PROVOKING BLESSING

READ: DEUTERONOMY 28:10-40

Your prosperity is by divine decrees. The first one is in Psalm 34:10 “The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.” The word of God here does not say “those that seek the Lord may not.” He says they “shall not lack any good thing.” This verse is written in the language of a decree with God’s seal on it. The only way you can “lack any good thing” is when the good thing comes and you personally reject it. The second decree is in Deuteronomy 28:11 “And theLORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground…” It says the Lord will grant you plenty of goods. It did not say plenty of spirit. And what are goods? They are cars, houses, clothes, land, anything money can buy, material things! Further it says, “in the fruit of your body.” That means you will have children, as many as you want, and you will have lots of money to take care of them. If you have domestic animal-goat, sheep, poultry and cattle-God says they will keep on prospering. If you plant anything, it will come out very well. Now examine the next verse carefully. “The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.” God is not talking about you lending money to individuals but to nations. He added one thing, ‘BUT YOU SHALL NOT BORROW.’ This is talking about wealth that is very difficult for human beings to imagine.

MEMORIZE: PSALM 34:10 –The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.

PERSONAL SACRIFICE

READ: ACTS 4:34-37

We need to go back to the time of personal sacrifice. In the first century church, the idea was not centred on what believers could get but what they could give to God. Our text reveals how far the early believers went in self-sacrificing giving. They did not give what was sufficient; they gave sacrificially. They even went ahead to sell what was dear to them. I am not asking you to go and sell your house and bring the money to me. If you are led to do so by the Holy Spirit, God will accept it and bless you for it. I know that if you should be asked by anybody to do that, you are likely to laugh away the idea. Even if you hear the voice of the Lord telling you that, you are sure to say, “Get behind me,Satan”. However’, people have done it before. The reason why you believe certain things cannot be done is because you cannot do it. But some people love Jesus more than you do. Many of us are willing to do anything for our Lord because we can never pay Him for the salvation for our souls. Whatever you have done for Him cannot be compared with what He has done for you. There were personal sacrifices in those days. We need to get back to old-fashioned commitment if we want God to manifest Himself in our midst as He used to do in those days. I have come this far by the grace of God. Full of zeal, I tried to practically consume the Bible in the first year of my salvation. As PhD holder, I never knew the Bible. I was always embarrassed during Sunday School when ordinary market women answered with ease Bible questions which I did not know. I did no know that Thessalonians was in the Bible. I knew only Genesis, Psalm, Revelation and the Gospels. I knew all the formulas, as a lecturer in the university, but I did not know the first formula that would get me to heaven. Later, I made up my mind to study the Bible. I am reaping the fruits today. I have had to make lots of sacrifice in order to make a mark in the Kingdom of God. What will you do to make your life count?

MEMORIZE: ACTS 4:37 –Having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

THE FOUNDATION

READ: 2 CORINTHIANS 9:1-8

We often wonder what the grace of God can do. If we allow our eyes to be opened by God, we will discover that the word ‘grace’ is inexhaustible. It is an all-encompassing word. An acrostic will enable you to gain deep insights into the world:                        God’s              G
                                                                                   Riches            R
                                                                                   At                     A
                                                                                  Christ’s           C
                                                                                  Expence         E
God is our Father. He is the One who put the big mountains in their positions. Dominion belongs to Him. Nobody can query Him. The bible says; ‘’But if you go, be gone! Be strong in battle! Even so, God shall make you fall before the enemy; for God has power to help and to overthrow.’’ (2 Chronicles 25:8). The above message was sent to an enemy of God. Nevertheless, there is a statement there that we need to extract, as children of God. God has the power to help. Some people have power but cannot help. Our God has power to help and He can help also. He is the author of help. The Bible says: “I will lift up my eyes to the hills -from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2). God has the power to keep promises. God is able to make all grace abound, according to 2 Corinthians 9:8, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, have abundance for every good work.” We need tremendous grace to do all that we have to do in His vineyard. We need grace to fulfil life’s tasks. We need grace to keep us humble and holy. We need grace to help us manage prosperity so that it will not ruin us. God has the power to do all that we can ask from Him. Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” Finally, He is able to keep you from falling. Jude 24: “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.”

MEMORIZE: 1 CHRONICLES 29:12 –Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great.

COME, LORD JESUS

READ: 1 TIMOTHY 4:1-8

Believers have a future. The believer’s future is so glorious that the human tongue can hardly describe it. We shall spend eternity with God. This is not just all that we have to gain. There are different types of crowns awaiting overcomers. Some people will receive only one while some will receive two or more. Some will be in the general department of heaven, while some will be in the court of the Almighty God. Some will be far from the throne of God while others will be near the throne with Him. Today, we would discuss The Crown of Righteousness. Those who will receive this crown are those who painstakingly expect the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has reserved this type of crown for those who watch for the day of the Lord. To what day is our text referring? It is the day Jesus Christ will appear in the sky to change our bodies. We shall receive glorious bodies. After welcoming us, He will give us the crown of righteousness. This day will be a day of great joy. Who are those expecting the appearing of Jesus Christ? They are those living a holy life. When you keep committing sin, you cannot at the same time pray for Christ to come quickly. You surely know that His coming will bring judgment upon sinners. Those who live a holy life will be honoured while sinners will be judged. Every earnest believer is watching for the appearing of the Lord. A believer who is holy will hasten to say: “Come, Lord Jesus.” Can you say, “Come, Lord Jesus” without any fear of judgment? If the Lord were to appear in the sky right now, will you be ready to meet Him?

MEMORIZE: 2 TIMOTHY 4:22 –The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.

TRANSPARENCY

READ: PSALM 139:7-12

Transparency works like a powerful magnet: it attracts God to those in need of divine intervention. Hypocrisy, on the other hand, stands like an impenetrable wall between the needy and God’s supplies. Right from the beginning of the world, men and women have been putting on the mask of hypocrisy and deception. We seem not to have learnt a lesson from Bible characters. History will always repeat itself. Today, let us learn a lesson from the fall of Adam. Adam sinned against God then he went on to say, “I hid myself.” This is the most funny of all his statements. Where was he hiding? Behind a tree! Who made the tree? God. By the way, where was God coming from? He was coming from above. Nobody can hide from God. In our text, David said, in summary, that there is no hiding place from God. You cannot hide what you have done from God. You cannot even hide your thoughts from Him. Hebrews 4:13 says nothing is hidden from the eyes of Himto whom we must give account: “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Hiding from God will not solve your problems. However, if you would open up to Him honestly, He will send His help. If God were to corner you alone now and ask, “Where are you?” you would need to be transparently open I your answer to Him. Nothing kills a man faster than mis-presenting his problem to the One who can help him. I was once asked to pray for a man who had prostate cancer. When I got to him he told me that what he had was stomachache. He did not known what he was suffering from. Those used to the healing ministry know that there are degrees of gifts of healing. The anointing you need to release when you want to heal someone with stomachacheis definitely different from the one you need to bring into operation when dealing with cancer. When someone wants to receive help, he should be ready to expose himself if need be. Transparency will make you receive your miracles faster.

MEMORIZE: HEBREWS 4:13-And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.