, Jesus, the son of David, and He did not get angry. If you forget to put Dr before the names of some people with Doctorate degree, they will eat you raw. If you mistakenly address some men of God as brothers, you are dead!

QUESTION: Friend, do you have the mind of Christ? If Jesus, the Possessor of heaven and earth, is humble, what is our excuse for being proud? You have sworn to show that fellow who offended you. Would Christ do that?

PRAYER POINT: Father, please give me the mind of Christ.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

YOU MINISTER TO THE LORD; HE MINISTERS TO YOUR PROBLEMS

MEMORIZE: Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 1:3　

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Revelations 5-6, Proverbs 17　

There are many lessons to learn from the story in 2 Chronicles 20:1-37. Three mighty nations came together to exterminate the inhabitants of Judah. When Judah heard the news, the Ammonites, Moabites and people of Mount of Seir were on their way, they turned to the Lord in fasting, praying and praises. As they praised God, singing and dancing, the enemy began to kill themselves. Without lifting a finger, the Lord gave them victory over their enemies. It does not matter how big, connected, resourceful, influential your opponent is, once you have God on your side, victory becomes inevitable. Judah was outnumbered. Their enemy had all the military apparatus one could think of; they had all the man power one could wish for, despite all these, Judah still emerged victorious. Also, God never fails those that truly depend on Him. Many claim they depend on God but they have plan B and C just in case. From Jehoshaphat’s prayer, we can deduce that he fully depended on God. 2 Chronicles 20:12 says, "O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes　are　upon thee." Take note of this statement: "but our eyes are upon thee." In other words, we have no plan B or Plan C.　

If you forget everything we have shared so far, do not forget this : if you minister to God, He will minister to your problems. When we talk of ministering to God, eye service is not ministering to God. Neither is serving for recognition seen as ministering to God. When we talk of ministering to God, we are talking of serving in spirit and in truth; service that comes from the heart not out of compulsion; spend and ‘be spent’ kind of service. The inhabitants of Judah ministered to God, in prayer, praises and worship, and God ministered to their problems. Verse 19 says, "stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high." I will share a story that will give - I hope - an idea of what ministering to the Lord means. A single sister, around the age of 23 at that time, joined a ministry. From the first day she joined, she made up her mind to serve God and minister to Him in every way possible. She joined virtually all the groups in the church. She was part of the choir, outreach team, prayer warrior, sanctuary keeper, women drama group, church drama group, etc. On Saturdays, her friends, brothers and sisters in the church, would go to parties hoping to meet someone but she would go out with the outreach team to share flyers and tell people about Jesus. To people, she was wasting her life. "Why would a young beautiful girl spend the whole day in church when she should be going out to increase her chance of meeting a man," people thought. Not long after that, a brother joined the choir. Today, they are married with a child. She ministered to God and God ministered to her problem which was loneliness. Zechariah 1:3 says: "Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts." Friend, no one turns to God and regrets it because, the moment you turn to Him in repentance or to serve Him, He will turn to you. No one has ever served God genuinely and regretted it.　

QUESTION OF THE DAY: If you were the pastor of your church, will you because of tiredness not attend church service? If you were the pastor of your church, will you because of a misunderstanding between you and your partner refuse to go to church on Sunday? If you were the pastor of your church, will you because of a football match miss church service?　

PRAYER POINT: Father, remember my labor of love.　

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

BUT THE PRINCE OF THE KINGDOM OF PERSIA….

MEMORIZE: But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Daniel 10:13

Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. Daniel 10:20

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Revelations 3-4, Proverbs 16

In Paul’s first epistle to Timothy, he said, “I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority….”(2 Timothy 2:1-2). The first group of people Paul admonishes us to pray for, in our closets and in public gatherings, are kings/rulers and those in authorities. One may ask, why should I pray for the kings and those in authority first, even before I pray for my daily needs? Why should the prayer for rulers and those in authorities, come before the prayer for the church building we are believing God for? Why should the prayer for kings and those in authorities come before the prayer for a life partner? Why should the prayer for kings and those in authorities come before the prayer for revival? As written in the bible –the Word of God, why should the kings and those in authority come first in our prayers? Well, there are many reasons for that. For instance, we can only achieve all of the above i.e. buy church building, have a revival, get a job or start a business, when the country is enjoying the peace of God. I remember when London came under terrorist attack on Thursday July 5 2005; the first thing the prime minister said was no movement! That Thursday, all church services, mosque services and other public engagement, all around London were cancelled. Why? The city was under attack. Now imagine what would happen if the country was in war – I pray that will never happen in Jesus name. No one thinks of marriage, buying a church building or revival during war. If our kings i.e. presidents or heads of states, and those in authority get it right, we will live in peace and harmony. If they do not get it right or make the wrong decision, war will break out and everyone will suffer. 2 Timothy 2:2 says, “for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

