RIGHT CONDUCTS IN OBEDIENCE TO GOD!

 

EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY MAY 29, 2024.

SUBJECT: RIGHT CONDUCTS IN OBEDIENCE TO GOD!

Memory verse: "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.” (Mark 12 vs 30.)

READ: Genesis 12 vs 2; Romans 12 vs 1; First Corinthians 2 vs 9; Colossians 3 vs 12; ; 

Genesis 12:2: And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shalt be a blessing:

Romans 12:1: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

First Corinthians 2:9: “But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Colossians 3:12: Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

INTIMATION:

God is mindful of our conduct in our obedience to Him, and He reckons it for our reward; “And, behold, I an coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work.” (Revelation 22 vs 12.) When your conduct is right before God, He speaks out for you, even before our Adversary—the devil. God said of Job to the devil, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1 vs 8). Job was faithful to God in all he did, serving Him with his whole heart. He was a model of trust and obedience to God, and God reckoned with him.

We obey God with (1) Our heart: by loving Him more than any relationship, activity, achievement, or possession; by placing God first in everything in our life. The human heart is the chief organ of the physical body. It occupies the most important place in the human system. By an easy transition the word came to stand for man’s entire mental and moral activity, both the rational and the emotional. In other words, the heart is used figuratively for the hidden springs of the personal life. Therefore, yielding your heart to God is yielding the central and core of your being to Him, which God desires. The Bible describes human activity as in the ‘heart.’ For instance, every thought has its seat in the heart. (Matthew 15 vs 19 - 20.)

(2) Our will; by committing ourselves completely to Him. The “will” is the decision-making capacity, indicating a power of choice. God is mindful of our will—our decisions relating to our obedience to follow Him and obey His commands. Joshua was an exemplary king who showed his subjects his will to follow after God with his family: “And if it seem evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24 vs 15.) It’s easy to slip into a quiet rebellion—going about life in your own way. But the time comes when you have to choose who or what will control you. The choice is yours. Will it be God, your own limited personality, or another imperfect substitute? 

(3) Our mind. The mind is the faculty that encompasses the reflective thinking of the brain and the emotional thinking of the heart. The mind denotes, speaking generally, the seat of reflective consciousness, comprising the faculties of perception and understanding, and those of feeling, judging and determining. It is the faculty of knowing, understanding, or moral reflection. God desires our seeking to know Him and His Word. His principles and values form the foundation of all we think and do. Th apostle Paul desires that we conform our minds to God’s and His Word; “And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12 vs 2)

 (4) Our Body: The body is one’s essence. It’s, as a whole, the instrument of life. It is used to denote the physical nature, as distinct from the spiritual nature, and soul. God desires we serve Him with our body, recognizing that our strengths, talents, and sexuality are given to us by Him to be used for pleasure and fulfillment according to His rules, not ours: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12 vs 1.) God wants us to offer ourselves as living sacrifice—daily laying aside our own desires to follow Him, putting all our energy and resources at His disposal and trusting Him to guide us. God wants the best for us. He wants us to be transformed people with renewed minds, living to honor and obey Him. 

(5) Our finances: All of the resources we have ultimately come from God, and we are only managers of them, and not owners. The Scripture says, “...A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.” (John 3 vs 27.) The power to get wealth comes from God (Deuteronomy 8 vs 18). And He blesses us to be a blessing to others (Genesis 12 vs 2). 

(6) Our future: By deciding to make service to God and man the main purpose of our life's work. God knows the future. Any believer can trust his or her future to God because God already knows what is going to happen. Today people are still fascinated by horoscopes, fortune-telling, witchcraft, and bizarre cults. Often their interest comes from a desire to know and control the future. In the Bible, God tells us all we need to know about what is going to happen. With the trustworthy guidance of the Holy Spirit through the Bible and the church, we don’t need to turn to occult sources for faulty information.

The Scripture says, “But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (First Corinthians 2 vs 9.) We cannot imagine all that God has in store for us, both in this life and in eternity. He will create a new heaven and a new earth (Isaiah 65 vs 17; Revelation 21 vs 1.), and we will live with Him forever. Until then, His Holy Spirit comforts and guides us. Knowing the wonderful and eternal future that awaits us gives us hope and courage to press on in this life, to endure hardship, and to avoid giving in to temptation. The world is not all there is. The best is yet to come. 

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to rightly conduct myself in obedience to You in all things, that I may have Your approval and receive a crown of life—eternal life with You—which You promised to those who love You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD! 

