“AND THE WICKED COMETH IN HIS STEAD”

MEMORY VERSE: And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode. Acts 12:19

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Numbers 13-16

BIBLE READING: Acts 12:6-19

Proverbs 11:8 says, “The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.” There are two lessons to learn from this text. Firstly, the righteous will be delivered out of trouble. It does not matter how tough the challenge maybe, the Lord will deliver him. Psalm 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” Proverbs 24:16 says, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” Secondly, the wicked comes in his stead. In Acts 12:6-19 Peter (a righteous man) was put in prison by King Herod to be tried and mostly likely killed. They kept him in a secured prison chained in between two strong soldiers. In the middle of the night, an angel of the Lord walked into the prison and led Peter out whilst the soldiers slept. When the soldiers woke up the next morning and could not find Peter, they went to tell Herod. Acts 12:19 says, “And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.” The soldiers were killed in the stead of Peter. Isaiah 43:4 says, “Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.”

Several years back, i was writing an exam when the invigilator decided to conduct a random check to ensure that exam malpractice was not going on. Unknown to me, the boy who sat directly behind me brought in a paper that contained the answers to the exam questions. When the invigilator got to where i was sitting, he found a squeezed paper under my chair. He picked it, checked it and found it was the answer to the exam questions. (The boy behind me had thrown it there to get me into trouble). The invigilator excused me from the exam hall.  At the end of the day, the boy was caught and made to repeat the class while i was promoted. I don’t know what you are going through but one thing i know is that my God will deliver you. The righteous has nothing to worry about because it will be well with him (Isaiah 3:10). The wicked, on the other hand, needs to worry and his worry is justified. Those who are involved in fraudulent practices needs to worry. The wicked needs to worry for several reasons. For instance, if they fail to repent their peace will be taken away from them and that will happen very soon (Isaiah 57:21). Not only that , he or she will be used as a substitute for the righteous in the day of evil (Proverbs 11:8). This is why you and i must examine our lives. Have you accepted Jesus as your personal lord and saviour? Not until a man does that, He is not righteous before God. If one claims that he is saved and he is still indulging in exam malpractices, bribery, corruption, fornication, etc, that individual does not understand what it means to be saved.

NOTE: The reason why you need to witness like never before to people, especially members of your family, is that they could be used as a substitute for the righteous in the day of evil .

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

"AND THE PRAYER OF FAITH SHALL SAVE THE SICK"

MEMORY VERSE: Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. James 5:14-15

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: John 13-15

There are several ways to pray for the sick. For instance, you can lay hands on them . The “laying of hands” usually means touch the sick person’s head with one or both hands as you pray. Laying of hands is not magic, but it is scriptural. It provides a “point of contact” for the sick person to “release his faith”. It also can be a channel for real spiritual power. Jesus laid hands on the sick and healed them. Luke 4:40 says, “Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.” Jesus also promised that believers will lay hands on the sick and they will recover. Mark 16:18 says, “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” What if i lay hands on the sick and the sick does not recover; won’t people make fun of me? Well, you are not the healer. Jesus Christ is the healer, you are just an agent. I have prayed for a lot of sick people and in all sincerity, not of all of them have recovered on the spot. There are times they will come back two months later to tell me that after praying with them they felt relieved or the pain subsided or they were healed.

The bible says that we may lay hands on the sick (Mark 16:18), and so we do. However, Jesus prayed for the sick in different ways. Sometimes He laid hands on them, at times on their eyes or ears; sometimes He made no outward gesture, but just spoke the word and they were healed. Often He commanded them to do something as an act of faith. There was a time He once put mud on a blind man’s eyes, and told him to go wash it off! Another time He simply said to some lepers: “Go and show yourselves to the priests” and as they turned to go they were healed. The “priests” in the olden days are the equivalent of the health department today. This, by the way, should be noted by those who are suffering from diseases that need to be controlled with medication. We do not encourage people to discontinue such medication (for epilepsy, diabetes, heart trouble, etc., for example) until they have “gone and showed themselves to the priests” – the doctors- and their cure has been verified. The same would apply to a person suffering from tuberculosis, or other communicable disease, who is healed by Jesus through the gift of healing. In the Epistle of James we read of healing in conjunction with “anointing with oil”. James 5:14-15 says, “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.” The elders, the leaders of the congregation, are to anoint with oil as they pray for the sick of that particular congregation. The disciples anointed with oil as they prayed for the sick (Mark 6:13). Oil is one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. “Anointing” meant to pour oil (usually olive oil) on the sick person as prayer was said. Today the usual custom is to touch the forehead of the sick person with the oil.