Asides this, Satan and his dark angels knows that the easiest way to put the people of God under bondage is to use their leaders and those in authority against them. In Exodus, he used Pharaoh to put the children of Israel in bondage for a long while (Exodus 1-5). Daniel 10:13 says, “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.” The Persian Empire was ruling God’s people and behind the Persian Empire were the princes of Persia, wicked demons, who were in charge of things. These dark angels use the leaders of the Persian Empire to victimize God’s people. When the Persian Empire was defeated, the Empire of Greece followed. Behind the empire of Greece was another satanic angel called the Prince of Grecia or Greece. Daniel 10:20 says, “Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.” As you can see, Satan seeks to control the empires of the earth through its rulers in order to make its leaders and government instruments of his will. As such, we must pray for our governments in order to frustrate Satan and to bring our government under heaven’s control. If we do not pray, these dark angels will crowd in over the buildings where vital decisions are made that affect not only us but also the whole kingdom of God; we must not tolerate that invasion of Satan.

POINTS TO NOTE: There are many forces – visible and invisible - working against those in authorities. Blaming them will never solve the problem. The only way we can support them is to pray for them.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please let peace reign in the world. Also, every tree You have not planted, please uproot.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

ESTABLISHED BY UNDERSTANDING

MEMORIZE: Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established. Proverbs 24:3

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Revelations 2, Proverbs 31:13 – 14

What is required to build a house/ life/ family/ business is quite different from what is required to establish a house/life/family/business. Proverbs 24:3 says this: “Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established.” To build a thing requires wisdom. What is wisdom? It is the correct application of knowledge. However, to establish a thing i.e. to ensure that the thing you have built remains standing as long as possible, it requires understanding. One of the biggest causes of problems in human relationships is misunderstanding. Yesterday afternoon I saw how a little mis-understanding, between two people in a relationship, could lead to unhappiness, disappointment, feelings of guilt and many other negative emotions. I went to a fruit and vegetable stall to get some lemons. Whilst standing in the queue, a woman waiting to be served observed that, her son, a boy of around 4 years old, was not by her. She called out his name and there was no response. Her face changed, she called the name again and there was no response. (The fruit and vegetable stall was right next to a busy road and there were people all round.) She started to shake and yell out her son’s name. By this time, everyone had literally begun to look for this boy. Suddenly, this boy crept out of where he was hiding. He had a big bright smile on his face – he had successfully hid himself and mum could not find him. Out of anger, the mum gave him a dirty smack on the bum. “Where have you been”, she screamed at him – almost bursting into tears. The boy began to cry. Immediately, she realized that the boy did not mean to cause her grief. She tried to pull him to herself but the boy refused.

What happened between this young boy and his mum was a case of simple mis-understanding. All he was trying to do was play ‘hide and seek’ with mum but she did not get it. Unfortunately, he did the right thing at the wrong time and at the wrong place. Had it been that the mum knew the young boy was trying to play ‘hide and seek’ initially, she would not have smacked him that hard. I think she probably would have dealt with the issue differently. By the time mum realized that he was only trying to play ‘hide and seek’-doing what any child of his age would do, it was too late. This is what happens when we mis-understand each other. Mr A does something or says something; Mr B mis-interprets it and reacts negatively. By the time Mr B realizes that Mr A meant no harm, it is too late. Before you know it, their relationship becomes strained. If care is not taken, that relationship may break. To establish something already built, you need understanding. You need to understand that people are different. They think differently, behave differently, respond differently to the same issue, and have different perspective on the same issue. You need to understand that people work at different pace. You need to understand that some of what you consider as good ideas, to some people they are bad ideas. You need to remember that we come from different backgrounds and we express ourselves in different ways. Having all these at the back on one’s mind always help when working with people. One of the few things you can do to avoid mis-understanding people or things is seek to understand things or people. Why did he say what he said? Was he provoked? Was it intentional? Was he responding to what was said to him? It is always good to see things from other people’s perspective. Also if you are not sure, ask question instead of jumping into conclusion.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: There are no permanent enemies. That fellow that is wicked to you today may become your lifesaver tomorrow.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please increase my understanding so that I will not pull down the things you have built in my life.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