Prayer for Peace

 PRAYER POINTS

1. Father, i thank you for Your Peace that is beyond human comprehension in Jesus name

2. Father have mercy on me and forgive me for all my complainings in Jesus name

3. Oh Lord endue me with the Spirit of peace in Jesus name

4. Shower me with your peace in the midst of my trials in Jesus name

5. I reject the spirit of confusion in Jesus name

6. I reject the spirit of sorrows in Jesus name

7. I reject the spirt of murmuring and complaining in Jesus name.

8. I reject the Spirit of fear in my Life in Jesus name

9. I shall never lack inner peace in my life again in Jesus Name.

10. I recieve the grace to be peaceful in the midst of the storms of Life in Jesus name.

11. The financial failure and embarrassment that others fear will not befall-me, in the name of Jesus.

12. The fear of backsliding I have nursed or nurtured up in my life will not come upon me, in the name of Jesus.

13. The fear of not being spiritually fulfilled will not germinate in my life, in the name of Jesus.

14. Let the fear of being ministerially stunted get out of my vision, in the name of Jesus.

15. Let the fear of committing unpardonable sin be washed out of me by the blood of Jesus.

16. Let the fear of not being able to overcome any weakness in me dry to its roots, in the name of Jesus.

17. Let the fear of missing the rapture go back to the bottom of the pit, in the name of Jesus.

18. I bind and cast out every fear of compromising my faith, in the name of Jesus.

19. I bind and cast out every fear of losing my anointing and salvation, in the name of Jesus.

20. I break every evil covenant that has brought fear into my life, in the name of Jesus.

When God Goes Against His Will

 But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death. (1 Samuel 2:25)

The sons of Eli the priest would not obey their father when he rebuked them for their sin. There are three implications of this text for our lives.

1) It is possible to sin so long and so grievously that the Lord will not grant repentance. 

That is why Paul said that after all our pleading and teaching, “God may perhaps grant them repentance” — not, “will grant them repentance” (2 Timothy 2:25). There is a “too late” in the life of sin. As it says of Esau in Hebrews 12:17, “He found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.” He was forsaken; he could not repent.

This does not mean that those who truly repent even after a whole lifetime of sinning cannot be saved. They certainly can be, and will be! God is staggeringly merciful. Remember the thief on the cross. Jesus said to him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). 

2) Sometimes God does not permit a sinning person to do what is right. 

“But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.” Listening to the voice of their father was the right thing to do. But they would not. Why? “For it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.” 

The reason given for why they did not obey their father was that God had other purposes for them, and had given them up to sinning and death. This shows that there are times when the will of God’s decree is different from the revealed will of God’s command.

3) Sometimes our prayers for God’s revealed will to be done will not be done because God has decreed something different for holy and wise purposes.

I suppose that Eli prayed for his sons to be changed. That is how he should have prayed. But God had decreed that Hophni and Phinehas not obey, but rather be slain. 

When something like this happens (which we do not ordinarily know ahead of time) while we are crying out to God for change, the answer of God is not: “I don’t love you.” Rather the answer is: “I have wise and holy purposes in not overcoming this sin and not granting repentance. You do not see these purposes now. Trust me. I know what I am doing. I love you.”

The Payout for Patience

 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.” (Genesis 50:20)

The story of Joseph in Genesis 37–50 is a great lesson in why we should have faith in the sovereign, future grace of God. 

Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, which must have tested his patience tremendously. But he is given a good job in Potiphar’s house in Egypt. Then, when he is acting uprightly in the unplanned place of obedience, Potiphar’s wife lies about his integrity and has him thrown into prison — another great trial to his patience. 

But again things turn for the better, and the prison keeper gives him responsibility and respect. But just when he thinks he is about to get a reprieve from Pharaoh’s cupbearer, whose dream he interpreted, the cupbearer forgets him for two more years. Another painful trial to his patience.

Finally, the meaning of all these detours and delays becomes clear. Joseph is raised up to be the leader of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. He ends up saving from starvation the very brothers who sold him into slavery. Joseph says to his long-estranged brothers, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. . . . As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive” (Genesis 45:7; 50:20).

What would have been the key to patience for Joseph during all those long years of exile and abuse? The answer is: faith in God’s sovereign, future grace — the sovereign grace of God to turn the unplanned place and the unplanned pace into the happiest ending imaginable.

That’s the key to our patience as well. Do we believe that God is working for us in the strangest and most painful turns of

 our lives?

THE SIN OF IDOLATRY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY MAY 28, 2024.

SUBJECT : THE SIN OF IDOLATRY!

Memory verse: "Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10 vs 23.)

READ: Job 31 vs 24 - 28:

31:24: If I have made gold my hope, or have said to fine gold, ‘You are my confidence’;

31:25: If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gained much;

31:26: If I have observed the sun when it shines, or the moon moving in brightness;

31:27: so that my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand:

31:28: This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgement, for I would have denied God who is above.

