UPGRADE YOUR TITHE

DATE: TUESDAY MAY 9TH 2017

THEME: UPGRADE YOUR TITHE

Memorise:

And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the first fruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly. 2 Chronicles 31:5

Read: Malachi 3:8-12  

3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

3:9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

3:12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts. 

MESSAGE:

If you want to experience the blessings that God promised His children, you must be prepared to follow divine financial principles. Do you know that your seed will determine your harvest? 2 Corinthians 9:6 says, 

“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”

From the above scripture, we learn that if you spare or hold back a good part of your seed, God will also hold back a good part of the harvest He wanted to give to you. On the other hand, if you go beyond the norm in your giving, God will also do the extraordinary regarding your harvest. This is why I encourage you to grow in all forms of giving. It is wrong for you to remain on the same spot in your offerings when God keeps increasing you. Do you know that you can provoke a change in your financial situation by increasing your offering even when your income has not changed?

In addition to growing your offering, you can also grow in your tithe. You can go beyond the basic level of tithing which is 10%. The Lord once told me to exceed my tithe and watch what He would do; He said I could call the difference a seed. Since 1979, I attended the Kenneth Hagin conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which had about 17,000 people in attendance. During the meeting, there was a fund raising event. The brother who took the offering challenged everyone to give their best, and surprisingly, he added that he and his wife would match the total sum we all gave. Astonished by his challenge, we were certain he would be in the red by the time our offering was counted. When we had all given our offering, a total sum of $13.5 million was raised; surely, we thought, he would be unable to match this! However, to our surprise, when the total was announced, he said, “Is this the best you all can do?” He and his wife then wrote a check for the exact sum. When I saw this, I said to myself, “This man must know something I don’t know, and I am going to find out what it is.” Wise people always gather knowledge; they seek to know what made a great person great, so as to apply the same principles. By the time I discussed with this brother, I learnt that five years before, he started a business with $500 and struck a deal with God that God would receive 90% of his profit while he would keep just 10%. As at the time he was telling me his story, his business had grown into $50million Company. I took up this challenge and increased the percentage of my tithe. What can you do that you have not done before, to change what you normally receive from God? Rise up and do it now.

Prayer Point:

Father, grant me the grace to upgrade all areas of my life.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:

Deuteronomy 9-10

Jeremiah 28:5-17

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 10: THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS

1. There shall be showers of blessing:

This is the promise of love;

There shall be seasons refreshing,

Sent from the Saviour above.

Refrain:

Showers of blessing,

Showers of blessing we need:

Mercy-drops round us are falling,

But for the showers we plead.

2. There shall be showers of blessing,

Precious reviving again;

Over the hills and the valleys,

Sound of abundance of rain.

[Refrain]

3. There shall be showers of blessing;

Send them upon us, O Lord;

Grant to us now a refreshing,

Come, and now honour Thy Word.

[Refrain]

4. There shall be showers of blessing:

Oh, that today they might fall,

Now as to God we’re confessing,

Now as on Jesus we call!

[Refrain]

5. There shall be showers of blessing,

If we but trust and obey;

There shall be seasons refreshing,

If we let God have His way.

[Refrain]

SEASON OF LAUGHTER

DATE: MONDAY MAY 8TH 2017

THEME: SEASON OF LAUGHTER

Memorise:

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. Isaiah 54:4

Read: Isaiah 54:1-4  

54:1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.

54:2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

54:3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

54:4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

Message:

“When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.” Psalm126:1-3

God’s mercy can provoke Him to override your doubts and trigger off your season of laughter. That shall be your portion this season in Jesus’ Name! Several years ago, a man brought his friend to my office, saying his friend had a big problem. His wife had gone mad and was roaming completely naked on the street. They were very perplexed about her situation because according to popular beliefs of the Yoruba tribe in southwest Nigeria, if a person runs mad but is still within the house, that madness can still be brought under control, but once the madness has escalated to the point where the fellow goes naked on the streets to the market place, nothing can be done to reverse it. This woman’s case had reached the climax that was believed to be beyond redemption. Before they came to me, they had grabbed this woman, bundled her and kept her in the house of an herbalist in Kwara State, Nigeria. They gave me the address of the place where she was, and so I went there, prayed for her and left. When the man and his friend were told that I had come, but that the prayer I said was under five minutes, they began to doubt how such a brief prayer could deal with something that serious. They therefore bundled this woman again and took her to the psychiatric hospital. On arrival, the specialist they met said they would observe her for two weeks before determining the kind of treatment to administer on her. After two weeks of observation, the specialist sent for her husband and said, “Sir, if you say something is wrong with this woman, then something must be wrong with you, because since you brought her, we have not administer any medication on her, and yet she has been as normal as any healthy human being can be.” God had overruled this man’s doubts! Because this is your season of laughter, as God is laughing, He will laugh over your doubts and cause you to laugh! This season, nothing will stop your laughter! If you have never known what it is to laugh before, you will experience it this season. If the challenges of life have stopped you from laughing, get ready for a new season of unstoppable laughter! Have you been weeping? This season, when you begin to laugh, you will not remember your sorrow and tears anymore! Go ahead and thank God for ushering you into your season of laughter!

