FORBID EXTENSION!

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 

1Peter 5:10

READ : Genesis 15:10-15

10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

MESSAGE:

One assurance you have as a believer is that the boat of your life and endeavours cannot sink. Be assured that every storm, contrary wind and wave that is working against you is only for an appointed time. The Holy Spirit made this clear in 1 Peter 5:10 when He said,

“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”

Beloved, don’t believe the lie of the devil that things will continue to get worse. They will not! Don’t believe that the unpleasant situation you find yourself will persist. It will not! Every pain, sorrow or distress is for a set time and it will definitely expire. After its expiration, the imperfect shall be perfected, the unstable shall be established, the weak shall be strengthened and there shall be divine settlement. These shall be your portion from now on in Jesus’ Name!

However, sometimes the devil attempts to extend the period of a trial of faith beyond what was originally sanctioned by God. This is why we need to know God’s will concerning a situation and thereafter stand on it. You need to know your kingdom rights and insist on receiving them. The devil is rightly called a thief in John 10:10. He steals what does not belong to him. Any ground you fail to conquer in the Kingdom will be lost to the enemy’s camp. Any promise of God you do not know and lay claim to shall be lost to the enemy. How much of God’s promises and prophesies do you know? How many of them have you laid claim to? Do you know that God can allow you go through a trial of faith situation for three years, but if you fail to know the exact duration or are not sensitive enough, the devil can take advantage of that situation and prolong the hardship? This was the case in today’s reading. God spoke of Abraham’s descendants going into slavery in a strange land for a period of 400 years and thereafter they would come out with great wealth; but do you know that by the time the Israelites were delivered, they had spent an extra 30years in slavery (Exodus 12:40)! Even today, many believers have allowed the devil to enjoy extra time in afflicting them. They have moved from the preset trial period to a period of satanic affliction, thinking they are still going through the God-ordained trial of faith. How can you check this? Ask God. Seek His face over it. Use all the weapons you have as a Christian: the Name of Jesus, the Blood of Jesus, the promises of God and a life of holiness to combat that unpleasant situation. If the situation stops, it means your trial is over.

PRAYER POINT:

Every satanic extension to my “trial of faith” period is terminated now in Jesus’ Name.

: LESSONS ON VOW

That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

Deuteronomy 23:23

Read: Judges 11:29-36

29 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.

30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands.

33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.

36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Deuteronomy 16-17 & Jeremiah 29:24-30:9

MESSAGE:

Sometimes, some people promise God one thing, but when the time comes to redeem the pledge, they bring something else. Do you think that God does not have records in Heaven? Once you make a pledge to God, don’t try to change it. Ecclesiastes 5:6 says,
“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?”

After you have committed yourself to a particular thing as a vow, if you later return to say “it was a slip of tongue, God will understand”, you are only deceiving yourself. Such an excuse is not acceptable to God. God expects you to stand by your words. Hence, as part of the requirements to stand in God’s holy place, Psalm 15:4 says if you make a vow, you are expected to do everything possible to redeem it, no matter the cost, sacrifice or inconvenience involved. Do you have this quality? It is part of the integrity we must have as believers.

Another lesson on vow is that you must be extremely careful before making a vow. Think very well before pledging a commitment to do a particular thing, because once it has gone out of your mouth, you may not be able to beat a retreat. Some people get carried away with zeal and make mouth-watering vow but later find it difficult to redeem it. Be careful! Only vow to give up what is within the limit of your capacity and not what you know you cannot cope with! The story of Jephthah is a very touching one. He needed victory so badly that he vowed to sacrifice to God whatever first came out of his house to meet him on his return. After the battle was over, as he returned home with great joy, it was his only child – his virgin daughter – that came out first to welcome him. He felt so bad. He realized the rashness of his vow, but he could not turn back from his promise. Finally, one more lesson on vows is that God does not like to hear the voice of vow-defaulters, and he would ultimately destroy their efforts (Ecclesiastes5:6). Is God fighting you over a vow you have defaulted on? Repent now and restitute. If need be, seek guidance of a Spirit-filled Christian counsellor or pastor.

ACTION POINT :

Unpaid vows are debts that can hinder you from making Heaven. Prayerfully recall your unpaid debts and redeem them fast.

MICROWAVE CHRISTIANITY

And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: Hebrew 6:11

Read: Hebrew 6:1-3

6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

6:3 And this will we do, if God permit.

