Monthly Archives: April 2022

MEMORISE: Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 1 Corinthians 10:6

READ: 1 John 2:15 -17

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

MESSAGE

“Watch what you watch” means, be mindful of what you feed your eyes on. Be careful of the lust of the flesh which is usually fuelled by what our eyes feast on. Be careful of what you permit to attract your attention. There are many people who have dipped their hands in sin so they can acquire material wealth simply because they have seen others in the world do the same. What do you permit your eyes to see?

One major goal of every Christian must be to bring his flesh under the control of his spirit, as Paul described in 1 Corinthians 9:27:

But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

There is a tussle for supremacy between the flesh and your spirit (Galatians 5:17). This battle will however, be won by the stronger party. What you focus on will determine if you are feeding your spirit to be stronger that your flesh or vice versa.

If your focus is on things beneath, if all you are after are things that will gratify your flesh, then it will be stronger and will be in control of your spirit. Your mind and focus must be set on the things of God only (Colossians 3:12).

There are two ways by which you can tell if your focus is on the things of God or the flesh. One is about how you spend your money. When you get any amount of money, is your priority on spending for God or spending to gratify yourself? If you hear that there is a need in the house of God, do you take it upon yourself to use the resources in your hands to meet it or do you act as if the need is not your business?

Another way to know what your heart is set on is to check your ambitions. When you talk about your ambitions, are they in line with glorifying God or yourself? Why do you want a promotion in your place of work? Why do you want more money? Is it all to satisfy yourself or to advance the Kingdom of God here on earth? Check your ambitions and ensure that they are glorifying God and not yourself.

REFLECTION

Do a thorough and honest assessment of yourself: are you focused on the things of God or on yourself?

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2King 1-4

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 14: NEARER MY GODTO THEE

1 Nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,

still all my song shall be,

nearer, my God, to thee;

nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

2 Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,

darkness be over me, my rest a stone;

yet in my dreams I’d be

nearer, my God, to thee;

nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

3 There let the way appear, steps unto heaven;

all that thou sendest me, in mercy given;

angels to beckon me

nearer, my God, to thee;

nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

4 Then, with my waking thoughts bright with thy praise,

out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;

so by my woes to be

nearer, my God, to thee;

nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

5 Or if, on joyful wing cleaving the sky,

sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I fly,

still all my song shall be,

nearer, my God, to thee;

nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

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20

THEME: BLESSINGS FROM THE VICTORY AT CALVARY III.

MEMORISE:
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. John 15:16

READ: Mark 16:15 -20
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18 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.

19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

MESSAGE
We shall continue to examine more blessings from the victory at Calvary today. The first one we will consider today can be seen in John 15:15 which says:

Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

The sacrifice and victory at cavalry qualify believers to be called friends of Jesus. This also makes every believer an ambassador of the Most High on earth, as we see in 2 Corinthians 5:20:

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

The implication of the above blessing is in the Bible text of today. “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” Jesus commanded. You enjoy the privilege of an ambassador for the Almighty God when you have a divine encounter with Jesus Christ. With this comes the assurance that He will be with us until the end of the world (Matthew 28:20). The good thing about this assurance is that the Scripture says, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31).
Another blessing from the victory at Calvary is that every believer can become a vessel through which God performs miracles. This means that we can control circumstances, principalities and powers, as we see in our Bible reading today (Mark 16:15-20).

There is a lot to rejoice over in the Scripture above. While it is true that there is still a lot of evil in the world, there are, however, numerous instances of devils being cast out of people, of persons in one form of bondage or the other being set free and so on. More and more people are baptized with the Holy Spirit, and we are constantly slaying spiritual giants. Even when we eat deadly things, they cannot harm us, and when we lay our hands on the sick, they are healed.

The only way to be part of these blessings is by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. If you haven’t done so already, surrender your life to Him today, so that the blessings from the victory at Calvary can become yours, also.

PRAYER POINT
Father, please give me a full portion of the blessings of Calvary.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1King 21-22

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 28: WHEN WE WALK WITH THE LORD
1 When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2 Not a burden we bear,
not a sorrow we share,
but our toil he doth richly repay;
not a grief or a loss,
not a frown or a cross,
but is blest if we trust and obey.