WHEN DIVINE GUIDANCE IS IGNORED

MEMORIZE: and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 119:153 - 176, Proverbs 31:13, 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

Recently I wanted to go somewhere, I had the address of where I was going to but I was not sure about the route so I decided to use a satellite navigator. (A satellite navigator guides an individual from his present location to his destination.) I put the address in the SatNav (Satellite Navigator); it calculated how long the journey would take, which was 8 minutes, and then proceeded to guide me to the destination. “Drive straight, at the end of the road turn left,” was the first instruction I received. I ignored it and took the first left. (Remember, I had an idea of the route.) I decided to use my knowledge until I got to where I was not sure. Immediately I turned left, the SatNav re-calculated the route and informed me that the journey would now take 7 minutes. I smiled to myself. It continued to give route instructions and I obeyed until I got to another area where I thought I knew the route better than the SatNav. Instead of driving straight as instructed, I took a right turn to avoid traffic and cut down the journey time. After I turned, it re-calculated the route and instructed me to make a ‘U’ turn at any available opportunity but I ignored the instruction. I continued to drive hoping it will re-calculate the route and give me a new instruction but it kept on instructing me to make U-turn. After a short while, I decided to comply and let the SatNav do its job. I made a ‘U’ turn and followed all the instructions from that moment to the letter. When I arrived at my destination, I checked to see how long the journey took and to my shock, I did an 8 minutes journey in 14 minutes!

As I pondered about the whole thing, it dropped in my spirit that my attitude towards the instructions from the SatNav is exactly the attitude of many of us towards divine instructions. God has told many of us to go straight but we turned either to avoid traffic i.e. problems or take a short cut. My disobedience to the SatNav seemed like a good idea at first- I was even encouraged to ignore it more - but at the end, I wished I had followed the instructions to the letter. Because of the rewards many received from initial disobedience to divine instruction, they are encouraged to ignore divine instruction once a while. Friend, if God tells you to go right and you go left, it may seem like a good idea at first but at the end, you will wish you had gone right as He instructed. Has God instructed you to make a U-turn i.e. turn completely from a particular path or way of doing things but you ignored it hoping to get a new instruction, friend you will not get a new instruction until you turn. God’s counsel is always the same regardless of where you go. If God spoke through a man of God that you should not divorce, you can go to all the men and women of God in the world, the counsel would come back the same.

POINTS TO NOTE: God’s route takes you to God’s destination for your life while your route will ultimately land you in no destination. Every time you follow your route, you waste resources. Every time I took my route, I wasted resources – car fuel, time, energy, etc. Every time you follow your route, the time it should take for you to reach your destination increases. There is a reason for every instruction, that left turn or stay at home and pray could save your life.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please help me to stop working against myself.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

KEEP YOUR HEART WITH ALL DILLIGENCE

 MEMORISE: Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are all the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 119:145 - 152, Proverbs 31:12, 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

BIBLE STUDIES: Matthew 13:18-23

Why do we keep our bin bags outside our homes – without the fear of it been stolen or anything – and our mobile phones, laptops, Ipads – inside our homes? Why do people pay a lot of money to keep documents in bank vaults and cast their broken TV outside their homes? Why do we insure our cars and do not insure our wastes? It is simple. We keep our mobile phones/laptops/Ipads with all diligence because they valuable to us and throw our bin bags outside because they are of no value.  People keep documents in bank vaults because the information in those documents is worth something but they throw their broken TV outside – for the bin collectors to pick them – because they are worth nothing. Friend, we insure our cars and properties because they are useful to us and as such, we want to be able to replace them in case they are damaged or destroyed but no one insures his or her waste because it is useless.

