THE ATTITUDE OF CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2022.

SUBJECT : THE ATTITUDE OF CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS!

Memory verse: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (First John 1 vs 9.)

READ: Mark 11 vs 25 - 26:

11:25: And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 

11:26: But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.

INTIMATION:

As imperfect being we are, we are always sinning; knowingly or unknowingly. Therefore, we need to continually be confessing our sins so as to receive forgiveness of our sins from the Lord, occasioning continued fellowship with the Lord. As enumerated in our memory verse, God is so faithful that if we confess our sins, we are assured of His forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness, and our fellowship with Him is restored.

David confessed his sin and prayed, "Cleans me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins (Psalm 19 vs 12 - 13.) Presumptuous sins are the sins we commit unknowingly, or when we take certain things for granted; when we believe that something is true without proof. Most times we end up apologizing for the wrong done unwittingly.

Most believers are plagued by guilt; they may have committed a sin unknowingly, done something good with selfish intentions, failed to put their whole heart into a task, or neglected what they should have done. With an attitude of confession, we will always present ourselves to God as sinners that needs forgiveness. God fully and completely forgives us—even for those sins we do unknowingly.

When our sins are forgiven, we can stand boldly in His presence and make our petition. Therefore, it is to our own advantage that we ask for forgiveness of sins, so that our Heavenly Father can hear our prayers.

The psalmist said in Psalm 66 vs 18, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear." When we refuse to repent or when we harbor and cherish certain sins, we place a wall between us and God. We may not be able to remember every sin we have ever committed, but our attitude should be one of confession and obedience. 

When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, He made forgiveness the cornerstone of their relationship with God. God has forgiven our sins; we must now forgive those who have wronged us. This is for our own interest because it is upon doing so that God may hear our prayers. 

In the passage we read today, Jesus warned us that whenever we stand to prayer, we must come to Him with a clean heart; loving and iniquity free. Therefore, we should check ourselves to ensure that we don’t have anything against anyone, forgiving and setting everyone who have wronged us free in our heart. In so doing, we would have set a platform for our own forgiveness by God. Jesus gave the  startling warning about forgiveness because when we don't forgive others, we are denying our common ground as sinners in need of God's forgiveness. 

God's forgiveness of sin is not the direct result of our forgiving others, but rather it is based on our realizing what forgiveness means. It is noteworthy that Christ said; "that your Father in heaven 'may' forgive you, not 'must' forgive you. It is easy to ask God for forgiveness, but difficult to grant it to others. Whenever we ask God to forgive us our sins, we should ask ourselves, "Have I forgiven the people who have wronged me?"

The apostle Paul admonished us on forgiveness in Ephesians 4 vs 32, saying, "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." He re-emphasized this In Colossians 3 vs 12 - 13, "Therefore, as elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you must do." 

The key to forgiveness is remembering how much God has forgiven you. For most people it is difficult for them to forgive someone who has wronged them a little when God has forgiven them so much. Realizing God's infinite love and forgiveness can help you love and forgive others. God forgives us solely because of His great mercy. As we come to understand His mercy, however, we will want to be like Him. Having received forgiveness, we will pass it to others. Those who are unwilling to forgive has not become one with Christ, who was willing to forgive even those who crucified Him (Luke 23 vs 34). 

To remain unforgiving shows we have not understood that we ourselves deeply need to be forgiven. Because God has forgiven us our sins, we should not withhold forgiveness from others. Realizing how completely Christ has forgiven us should produce a free and generous attitude of forgiveness toward others. When we don't forgive others, we are setting ourselves outside and above Christ's law of love—"Love your neighbor as yourself."

Prayer: Abba Father, Your love has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit indwelling us, enabling us to live by His power. May I serve You in complete obedience, trust, true love for You and my neighbor, that I may be at peace with everyone, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

How to Magnify God

 

I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. (Psalm 69:30)

There are two kinds of magnifying: microscope magnifying and telescope magnifying. The one makes a small thing look bigger than it is. The other makes a big thing begin to look as big as it really is.