3 But we never can prove
the delights of his love
until all on the altar we lay;
for the favor he shows,
for the joy he bestows,
are for them who will trust and obey.

4 Then in fellowship sweet
we will sit at his feet,
or we’ll walk by his side in the way;
what he says we will do,
where he sends we will go;
never fear, only trust and obey.

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20

MEMORISE:
Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; Deuteronomy 11:26

READ: Galatians 3:13 -14
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

MESSAGE
Yesterday, we started to discuss the blessings from the victory at Calvary, and we identified two out of the numerous blessings that accrued to us from it. Today, we shall be asking ourselves a couple of questions to better understand the implication of these blessings.
These questions are:
(1) What is a Curse? (2) What is a Blessing?

A curse is a condition in which unseen forces that hinder progress attack a fellow, with the aim of destroying him or her. Classic characteristics of a curse are found in Deuteronomy 28:15-20, the last verse of which reads:
The lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.
A lot of lessons are embedded in the Scripture above. One, God does not witch-hunt anyone. He would warn before placing a curse on anyone – just as He did in the case of Adam and Eve, though they still fell for the devil’s trick, leading to the fulfillment of the predicted curses. Two, the Lord reveals the reason for a curse – disobedience to divine law, ungodliness and all wickedness associated with it.
A blessing, on the other hand, is a result of unseen forces, summoned in heaven and sent to the earth to support the beneficiary to succeed, even where others are failing. A classic example is Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 27:28-29 which reads:
Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine: Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee.

Beloved, if you desire the blessings of Calvary in your life, come to Jesus and truly surrender your life to Him. His blessings will indeed prosper you without adding any form of sorrow. (Proverbs 10:22).

ACTION POINT
If you want to be blessed, come to Jesus by faith today.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1King 18-20

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 28: WHEN WE WALK WITH THE LORD
1 When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2 Not a burden we bear,
not a sorrow we share,
but our toil he doth richly repay;
not a grief or a loss,
not a frown or a cross,
but is blest if we trust and obey.

3 But we never can prove
the delights of his love
until all on the altar we lay;
for the favor he shows,
for the joy he bestows,
are for them who will trust and obey.

4 Then in fellowship sweet
we will sit at his feet,
or we’ll walk by his side in the way;
what he says we will do,
where he sends we will go;
never fear, only trust and obey.

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20

MEMORISE:

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: Galatians 3:13

READ: Revelation 1:12 -18

12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

MESSAGE

We should thank God for the victory at Calvary. The fiercest battle in history is the one fought by our Lord Jesus at Calvary in which He defeated sin, Satan and death. The battleground was set in Genesis 3:1-15 and the seed of the woman finally crushed the head of the old serpent and declared, “It is finished”, as He paid the supreme price (John 19:30).

There are numerous blessings from the sacrifice at Calvary. The first is deliverance from the curse of the law the Law came as a schoolmaster, according to Galatians 3:10,13,24-25. The law is the weapon that our accuser – the devil, uses to condemn us, according to Revelation 12:10 which says:

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Another beautiful thing about the battle at Calvary is that it brings the blessings of Abraham to the entire world. The blessings that had been the exclusive inheritance of the Jews became available to the gentiles also, according to Galatians 3:14 which says:

That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Thus, the blessings of Calvary have given us victory over sin, over the devil and over death. However, even beyond that, the events at Calvary gave us the right to call the Almighty God “Father”.

Beloved, the only way to access the blessings of the victory at Calvary is to surrender your life completely to Jesus Christ. Obeying all His commandments demonstrates that you truly love Him,. And this qualifies you to access the blessings of Calvary.

PRAYER POINT

Father, please let all the blessings of the victory of Calvary be mine today, in Jesus Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1King 14-17

AUTHOR: E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 28: WHEN WE WALK WITH THE LORD

1 When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2 Not a burden we bear,
not a sorrow we share,
but our toil he doth richly repay;
not a grief or a loss,
not a frown or a cross,
but is blest if we trust and obey.

3 But we never can prove
the delights of his love
until all on the altar we lay;
for the favor he shows,
for the joy he bestows,
are for them who will trust and obey.