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are all the issues of life.” The moment we hear the word ‘keep,’ words like - ‘valuables,’ ‘useful,’ ‘important’ and their synonyms, comes to mind. The heart of man can be compared to a soil (Matthew 13:18-23). Whatever you plant in it –good thoughts or bad thoughts, hatred or love - will germinate and bear fruits. If you leave it unattended to, weeds –destructive thoughts - will start to grow in it. Why do you need to keep your heart with all diligence? There are a lot of reasons why you need to keep your heart with all diligence but we will look at two. Firstly, you need to keep your heart with all diligence because according to Proverbs 4:23, out of it flows the issues of life. Proverbs 23:7 says,” for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” I read this from somewhere and I will like to share it with you. “Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become your habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. Watch your character, for they become your destiny.” In a nutshell, you are the sum total of your thoughts. Your thoughts inform your speech. Your thought dictates your action. Your thoughts determine your mood. Your thought will define the direction of your life. Secondly, you need to keep your heart because there is someone who desperately wants to take possession of it. The person is Satan. He wants access to your heart because he knows that once he gets it, you are finished. He wants to sell some lies to you. He wants you to believe that you are a failure. He wants you to believe that there is no God. He wants to put fear inside you so that your faith will disappear and you displease God. As such, you need to keep it with all diligence so that he does not gain access into it. The moment he gains access into it, he will start to direct your life. The enemy is always looking for access and he gains access mostly when we are down or facing challenges. This is why you must never stop meditating on the word of God. This is why you must be careful who you discuss things with.

CONFESSION: I reject every evil thought in the name of Jesus.

PRAYER POINT:  I purge my heart of every destructive thought in the name of Jesus.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

WHY GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME?

MEMORY VERSE: Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Philippians 2:12

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 119:121-144, Proverbs 31:11, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Philippians 2:12 says, “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” There are many reasons why you and I need to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, but the most important one is that you and I are going to stand before the judgment seat once. Hebrews 9:27 says this: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” There will be no second chance. The moment judgment is passed, that is it. You can repeat a class if you fail. You will be permitted to re-take a paper or an exam if you do not meet the cut off mark. If you lose an election, there will be another opportunity in four or five years, depending on the country, to campaign and give it another shot. In heaven, judgment will hold once and after that is reward or punishment. (After judgement, it is either “depart from Me for i know you not” or “welcome good and faithful servant.”) There will be no chance to return to earth, after judgement, to give your life to Christ, make amendments, or live holy. This is why you and I must obey God’s words to the letter. Brethren, if you are not sure of anything maybe a doctrine or a practice, do not follow it. Many people ask me if it is right for a Christian woman to put on trousers, pray with their hair uncovered and other things. My answer is this, it is better not to do any of those, get to heaven and be told that it does not matter than do them, get to heaven only to find out that God disapproves of it. Be on the safe side.

Also in marriage, my single brothers and sisters, make sure you get it right the first time. Just as there will be no second chance after judgment, there will be no second chance after marriage. You only have one short at it. You may say, “If i get it wrong the first time, i can divorce and re-marry again.” The only condition for divorce is adultery – God does not accept irreconcilable difference as an excuse for divorce. Anyone who has gone through divorce before will tell you it is not a good idea. Divorce will leave you with a deep emotionally scar that may never heal up. Divorce means a part of you will have to die. Once a part of you dies, a form of death has entered into the equation of your life. If care is not taken, death – financially, emotionally, martially - will spread to other areas of your life. This is why, dear sisters and brothers, if you are not sure about a brother or sister - it does not matter how far you have gone in the relationship - stop it and go back to the prayer room. Do not marry anyone out of pity. It is true that breaking a relationship or courtship is very painful, but the pains cannot be compared to that of a failed marriage or worse still divorce. The only way to get it right the first time is to do things the right way - now that you are still single or in a relationship. Do not allow a man to introduce you to his friends as his fiancée when you have not heard from God. Do not go to parties with him or social functions with him when you have not heard from God. Until you are joined together in holy matrimony, you are not his wife and he is not your husband. Do not behave like his wife or give him the ‘green light’ until you have heard from God. Many do this to keep a man whilst waiting to hear from God. If you have not heard from God concerning him, sister, there is no point talking with him every night on the phone except you want to get married without hearing from God and that is not advisable. Part of getting it right in your relationship is avoid discussing intimate things like sexual positions, weak points, how you sleep at night, etc. Many under the disguise of getting to know a lady ask these questions. If you want a man to appreciate you in marriage, sister, avoid those topics before marriage. If you want God’s presence in that relationship, you must do it right. Once God leaves, you can be rest assured that Satan will come in with full force and cause problems after problems.

TO DO: Make amendments immediately where required.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please help me so that i will not end up in hell.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.