ARE YOU THERE?

READ: ROMANS 1:17-24

Are you tired of calling yourself a Christian when you are struggling to make a meaningful impact in your own life, your family and your community? A prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian, and a powerless Christian is defeated Christian. A defeated Christian struggles to bring glory to the name of the Most High God. If you feel defeated, take heart from the following examples:
At one man’s request, God withheld rain over Israel for three and half years. Another man asked God to bring the sun to a standstill for more than 23 hours until his people had won a battle, and God complied. Another man joined his Lord in walking on water. Following the sacrifice of one man, God vowed never to destroy this world with water again. People lined the streets with their sick, praying and fasting for one man to pass there so that they may be healed by his shadow falling on them. One man went to Nineveh to preach, and turned the whole city to Christ.
These heroes of faith are being celebrated in the hall of fame where it matters most: in heaven. I would like to be celebrated there too. I want to impact the earth for God. I have resolved not to live an ordinary life. How about you? Where do you stand? Do you realise that we should be doing greater works than the apostles and even Jesus did? Why do we struggle to do what they did when we are supposed to have 2000 years’ more experience than they had?
The reason is that our authority only matches the measure of responsibility we take on. Jesus has commanded us to go and preach to the whole world. That is the responsibility. However, we prefer to do other things. This is why the authority is not being released. If you really want to stand out in your generation, become a die-hard evangelist today. All the authority and the miracle-working power that you have been fasting and praying over night just be released to you. The choice is yours!

MEMORIZE: 1 CORINTHIANS 1:24 –But to them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.     

MANIFESTING AS A SON

READ: ROMANS 8:19-22

Are you a child of God? Have you been begotten of the Father? Then show it. We live in the time where there are more professors of the faith than possessors of it. Many profess to have been saved. They shout the loudest hallelujahs, but when they must demonstrate the power, their emptiness is exposed. 2 Timothy 3:5 warns us to flee from those who have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof.
As a true child of your Father, you ought to be like him. After all, he made you in his own image and after his likeness, the likeness that has been restored in Christ Jesus. The world around us cannot be deceived. They know the life Jesus lived. They have access to the Bible and the sermons that are preached daily. These have formed the basis for what they expect from today’s Christians. Are you saying you are indeed like Christ?
Acts 11:26 tell us how the people in Antioch started calling the members of the early church ‘Christians.’ It was a nickname, based on the fact that they were living the way Jesus did. Today, we call ourselves Christians, but we should rather let the power of God in us do the introductions. Today many believers claim to be Spirit-filled and to speak in tongues, but they have no power. They can’t even heal someone with an ordinary headache by laying hands on them and quoting Scripture. On the contrary, they may be making it worse, because they don’t know what they are doing.
Oh believer, where is your power? Peter and the other apostles were able to establish the Christian faith among many nations, because they knew God, the source of real power.

MEMORIZE: ROMANS 8:19 –For the earnest expectation of the creature waits for the manifestation of the sons of God.  

THE LORD IS SUPREME

READ: 1 KINGS 18:17-39

“How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? Or how shall I defy, whom the LORD has not defied?” (Numbers 23:8). This was the question Balak asked King Balaam, who hired him to put a curse on the Israelites. When God does not see any sin, impure thoughts or immorality in your life, anyone who attempts to curse you will end up blessing you. If god does not curse someone, no one will be able to curse that person. As long as you live close to God, nobody will be able to touch you. Any attempt to unsettle you will be to invite trouble from God. However, you should take care not to move away from God, or you may not be able to count on his protection if your enemies catch up with you.
As a child of the Most High, you don’t need to fear. Some Christians live in fear. They do not want to offend the witchdoctor that lives down the street, because they think he will put a curse on them. Some will avoid the witchdoctor’s house when they do door to door evangelism, because they are afraid of a possible confrontation with the agents of darkness. Their excuse would be that one needs more wisdom than they possess.
“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries; but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” (Daniel 12:32).
If you are running, it because you do not realise Whom you serve. If you know even a little about God, you will be bold and declare Jesus at the gate of your enemies. If they decide to challenge you your power, invite God in and see what happens. It will be like a re-enactment of Elijah and the prophets of Baal in our passage. Let no man hinder you from serving God fully.

MEMORIZE: NUMBERS 23:8 –How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? Or how shall I defy, whom the LORD has not defied?

ME, FATHER OF NATIONS?

READ: GENESIS 2:1-3

In Mark 1:17, Jesus commissioned Peter to become a fisher of men. This command urges us to fish out people wherever they may be, and to free them from captivity and bondage. Many people do not realise that they are in captivity. Some people do know, and run around frantically in an attempt to find a way out. As a child of God, you know Jesus is the way out. Why not show them the way?
“Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:19-20).
From this scripture it is clear that priests of God should turn converts into disciples. Do not stop at soul winning. Follow up new believers; teach them the basics of the Christian faith. Encourage and comfort them until their newfound faith has taken root. If you have been born again for about three years, you should be able to be an effective Sunday school teacher or house fellowship leader. If you are not, determine whether you are growing the way you should. If you turn converts into disciples, you are producing partners for God’s kingdom through whom people’s need may be met.
In Genesis 12:1-3 are the seven blessings God bestowed on Abraham. The moment you are saved, you are also entitled to these blessings. One of them is that God wants to make you a father of nations. He wants to bless others through you. Every person you lead to Christ becomes part of your spiritual offspring. If you lead 1000 people to Christ, you would have a ‘nation’ of 1000 people under your spiritual care. Abraham has millions upon millions in his care today. By active evangelism, you can determine how large the nation under your care should be. Are you a blessing to everyone in your parish, family and community yet?  

MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 28:19 –Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.   

PROTECTOR

READ: PSALM 91:1-16

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be you therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16).
When you become an instrument in God’s hands to honour him, you automatically become an enemy of Satan. He would be only too glad to finish you off. As you serve the Lord with all your strength, you become a target of the satanic kingdom. But even though Satan and his cohorts will fight against you, they will never prevail over you.
A man who had belonged to several cults and who had served the devil, was converted and began to preach Christ and to expose the futility of the devil’s kingdom. His former colleagues did not take kindly to this. One day he was on his way to preach a sermon when the bus on which he was travelling was attacked. There was a terrible accident, and several lives were lost, but he was supernaturally transported out of the bus and found himself unharmed some distance away from the accident scene. He praised God in a loud voice.
Another time this man was visiting one of the village markets commonly found by the roadside. The wicked one manipulated an oncoming lorry and caused the driver to lose control. The lorry veered off the road towards the man, destroying several stalls and killing several people. Again the man was supernaturally kept out of harm’s way.
God is our chief security officer. If he looks after you, no one can harm you. If he doesn’t, all the gadgets, security measures and police escorts in the world won’t do you any good. Serve God fearlessly and count on him to protect you against any evil that may befall you.   

MEMORIZE: MATTHEW 10:16 –Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be you therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves.