BELIEVING: A KEY TO RECEIVING

MEMORY VERSE: And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Matthew 21:22

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 6-10

Don’t give up! Jesus is still in the business of answering prayers. He has answered a lot of prayers in times past. He is still answering prayers today and He will continue to answer prayers as far as we call on Him. That same Jesus we read about in the bible is still alive meeting needs, touching lives, opening doors, wiping away tears, restoring broken homes, doing wonders, etc. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Not too long ago, a sister and I were discussing about one of her young sisters who had just undergone a major operation and they needed large sums of money to pay for her rehabilitation. This kind-hearted sister was the bread winner of her family and she had spent ‘all’ she had on the operation. In addition, she had exhausted all the avenues she could get money from and all to no avail. I would have loved to give her the money but I didn’t have a penny too. Thank God, we, I and the sister, both knew a God who owns the entire bank in the world. As she shared this problem with us, this dropped in my spirit: “if everything fails, try praise”. I told her what I heard and encouraged her to start praising God. I must confess, convincing her to praise God, at that point, wasn’t easy but the Holy Spirit convinced her and she did. Last night, I was told that a doctor, a man with a large heart, from the hospital had volunteered to foot the bill. God literally paid the bill without her going into debt. What a wonderful God we serve. What a powerful God we serve. What a caring savior we have. The fact that you don’t have money does not mean you can’t do that project.

One key to receiving that thing you have asked for in prayers is ‘believing’. Jesus said, ”And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:22). When Jarius received the news about his daughter’s death, Jesus told him, “Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole” (Luke 8:50). He believed and his daughter was raised back to life. Before Peter received his miracle of abundant fishes, he first believed. Luke 5:5 says, “And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.” Before that generous widow of Zarapheth received her divine provision, she first believed that the God of Elijah was able to do those things He had promised through His servant (1 Kings 17:7-16). All we need to receive our blessings is ‘believe’. Believe what the word of God says about you and your circumstances. The moment one begins to doubt, that's it. James 1:6-7 says: “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” Believe that all will be well with you. You don’t need to have a doctorate degree in theology to believe. You don’t have to be a powerful man of God to believe. You don’t need to be a deacon to believe. Fortunately, I and that sister are ordinary people. We believed that praising God will release financial breakthrough and it did. Even if you have problems believing, probably because this is the first time of hearing this and it seems too simple to your educated mind, you can still ask the Lord to help your unbelief and He will do that for you.

NOTE: Romans 6:14a says, ” For sin shall not have dominion over you”. Believe that Word and begin to walk in the liberty that Christ has given to you.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please help my unbelief.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

HEARING FROM GOD: A KEY TO LIVING A VICTORIOUS LIFE

MEMORY VERSE: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Revelations 2:29

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 44-47

One of the key conditions that must be met before a man can enjoy a walk with God is the ability to hear from God. The Lord told the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 28 that if they would listened to His voice, great blessings will be theirs. He also warned them saying: “But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:”(Deuteronomy 28:15). Hearing from God is crucial to our existence on the face of the earth. We can give several examples of people who have escaped death because they could hear from God. A particular brother was dressing up one morning to go and watch car racing. He and some other brethren in the church had arranged to meet up at a particular spot where they could get a very good view of the racing track. Whilst he was shaving, the spirit of the Lord told him to remain indoors and study his bible. Being a brother with integrity, having given his word to his friends that he would attend, he didn't want to go back on his word. Nevertheless, he obeyed and remained in doors. By 8am the car race started, and he could hear their powerful engines from his apartment. After a short while, he had a deafening bang and he rushed out. He instinctively knew that the bang came from the racing track. When he got to the spot where he was supposed to meet his friends and watch the race from, he saw dead bodies, some with severed hands lying all around. As God will have it, when his friends got there around 8am and he was not there, they left to watch the race at another spot thereby escaping death too.