4 Then in fellowship sweet
we will sit at his feet,
or we’ll walk by his side in the way;
what he says we will do,
where he sends we will go;
never fear, only trust and obey.

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20

MEMORISE:
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: Proverbs 3:3

READ: Psalms 136:13-26
13 To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever:

14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy endureth for ever:

15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy endureth for ever.

16 To him which led his people through the wilderness: for his mercy endureth for ever.

17 To him which smote great kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:

18 And slew famous kings: for his mercy endureth for ever:

19 Sihon king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth for ever:

20 And Og the king of Bashan: for his mercy endureth for ever:

21 And gave their land for an heritage: for his mercy endureth for ever:

22 Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever.

23 Who remembered us in our low estate: for his mercy endureth for ever:

24 And hath redeemed us from our enemies: for his mercy endureth for ever.

25 Who giveth food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever.

26 O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.

MESSAGE
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Ephesians 2:4

The above passage says that one of the ways in which God measures His wealth is in mercy. 1Corinthians 16:34 says,
O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good ; for His mercy endureth forever.

Now, even though God’s mercy is abundant and endureth forever, He still reserves the right to decide who will partake of it, and who will not. Romans 9:15 says,

For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

This is because God is sovereign. Psalm 115:3 says, He is in heaven and does as He pleases. The question now is : How can I ensures that God shows me mercy? How can I ensures that when He is choosing who He will show mercy to, He would choose me?

There are two ways by which you could get Him to be merciful unto you. The first is by being merciful. Matthew 5:7 says “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” If you show mercy to others, you would obtain the same from God. Showing mercy to others goes beyond just giving money to the needy. You cannot say you have mercy on me when you see me going to hell and you keep quiet and let me go on. If you have mercy on your colleagues, friends, family and neighbors, you will preach the gospel to them to become born again. You will do everything within your power to ensure that they don’t end up in hell.

Secondly, to obtainGod’s mercy, you would have to fear Him. Psalms 103:13 says, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.”

If you don’t fear God, don’t expect His mercy. If God discovers that a fellow does not want to offend Him, He will be merciful and help such a person avert trouble.

KEY POINT
Show mercy to others and fear God ; He will show you mercy in return.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1King 12-13

AUTHOR: E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN4: GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS
1 Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
there is no shadow of turning with thee.
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
as thou hast been, thou forever wilt be.

Refrain:
Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
all I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

2 Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

3 Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

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20

MEMORISE:
Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. Psalms 127:1

READ:Psalms 136:1 -12
1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

2 O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.

3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

4 To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.

5 To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.

6 To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.

7 To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:

8 The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:

9 The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.

10 To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever:

11 And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever:

12 With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.

MESSAGE
Our memory verse says that you cannot build a house except you obtain mercy from God, neither can there be safety unless He provides it. In other words, there is virtually nothing good a man can achieve without the mercy of God which provides the platform for His help.

I received a letter not long ago from someone who said he had started building a house in 1981 and up to the time he was writing the letter (over 30 years later), he hadn’t roofed it yet. It is only by God’s mercy that you can start and finish any project successfully. Thus, it doesn’t matter how many bodyquards you have, unless God has mercy on you, your life is not protected. You can have bodyguards against hired assassins and armed robbers, but can you have bodyguards against sicknesses? Can you have bodyguards against spiritual attacks? Only God’s mercy can truly protect you.

No matter how much you labour at anything, you cannot succeed without the mercy of God. It is God’s mercy that grants us the help we need.

Many years ago, the son of a member of the Redeemed Christian Church of God had just finished his degree abroad and his father was rejoicing. He told his father something frightening that day; he said, “Dad, I know that you sent me abroad to study because you love me, but thank your God that I did not end up disgracing you because of the kind of friends I found myself amongst in school”. The father was doing the right thing by sending his child to a good school, but had it not been for the mercy of God, he would have regretted it. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 says Paul may plant, Apollo may water, but it is God who gives increase. From my personal experience I know you can get to the exam hall and just blank out. Farmers can have no harvest even though they did all that they would to get one. A hardworking fisherman like Peter can fish all night and catch nothing (Luke 5:5). That is why wise people, when they need help, ask God for mercy.