Prayer Point:

Father, thank you for my season oflaughter. Let my voice of rejoicing never cease.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:

Deuteronomy 7-8

Jeremiah 27:16-24:4

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 4: THROUGH THE LOVE OF GOD OUR SAVIOUR

1. Through the love of God, our Saviour, 

All will be well;

Free and changeless is His favour, 

All will be well;

Precious is the blood that healed us, 

Perfect is the grace that sealed us,

Strong the hand stretched out to shield us, 

All will be well.

2. Though we pass through tribulation, 

All will be well;

Ours is such a full salvation, 

All will be well.

Happy when in God confiding, 

Fruitful if in Christ abiding,

Holy through the Spirit's guiding, 

All will be well.

3. We expect a bright tomorrow; 

All will be well;

Faith can sing through days of sorrow, 

All will be well;

On our Father's love relying, 

Jesus every need supplying

In our living, in our dying, 

All will be well.

SONS ARE SPIRIT-LED

DATE: SATURDAY MAY 6TH 2017

THEME: SONS ARE SPIRIT-LED

Memorise:

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Romans 8:14

Read: Romans 8:13-14

8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Message:

“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”John6:36

To a natural man, the words of Jesus Christ and the message of the cross are all foolishness (1 Corinthians 2:14). A person who is not living in the Spirit cannot comprehend the message of Jesus Christ because it originates from the Holy Spirit. This is why it takes the Holy Spirit to enlighten the eyes of the natural man’s understanding and convict his heart, before he can accept Jesus Christ into his life. To live in the Spirit, you need the Holy Spirit to quicken you. It is His work to make you alive and to strengthen you spiritually. When you are down or tired, if you pray in the Spirit long enough, you will find the strength to undertake the assignment ahead of you. Every assignment that God has for you is first spiritual and then physical. This is why you cannot effectively perform a divine assignment using only physical means. Even when you have to undertake the physical aspects of a divine assignment, you need spiritual stamina or input to be effective.

Moreover, if you live in the Spirit, you should also be led by the Spirit. Who leads you reveals who owns you (Romans 6:16). To understand what it means to be led by the Spirit, read up the account of the operations of the Holy Spirit in the life of Philip in Acts 8:26-40. If you are saved and you barely receive divine guidance from the Holy Spirit, you are still a babe in the Kingdom; but if you are regularly led of the Holy Spirit – meaning you hear His voice and follow His instructions – then you have most likely attained the level of maturity in the faith where you can be called a son (Hebrews 5:11-14). God is looking for sons and not just babes! There are several Kingdom assignments that God wants to give out, but He is looking for sons to take them up. Sons hear His voice and obey promptly, but babes find it difficult even to recognize God’s voice. Sons are guided by the Holy Spirit into all truth, because they can accept it and run with it, but babes cannot stand certain truths (John 16:12-13). If there are some truth from God’s word that can make you to turn back from following the Lord, you are still a babe and not yet a son. The word of God contains depths of truth. While babes read through it without getting much, sons carefully go step by step through it to harness the volumes of truth contained in it. Are you a babe or son?

Prayer Point:

Father, give me ears that hear your Spirit, and give me a heart that follows His leading.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:

Deuteronomy 4

Jeremiah 26:12-24

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 15: THE COMFORTER HAS COME

1. Oh, spread the tidings ’round,

Wherever man is found,

Wherever human hearts

And human woes abound;

Let every Christian tongue

Proclaim the joyful sound:

The Comforter has come!

Refrain:

The Comforter has come,

The Comforter has come!

The Holy Ghost from Heav’n,

The Father’s promise giv’n;

Oh, spread the tidings ’round,

Wherever man is found—

The Comforter has come!