When David says, “I will magnify God with thanksgiving,” he does not mean, “I will make a small God look bigger than he is.” He means, “I will make a big God begin to look as big as he really is.”

We are not called to be microscopes. We are called to be telescopes. Christians are not called to be con-men who magnify their product out of all proportion to reality, when they know the competitor’s product is far superior. There is nothing and nobody superior to God. And so the calling of those who love God is to make his greatness begin to look as great as it really is.

That’s why we exist, why we were saved, as Peter says in 1 Peter 2:9, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

The whole duty of the Christian can be summed up in this: feel, think, and act in a way that will make God look as great as he really is. Be a telescope for the world of the infinite starry wealth of the glory of God.

This is what it means for a Christian to magnify God. But you can’t magnify what you haven’t seen or what you quickly forget.

Therefore, our first task is to see and to remember the greatness and goodness of God. So we pray to God, “Open the eyes of my heart!” (Ephesians 1:18), and we preach to our souls, “Soul, forget not all his benefits!” (Psalm 103:2).

Jesus Prays for Us

 

He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

It says that Christ is able to save to the uttermost — forever — since he always lives to make intercession for us. In other words, he would not be able to save us forever if he did not go on interceding for us forever.

This means our salvation is as secure as Christ’s priesthood is indestructible. This is why we needed a priest so much greater than any human priest. Christ’s deity and his resurrection from the dead secure his indestructible priesthood for us.

This means we should not talk about our salvation in static terms the way we often do — as if I did something once in an act of decision, and Christ did something once when he died and rose again, and that’s all there is to it. That’s not all there is to it.

This very day I am being saved by the eternal intercession of Jesus in heaven. Jesus is praying for us and that is essential to our salvation.

We are saved eternally by the eternal prayers (Romans 8:34) and advocacy (1 John 2:1) of Jesus in heaven as our High Priest. He prays for us and his prayers are answered because he prays perfectly on the basis of his perfect sacrifice.

PRAYER VERSUS THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 26, 2022.

SUBJECT : PRAYER VERSUS THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL!

Memory verse: "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17 vs 20 - 21). 

READ: Matthew 13 vs 24 - 28:

13:24: Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of God is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 

13:25: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away. 

13:26: But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then tares also appeared. 

13:27: So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares? 

13:28: He said to them, 'An enemy has done this. ‘The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’

INTIMATION:

In the passage we read today, Jesus teaches about the activities of the devil in the lives of believers. In explaining the parable in Matthew 13 vs 39, He said that the enemy who sowed the tares is the devil. The devil is forever busy luring the children of God to his side by oppressing them in order to win them over with his greatest weapon of fear. It takes the resistance of the believer in prayer to ensure victory over him. 

Are you faced with challenges? Are certain forces resisting every move you make? Do things seem not to be working for you in spite of all your input? I'm glad to announce to you that the power in prayer is available to you as a child of God, to fight all the oppositions en route your victory and triumph in life. 

Our memory verse is part of the answer Jesus gave to His disciples when they could not cast out an evil spirit even though they had been empowered to do so (See Matthew 10 vs 1). Satan was blocking their access to results in ministry. The principal weapon engaged by the believer in victory over Satan is prayer. On it all other weapons revolve.

The potent weapons available to the believer is; faith, hope, prayer, fasting, the Word of God, the name of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Note that all these weapons are enforced in prayer. Don't sit there crying and waiting for someone to pity you; rise up and take advantage of this potent powers and free yourself from the hold of the enemy. He is called "the wicked," because he has no feelings of sympathy for anybody. He is out for you, so you must arise and invoke the powers of heaven to flush him out.

As I said in the past, many people think that Christianity is a passive religion that advocates waiting for God to act. But you must have an active faith, invoking through prayer the powers engaged in victory. Things don't just happen, they are made to happen. The Scripture in First Corinthians 16 vs 9 says, "For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries."

Being a Christian does not exempt you from warfare; it only gives you an edge over the opposition. Going through rivers of difficulty will either cause you to be drawn or force you to grow stronger. If you go in your own strength, you are more likely to drown, if you invite the Lord to go with you He will protect you. Isaiah 43 vs 1 - 2 illustrates graphically how the Lord protects you: "But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name;  You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned. Nor shall the flame scorch you."

Your redemption notwithstanding, God says, "When you pass through waters....when you walk through the fire..." not, "If you pass through the waters....if you walk through the fire..." Warfare therefore, is inevitable, but victory is guaranteed. God says, "Fear not, I am your redeemer, I am committed to deliver you and give you the victory." 

The obstacles are real; the victories are also real. Victory is our heritage. As long as you are still breathing, the battle is not over. Rise up and stop tolerating failure and mishaps! Stop putting up with pains, lack and want. If you won't arise, your enemy will prevail. One strategy of the enemy is to make you feel you can't handle the issue. That is a lie. God is committed to your victory, if only you will fight. 

But remember "For though we walk in the flesh! we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds,..." (Second Corinthians 10 vs 3 - 4.) The foremost of Christians’ weapon is prayer. In prayer all other weapons of are engaged.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are my Faithful Companion. I can do all things through You who strengthens me on the prayer altar. Let my supplications and petitions come to You as a sweet smelling savor that I may obtain the strength to prevail against the evil tidings of the wicked one, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Glorify God by Giving Thanks

 

It is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 4:15)

Gratitude to God is a joyful emotion. We have a sense of joyful indebtedness for his grace. So in a sense in the very emotion of gratitude, we are still the beneficiaries. But by its very nature, gratitude glorifies the giver. When we feel thankful, we acknowledge our need and God’s beneficence, God’s fullness, the riches of his glory.

Just like I humble myself and exalt the server in the restaurant when I say, “Thank you,” so I humble myself and exalt God when I feel gratitude to him. The difference, of course, is that I really am infinitely in debt to God for his grace, and everything he does for me is free and undeserved.

But the point is that gratitude glorifies the giver. It glorifies God. And this is Paul’s final goal in all his labors. Yes, his labors are for the sake of the church — the good of the church. But the church is not the highest goal. Listen again: “It is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.” All for your sake — for the glory of God!

The wonderful thing about the gospel is that the response it requires from us for God’s glory is also the response that is most natural and joyful; namely, thankfulness for grace. God’s all-supplying glory in giving and our humble gladness in receiving are not in competition. Joyful thankfulness glorifies God.

A life that gives glory to God for his grace and a life of deepest gladness are the same life. And what makes them one is thankfulness.

SEEKING GOD’S KINGDOM IS HIS WILL!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2022.

SUBJECT : SEEKING GOD’S KINGDOM IS HIS WILL!

Memory verse: "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6 vs 10.)

READ: Matthew 6 vs 31 - 33:

6:31: Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

6:32: For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

INTIMATION:

God's kingdom has been long in existence in heaven. God created the world for a purpose, out of His love and goodness, and created man for the purpose of taking care of His new kingdom. His desire is that His spiritual reign is extended to the earth, as it is in heaven. A kingdom is a state having a king as its head. The king's word is a law to be obeyed. God already reigns as the king in heaven, and desires that His spiritual sovereignty is established here on earth.

Then, when we pray "Your will be done," we are asking in consonance with His will, that God's purpose of creation be accomplished in this world as well as next—in heaven.

Praying for His will to be done shows our reference of Him as the Creator, and the supremacy of God's will over all things. Therefore, kingdom-oriented prayer gives you special audience with God. The Bible says, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6 vs 33.) This is God's will, and because you have prayed according to His will, He hears you. 