Hearing from God is a precursor to getting it right in the choice of a marriage partner and having a blissful marriage. Joseph, earthly father of Jesus, heard from God in a dream that he should take Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:20). The servant of Abraham who was sent to get a wife for Isaac heard from God before speaking to Rebecca’s parents (Genesis 24:13-21). The ability to hear from God is necessary if a man does not want to make costly mistakes in life or take a wrong step. The revered man of God, Samuel, almost anointed the wrong candidate as king over Israel. He was about to anoint Eliab as king when the Lord, who sees the heart of every man, told him to stop. Hearing from God puts one's mind at rest whilst others are panicking. Whilst everyone on onboard with Paul were screaming, panicking, some saying their last prayers - most likely asking for forgiveness of all their sins - Paul was unmoved by tempestuous wind, Euroclydon, that was blowing ferociously at the ship. The man of God had heard from God that, although the ship will be totally destroyed, there will be no loss of lives (Acts 27:1-44). I am not an author when it comes to hearing from God. I am still learning to hear from God and asking Him to help me to hear more. But, i can share an experience or two, in my life, that will help you appreciate the importance of hearing from God. Several years ago, i had a challenge at work and it was obvious that i was gone especially when someone was brought to replace me. I was favoured to have a lot of caring people around me (God bless their darling hearts) and they began to worry that i was going to lose my job. In the midst of all this, i was at peace because God had said to me through His Word, ‘Christ in you the hope of glory ‘(Colossians 1:27). Anytime people called, i would tell them "all will be well” and to the glory of God all went well. Had i not heard from God, i would have looked for another job, leaving where God wanted me to be at that time. When the Pharisees told Jesus to run for His life as Herod was making plans to kill Him, He told them "Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected"( Luke 13:31-32). Hearing from God puts you in charge of the situations in your life. Jesus was always in control of circumstances because He hears from God.

NOTE: To hear from God, one must spend time in the place of prayer. If one is not regularly talking to God, He will not talk back to the fellow. Also, meditating on the scripture, obeying the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit and living a life of holiness and purity are a must for anyone who wants to hear from God.

PRAYER POINT: Father, please give me a hearing heart.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

DON’T BE DISTRACTED

MEMORY VERSE: And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? Luke 12:13-14

 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Mark 3-4

 

Before i gave my life to Christ, one of my hobbies was movies. I would spend a whole weekend – Friday evening, the whole of Saturday and Sunday – watching movies. I stopped all that not because it is a sin to watch movies, but because i no longer have the time. There is Friday evening service to attend, there is church cleaning on Saturday morning, outreach in the afternoon, etc. All these aside, the time i would spend watching a movie could be used to meditate on the scripture, read a book by an anointed man or woman of God, pray or intercede. Also, i have come to realise that most of the movies out there don’t really help my spiritual growth. This is not to say i have not seen a movie in the last five years or so . As i lay on the bed recently, one of the few scenes i saw in a movie came back to my mind. A con-artist was trying to dupe a very rich man. This rich man made his fortune from gambling. He gambles on anything gamble-able (if such word exists). This well prepared con-artist made a bet with this seasoned gambler. The gambler let this con-artist win few bets just to encourage him to continue gambling. Suddenly, the game changed. This seasoned gambler began to win back his money. Within five minutes, he had won 500,000 dollars from this con-artist. As you know, that is a huge amount of money. As every gambler does, the con-artist made a bet of 1 million dollars to get back his 500, 000 dollars. Unfortunately, he lost. By this time, the con-artist started sweating and shaking. His girl friend was begging him to quit so as not to lose his life saving. All this while, the proud gambler was puffing out smoke from his cancer stick i.e. cigarette. In defiance, the con-artist made a bet of 3 million dollars. It was obvious that this con-artist had lost his marbles. To everyone’s shock, the con-artist won the bet and took the 6 million dollars. The drama – the tears, the shouting at each other, and the plea to stop gambling his life savings away- was carefully rehearsed and played out to distract this gambler.

