FAITHFUL REMNANT

READ: 1 KINGS 19:15-18

God spoke to Elijah in a still small voice to dispel every iota of fear in him and encourage him. God knows when to encourage you. In John 14:1-3, He is saying there is hope for you. Do not allow fear because it can destabilize His plans for you. Do not worry at all. All will be well with you. In today’s reading, God told Elijah He was not through with him. When you think that you have failed, check with God. He may have a surprise pack for you. At the age of eighty, Moses thought God had finished with him. But he was just beginning a ministry that would last another forty years.
God told Elijah he would yet ordain kings. The Lord is saying that provided you do not backslide, your problem would soon become a testimony. God also told Elijah that He still had 7,000 prophets in His reserves and that Elijah was not alone. Many of us feel extremely lonely. There is no basis for such feeling considering the fact that Jesus is with you. The Holy Spirit is also with you. The Father is right behind you. God’s angels are around you. You are not alone. Anytime something happens and the devil comes to tell you that you are all by yourself, immediately go into thanksgiving and praise and worship. Before long, you feel the presence of the Lord with you. In times of real danger, God is very near to you. He is a present help in times of trouble. Call on Him and He will come to your rescue.
God was telling Elijah that inspite of the decay in the society; there would always be a remnant for Him. The whole country may go rotten but there would be a few who have pitched their tents in Christ. There will be some people Satan cannot buy. Men of God may be living in sin, but there will be a faithful remnant. You can be a part of that faithful remnant in your office, school or church. Stand up for Christ.

MEMORIZE: REVELATION 3:4 –You have a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white: for they are worthy.

THE LORD IS GOD

READ: PSALM 100:1-5

It is good to give thanks to the Lord. The ungrateful can only expect trouble. In 1 Samuel 25:14-17, Nabal was called the son of Belial because through his ingratitude, he attracted trouble to his household. When God blesses you and you refuse to show appreciation, the negative fallout can affect you and your family. Spare your family God’s judgement by doing what you know is right. It is only those who know how to count their blessings, will be able to say, ‘thank you.’
We shall examine twenty-one reasons why Christians should praise God and be grateful to Him. The first is because He is God. If a human being was God, only a few would be admitted into Heaven. If men were God, they would have destroyed all their enemies in a second. They would not have tolerated a strong opponent like the devil to be loose. But God does not think the way we do (Isaiah 55:8-9). He allows mercy to guide His dealing with men. (Romans 9:15). This is why people like you and me who should never have made it to Heaven, will make it there. Thank God because He is God. Look across the globe, just because a man is president of a country, everybody there is held captive. He begins to formulate laws that will protect and prolong his selfish desires. Everybody is intimidated into silence. What if that president was God?
Another reason we should thank God is because He made us. If we were given the opportunity of making ourselves, we would have made ourselves strange figures. Some professors would have made themselves with big heads to contain larger brains. Today, some men are trying to make themselves male and female. Some men are turning themselves into women, while some women are already changing their looks, colour and body features. They are replacing their body parts with plastic. Thank God He has made us. If such people had opportunity of making of making themselves, this world would have been filled with monsters. In any case, the One who made us can also replace our body parts when necessary (John 9:1-7). If you need it, ask Him.

Memorize:  psalm 143:10 –Teach me to do Your will; for You are my God: Your Spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

