Monthly Archives: September 2023

MEMORISE: 1 Peter 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

MESSAGE

Having the Holy Spirit does not mean that you have arrived – not at all. He gave you the Holy Spirit for a reason and that is to witness according to Acts 1:8. A witness is someone who tells others about what they have seen or heard. When God asks you to witness, He is saying you should tell people about the things you have heard and seen about Him. To really prove that what you are telling them is true, He gives you, gifts of the Spirit. This is the work of grace that comes after the Holy Ghost baptism.

There are basically nine gifts of the Spirit, as seen in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 and they can be grouped into three. One group is called the revelation gifts. The revelation gifts consist of the Word of Wisdom, Word of knowledge and Discerning of Spirits. When you hear someone say something about you that he or she could not possibly have known except God told him or her, that is the Word of knowledge. For example, while l am preaching many times, God tells me things about people in the congregation and l announce it starting with “There is someone here …”. Despite not knowing these people, what l announce is usually the exact situation of the people involved – that is the Word of knowledge at work. God knows all things and from time to time reveals them to those whom He has given this gift to. It is a powerful gift of the Holy Spirit.

There is another group of gifts called the Power Gifts – the Gift of Faith, the Gift of Healing and the Gift of the Working of Miracles. Then of course there are three others called the Vocal Gifts – these are the Gifts of Prophecy, diverse kinds of Tongues and the Interpretation of Tongues. The Almighty God can give you any of these 9 gifts after you are baptised in the Holy Spirit and have started working for Him. Interestingly, 1 Corinthians 12:31 says: “But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew l unto you a more excellent way.”

The only place in the Bible where you are allowed to be covetous is when it comes to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. After my Holy Spirit baptism, l asked God for all the gifts and He answered me. I give Him glory and honour that when you ask Him, He is more than willing to give.

PRAYER POINT

Father, please give me all the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Daniel 1-3

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 23: TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE

1. Take my life and let it
Consecrated Lord to Thee
Take my moment and my days
Let them flow ceaseless 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

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.

4. Take my sliver and my gold
Not a mite would I withhold
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as thou shalt choose.

5. Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall no longer mine:
Take my heart, it is Thine own;
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

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MEMORISE: Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18

READ: Ezekiel 36:24 -27

24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

MESSAGE

The Christian race is a marathon, not a sprint. Some of us thought that Jesus would come within a few years after we got born again. Although He hasn’t come yet, believe me honestly, His coming is far nearer than it was then; He will soon be here. Since this race is a marathon, then it means that in addition to strength, you would also need endurance if you want to run the race successfully. Endurance comes by the special grace of God which He makes available to keep you standing until the end. These are the works of grace.

When I became born again, we were taught that there were three works of grace that God makes available to Christians – Salvation, Sanctification and the Holy Ghost Baptism. I decided to check further and discovered that there are at least 7 steps in this process.From our Bible reading, you will discover that the first thing God says He will do even before Salvation is to gather His own together (John 6:44). You cannot be saved unless God draws you first.

When I came to The Redeemed Christian Church of God, it was because I had a problem my education could not solve and God used that problem to draw me to Himself. When somebody is talking about their salvation experience and they say, “I found the Lord”, they are only speaking from their limited knowledge. God was never missing; it is He who found you (John 15:16). This is why, if you are truly saved now, you should always thank God for the salvation of your soul.

It is however, possible that God could be drawing a man, yet the man refuses to come to Him.The end of such people is always disastrous. There was a popular chief God sent me to preach salvation to and every time I visited, he would say, “Not yet”. One day, he had a stroke that rendered him unconscious; I was called to pray for him and within one hour, he was restored to perfect health as if nothing at all had gone wrong. This time I told him, “I feel God is giving you a last chance; will you give your life to Christ now?” Again, he said, “Not yet”. The next time I heard about him, he was dead. If God is drawing you to Himself and you keep refusing, you are telling Him clearly that you prefer hell to heaven. You had better surrender to Him now for your own good.

REFLECTION

Check yourself: have you been ignoring the call of God to live holy?

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 39-40

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 28: WHAT CAN WASH AWAY MY SIN

1. What can wash away my stain?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole
again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

CHORUS
Oh! Precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow!;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

2. For my cleansing this I see?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
For my pardon this my plea?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

3. Nothing can for sin atone
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Naught of good that I have done
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

4. This is all my hope and peace
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
This is all my righteousness
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

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MEMORISE: And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 2 Kings 2:9

READ: 2 Kings 2:9 -15

9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;

14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

MESSAGE

God wants the body of Christ to always go from glory to glory. He wants it such that men and women of God have followers who operate in greater measures of anointing. That is why He said we should make disciples of nations (Matthew 28:19-20). As powerful as He was,during His earthly ministry, before leaving He said: “Verily, verily, l say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that l do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because l go unto my Father” (John 14:12). No matter how greatly anointed your spiritual father is, God can anoint you more than him. You may be asking, “Are you saying that God can anoint me more than you?” Yes, indeed He can.

