MON.-10/03/2014 - IDENTIFY YOUR ENEMIES II

MEMORISE

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Hebrews 12:1
 

READ

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 

MESSAGE

It is very important that we identify our internal enemies. As a matter of fact, the internal enemies are more potent and dangerous than the external enemies. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, identified his internal enemy and he cried in Romans 7:24 saying: “who shall deliver me from this body of death?” He located his adversary accurately. If you have not located your own internal enemy, you need to pray. Paul discovered his internal adversary and said: “when I want to do good, evil is present with me.” He knew his flesh was his adversary. Moses had discovered in Egypt that he had problems with his temper. When he saw two people fighting, one an Egyptian and the other a Jew, he decided to intervene, but because of his explosive anger, he killed the Egyptian. His original plan was not to kill but to defend his fellow brother, however he went too far. The moment the Adversary discovers your weakness, he will keep on hitting you at that particular spot. For example, the enemy will keep on sending amorous ladies or playboys to you if he discovers your weakness to be sexual immorality.

In Numbers 11:10-15, we discover that because the devil knew anger was the prime problem of Moses, he kept on irritating him using the children of Israel, until Moses called on God to kill him. All the things that Moses said in that passage were enough to end his career there and then if God had not been gracious. If you will carefully examine your life, you will notice straight away what your weakness is; this is your internal enemy. You need to locate it. In the case of James and John, their internal enemy was a fiery temper. That is why Jesus called them “The sons of thunder” in Mark 3:17. They proved it in Luke 9:51-56. The Lord on His way to Jerusalem sent some people to get Him accommodation in a village of the Samaritans. The Samaritans said, ‘What do we have to do with you? You do not associate with us, so you cannot stay in our village.’ When they brought the report back, James and John turned to the Lord and said, ‘let us roast them like Elijah did.’ The Lord replied, ‘No, I have not come to destroy people, I have come to save them.’ Love of women was the internal enemy of Samson. This enemy was more powerful than the whole hosts of the Philistines. What the Philistines could not do to Samson, the love of women did! My prayer for you is that the Lord will help you to locate your internal enemy and He will give you the grace to deal with it in Jesus’ Name.

PRAYER POINT

Father, show me my areas of weakness and help me to overcome them in Jesus’ Name.

AUTHOR : Pst E . A ADEBOYE 

ARE YOU A FALSE WITNESS?

MEMORIZE

A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.

Proverbs 19:9

READ

Mark 14:57-60

57 And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying,

58 We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands

59 But neither so did their witness agree together.

60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?

MESSAGE
 

In Exodus 20:16, God commanded that we should not bear false witness against our neighbour. The consequence of being a false witness is found in Proverbs 19:9. Wicked people cannot survive without false witnesses. They rely on false witnesses to perpetrate their evil deeds. For example, Ahab could not have gotten rid of Naboth but for the use of false witnesses (1 Kings 21:13). It was the false witness of Rehum the chancellor, Shimshai the scribe and their cohorts against the Jews that halted the rebuilding project of Zerubbabel (Ezra 4). These people wrote false allegations against the Jews and their leadership and sent the document to King Artaxerxes. The result as stated in Ezra 4:24 was devastating:

“Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

The effects of false witnesses are unimaginable. As a matter of fact, a false witness is a murderer in disguise. His or her motive cannot be mistaken: it is to destroy. I pray for you that false witnesses shall not destroy your destiny in Jesus’ Name.

When the Jewish leaders could find nothing to nail Jesus Christ, they opted for blackmail and false witnesses. Jesus had earlier told those who were following him in John 14:30b that:

“…for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.”

So the only way they could get at Jesus was through false witnesses. Despite the conspiracy, the Bible in Mark 14:56 says:

“For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.”

There is a great lesson that you as a follower of Christ must learn from this story. You must live above-board like your Master if you don’t want to become an easy prey for the accuser of the brethren – Satan. In the same vein, you must learn to be transparently honest. This will prevent you from being a false witness. When you engage in false witnessing and lying, you are crucifying Jesus Christ again and the danger is that you will fall into a state where it becomes difficult to be restored (Hebrews 6:4-6). Another danger of being a false witness is that it exposes one to becoming a reprobate. This is a state where the conscience no longer checkmates a person against wrongdoing (2 Timothy 3:8, Romans 1:28-32). In what areas of your life are you a false witness? Fake affidavit? False claims that you are married with so many children whereas you have a family of just three? I pray for you that a lying tongue will not blot your name from the book of life in Jesus’ Name.

PRAYER POINT

Father, deliver me from a lying tongue and help me to be a true witness of the Cross of Jesus.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Jeremiah 33:14-35:19; 

Psalm 55:1-15

AUTHOR : Pst E . A ADEBOYE

IN THE WARMTH OF TEMPTATION?

MEMORISE

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. Psalm 1:1

READ

Mark 14:53-54

53 And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes.

54 And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.

MESSAGE

When the Bible enjoins us in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 to abstain from all appearance of evil and we keep to this biblical injunction, we are spared the calamity that would have befallen us if we did otherwise. We may not know the great dangers our adherence to this instruction has saved us from until we see the suffering of someone who did not pay attention to it. The Bible in many instances warns us against keeping company with the ungodly so that we are not entangled in their wickedness (1 Corinthians 15:33). The story was told of a sparrow which kept company with destructive ravens on a rice farm. When the owner of the farm caught the ravens in his net, the sparrow was also caught. In his plea, the sparrow told the farmer that he was not among the birds that destroyed the farmer’s rice farm and that he was not a raven. The farmer replied the sparrow: “Too bad that you are not a raven, but you shall be judged according to the company you keep.”

Peter in the Bible reading of today did three deadly things that fostered his denial of Jesus Christ. First, the Bible says he was following Jesus from afar off. Probably he might have received courage from the Master if he had followed Jesus closely. Secondly, he went as far as following Jesus to the palace of the high priest. Following Jesus from afar was bad enough but following him to the palace of the high priest was just too bad. It could have paid off if he had backed out with the other disciples; after all, Jesus had told the soldiers to allow his disciples go while he volunteered His arrest (John 18:8-9). From this event, we can see the reason why Jesus told the Laodicean Church to be either cold or hot (Revelation 3:14-16). 

 

The third thing Peter did was that on getting to the palace of the high priest, he sat with the servants and warmed himself at the fire (Mark 14:66-67)! One would wonder what Peter was still doing in that place after he had been confronted not once but twice about the fact that he had been with Jesus. The answer is not far-fetched; he was enjoying the warmth of the fire in that environment. Beloved, let us beware of comfort zones in life; they may be physically comfortable but not spiritually ideal. When a Christian lady is squatting among four male counterparts because of accommodation problems; she is playing with fire and it will soon burn her. Likewise when a young man is putting up with three to four female counterparts because of accommodation problems, he will soon be affected by the fire of lust. Let us be careful.

ACTION POINT

Study your environment and see whether or not it is conducive for your spiritual wellbeing and take wise steps to avoid the warmth of temptation.

AUTHOR : Pst E . A ADEBOYE

WED. 5th MARCH 2014. THEME: ATTENTIVE TO THE MASTER’S INSTRUCTIONS?

MEMORISE 

Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. Mark 14:38

READ

Mark 14:37-38

37 And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?

38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

MESSAGE

It is always good to pay close attention to instructions given by someone you claim to be your guide or guardian. Often, we miss many opportunities, breakthroughs and victories because we fail to see the details of the instructions given to us on a subject. A multi-national company once held a promotional exam for their middle-cadre staff. The questions were simple, but the exam was meant to test their ability to follow instructions. There were ten items on the question paper with a long paragraph of instructions. The time allocated for the examination was only ten minutes, but reading the instructions through properly would take about five minutes. For this reason, many did not take time to read the instructions but went ahead to answer all the questions, which appeared very simple. However, the candidates were required to answer just one question, and the instruction to this effect was hidden in the last line of the instructions they failed to read. Whoever answered more than one question failed the test. Only one person read through to the end of the instructions. The instruction, indeed, was the examination!

The apostles of old also had issues with paying attention to detailed instructions and we must learn from them. When our Lord came face to face with the reality of suffering and the Cross, He admitted that it was not going to be easy (Mark 14:34). There was only one way to pass the examination of the moment – prayer. He went to pray and told the disciples to do the same; though not for Him, but for themselves (Mark 14:38). They were however busy sleeping! Beloved, to make it to the end of our Christian race, let us pay close attention to the details of the Lord’s instructions and we shall be happy we did. When the Lord in Malachi 3:10a said:

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse”

He meant all tithes. You do not need an advanced dictionary to understand what “all” means. When also the Bible in 1 Corinthians 11:10 says:

“For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.”

Apostle Paul did not say much on why a woman should veil her head while praying or prophesying. However, a conscientious child of God would not press for too many details before she jumps at this simple instruction of covering within the spiritual environment. I pray for you that the grace to pay very close attention to detailed instructions will be given to you in Jesus’ Name.

 

PRAYER POINT

Father, though I may not fully understand why I should, give me the grace to be completely obedient to your instructions.


AUTHOR : Pst E . A ADEBOYE.

THE LIFE-GIVING MEAL.

MEMORISE: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. John 6:54

READ: MARK 14: 22-24
22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.
24 And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: JEREMIAH 25 – 26; PSALM 50:16-23.

At the last supper of our Lord Jesus Christ during His first advent, He offered his body to His disciples, and by extension, to us his present day disciples. An invitation to a Holy Communion service is an invitation to come and partake in the life of the Life-Giver. The body of Jesus was broken for us. When we partake in the Lord’s Supper, we are eating the body of Jesus which is meat indeed (John 6:48-50). Whoever eats His body has eternal life. The kind of life referred to here is the excellent life. Partaking in the Holy Communion introduces the dimension of excellence into your life. When you eat of the Lord’s body, the meal eats up or consumes whatever will harm you in the body. In other words, the life- giving meal has curative and preventive powers. To appreciate the value of the Lord’s Supper, let us take a closer look at its significance. The significance of the Lord’s Supper resides in its value. The Lord’s Supper marks the end of an era and the beginning of another. The Lord’s Supper is designed to give you a new life. The value of a meal is determined by how much you put into it. To give us the Lord’s Supper, the Lord had to pay a great price, shedding His blood on the cross. The Lord cannot pay such a great price only for us to remain in death.

After a great price has been paid for this great meal, we must reap the benefits of life in it to the fullest. In this season, as we celebrate the demonstration of the greatest love of all through our Lord Jesus Christ, we must appropriate the benefits of the broken body of our Lord. The body of Christ that we partake of during communion service provides abundant life. This meal positively affects our spirit, soul and body. When you partake in the life-giving meal as provided for by the broken flesh of Jesus Christ, value is added to your life. That life that seems to be empty becomes full of virtues, values and perfection. 

When next you partake in the Holy Communion, be full of great expectation that death is no longer your portion. This is because death has been swallowed up in victory by the resurrection power of our Lord and Saviour – Jesus Christ (1Corinthians15:54. As we commemorate the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection, we must not lose sight of the significance of this great feat accomplished by Jesus Christ our Lord. One
way of appreciating this is by accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour and living by the precepts of the One who paid the supreme price. He said if we love Him, we would keep His commandment (John14:15).

PRAYER POINT:
Father, I lay hold of the benefits paid for by the broken body and the shed blood of Jesus Christ that are not yet manifest in my life in Jesus’ Name.

AUTHOR: Pst E . A ADEBOYE.

WED 26th FEB 2014 THEME: JESUS IN YOUR BOAT

MEMORISE: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. 

Psalm 50:15

READ: MARK 4:35-41.

35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.

37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: JEREMIAH 10-12; PSALM 46

No doubt, life in a sense is like the sea. A characteristic of the sea is that storms of varying degrees arise, putting the lives of those sailing on it in jeopardy of being drowned. In Jesus’ Name, the storms of life will not be able to drown you, your family and your business. While literal storms are natural phenomena, the storms of life are often generated and directed to an individual by enemies. Whether it is by enemies in the flesh or in the spirit realm, every situation that would constitute a storm in your life shall be disappointed in Jesus’ Name.

Jesus was in the boat with His disciples on a mission across the Sea of Galilee. His Father’s business that should bring deliverance to the mad man in Gadara, who the devil had been afflicting with chronic insanity, beaconed. The devil had an idea of this and decided to thwart it, but he is never a match for our God, and He will never be. This is why I command whatever storm you may be experiencing now to be calm in Jesus’ Name. As you sail on the sea of life to fulfil your destiny, the devil and his allies are not happy because your success is also going to result in the blessing and deliverance of others. This is because you will use it for God’s service, to build up the work of God and to bring souls to the Kingdom of God. Nevertheless, the devil and his agents will fail.

At the onset of the storm, while Jesus was taking time off to relax, the disciples embarked on a rescue operation of the boat. The situation however did not get better. They could not cope. It was then they remembered to wake Jesus up. 1 Samuel 2 : 9c says : “……..for by strength shall no man prevail.”

You should not make this mistake; your role is to notify Jesus of the storm. In any case, Jesus woke up unperturbed. The Author and Controller of Peace himself rebuked the winds behind the storm, and there was calm. You shall begin to experience calmness in your marriage, in your finances, in your education, in your business and in your health from now on in Jesus’ Name. Stop running helter-skelter to dubious men all over the place; they will only compound your problems. Look up to Jesus; let Him handle your storm.

ACTION POINT:

Repent of being too quick to seek out man’s solution instead of God’s at times of difficulty. Praise God, the all-powerful One and tell Him of any storm in your life.

AUTHOR: Pst E. A ADEBOYE

TUE 25th FEB. 2014. THEME: BE FULL OF PRAISE

MEMORISE: I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34:1

READ: PSALM 18: 1-3.

1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said, I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.

2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: JEREMIAH 7: 30-9: 26; PSALM 45

The incident that led to the fall of man in the Garden of Eden was a complete loss of all that is beautiful. Prior to the fall, man wasn’t fearful of his environment or of the presence of God. But after the fall, for the first time, Adam was terrified by the presence of God which he previously used to anticipate. With this came the universal culture of complaining, murmuring and grumbling. The awesome glory of God over his life and destiny was destroyed. Glory to God that Jesus as the second Adam has come to undo the evil the devil subtly brought on man.

David in our Bible reading for today reveals the importance of eulogising God. He was confessing who God is to him: his rock, his fortress, his deliverer, his strength, his buckler, the horn of his salvation and his high tower. In his praise of God, David was also expressing his confidence and trust in God. God enjoys our praise. He says in Psalm 50 : 23 that he who offers praise glorifies Him. Are you a child of God? You must know that there is no place for those that murmur and grumblers in heaven; it is an eternity of ecstatic adoration of our great King ( Revelation 4 : 5 – 11 ). David, even in those days caught the revelation of this truth; hence he resolved to banish murmuring from his life. This caused him to proclaim in Psalm 34 : 1 that :

“I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

This is the secret of the greatness of this man who was once a nobody. From a human perspective, David had no prospect of becoming anything. Usually in families, it is expected that the youngest in the family would enjoy some pampering and ease, but not so with David. His older siblings remained at home enjoying themselves with the milk from the flock of sheep that David kept in the bush all by himself. However, every labour has its rewards. David became the greatest king of Israel and became an ancestor of our Lord Jesus. Because he was full of praise, God could not help but lavish His favour on him. Mind you, a great man always likes his greatness to be acknowledged. He would like that those around him do not embarrass or disgrace him by diminishing his status in any way. I once had an uncle who would refuse financial assistance to anyone who requested a meagre amount, because he felt such a request was demeaning to him. God is greater than the greatest of all men. Whatever your condition, He has the final say. It’s not over until it is over, therefore don’t let the challenges of your life reduce your God to a grasshopper in your eyes.

ACTION POINT:

No matter your current condition, right now look to God. Praise Him by calling Him beautiful names. Tell Him you will praise Him at all times and that He should help you.

AUTHOR: Pst E. A ADEBOYE.