CONTROLLED OR IN CONTROL?

READ: LUKE 9:28-33

The one who is asleep may miss a golden opportunity as portrayed in the reading of today. Peter, James and John, who belonged to the special trio very close to Jesus Christ, were taken to the mountain where they could see the King in glory. But they fell asleep and nearly missed seeing the glory of Jesus. In addition, the enemy can do a lot of havoc to the fellow who is sleeping according to Matthew 13:24-25. The enemy came to sow tares in the field of the sower when he was asleep. While the pastor is sleeping, anything can happen to the congregation. When the parents are sleeping, the children are at the mercy of satanic agents.
It is in time of peace you prepare for war. The one who waits until a war has started before making preparation will end up as casualty. Many Christians wait until there is a problem before they begin to pray. At such times, they engage in panic prayers and fire-fighting measures. Meanwhile, if only they had prayed in time of peace and fasted when all as well, the present evil would have been prevented.
If you pray when you should, certain meetings organized by the kingdom of darkness will not hold. If you take charge of the spiritual terrain and bombard the forces of darkness regularly, they will be so confused trying to reorganize what you have destroyed that they won’t have the time to attack you.
How can an agent of darkness live with you and feel very comfortable? It is because you are asleep. You are empowered to destroy. You can send fire and burn the meeting places of witches and wizards. You could bind those flying in the air. You could destroy the satanic blood banks and release the blood of innocent victims they have gathered. You can be a terror to the devil. That is one way you can earn his respect. As you do this, ensure you live far from sin. Be in total submission to God. Lastly, according to Proverbs 20:13, sleep can bring spiritual and physical poverty. If you sleep spiritually, you will not be rich spiritually. Awake from your sleep.

MEMORIZE: ISAIAH 56:10 –His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant; they are all dumb dogs they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.

START SMALL

READ: ZECHARIAH 4:9-10

“For promotion comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: He puts down one, and sets up another” (Psalm 75:6-7).
Never despise a child. Do not despise your subordinates either. You cannot tell what they will become. Worst still, never look down on yourself. Some Christians do not believe they can ever amount to anything in life. This is very wrong because tomorrow is in God’s hands and your promotion too. The God we serve can turn a mustard seed into a mighty tree. If you can stay close enough to God, He will promote you again and again. If God is the One to promote you, there is great assurance that your tomorrow will be alright.
“Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end should greatly increase” (Job 8:7).
Have you started something for the Lord? Your increase will come. Do you wait until you have enough to start big? Stop waiting. Start with that little capital outlay. Start with the little knowledge you have of God. Start with the little way you know to pray. The increase will come. Before you realize it, it will become big. Do not be afraid to use the limited resources you have. The Lord will breathe upon your two loaves of bread and five fishes to take care of that great need. He is ever faithful.
God is the only One who knows your tomorrow. To all His children, He says, ‘Your tomorrow will be alright.’ Are you a child of God? John 1:11-12 says He will release His power into you. Do you have power to live above sin? Have you become a new creature with the evidence of your sinful life-style becoming a thing of the past? (2 Corinthians 5:17). If you are not sure of your salvation, repent and give your life to Jesus today. Confess your sins to Him, and ask for forgiveness. Thereafter receive Jesus into your heart as Lord and Saviour. With these steps, you are well on your way to greatness. According to Romans 8:16-17, you will inherit silver, gold, health, joy and victory in Jesus Christ.

MEMORIZE: JOB 8:7 –Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end should greatly increase.

THE PRECIOUS ROD

READ: JEREMIAH 10:21-24

“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be you perfect” (Genesis 17:1)
The Lord was asking Abraham to do three things here. First, he was asked to walk. To walk is to keep moving. He was not asked to run. There is a difference between the two. While to run means to go fast for a while, get tired and stop; to walk means to take a step at a time but never stop. To win the whole world for Christ appears a gigantic vision, which may create fear in us. But God did not say we should do this in one day. We are to take it one step at a time; one soul at a time; one house fellowship centre at a time; one parish at a time. Do not do more than you can handle at anytime. If you walk beyond your pace, you can get into trouble.
The second thing God was asking Abraham to do was to walk before Him. This means you must never forget He is watching you. If you are walking before Him, He will see where you are going. Knowing this, will keep you from sinning. As a student at Ilesa Grammar School, years ago, some students tried to move us to revolt against the poor condition of food being served, but when some other students reminded us that God was watching us, we never carried out the riot. Wherever you go, remember God is watching you every second of the year. Don’t do anything He will not be proud of.
A great preacher once said we should reverence God, but not fear Him. I disagree with this. We have to fear God.  As I grew up as a young believer, the only thing that kept me holy was the fear of the Lord. I was afraid that if I offended Him, He would knock me on the head. If God truly loves you, He will give you a knock on the head if you offend Him. The child that has no one to fear will become spoilt, so goes an adage. Most children who grew up with their fathers feared the rod of correction that awaited them whenever they deviated from the right path. You need the Father’s rod of love to keep you in line. Walk before Him today.