In Mark 10:47, Bartimaeus kept crying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me”. Jesus had mercy on him. In Luke 17:11-19, the ten lepers saw Jesus, stood far away and cried for mercy; they were cleansed. What is that problem you need a solution for? Change your prayer point today and just ask God for mercy

PRAYER POINT
Father, please have mercy on me. Help me overcome all my problems, in Jesus name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 King 10-11

AUTHOR: E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN5: HAVE YOU BEEN TO JESUS
Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow’r?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

2 Are you walking daily by the Savior’s side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

3 When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white!
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for His presence bright,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?

4 Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb.

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20

MEMORISE: The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. Proverbs 13:4

READ: 2 Thessalonians 3:11 – 12
11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.

12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

MESSAGE
We see clearly in Ezekiel 16:49 that one of the major problems that led to the destruction of Sodom is idleness. Idleness also caused David great sorrow. At a time when kings went to war, he stayed at home and this led to him committing adultery and murder. These sins invoked God’s anger and a curse was placed upon him and his linage (2 Samuel 11-12).

Solomon also fell into the trap of idleness, which caused his heart to be turned away from God. After he had built the temple of God and a new palace, he had nothing else to do. There were no wars to fight, no territories to conquer, and so he relaxed. He started marrying women he had no business with until he ended up with 700 wives and 300 concubines. In his relaxed state, his wives began to turn him away from the Most High God, and before he knew it, he was already building temples for and sacrificing to strange gods. Solomon started with so much respect and honour for God that he gave the largest sacrifice in the Bible to the Lord. This was a man who God appeared to twice, but idleness brought him to the point where he began to serve other gods. He displeased God greatly, and this led to him losing part of his father’s heritage (I Kings 11:1-11).

Jesus Christ said His father works and likewise Himself (John5:17)/ who then do you want to emulate by being idle? Imagine if, in your house, everyone – including the father of the house helps out with chores, yet one of the children never works but loafs around the house every day. That child would be very annoying to the parents and his or her siblings.
Beloved, there are many souls to be saved out there (Matthew 9:37); are you working to reach them quickly?

When you consider the story of the rich fool in Luke 12:16-20, you may think, “What did this man do wrong? Is it wrong to work so hard and gather a large harvest? Why did God kill him?” God took his life because he had decided that since he now had a large harvest, he was going to become idle. Idle people are very dangerous to the Kingdom of God and the society. No matter how much you have achieved, still strive for more. There is a lot of work to be done in the Kingdom of God. Serve Him now that you have the privilege to do so (John 9:4).

KEY POINT
A good child of God will be busy doing his work

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 King 8-9

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS
1 Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!
Christ, the royal Master,
leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
see his banner go!

Refrain:
Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!

2 At the sign of triumph
Satan’s host doth flee;
On, then, Christian soldiers,
on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver
at the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices,
loud your anthems raise!

3 Like a mighty army
moves the church of God;
Brothers, we are treading
where the saints have trod;
We are not divided;
all one body we,
One in hope and doctrine,
one in charity.

4 Onward, then, ye people,
join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices
in the triumph song;
Glory, laud, and honor,
unto Christ the King;
This thro’ countless ages
men and angels sing.

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20

MEMORISE: Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. Joshua 13:1

READ: 1 Kings 13:1 – 25
1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.

3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

4 And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.

5 The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.

6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.

7 And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.

8 And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:

9 For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.

10 So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.

11 Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.

12 And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.

13 And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,

14 And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.

15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.

16 And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:

17 For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.

18 He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

19 So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.

20 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:

21 And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,

22 But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.

23 And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.

24 And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.

25 And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

MESSAGE
The problem with many Christians is that they are ‘seated’. They think they have arrived, so they rest earlier than they should. I have seen it happen now and again where a man or woman of God is doing so well for the Almighty God and the work of the Lord is prospering in his or her hands, then all of a sudden, the person decides to rest. No more prayers at night, no more Bible study, no more self-sacrifice. From the story of the young prophet in our Bible reading today, we see that there are many people who God wants to take to the sun, but they get to the moon and relax. The moment a person decides to take a break from serving God and sits to rest, he or she begins to retrogress.