2. The long, long night is past,

The morning breaks at last,

And hushed the dreadful wail

And fury of the blast,

As o’er the golden hills

The day advances fast!

The Comforter has come!

[Refrain]

3. Lo, the great King of kings,

With healing in His wings,

To every captive soul

A full deliv’rance brings;

And through the vacant cells

The song of triumph rings;

The Comforter has come!

[Refrain]

4. O boundless love divine!

How shall this tongue of mine

To wond’ring mortals tell

The matchless grace divine—

That I, a child of hell,

Should in His image shine!

The Comforter has come!

[Refrain]

5. Sing till the echoes fly

Above the vaulted sky,

And all the saints above

To all below reply,

In strains of endless love,

The song that ne’er will die:

The Comforter has come!

[Refrain:]

ANY PENDING VOWS?

DATE: FRIDAY MAY 5TH 2017

THEME: ANY PENDING VOWS?

Memorise:

When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Ecclesiastes 5:4

Read: Ecclesiastes 5:4-6

5:4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

5:5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

5:6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?

MESSAGE

Our God is a God of faithfulness and He takes vows seriously (Deuteronomy 7:9). In Genesis 28:20-22, Jacob made a vow to the Lord at a time of distress and uncertainty in his life. Twenty years later, after the Lord had prospered Him, the Lord reminded him of the vow he had made unto Him (Genesis 31:13). Later, the Lord reminded him yet again of his vow and instructed him to move on from where he was to the place where he would fulfill the vow (Genesis 35:1-6). It does not matter how long ago you made a vow, God doesn’t forget!

“When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.” Ecclesiastes 5:4

One of the lessons from the above passage is that you are not compelled to make a vow to God. However, if you do, don’t delay in redeeming it, or else, God will regard you as a fool. It is important to note that in life, what comes or doesn’t come to you will be largely determined by your sspiritual standing or status before God. If God sees you as righteous, He will release all the blessings reserved for the righteous upon you, as long as you ask Him. In order words, if your status before God is that of a righteous fellow, God will treat you with respect. He will treat you like he would treat His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who accorded you that your spiritual status and change the way God relates with you. For instance, if you fail to pay your vow after so long a time, your status is changed from that of a righteous person to that of a fool. Eventually, you lose the honour, respect and royal treatment God accords to the righteous. Why? It is because a fool denies the existence of God (Psalm 14:1). In other words, if you believe God exist and is aware of your vows, you would hurriedly redeem it. When you do not pay your vow to Him, you are saying that God does not exist, and this puts you into the same category as King Nebuchadnezzar, who in Daniel 3:15 pompously asked, “who is that God that can deliver you from my hands?” When God is thrown such a challenge, whether verbally, in thought or in actions, He is forced to accept the challenge and to prove His existence. Vow defaulters call for God’s divine hammer to fall on them. Some people make a vow or pledge to God, yet one or two months after God has kept His part, they are still dillydallying their vow. Are you defaulting in your vows to the Lord? Ask God for forgiveness and immediately set out to redeem them.

Action Point:

Take stock of all your pending vows and take steps to redeem them today!

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:

Deuteronomy 2-3

Jeremiah 25:34-26:11

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 14: TAKE MY LIFE

1. Take my life and let it be

Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

Take my moments and my days,

Let them flow in endless praise,

Let them flow in endless praise.

2. Take my hands and let them move

At the impulse of Thy love.

Take my feet and let them be

Swift and beautiful for Thee,

Swift and beautiful for Thee.

3.Take my voice and let me sing,

Always, only for my King.

Take my lips and let them be

Filled with messages from Thee,

Filled with messages from Thee.

4.Take my silver and my gold,

Not a mite would I withhold.

Take my intellect and use

Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose,

Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

5. Take my will and make it Thine,

It shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart, it is Thine own,

It shall be Thy royal throne,

It shall be Thy royal throne.

6. Take my love, my Lord, I pour

At Thy feet its treasure store.

Take myself and I will be

Ever, only, all for Thee,

Ever, only, all for Thee.

HELP FOR THE HELPLESS

DATE: THURSDAY MAY 4TH 2017

THEME: HELP FOR THE HELPLESS 

Memorise:

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Psalm 46:7

Read: Psalm 9:18-20

9:18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.

9:19 Arise, O Lord; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.

9:20 Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men.