NOTE: The bible says, “the prayer of faith shall save (heal) the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up...” (James 5:15). Take note of the unconditional nature of the promise! We have no scriptural warrant to end a healing prayer with the faith-destroying phrase, “if it be Thy will”! Jesus never prayed for the sick in a conditional manner. God perfectly made it clear in His Word that it is His will to heal the sick.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

GIFTS OF HEALING

MEMORY VERSE: To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:9

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Timothy 1-3

BIBLE READING: 1 Corinthians 12:7-10

It is important that you and i learn about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:1 says, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.” It is important that you and i know that they - gifts of the Holy Spirit - are not earned i.e. they are not a reward for good behavior. However, if we want the Holy Spirit to manifest His gifts through us, we must be yielded to Him and that involves presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God ( Romans 12:1). Today, as the Holy Spirit helps, we will talk about the gifts of Healing. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are divided into three: Inspirational or Fellowship Gifts, Gifts of Power and the Gifts of Revelation. The Gifts of power are healing, miracles, and faith.

The gifts of healing are for the supernatural curing of injuries, handicaps, and diseases without the aid of natural means or human skills. They are manifestations of the Holy Spirit working through compassionate human channels to the person in need. Those who are used as channels of God’s healing should not claim to have the gifts of healing, nor claim to be healers. Rather, they should realize that any of the nine gifts could be manifested through them as the Holy Spirit moves to meet needs around them. There is a real interdependence between God and man in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In other words, man has a part to play and God has a part play . As we play our part, He will play His part. According to 1 Corinthians 3:9, we are laborers together with God. In the case of healing, God guides us on how to go about it, and uses our work, but He is the Healer. Mark 16:20 says, “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

A Christian does not have to have the baptism with the Holy Spirit in order to pray for the sick, nor is the fact that a person has prayed for the sick a sign that he or she has received the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Mark 16:17-18 says, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Any believer can pray for the sick and see them healed by the power of Jesus. However, it is after the baptism in the Holy Spirit that increased faith for healing comes, and the Christian begins to minister to the sick. Like the other gifts, healing seems to be released with a far greater intensity and reality after the receiving of the Holy Spirit.

NOTE: If you are moved to pray for a sick person, do so. Don’t worry about whether the person will get healed immediately or not. Some healing are progressive whilst others are instant. The lepers were not cleansed immediately Jesus prayed for them, but as they went they were cleansed. Luke 17:14 says, “And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.”

PRAYER POINT: Father, please use me to heal the sick.

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DON’T BE PETTY

MEMORY VERSE: And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father,if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? 2 Kings 5:13

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Daniel 7-12

BIBLE READING: 2 Kings 5:10-14

It is one thing for God to bless an individual; it is another thing for the individual to receive the blessing. It is one thing for God to send help to an individual; it is another thing for the individual to receive the help. A man who is not spiritually sensitive may lose out on God’s blessing. Many of us have missed out on a lot of things due to our spiritual insensitivity. A man of God whilst chatting with his wife suddenly realized that their conversation was gradually turning into an argument which was uncalled for. To make matters worse, what they were arguing about was a very minor issue that didn’t even warrant any argument at all. The man sensed that it was an attack from the devil so he quickly changed the conversation. After, they prayed and went to bed. The next day, whilst eating in his office , the Word of the Lord came to him prompting him to make a call that led to the purchase of their church building. Imagine that he was not spiritually sensitive, their conversation would have grown into a full scale argument. He would have woken up and gone to work in a terrible mood. In that state of mind, he would not have heard the voice of God when the Lord spoke. Be spiritually sensitive at all times. Abstain from anything that could lead to arguments.