In Psalm 1:1, the Bible says that a Christian doesn’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the way of sinners nor sit in the seat of the scornful. The Bible goes from walking, to standing, to sitting; that is retrogression. To be seated means you used to be a champion, but now you are irrelevant. In 1 Samuel 10:1, Saul was captain; in 1 Samuel 16:14, he had become irrelevant (he was seated). In Luke 15:11-19, the prodigal son was wealthy, but he rejoiced too soon and things became so bad that he sought to eat with pigs.

When we moved to the Redemption Camp, we had just a few acres of land, then we bought some more and got to about thirty acres of land, After this, we bought a little more and by the time we got to about a hundred acres, people came to me and said, “What do you want to do with all this land?” The Almighty God woke me up one day and said “What is wrong with you; are they the ones who called you? Are they the ones who brought you here?” I got up immediately. Today, the Redemption Camp in Western Nigeria alone is on about 30,000 acres of land and we have only just started.

Beloved, STAND UP! It’s not yet time to rest,. You have not arrived at your destination yet, you have not reached where God is taking you to. Don’t stop praying, don’t stop working hard, don’t stop making sacrifices; God still has a lot in store for you. Instead of Joshua to hear “Well done, my son” from God at the end of his sojourn on earth, God informed him that there was a lot he had left undone as seen in the memory verse of today. God forbid that this will be the report you get when it in your turn, in Jesus’ name.

KEY POINT
Don’t relax until you reach the point God wants to take you to.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 King 5-7

AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE

HYMN 26: WE ARE NEVER NEVER WEARY OF THE GRAND OLD SONG
1. We are never, never weary of the grand old song;
Glory to God, hallelujah!
We can sing it loud as ever, with our faith more strong;
Glory to God, hallelujah!

Refrain
O, the children of the Lord have a right to shout and sing,
For the way is growing bright, and our souls are on the wing;
We are going by and by to the palace of a King!
Glory to God, hallelujah!

2. We are lost amid the rapture of redeeming love
Glory to God, hallelujah!
We are rising on its pinions to the hills above:
Glory to God, hallelujah!

3. We are going to a palace that is built of gold;
Glory to God, hallelujah!
Where the King in all His splendor we shall soon behold
Glory to God, hallelujah!

4. There we’ll shout redeeming mercy in a glad, new song;
Glory to God, hallelujah!
There we’ll sing the praise of Jesus with the blood washed throng;
Glory to God, hallelujah!!

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MEMORISE:
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12

READ: Psalms 37:3 -6
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

MESSAGE
In Isaiah 29:8, the Bible says that a hungry man can eat in his dream but then when he wakes up, he will realize that he is still hungry. If a poor man sleeps and dreams of himself living in a mansion and having many servants, when he wakes up, he would still find himself on his little bed in his little room. The sleeping state hence can also be described as a state of unfulfilled dreams. When a fellow continually has beautiful dreams which never come true, that is a state of sleep.

When I was a lecturer at the University of Lagos, there was an engineering student who, after years of not being able to move beyond 100 level, was asked to withdraw. He then changed his course of study again, this time to fine arts. He never graduated. This is a classic example of unfulfilled dreams. If you have noticed that your dreams just never seem to get fulfilled, then you may just be sleeping. I decree that everything beyond your power, hindering your dreams from being fulfilled is destroyed today, in Jesus’ name.

If you have noticed that for many years, you have not been making any significant progress in your life, then you are in a sleeping state. You must wake up today. Physically, check those things that you have been doing which have not been giving you results and change your strategy. Stop moving round in circles; look for the direction that will take you to your goal and go in it. For some people it is a habit or a bad attitude that has kept them in the same spot for years;; prayerfully search for the cause of any stagnation in your life and get rid of it.

Spiritually, you must pray to break every barrier to your moving forward in life. Make sure that you are not the one who is a hinderance to the fulfillment of your own dreams; make sure that you don’t have any sin in your life that is hindering your progress. Pray against that enemy that has stopped you from moving forward and you will soon begin to see progress in your life.

You will soon testify, in Jesus’ name.

PRAYER POINT
I decree, everything that has hindered the fulfillment of my dreams must be destroyed today in the name of Jesus.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 King 3-4

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 2: CONQUERORS AND OVERCOMERS NOW ARE WE
CONQUERORS AND OVERCOMERS NOW ARE WE

Conquerors and overcomers now are we,
Thro’ the precious blood of Christ we’ve victory,
If the Lord be for us, we can never fail;
Nothing ‘gainst his mighty pow’r can e’er prevail.