THE RICH ALSO CRY

READ: MARK 5:22-23, 35-43

Some years ago, I was invited as guest speaker at a garden party in an exclusive, high brow residential area. I arrived the venue quite early, hence I was made to sit for a while in the house of my host. It was an exquisite parade of wealth and splendor. I had never seen such brazen display of wealth in my life. The house had six living rooms. I was kept in one. From there, I could see five other living rooms in ascending order of affluence. It was as if prosperity was being paraded. After surveying the entire environment, I decided to change the topic of my message from, ‘Your miracle is around’ to ‘What the Lord has done for me, I cannot tell it all’, or ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul.’ I felt my host did not need a miracle.
While trying to decide which topic to speak on, the Holy Spirit nudged me saying, “Son, these people need a miracle more than you could ever imagine.” Wealthy and successful people need more miracles than ordinary people. Influential and affluent people have bigger challenges and problems.  Behind the outward splendour of wealth and fame, lies a ‘but’ which has caused them pain, sorrow and tears. 2 Kings 5 talks about Naaman, the captain of the Syrian army. He was a great, honourable, and mighty man of valour. The Lord had used him to bring victory to Syria. What excellent credentials! Yet he had a ‘but’ in his life –intended to spoil the good things about him. He was a leper.
As successful as he was, he needed a miracle. Take a look at every wealthy person around you. There is a ‘but’ in their lives. That ‘but’ could be the presence of a deformed child or a chronic drug addict in the family. It could be the absence of children in the home. It could be a character flaw that frequently brings them into public ridicule. That ‘but’ in their lives becomes the opening through which the Gospel should reach them. They may belong to other religions and be unfriendly, but if you tell them of the One who can take away the ‘but,’ they will listen. In any case, if they are not born again, they will end up in hell. The rich also cry. Have compassion on them today.

MEMORIZE: 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3 –Blessed by God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.

STILL SMALL VOICE

READ: JOHN 12:27-30

“And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12).
Although God speaks through the still small voice, this is not always the case. Sometimes, He could roar like a lion according to Amos 3:8. His voice could come through a thunder (Job 37:5). In our reading, Jesus and the Father were discussing. At a point He asked the Father to glorify His name. When the Father replied, people nearby heard the sound of thunder. God does not speak as one who is intimidated. His voice is full of power. As a child of God, you should resemble your Father even in speech. Jesus speaks with power. As a minister, your message should be backed up by the authority of the Holy Spirit. It should be backed up with power.
According to Psalm 29:7-8, when God speaks, the toughest wood splits. When he speaks, there will be a lot of shaking. When He utters His voice, the flames of fire parts in two. This is so because God is the commander of the universe. He will speak life into every dead or dying situation in your life and family. He will roar and all your enemies will scatter. He will thunder upon everything oppressing you and they will immediately submit to you.
God speaks with force and great power. Why did He speak to Elijah in a still small voice? He did so because the voice of love is not the voice of thunder. To convey love to your wife you will use a low and gentle voice. In John 3:16, God speaks to us with His voice of love. The still small voice is also the voice of peace. When God says to the fearful, ‘Peace be to you,’ it is always with the still small voice. If He thunders the same words to the fearful, it will heighten the fear. The still small voice is the voice of concern, offering to assist the needy (Matthew 8:1-3). It is the voice of compassion and tremendous encouragement. The Lord will speak to you in a still small voice.

MEMORIZE: 1 KINGS 19:12 –And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.       

GOD GIVES INCREASE

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 3:4-9

The men David sent to Nabal were disgraced; they went and returned to him empty-handed. While David planned to take a violent action Nabal, one of Nabal’s shepherds quickly informed Abigail of the impending doom and asked her to do something about it. Nabal was called son of Belial because he was proud, unthankful and would not listen to advice (1 Samuel 25:14-17). As a Heaven-bound Christian, these vices must not be found in you. Pride attracts unpleasant events. When there is pride in a man, demotion follows. King Saul was a very humble man. After he became king, he felt he could disobey God. So God who gave him the Kingdom recovered it. Some Christians, after several years in the kingdom or after becoming a senior pastor or leader, make expectations for themselves over basic Christian obligations.
They take the command to evangelize as strictly for younger Christians, no more for leaders. They exclude themselves from fasting, humility and respect for elders. In the process they work towards their demotion. Pride can also debase someone. It can reduce a man into an animal (Daniel 4:33). According to Luke 12:6-21, pride can bring sudden and premature death. God gave this farmer a bountiful harvest. Instead of giving God the glory, he took it, so God took him away from his harvest. Is your congregation increasing lately? If you think it is because of your strategies and therefore believe the glory should be yours, God may separate you from the harvest. Be warned.
It is not your unique methods or strategies that brought the increase. Many have tried better methods without getting your type of harvest. Our reading today makes this clear. Although one plants and another waters, their efforts remain futile until God gives the increase. It is foolishness for the one made by God to be marred by Him. Never receive glory for progress made in life. God will judge ‘glory thieves.’

MEMORIZE: 1 CORINTHIANS 3:6 –I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.