MESSAGE

There are general blessings and also personal blessings. I have observed that anytime David wanted to discuss something that is very important to him, he normally personalize it. For instance, in Psalm 23:1, he says,

 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” 

He did not say, “The Lord is our shepherd”. He was simply saying, “I can only speak for myself; I don’t know about you.” I pray that you will experience God as the Good Shepherd, so that you can testify personally and not just by sharing other people’s experiences. A shepherd is a person who looks after sheep. One thing you will observe about sheep is that they are very defenseless against predators. They cannot bite, they have no claws, and they cannot run fast; their only defense is the shepherd. 

You will agree with me that it is a very frightening thing to be defenseless in a hostile world. It is indeed a horrible feeling to be completely helpless. When a man is sick, he runs to the doctor hoping to be healed, but when the doctor tries his best and says there’s nothing he can do, the sick becomes hopeless. When a man has serious financial problems, he runs to his bank expecting a bailout, but what will he do when the bank insist on using assets he doesn’t have as collateral? In the same way, when a child is sick, he looks up to his parents for help and care, but how will the child feel if his parents tell him that the forces battling against him are beyond their capability? Worst still, imagine how you will feel if your pastor tells you that after praying all manner of prayers, there is nothing more he can do to help you! It is a terrible thing to feel lonely or forsaken by relatives and loved ones. A man who once experienced such a situation used these words to express his feelings in Psalm 102:6-7:

“I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.”

Have you been in such a situation? Do you feel exposed, naked and prone to shame? Are you facing the worst of times with no one to defend you? Has everyone you thought could help deserted you and now you think life is worthless? I bring you good news today! There is hope for the hopeless and cover for the naked. God can still do something about that hopeless situation you are going through. God is very close to you, and He will reach out and touch you today. The Lord will make a way for you! Call on Him and tell Him you have no one to help you but Him. Ask Him to help you now. He will answer and turn your situation around for good.

Key Point:

When everything else has failed, never give up your hope for a better life; although it may take time, help will surely come. 

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:

Deuteronomy 1

Jeremiah 25:17-33

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 4: THROUGH THE LOVE OF GOD OUR SAVIOR

1. Through the love of God our Savior,

All will be well;

Free and changeless is His favor,

All, all is well.

Precious is the blood that healed us,

Perfect is the grace that sealed us,

Strong the hand stretched forth to shield us,

All must be well.

2. Though we pass through tribulation,

All will be well.

Ours is such a full salvation,

All, all is well.

Happy still in God confiding;

Fruitful if in Christ abiding;

Steadfast through the Spirit's guiding:

All must be well.

3. We expect a bright tomorrow;

All will be well.

Faith can sing through days of sorrow,

All, all is well.

On our Father's love relying,

Jesus every need supplying;

Or in living or in dying;

All must be well.

FINDING ALTERNATIVES?

DATE: WEDNESDAY MAY 3RD 2017

THEME: FINDING ALTERNATIVES?

Memorise:

Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. Proverbs 3:7

Read: Genesis 16:1-4

16:1Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

16:3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

MESSAGE

After several years of waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled, Sarah sat down one day, had a long thinking session, and came up with an alternative plan which she presented to Abraham, and he accepted it. She had been barren for several years and was now obviously tired of being in that state; hence, she decided to give Hagar, one of her slaves, to her husband hoping to get a child through this arrangement. How mistaken she was! Sarah’s experience has a lot to teach contemporary Christians. When God is leading you in a certain direction, or if He has made a promise to you, any contrary opinion or alternative is borne out of impatience, doubt or unbelief. Its when people can no longer wait for God’s plan that they come up with their own alternatives. One lesson from this story is that man’s alternative charts a new course for you, which can take you completely out of God’s original plan.

Just like Abraham and Sarah, many people have come up with alternatives that have landed them at destinations they never expected. But for God’s patience and mercy, the step Abraham and Sarah took was enough to derail them from God’s original course. The reason why the Holy Spirit says in Proverbs 3:5-6 that you should subordinate your plans under God’s will is so that He can guide you along His original plan for your life. Believe it or not, God has a plan for your life (Jeremiah 1:4-5). If you follow this plan, you will definitely obey God’s word and remain in His will. God’s word never negates His will for your life (James 1:18). The question is, “Are you still in God’s plan?”

To keep within God’s will, you must be filled with His word and His Spirit, prayerful, watchful, thankful and humble. Why? The natural man within you will always come up with alternatives to God’s perfect plan for your life. You need to be watchful because some alternatives may look like the original plan, but in essence, they are miles apart. If you will access God’s perfect plan for your life, then you must leave no space for the flesh or the devil to give you an alternative. You must trust, rely on and completely depend upon God. God’s choice is always the safe choice. For this reason Proverbs 29:25b says,

“…but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.”