The Bible says in First John 5 vs 14 - 15, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him." The emphasis here is on God’s will, not our will. When we communicate with God, we don’t demand what we want; rather we discuss with Him what He wants for us. If we align our prayers to His will, He will listen; and because we have not been selfish in our prayers; but rather desired His own interest—His will, He will definitely concern Himself with providing those our needs He is already aware of, thereby adding them to us.

To “seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness” means to put God first in your life, to fill your thoughts with a His desires, to take His character for your pattern, and to serve and obey Him in everything. When you do these things, all other of your needs will be added to you even without your asking. The assurance is given to us according to God’s word in Isaiah 65 vs 24, thus, “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”

Many people are dying in their prayer rooms because they are self-oriented in their prayers. It is all about self in their prayers. They are the "needy-stars" of the kingdom. They always pray, "Lord, give me this; Lord, bless me; Lord bless my husband, bless my wife and Children," and their demands are numerous, not wanting any form of discomfort. They are least concerned about the welfare of anybody else or on any issue that does not touch them personally.

If you desire breakthroughs in your personal life, one of the fastest ways to achieving it is to have a strong affection for God and His kingdom. It is noteworthy that how much you take pleasure in the affairs of the kingdom determines the quality of response you enjoy from God. When you are interceding on kingdom matters, let it be from the depth of your heart, as if you are praying for your only child who is dying. Let it mean much to you than your personal matters. God will even answer your prayers in the aforementioned manner.

It has been observed that when a kingdom prayer point is raised in church, a lot of people just mumble through; not knowing what to say, and you can hardly hear what they are saying. But when it comes to personal supplication for their needs, the whole congregation is charged, and vibrating. Nevertheless, the prayer strategy that moves heaven to rain down favor on you, so much that you will not need to pray for most things before you get them, is kingdom advancement prayers.

Your Heavenly Father already knows your needs, and requests that you concern yourselves less with these needs of yours, but rather take pleasure in things that concerns Him; fill your thoughts with His desires, to take His character for your pattern, and to serve and obey Him in everything, and He will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37 vs 4.)

And when you do have pleasure in the things of God and His kingdom, His mood toward you is expressed by the psalmist thus, "You will arise and have mercy on Zion; For the time to favor her, Yes, the set time has come. For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, and show favor to her dust." (Psalm 102 vs 13 - 14.)

People, objects, goals, pleasures, and other desires all compete for priority. Any of these things can bump God out of first place in your life if you don't actively choose to give God in first place in every area of your life. This will eventually leave you with a life of struggles, and make you miss all the ‘additions’ promised by Him if you seek His kingdom first, and His righteousness. (Matthew 6 vs 33.) The things the world struggle to get comes to you on a platter.

Life is so sweet and simple if you can resist the desires of the flesh, and allow your spiritual knowledge take over your sense knowledge. Determine today to prioritize your desires, and put God first in everything in your life.

Prayer: Abba Father, let the desires of your kingdom eat me up, that I may put You first in everything in my life, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Hold Fast to Your Hope

 

So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. (Hebrews 6:17–18)

Why does the writer of Hebrews encourage us to hold fast to our hope? If the final enjoyment of our hope was obtained and irrevocably secured by the blood of Jesus, then why does God tell us to hold fast?

The answer is this:

What Christ bought for us when he died was not the freedom from having to hold fast, but the enabling power to hold fast.

What he bought was not the nullification of our wills as though we didn’t have to hold fast, but the empowering transformation of our wills so that we want to hold fast.

What he bought was not the canceling of the commandment to hold fast, but the fulfillment of the commandment to hold fast.

What he bought was not the end of exhortation, but the triumph of exhortation.

He died so that you would do exactly what Paul did in Philippians 3:12, “I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” It is not foolishness, it is the gospel, to tell a sinner to do what Christ alone can enable him to do; namely, hope in God.

So, I exhort you with all my heart: Reach out and take hold of that for which you have been taken hold of by Christ. Hold it fast with all your might — which is his might. His blood-bought gift of your obedience.