MESSAGE:

In the midst of delay, man often comes up with alternatives to God’s original plan or purpose. This is a dangerous thing to do because man’s alternative charts a new course, which can completely take the individual concerned out of God’s original plan. Also, any such alternative is usually nothing more than a quick fix compared to God’s permanent solution. Speaking of quick fixes, the age we live in encourages that. We live in an age of instant gratification. Most people are no longer interested in any type of process; whatever they want they want now! This is what I term the “Microwave Mentality”. People are so much in a hurry that they cannot dedicate time to do what they should do properly.

Sadly, the trend of microwave mentality has crept into the church and has given birth to what I call “Microwave Christianity”. Microwave Christianity is doing more harm than good to the Body of Christ. A preacher says, “All you have to do is just believe”. The sinner says, “I believe” “Praise God, you are now born again”, the preacher replies. He is in so much of a hurry to get the sinner saved that he cannot even tell him or her to confess his or her sins to God. Can God save a sinner who has not confessed his or her sins (Romans 10:10)? That is “microwave salvation”! The name of that sinner may be written in the preacher’s book or register of church members, but is it in the Lamb’s book of Life? What about discipleship? Everything follows the same pattern – microwave! When products of this anomaly are confronted by the storms of life or persecution for their faith, they find it difficult to endure. Isaiah 28:10 reveals to us the pattern we must follow in raising champions for God:

”For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:”

In this age of instant gratification, God remains unmoved and unchanged: He still follows His order and timing in raising those He will use. Every spiritual microwave product portends problems, sorrow and regret in the future. From salvation to discipleship, no stage must be skipped. Diligence plays a key role in everything that concerns the Kingdom of God. Hence, Hebrew 6:1 says the elementary principles must be laid first, before you can move on to perfection. If the foundation is tampered with, the product will be unstable. When people are recommended to occupy spiritual positions that they are not spiritually qualified for, those sponsoring them are only creating problems for the future. Are you a product of Microwave Christianity? Go back to the basics and rebuild yourself!

Key Point:

If we fail to diligently fight for the faith that was delivered to us, a time will come when all we would be left with will be fakes!

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Deuteronomy 11-12
Jeremiah 29:1-14

UPGRADE YOUR TITHE

 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

SEASON OF LAUGHTER

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.

SONS ARE SPIRIT-LED

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

PRIVILEGES OF GOD’S CHILDREN I

Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Galatians 4:7

Read: Mark 7:24-30

7:24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.

7:25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

7:26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

7:27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

7:28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.

7:29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

7:30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

MESSAGE

Without a doubt, the responsibilities associated with being a child of God in this present age of spiritual perversion are highly demanding. Nevertheless, our benevolent Father, knowing our frame, has placed several pleasant privileges at our disposal as His children, to ease our sojourn through this wicked world. The first privilege we enjoy when we become children of God is that we are moved from the position of servant or slave to that of a son and an heir of God (Galatians 4:7). This is the reason why we must have passion for evangelism, especially to Muslims, who believe that they are slaves of God. God did not create us in His image for the purpose of making slaves out of us. Anyone who has not come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ is indeed a slave to sin and not a slave of God (Romans 6:16-18).

In the story of the Syro-phoenician woman in our Bible text, Jesus Christ did not mince words in revealing her true spiritual state to her as a slave of sin, in order to cause a change in her spiritual life. Fortunately for this woman, she admitted her spiritual poverty, and she was therefore given the hand of fellowship in adoption, so that she could be a partaker of the food meant for God's children. Matthew 5:3 says
"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"

Another striking thing in this story is that this woman was likened to a dog and she accepted it. Do you know why? It's because this verdict came from the Way, the Truth and the Life Himself; when He speaks, He speaks with valid authority. So, when Jesus calls a sinner a dog, that is exactly what he or she is. This is why the liberal theologians who want to be 21st century compliant would want to rewrite the Bible so that it can be "politically correct". Take note of the fact that what is politically correct can be spiritually bankrupt.

In light of these truths, you can therefore see how great your privilege is when you are a child of God. Being a child of God grants you access to the food of salvation, deliverance, healing and prosperity that is meant only for children of God. If you are not yet a child of God, don't delay further; today is the day of salvation and adoption. Give your life to Christ today, admit your spiritual poverty and let Him cleanse you in His Blood.

Prayer Point:

Father, I call You Father because you are a Father indeed. Make me Your own child through Jesus Christ, and bestow upon me the privileges of being Your child today.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Numbers 23-25
Jeremiah 22:11-23