If you depend on God 99% and leave 1% for an alternative, that is enough to derail you. Never rely on what you think you know or your assessment of the situation. No matter how brilliant your ideas may be, God has something better. Bring your plans before God’s searchlight and let Him tell you if its okay or not.

Action Point:

Has impatience made you pursue your own alternatives? Stop and beat a retreat today!

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:

Numbers 34-36

Jeremiah 25:1-16

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 4: THROUGH THE LOVE OF GOD OUR SAVIOR

1. Through the love of God our Savior,

All will be well;

Free and changeless is His favor,

All, all is well.

Precious is the blood that healed us,

Perfect is the grace that sealed us,

Strong the hand stretched forth to shield us,

All must be well.

2. Though we pass through tribulation,

All will be well.

Ours is such a full salvation,

All, all is well.

Happy still in God confiding;

Fruitful if in Christ abiding;

Steadfast through the Spirit's guiding:

All must be well.

3. We expect a bright tomorrow;

All will be well.

Faith can sing through days of sorrow,

All, all is well.

On our Father's love relying,

Jesus every need supplying;

Or in living or in dying;

All must be well.

GROW IN GIVING

DATE: TUESDAY MAY 2ND 2017

THEME: GROW IN GIVING 

Memorise:

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Luke 6:38

Read: Luke 6:36-38

6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. 

MESSAGE 

God is interested in the prosperity of His children. Although He has made His resources available to us, it will take obedience and compliance with His principles to tap into them. To tap into the financial resources of heaven, you must pay your tithes, give offering and fulfill your pledges and vows. You must be ready to give, if you want something in return. A while ago, while preaching at a particular church, as I issued some prophetic decrees over the congregation, I noticed that their response of “Amen” was quite loud. Then I jokingly said one of them will buy a new jet, and the loudness of their response nose-dived. Another time, I was in the same church and repeated what I said before; this time, their response was much louder. So I said to them, “You people are different.” I perceived that their faith and understanding of giving had grown.

Proverb 3:9-10 says if you can honor God with your first fruits, you will be dazed and amazed at what He would do I your life. It is one thing to have knowledge, and it is another thing to apply it. I once shared with some pastors that your teacher will never teach you all he knows, otherwise he wouldn’t be a teacher; but your father will be willing to teach you all he knows, although he may reserve one or two till moments before his death. In other words, there are certain secrets that a person can only get from his or her father, and I would like to share one of those secrets that God has revealed to me with you. One day, while sitting quietly somewhere, God said to me, “Son, what kind of pastor would you like to be?” I replied, saying “Daddy, I am sorry I don’t understand the question” He then further asked, “Do you want to be the best or worst, the greatest or the least, the richest or the poorest pastor?” I told Him I wanted to be the best, greatest and richest pastor, and He went silent. At a church programme not long after, the Lord asked again, “Son, what kind of pastor did you say you want to be?” I quickly replied, “The best, greatest and richest pastor.” Then He asked me to give the highest denomination in my pocket. I reluctantly obeyed. At another meeting, He again asked me the type of pastor I want to be, and I responded as before, and He instructed me to double what I normally gave as offering. I easily complied this time around because things had started changing for me since I began to obey His instructions on giving. When I shared this testimony some years ago, someone told me he moved up to giving N10,000 for every offering. I congratulated him and told him I was at that stage in 1998 but had since surpassed that. Although my giving was sacrificial initially because things were hard for me, I give glory to God that things are no longer hard. If you don’t grow up in your giving, you may not be enlarged in your receiving.

Prayer Point:

Father, raise more Christ-like leaders to mentor your people, and make me one of such.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:

Numbers 32-33

Jeremiah 24

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 10: THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS  

1. There shall be showers of blessing:

This is the promise of love;

There shall be seasons refreshing,

Sent from the Saviour above.

Refrain:

Showers of blessing,

Showers of blessing we need:

Mercy drops ‘round us are falling,

But for the showers we plead.

2. There shall be showers of blessing,

Precious reviving again;

Over the hills and the valleys,

Sound of abundance of rain.

[Refrain]

3. There shall be showers of blessing;

Send them upon us, O Lord;

Grant to us now a refreshing,

Come, and now honor Thy Word.

[Refrain]

4. There shall be showers of blessing:

Oh, that today they might fall,

Now as to God we’re confessing,

Now as on Jesus we call!

[Refrain]