There was a woman who was in the Redemption camp when she received a call that her daughter had died while giving birth to a set of twins, both of whom had also died. After the programme, she went to the hospital and took with her a bottle of anointing oil that we had blessed, dropped a little of the oil in the twins’ mouths and said, “Don’t waste my time; come back to life” and they both came back to life. The body of her daughter was just about to be wheeled to no the mortuary at the time, she stopped the hospital staff, poured a little anointing oil on the daughter, placed an anointed handkerchief on her head and the daughter also came back to life. She raised three people from death in one day. Even I haven’t raised more than one person from death in one day yet. Thus, you can do even more than your Father-in-the Lord. For all my children, the anointing on you will be much more than the one on me, in Jesus’ name.

The reason we have had many men of God in the past and no one to carry that same measure of anointing now is simply that many people are not willing to serve the anointed with all their hearts. Not many people can carry the same burden that their Father-in-the-Lord do. If your soul is occupied with the world, you cannot carry the anointing of your Father-in-the-Lord whose focus is completely on doing the will of God. Elisha got a double portion of Elijah’s anointing because he remained loyal and committed to the latter.

KEY POINT

You can be more anointed than your spiritual parents, if you are completely loyal to them.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 33-35

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 1: ALL HAIL THE POWER OF JESUS NAME

1. All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all.

2. Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre,
And as they tune it, fall
Before His face Who tunes their choir,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Before His face Who tunes their choir,
And crown Him Lord of all.

3. Crown Him, ye morning stars of light,
Who fixed this floating ball;
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might,
And crown Him Lord of all.

4. Crown Him, ye martyrs of our God,
Who from His altar call;
Extol the stem of Jesse’s Rod,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Extol the stem of Jesse’s Rod,
And crown Him Lord of all.

5. Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race,
Ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
And crown Him Lord of all.

6. Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line,
Whom David Lord did call,
The God incarnate, Man divine,
And crown Him Lord of all.
The God incarnate, Man divine,
And crown Him Lord of all.

7. Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget,
The wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at His feet,
And crown Him Lord of all.

8. Let every tribe and every tongue,
Before Him prostrate fall,
And shout in universal song,
And crown Him Lord of all.
And shout in universal song,
And crown Him Lord of all.

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MEMORISE: Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12

READ: Luke 15:11-32

11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:

12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.

15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.

17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.

26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.

28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.

29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.

32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

MESSAGE

The elders have a proverb that says you first chase away the fox before you ask the hen, “Why did you stray?” In Mark 4:35-41, when there was a storm in the boat and the disciples woke Jesus up, He first stilled the storm before saying, “Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?” This is how Jesus treat us His children. He will first solve the problem before scolding you. Why then do many parents and guardians leave their children to be devoured by the fox when they see that they have strayed?

When the children God has planted around you err, protect them from the error they have made first to ensure it doesn’t destroy them, before you turn to discipline them. A father, for example, may throw out his daughter because she got pregnant outside wedlock. Such an action would further expose the girl to the fox already trying to destroy her. At the end of the day, that child may get into worse problems, especially if she finds help from the wrong set of people.

Children must not be cast away because they made a mistake. With all the mistakes you make, God continues to call you His child. Should there be discipline? Yes, of course. Children should be disciplined when they misbehave, but first, fix the problem and keep them safe.

While you discipline a child, it should always still be clear to that child that you love them. There is something called tough love. A child will know if the real reason you are taking an action is to protect your reputation or out of your love for them. Nothing hurts a child more than to experience lack of love from the parents.

I know it can be disappointing when children don’t meet up to their parents’ expectations. I am a father too and sometimes l would have taught my children to behave a certain way, only to hear that they did the opposite outside of the home. However, let us remember that we do the same thing to God and He doesn’t cast us out. He chastens us because He loves us. Your labour over all the children God has planted around you will not be in vain, in Jesus’ name.

PRAYER POINT

Father, please give me the patience and wisdom to protect and discipline the children around me with love, in Jesus name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezekiel 28-30

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 31: WONDERFUL STORY OF LOVE

1 Wonderful story of love!
Tell it to me again;
Wonderful story of love!
Wake the immortal strain.
Angels with rapture announce it,
Shepherds with wonder receive it;
Sinner, O won’t you believe it?
Wonderful story of love!

Refrain:

Wonderful! Wonderful!
Wonderful story, Wonderful story of love!

2 Wonderful story of love!
Though you are far away;
Wonderful story of love!
Still he doth call today.
Calling from Calvary’s mountain,
Down from the crystal bright fountain,
E’en from the dawn of creation;
Wonderful story of love!

3 Wonderful story of love!
Jesus provides a rest;
Wonderful story of love!
For all the pure and blest;
Rest in those mansions above us,
With those who’ve gone on before us,
Singing the rapturous chorus;
Wonderful story of love!

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