INTIMATION:

Idolatry is excessive admiration or adoration of someone or something. It’s someone or something which is highly revered, and becomes a deity other than God. Such deity or thing is known as an idol. Therefore, an idol is primarily an idea, fancy, or an image that represents a false God. It’s anything that substitutes for the true faith, anything that denies Christ’s full deity and humanity, and any loyalty that replaces God at the center of our life. It is also any human idea that claims to be more authoritative than the Bible, 

The corresponding Hebrew word of idol denotes vanity (things of nought). The apostle Paul called it, “nothing in the world” (First Corinthians 8 vs 4). And an idolater is one who adores or idolizes someone or something, and is a slave to the depraved ideas his idols represent.

Idolatry is sin against God because it denies the supremacy of God and is a direct violation of the first and second of the Ten Commandments of God (Exodus 20 vs 2 - 3). It’s a sin of the mind against God that denotes lack of acknowledgement of God and of gratitude to Him. Many things can take God’s place in our lives. And such things becomes idols in our lives.

Idolatry begins when people reject what they know about God. Instead of looking up to Him as the Creator and Sustainer of life, they see themselves as the center of the universe. They soon invent “gods” that are convenient projections of their own selfish ideas. These gods may be wooden figures, or they may also be goals or things we pursue, such as money, power, or possessions. They may even be misrepresentations of God Himself—making God in our own image, instead of the reverse. The common denominator here is that idolaters worship things God made rather than God Himself. 

When God is not first in your life, you are an idolater. Something then must be first in your life. Now, check yourself; Is there anything you feel you can’t live without? Is there any priority greater than God? Do you have a dream you would sacrifice everything to realize? After haven checked yourself, do you worship God or idols of your own making? 

Idolatry is making anything more important than God, and our lives are full of that temptation. Money, looks, success, reputation, security; these are today’s idols. Many “gods” entice us to turn away from God. Material possessions, dreams for the future, approval of others, emotional reactions, and vocational goals compete for our total commitment. Striving after these at the expense of our commitment to God puts our heart on created idols which is the sin of idolatry. They put away worshiping the Creator in order to worship the creation. 

We are just as guilty when God no longer holds first place in our lives. When we think more about wealth, pleasure, prestige, or material possessions than about God, we are actually worshiping them as gods.  Discipline awaits all those who continually put earthly desires above spiritual priorities.

It was for this reason that Jesus said it was very difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of God because the rich, haven their basic physical needs met, often become self-reliant. When they feel empty, they buy something new to try to fill the void that only God can fill. Their abundance and self-sufficiency become their deficiency. The person who has everything on earth is not a sign of faith or partiality on God’s part, but rather a strong temptation to idolatry.

Job affirmed that depending on wealth for happiness is idolatry and denies the God of heaven. We excuse our society’s obsession with money and possessions as a necessary evil or”the way it works” in the modern world. But every society in every age has valued the power and prestige that money brings. True believers must purge themselves of the deep-seated desire for more power, prestige, and possessions. They must also not withhold their resources from neighbors near and far who have disparate physical needs.

To all believers the apostle Paul says, “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth; fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry:” (Colossians 3 vs 5.) “For this you know, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” (Ephesians 5 vs 5.) The obsession of these aforementioned evil tendencies the apostle Paul says is idolatry.

Prayer: Abba Father, remove from me obsessions with created things, the works of man, and evil tendencies, and empower, me by Your Spirit, to live for You in righteousness and holiness without which it is impossible to see You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Prayer for Family Deliverance

 

Authentic vs. Phony Faith

 Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:28)

The question before us all is: Are we included in the “many” whose sins Christ bore? And will we be saved at his second coming? 

The answer of Hebrews 9:28 is, “Yes,” if we are “eagerly waiting for him.” We can know that our sins are taken away and that we will be safe in the judgment, if we trust Christ in such a way that it makes us eager for his coming.

There is a phony faith that claims to believe in Christ, but is only a fire insurance policy. Phony faith “believes” only to escape hell. It has no real desire for Christ. In fact, it would prefer if he did not come, so that we can have as much of this world’s pleasures as possible. This shows that a heart is not with Christ, but with the world.

So, the issue for us is: Do we eagerly long for the coming of Christ? Or do we want him to stay away, while our love affair with the world runs its course? That is the question that tests the authenticity of faith.

Let us be like the Corinthians as we “wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:7), and like the Philippians whose “citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

That’s the issue for us. Do we love his appearing? Or do we love the world and hope that his appearing will not interrupt our plans? Eternity hangs on this question.