 

According to Merriam Webster dictionary, a distraction is something that makes it difficult to think or pay attention. That gambler lost vast sums of money because he allowed himself to be distracted by the happenings around him. Friend, what is your focus? What have you set your mind to achieve this year? Be careful not to be distracted. What assignment has God given to you? Be careful not to be distracted. The moment a man loses his focus; such a man has lost his destiny. Despite everything, Jesus refused to be distracted. The enemy offered him power and authority to distract Him from His divine purpose but He refused (Luke 4:5-9). Even when someone brought a land dispute to Him, He refused to be distracted by it. Luke 12: 13 says, “And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.” The response our beloved saviour gave was, “who made me a judge over you?” In other words, I am here to preach the gospel not to get myself involved in land dispute. The essence of ‘distractions’ is to make it difficult for us to either think or pay attention to our God -given goals. Don’t be distracted by beauty, character is what you should look out for especially in the choice of a marriage partner.  Beauty does fade away but character does not. Don’t be distracted by the suit or bible exposition given by a brother, the fruit of the spirit is what you should watch out for in a brother. Don’t be distracted by what others are doing or saying, stick to what God has asked you to do and it shall be well with you. Don’t be distracted by the terrible happenings around us, focus on the second coming of Christ. 

 

THOUGH OF THE DAY: Focus on what the scriptures says concerning what God will do in your life and don’t be distracted by your present circumstances.

 

NOTE: A man who does not have a focus does not have a destination in life and such men will be easily distracted.

 

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

ALAS! THE AXE IS LAID UNDER THE TREES

MEMORY VERSE: And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Matthew 3:10

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 56-61. 

Please pay very close attention to coincidences in your walk with Christ. In my personal life, i have come to realise that there are no coincidence in Christ. Matthew 10:29 says: “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.” Have you ever pondered on the fact that God can make good come even out of our mistakes? Roman 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Some missionaries went to Argentina for evangelical outreach during the regime of Dictator General Juan Domingo Peron. It was a time of great unrest and parts of the country were in open revolt. As these brothers moved around, from town to town, sharing tracts and preaching the good news, they came to a town with this large notice: ‘Missionaries, keep out!’ In view of the unrest in the nation and the band of armed gangs roaming the streets of this small town, it was prudent for them to withdraw back to their base. 

Now it happened that they had ordered a consignment of tapes consisting of a series of expositions on Romans which Pastor Willie Mullan was delivering. (I will encourage you to get his books.) A tape dealing with a chapter at a time was sent to these missionaries as soon as the message was delivered. They had already received tapes of the first eight chapters and among their possession was a small, unopened parcel supposedly containing a tape on chapter 9. Tired and frustrated, they decided to pass the night by listening to the tape inside the unopened parcel. To their surprise and initial disappointment, they heard the man of God describing the Israelites approaching the Red Sea. Someone back in Pastor Mullan's office, in Ireland, had slipped up and dispatched the wrong tape. This address was based on the words of the Lord,' Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward.' They listened in silence and when it ended the silence deepened. Each of them realised that God had spoke to them that night. Their problem had disappeared. God was telling them to go forward and share tracts! They returned the next morning to that little town with fresh zeal and boldness and began sharing tracts. Guess what... no one said a word to them. God had used someone’s mistake in Ireland to encourage some group of missionaries in far away Argentina!

God, like every farmer, expects fruits. He expects each and every of His child to bear fruits. What type of fruits is He expecting to see? Firstly, the fruit of the lips or praise and worship (Isaiah 57:19). Secondly, fruit meet for repentance (Matthew 3:18). Thirdly, fruit of souls (John 15:16). Fourthly, the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). What will happen if a tree fails to bear fruits? The Lord has said that He will abandon such trees (Isaiah 5:1-7). God will not abandon you in the mighty name of Jesus.  In 1 Kings 13, we see what can happen if God abandons a fellow. A prophet disobeyed God and God abandoned him. A lion came out of the bush and killed him. What if a tree is not bearing good fruits? Well, such trees will be cut down and cast into fire. Matthew 3:10 says: “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” 

QUESTIONS: Are you bearing fruits? What type of fruits are you producing? 

PRAYER POINT: Father, please help me to continue bearing fruits.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

WHO ARE YOU?

MEMORY VERSE: And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? 1 Samuel 15:17

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Job 21-22

I remember the last words of my loving father as i boarded the plane many years ago to study abroad. In his deep baritone voice, he said, “Son! Remember the son of whom you are.” I thought i understood him perfectly well at that time. I thought he was trying to tell me to stay away from crime and not get myself involved in anything that could tarnish his name. But today by the special grace of God, i am now beginning to understand what he meant. The old man was saying, “son, no matter how high God lifts you in life, don’t forget your roots. Never forget the lowly state He picked you from to go and study abroad.”