MEMORIZE: GENESIS 17:1 –And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be you perfect.

ANOINTING FOR FULFILLMENT

READ: 1 SAMUEL 16:11-13

God is a God of abundance. When He wants to release the rain of blessing on anyone, it is usually in abundance. Rain is a sign of divine favour and approval. According to Leviticus 26:3-4, God promises to give you rain in due season. Your season will not pass you by. The anointing is what announces divine favour. God will use the anointing to demonstrate His favour towards you. In 1 Samuel 16:11-13, when God was about to announce to the family of Jesse that He had chosen to favour David, he commanded that David should be brought all the way from the jungle and be anointed. Imagine, Samuel refused to sit until the young king-elect arrived. The Lord will bring you out of obscurity and make you a world champion.
Rain has several uses. It is contact with rain that transforms an ordinary seed that has been sown, into one whose potentials begin to spring forth. A seed cannot grow until it tastes water. Rain imparts life to the seed. In the same way, anointing activates who God has destined for greatness. If you have great potentials, then you will require the rain of God’s anointing to transform them from latency into reality.
“And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, that the men of Jabesh Gilead were they that buried Saul” (2 Samuel 2:4)
Even though David had been declared king, he had to wait for the anointing before that declaration would manifest physically. David could not sit on the throne until the second anointing came on his head. Thank God you have been ordained for greatness. Thank God for the seed of greatness in you. But you have not arrived. Without the anointing to translate your potentials into reality, you may remain at the stage of latency. Many who have been destined for greatness died without being great because of no anointing. Go to God and ask Him to release the anointing that will help you fulfil your vision and achieve your destiny. Seek this until you find it. Your life will never be the same afterwards.

MEMORIZE: 1 SAMUEL 16:12 –And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and also of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

DANGERS OF SLEEPING

READ: JUDGES 16:19-20

Sleeping portends great danger to the sleeper. The first danger is that the one who is sleeping is at the mercy of his enemies as seen in Samuel 26:7-12. David was going from one cave to another, as he ran away from king Saul. One day, he entered a cave and who did he meet? King Saul and all his guards fast asleep! David’s men immediately wanted him killed but David restrained them. A sleeping man does not know if there is danger or not. Some Christians do not play with sleep. They love sleep so much that they have completely written off vigils from their diaries. Proverbs 20:13 says, “Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes and you shall be satisfied with bread.” If you love sleep, it is at the detriment of your spiritual and physical well being. Each time you are enjoying your sleep, know that your enemies are awake deciding what to do with your destiny. If you must achieve your destiny, then you must be fully awake. Even when you spend some time to rest, your spirit man must be alert, ready to spring into action.
Another danger is that a man who loves sleep can lose something very precious. It was while king Saul slept that a part of his skirt was cut. Samson was sleeping when he lost his hair and the anointing. You can lose to sleep the power of God. You can even alter God’s plan for your life through excessive sleep. In addition, some people sleep and never wake up. In Judges 4:17-21, Jael killed Sisera while he slept. It is possible for born again Christians to also sleep and not wake up. In Acts 20:9 Eutychus died from his sleep. If not for God’s power, he would not have been revived.
Many have lost their pregnancies in sleep. While sleeping, a spiritual husband or agent of darkness may come and make love with them. By the following morning, the pregnancy is gone. Many have lost contracts, promotions and other good things while sleeping. As they slept, the enemies spiritually altered the plan or promise and by the following morning, they met with the sad news. Stop sleeping; make time to pray regularly at nights.

MEMORIZE: PROVERBS 20:13 –Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes and you shall be satisfied with bread.