Refrain:
Conquerors are we, thro’ the blood, thro’ the blood;
God will give us victory, thro’ the blood, thro’ the blood,
Thro’ the Lamb for sinners slain,
Yet who lives and reigns again,
More than conquerors are we,
More than conquerors are we.

In the name of Israel’s God we’ll onward press,
Overcoming sin and all unrighteousness;
Not to us, but unto him the praise shall be,
For salvation and for blood-bought victory.

Unto him that overcometh shall be giv’n
Here to eat of hidden manna sent from heav’n;
Over yonder he the victor’s palm shall bear,
And a robe of white, and golden crown shall wear.

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MEMORISE:
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. Matthew 13:25

READ: 1 Samuel 26:4 -16
4 David therefore sent out spies, and understood that Saul was come in very deed.

5 And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.

6 Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.

7 So David and Abishai came to the people by night: and, behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster: but Abner and the people lay round about him.

8 Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.

9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD’S anointed, and be guiltless?

10 David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish.

11 The LORD forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the LORD’S anointed: but, I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster, and the cruse of water, and let us go.

12 So David took the spear and the cruse of water from Saul’s bolster; and they gat them away, and no man saw it, nor knew it, neither awaked: for they were all asleep; because a deep sleep from the LORD was fallen upon them.

13 Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of an hill afar off; a great space being between them:

14 And David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Answerest thou not, Abner? Then Abner answered and said, Who art thou that criest to the king?

15 And David said to Abner, Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel? wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king thy lord.

16 This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the LORD liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the LORD’S anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster.

MESSAGE
The statement, “Wake up” implies that the fellow being spoken to had been sleeping. Sleeping at the wrong time can be very dangerous while sleeping spiritually is even more dangerous! In the Bible reading for today, we learnt that King Saul slept. He was surrounded by mighty men of Israel – not ordinary soldiers, but the best in the land, and they all slept too. While they were sleeping, David (the man they were seeking to kill) and his men came and took the sword of the king as well as his water bottle. Abishai, one of David’s men said to him, “Let me smite him just once-not twice, just once and he will be dead”’. When you are sleeping, no matter how strong you are, you would be helpless and open to the attack of the enemy. That is why you must never sleep spiritually.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring, lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1 Peter 5:8

The above passage says that the devil is walking around, and his only mission is to look for people that he can devour. If he gets to you and finds you sleeping spiritually, just one stroke from him can kill you.

As strong as Saul’s bodyguards were, the moment he slept, they slept too. When you sleep spiritually, you disconnect your protective covering in the spirit.The moment you stop praying, stop studying your Bible and you now begin to dip your hands into one little sin or the other, the protective covering that God had put over you and your family members begins to weaken, giving a chance for the enemy to attack successfully. In Numbers 22-24, Balaam tried to curse the Israelites but could only bless them because of the protective covering that God had put over them. That covering was however, lifted when the people of Israel began to sleep spiritually. This led to a plague killing twenty-four thousand of them. Many ‘Christians’ are suffering from the oppression of the devil today because they are sleeping spiritually. Where they should be victors, they are victims. WAKE UP!

Start praying again! Start evangelizing again! Run away from those ‘little’ sins! Stop being a prey to the devil WAKE UP!

KEY POINT
Wake up from your spiritual slumber.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 King 1-2

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 6: HO MY COMRADES! SEE THE SIGNAL
1 Ho My Comrades See The Signal Waving In The Sky Reinforcements Now Appearing Victory Is Nigh

2 Hold The Fort For I Am Coming Jesus Signals Still Wave The Answer Back To Heaven By Thy Grace We Will

3 See The Mighty Host Advancing Satan Leading On Mighty Ones Around Us Falling Courage Almost Gone

4 See The Glorious Banner Waving Hear The Trumpet Blow In Our Leader’s Name We Triumph Over Every Foe

5 Fierce And Long The Battle Rages But Our Help Is Near Onward Comes Our Great Commander Cheer My Comrades Cheer.

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