Saul was a young man with all the physical and mental qualities of a king. 1 Samuel 9:2 says, “And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.” He was the best in the land, yet he was humble and teachable. He had already made up his mind to give up searching for the missing asses when his servant brought an ordinary suggestion to go and see the man of God, who was resident in that area, about the missing asses (1 Samuel 9:5-7). Any other person would have disciplined the servant for talking without being asked to talk, but Saul listened to this servant and went with him to the man of God. The journey to the man of God changed his life forever. Please don't ever get big to that extent where God will not be able to use people under you to counsel you. God at times deliberately speak to leaders through their servants. Do you remember that God encouraged Naaman to humble himself and dip in River Jordan seven times through his servants (2 Kings 5)? Also, it was an ordinary maid, who was living with Mrs Naaman, that God used to bring solution to the problem in their family?

What made Saul little in his eyes was his humble beginning. 1 Samuel 9:21 says: “And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?” Because Saul was humble, the Lord decided to make him king over Israel. 1 Samuel 15:17 says, “And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?” When Saul became king he forgot that he was a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel. He forgot his background. He forgot the son of whom he was and began to flout God’s commandment as he pleased. Don’t ever forget where God picked you from. Don’t ever forget the days of your humble beginning. There was a beggar who the Lord lifted up from the dunghill and prospered. This beggar in other not to forget where God picked him from, he kept the rags he used to wear when he was a beggar. From time to time, he would go to the room where he kept those rags just keep him in check. There was a Northern Ireland Baptist pastor by the name Willie Mullan. He was a tramp before God saved him and gave him a ministry that touched the whole world. At the height of his ministry, he never forgot that he was a tramp God picked up, cleaned and gave a ministry. The moment people wanted to praise him for the work God was doing through him, he would remind them that he was a tramp God picked up. Because of this, God started elevating him to the extent that people would gather to listen to his tape in far away Iraq in the sixties. He maintained that view of himself till he died. Saul’s view of himself changed and he fell from grace to grass.

QUESTION: Who are you? Are you a successful lawyer or that young lawyer without a clue who the Lord picked up and promoted? Do you see yourself as that wretched sinner God saved or the pastor of a big ministry? Do you see yourself as the wife of a successful man or the young girl God showed favour to and married a successful man? Are you an award winning author or that man or woman God blessed with the gift of writing?

PRAYER POINT: Father, help me to remain humble all days of my life.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

ABSOLUTE SURRENDER

MEMORY VERSE: And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. Genesis 32:25-26

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 30 - 32

READ: Genesis 32:24-28

When you go through the bible, from Genesis to Revelation, you will find that God does not move or work things out in the life of a man until there is absolute surrender. Not until a man perfectly and totally submits himself and his will into the hands of God, he will not receive that good thing God has in store for him. Take for instance the first man- Adam. Before God gave him a wife – a good thing and God's favour (Proverbs 18:22) – he was given a divine anaesthetic to put him in a state of absolute surrender. Genesis 2:21-22 says this: “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.” I see a lot of our ‘singles’ struggling with the Lord when it comes to the issue of marriage instead of absolutely surrendering to the Great Match-maker. I see a lot of efforts - many sisters in a bit to attract a man do some expensive hairstyles, some change their hairstyles every two weeks. Some brothers invest in expensive suits and shoes in a bit to attract a sister. Many of our youths have changed churches three to four times just to improve their chances of meeting a Christian brother or sister to marry and all to no avail.

Not until a man absolutely surrenders a situation to God, He will not move. Not until we repeat these words of Jesus – “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42) – and mean them from the bottom of our heart, our ‘will’ will always prevent His ‘will’ from coming to pass in our lives. The Lord wants to help you. He wants to make the best out of your life. Many of us have literally messed up. We have done things we should not do especially whilst in the university. We have let important opportunities in life pass us by as a result of our negligence and habit of procrastination. We have built a faulty foundation – a foundation that is beginning to shake. We thought we were invincible, we thought we were going to be young forever, we thought the 'beauty' was going to be there forever , we thought the strength was never going to wane so we lived a rough life. Thank God we are now in the able hands of Christ. (If you have not given your lives to Christ you better do so now, because He alone can fix a destroyed life). All He demands of us is absolute surrender so that He can work on us and heal us. I am able to type these words because the keyboard and mouse have absolutely surrendered themselves to me. That’s what Christ wants from each of us today. Not until Jacob absolutely surrendered to the angel of the Lord, his name and destiny did not change. Genesis 32:25-26 says, “And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.”

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: You are limited in every way and God is unlimited in every way. It will be a wise thing to submit everything into His capable hands.

ACTION: Pray this prayer from the bottom of your heart, “Father, i absolutely surrender my life to you”

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.

WHERE’S THE OLD HUNGER

MEMORY VERSE: Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Revelations 2:4

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 1-5

Hunger and thirst are mechanisms God has put inside every living creature, especially animals and humans, to ensure their survival. Without these mechanisms functioning as it should function, the human race will become extinct within a year. That is, if we all decide to stop eating and drinking, within 6 months we will all be dead. Hunger and thirst do not only act as mechanisms for survival but also mechanisms to achieve our God-given goals. Proverbs 16:26 says: “He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.” Hunger for good grades caused some of us to do some things when we were in the university. I remember going to ‘Infinity’ to read. ‘Infinity’ was an uncompleted primary school building, on a fairly large expanse of land, where students go to at night to read. We gave that building the name ‘Infinity’ because it was a spot to read till Infinity i.e. till you are tired. At infinity some students study for 12 straight hours! I remember i was once awake for more than three days, studying and going for exams.

When some of us gave our lives to Christ, the hunger to serve the Lord caused us to take some actions. I remember days after i had the dream that changed my life, i deleted 6,000 tracks of songs from my PC. I had Lil Wayne, Bob Marley, Aerosmith, Gnarls Barkley, Pink, Nelly, Bone Thugs N Harmony, 2 PAC, B.I.G, Fela, Just name it. I had virtually songs from every artist you can think of, i had albums, mix tapes, etc. In one day, i deleted all because i wanted to burn the bridge between my horrible past and the glorious future Christ had for me. I deleted over 100 movies, threw away close to fifty worldly novels, and threw away some clothes. Then i had two pairs of Ed Hardy jeans, each costing around 150 pounds at that time. I threw them away because of the skulls that were drawn on them and what it stood for. A particular sister was sharing with us that when she gave her life to Christ, the hunger to burn the bridge between her past and the glorious future Christ had for her, made her to return all the gifts - clothes, bags, shoes, etc, her ex boyfriend bought for her. Not only that, she burnt all the pictures of her wearing clothes that exposed her body and the ones she took with her exes.

Also, that hunger to serve Him caused some of us to join the group of workers in the church. That hunger to please Him caused some of us to start personal evangelism. That hunger to be close to Him caused some of us to spend time with Him learning the scriptures. That hunger to be His special sons and daughters caused some us to give some special offerings. And whilst we were doing all these, He kept on increasing us and blessing us. He kept on anointing us and giving us deep revelations. Some of us even began to see visions and hear His audible voice. As we were doing all these, we kept on growing in the Lord. Some of our spiritual growths even astound fellow brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, that old hunger has now died in the life of many of us. Many of us are no longer hungry to serve the Lord. The hunger to please the Lord is missing in our lives. That hunger to be close to God is no longer there. Majority of us cannot remember the last time we thought about heaven and the second coming of Christ. The hunger to be His special boys and girls is no longer there. Back in the days, it was standard for many of us to spend quality time with God at least once a week. Today, that no longer happens. What is God saying to us? “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love” (Revelations 2:4)?

QUESTION: Where is that old hunger to grow spiritually? Where is that old hunger to please the Lord? Where is that old hunger to excel in the things of God? Where is that old hunger to be the best you can be for Jesus? Where is that old hunger to live holy?

PRAYER POINT: Father, please create in me a deep hunger to please you.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.