Also, a man who is petty may lose out on God’s blessing. In the case of Naaman, his pettiness almost cost him his long desired healing. When he and his servants arrived at the front of Elisha’s house, Elisha sent his servant to tell Naaman to go and dip seven times in River Jordan and he would be healed. Naaman became a petty. 5 Kings 5:11 says, “But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.” He took offence that the prophet could not even honour him by coming out to talk personally to him. How could the prophet send a servant to him? Besides, why River Jordan – a dirty river? Why not beautiful rivers like Abana and Pharpar? The question is does it really matter? What is more important, the prophet coming out to talk to him personally or getting the solution to his problem? What is more important, dipping in Abana and Pharpar or getting healed? Thank God for his servants.2 Kings 5:13 says, “And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father,if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?” If one is not careful, pettiness can shut some of the doors that God has opened to one. How can one get angry because his host gave him a pillow to sleep with instead of two? That’s pettiness. It is pettiness to get angry because you called a person and the person didn't answer your call immediately. What if the person was in the toilet? Or to get angry because your call went to voice mail? Or to get angry because you sent a text message and you didn’t get a response within 5 minutes. If you need to get angry, at least hear the other person’s side of the story. You will find from time to time that people will not meet your expectation of them and when this happens, apply wisdom. There are some minor things you will just have to learn to overlook on your way to the top. There are times you just have to bite your tongue to save a relationship.

NOTE: No one loves to be around a petty person. Pettiness can rob a man of good things.

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“AND YE SHALL BE WITNESSES UNTO ME”

MEMORY VERSE: But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts 1:8

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Proverbs 17-18

Who is a witness? A witness is simply one who bears testimony or gives evidence. Acts 1:8 says, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The moment we hear the word ‘witnessing’, what comes to the mind of some of us is preaching on street corners or going from house to house to share the gospel of Christ. These are good things to do. However, there is more to witnessing than preaching on street corners with a loud microphone. There are several other ways of witnessing. You can witness to people by giving them tracts. You can either hand it to them by hand or put it through their letter holes or post boxes. You can witness by forwarding conversion stories on email to friends and family who are yet to meet the Lord. One of the ways the Holy Spirit has helped me to witness to people is by sharing my conversion story – how i gave my life to Christ after a dream i had – with friends and family.

You can witness by offering to pray with people when they are sick. The whole essence of witnessing is letting people know that Jesus saves. The Greek word translated “save” in our English Bible is sozo which means, according to the lexicon: “Sozo... preserve or rescue from natural dangers and afflictions.... save from death.... bring out safely from a situation fraught with mortal danger... save or free from disease...from demonic possession.... be restored to health, get well... keep, preserve in good condition...thrive, prosper, get on well... save or preserve from death....” By offering to pray with a sick person you are indirectly telling the person that Jesus saves. I have never known anyone to resent or reject or react badly to prayer especially when they are in trouble or when they are sick. Even those that don’t believe in God, if you offer to pray for them when they are going to through a challenge or when they are sick, they will gladly accept the offer.

You can witness to people by inviting them to church to hear about Christ. How did Andrew witness to Peter? He simply brought him to meet Jesus (John 1:42). How did Brother Albert McMakin witness to Bill Graham, the popular televangelist? He invited him to church. Brother Albert, just to get Billy Graham to church, gave him his truck to drive while he sat in the passenger seat. You can also witness by sharing church flyers either by hand or putting it through letter holes. Time will not permit but i can share testimonies of several people who met the Lord through this way. Someone who was saved through a church flyer is late Willie Mullan - Northern Irish Evangelist. Many were blessed around the world by his Tuesday night Bible class where several hundreds attended to hear the exposition of the word. People got saved from listening to the tapes from the Tuesday night Bible class in places like Iraq. Asides all these, you can also witness by your manner of living. The Christian who doesn’t pay his bills, who isn’t quite honest in his business dealings, who quarrels noisily with his family is not going to help the cause of Christ by his behaviour. The world is watching how you conduct yourself in lesser matters.

NOTE: Jesus did not say “and ye may be witnesses.” He didn’t say “and ye can be witnesses”. He said “and ye shall be witnesses!” It is a commandment. It is not negotiable. He said “ ye shall be witnesses unto me...” not witnesses unto denominations. We are to preach Christ not denomination.

QUESTION: How many souls have you brought to Christ since He saved you?

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SERVICE AND PROSPERITY

MEMORY VERSE: If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.Job 36:11

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 96-98

It pays to serve in the vineyard of God. During one of our Sunday services in church, a young beautiful girl, 'D', ministered; she did choreography to a popular gospel song. ( Name of girl withheld) After her ministration, the man of God ( who was invited from abroad ) climbed the altar to preach. As he preached, he prophesied by the Spirit of the Lord: “The (Lord says that) the young girl that had just ministered is going to be a lawyer and she is going to receive scholarship to study law in ‘X’ university”. (Name of university withheld). He gave a powerful sermon, packed his bag and left. After the service, whilst chatting with ‘D’s’ dad, a brother approached the dad to confirm the prophecy. “Do you know ‘D’ told my wife, when she was at your house a week ago that she is going to be a lawyer when she grows up” he said. Wow! What a confirmation to the prophecy of the man of God. 2 Corinthians 13:1 says, “This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” I believe the brother must have thought within himself that the parents of ‘D’ were lucky.

Neither ‘D’ nor her parents were lucky. Were they favoured? Oh Yes! But God is not arbitrary. You can’t get something for nothing. You want to be able to resist the devil? First of all submit to God (James 4:7). ‘D’s’ parent served God, especially her dad, selflessly. He is part of at least 3 groups in the church; he is a sanctuary cleaner, outreach team member, usher, etc. When we go on evangelism, he brings ‘D’ and her sister with us and they participate. Actually, 'D' shares more tracts than the adults because she is not shy. D loved the Lord and Lord reciprocated the love. It is high time you considered your service to God. Job 36:11 says, “If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.“ Do you just go to church, listen to sermon, pay your tithes and offering, and go home? You are missing some serious blessings by not serving in God’s vineyard. Are you serving in God’s vineyard but not putting your best into it? You only serve when it is convenient or when you feel like? I want you to change because God is watching and He will reward each individual accordingly. Revelations 22:12 says, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Have you been serving with all your heart and it seems as if you are getting nothing for it? ‘D’ parents have been serving selflessly for close to 14 years. God sees your efforts and He will reward you in due time. I Corinthians 2:8 says, “ But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” Your testimony will be different and bigger.

NOTE: It is not only about activities in the church. As you serve selflessly, run away from sin. Sin causes God to distance Himself from a family or an individual (Isaiah 59:1-2). You can’t be working in God’s vineyard and be fornicating at the same time, and expect God to prosper you. The fornication has to stop before He will prosper you.

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“AND HE CHANGETH THE TIMES “

MEMORY VERSE: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding. Daniel 2:21

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Chronicles 5-9

BIBLE READING: John 2:1-11

God has kept everything He created in the hands of time (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11). This is why the preacher says: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Every human being is limited by time. Some of us wished we had 32 hours instead of the regular 24 hours available to everyone. Even Jesus, whilst He was on earth, was in one way or the other limited by time. John 9:4 says, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” This is a proof that He was fully human when He was on the earth. There are other proofs that Jesus was fully human when He was on the earth. For example, He had a human body. He was born (Luke 2:7). He grew (Luke 2:40,52). He grew tired (John 4:6), and got thirsty ( John 19:28), and hungry ( Matthew 4:2).  He became physically weak ( Matthew 4:11; Luke 23:26). He died (Luke 23:46), and He had a real human body after his resurrection ( Luke 24:39; John 20:20, 27).

Also, He had human emotions. When Jesus heard the centurion’s words of faith, “he marvelled” (Matthew 8:10). He says in Matthew 26:38 that His “soul is very sorrowful, even to death.” In John 11:35 He wept. John 12:27 says, “Now is my soul troubled", and in John 13:21, He is “troubled in his spirit.” According to Hebrews 5:7 “He offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears”. He even had a human mind. Luke 2:52 says, “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man.” Mark 13:32 says, “concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Do you know He even had a human will? The proof is found in Matthew 26:39 when He said, “not as i will, but as you will”. 

John 2:4 says, “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.” There are several lessons to learn from this verse. Firstly, Jesus, whilst He was on the earth, was limited by time. Every man too , whilst on this earth, is limited by time. There was a serious need  but the need could not be met because of time (John 2:1-4). Secondly, Jesus had His own time. John 2:4 says, “.......mine hour is not yet come”. Also, you and i have own time. I am not talking about owning a wristwatch. I am talking of a time the Lord has set apart to either visit us or meet our needs.I am talking of a time God has set apart to work through us or answer our prayers or for an important event to take place in our life. Only God knows our time, as such we must be patient with Him. Thirdly, time can be moved. It can be fast forwarded, paused, or reversed.  Because God wanted to meet the needs of that newlywed couple, He fast forwarded Jesus' time so that He was able to perform that miracle. So also dear brethren, God is able to fast forward our time. He can give a man 2018 blessing in 2015. One may wonder, what will now happen in 2018? Well, in 2018 He will give the fellow another blessing again. 

PRAYER POINT: In the name of Jesus, spirit of delay i bind you in my life, under the Blood of Jesus, pack you bag and never return.

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world