BOTTLE OF TRANSFORMATION

READ: ISAIAH 55:11-13

I was a lecturer at the University of Lagos before I knew the Lord. I had a car and a driver. I was paying him 10 pounds a month which was a lot of money in 1972. Half way into the month, I would borrow from my driver to fuel my car. I was poor and so financially challenged that at the middle of each month I was broke. To God’s glory, that circle of poverty has been broken and I do not have to borrow anymore from my driver. Have you been going through a similar situation? Are you living from hand to mouth? This season that circle of poverty will break in Jesus name.
“Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off” (Isaiah 55:13). Do you know God can suddenly put an end to poverty in your life? I mean you could experience a sudden and dramatic positive turn that will put you above lack for the rest of your life? That shall be your portion today in Jesus name. Someone shared with me this story he read in a book. It is about a man who was very poor in the morning but by the evening he had become very rich. A very wealthy woman who lived in London but had no child was about to die. On her death bed, she wrote her will, tucked it into a bottle, sealed it and threw it into River Thames in London.
The bottle floated into the ocean and from there it traversed the whole world for the next 10 years. In that will, she wrote that whoever found the bottle and read the will should automatically inherit all she had. One morning, the poor man decided to take a stroll by the beach. As he did so, the bottle floated to the seashore and caught his attention. He picked it up and opened it and became an instant millionaire! The Lord will cause your desired change to come to you suddenly. On the other hand, that bottle can be likened to God’s offer of salvation whereas the will to all the Abrahamic covenant blessings that can be yours. If you can accept the bottle –God’s offer of salvation by receiving Jesus Christ into your life, Kingdom privileges and benefits will become your inheritance. If you reject the bottle, you may forfeit every good plan and provision God has for you. By exercising your faith, you can receive your breakthrough today.

MEMORIZE: ISAIAH 55:1 –Ho, every one that thirsts, come you to the waters, and he that has no money; come you, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

FRUIT OF REVIVAL

READ: ACTS 4:34-37

Two things are very crucial to God. They are His name and His love. One reason Jesus has several names and titles is because there is no single name that can describe everything about Him. Whenever He introduces you to a new name, it is because He wants to reveal an aspect of Himself you have not known before.
“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). For 24 years after his call, Abraham followed and served the Lord. He knew some of God’s names or titles. He even thought he had known all. But one day the Lord revealed Himself to him as the ‘Almighty God’. This means ‘El-Shaddai’-The Breasted One. It produces a picture of God as the strong Nourisher, Strenght Giver, Satisfier, and All-Bountiful, the Supplier of all the needs of His people. However, the most important thing about His name is the word ‘Holy’ hence the angels sing Holy! Holy! Holy! non stop (Isaiah 6:1-3). Through which of His names has He revealed Himself to you?
“He that loves not knows not God; for God is love” (1John 4:8). God is jealous of His name. The second thing He is jealous of is His love. Wherever you find a true revival, everything in it will revolve around God’s holiness and love. Whenever there is genuine revival, people’s love for God will increase in intensity and people will want to live holy. It is inside of these two attributes that all the blessings in that revival will be hidden. What we view as blessings may several times be at variance with God’s view. For instance, it was the poorest church in Revelation that God commended. Where is the revival fire in you? Where revival fire burns the genuine love of God manifests. People claim to love their brethren yet they willfully hurt them. Where revival fire burns people willingly give all they have out of love as in the early church. The reason believers have not gone to Iraq and Iran is because there is no fire of love anymore. In Acts 21:13, that fire of love made Paul inspite of warning of imminent death to ride on with the Gospel message. Today, we are not concerned for the kingdom. Many want to sit with Christ on His throne yet they are not ready to go on missionary trips for the Master. How hot is the revival fire in your life? What is your level of love for God?

MEMORIZE: PHILIPPIANS 1:21 –For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

GOD’S SHOWCASE

READ: 1 KINGS 19:9-10

Several processes are engaged in converting a log of wood into a finished product. Before you obtain a carving out of a log of wood, first, you would need to fetch the wood from the bush. You will need to saw off the bark of the wood. This was the experience of Saul of Tarsus. The first journey he made out of Damascus was in a bucket. That was just the beginning of his problems. The sound you hear when the saw is working on the wood is that of protest. Thereafter, the sculptor uses hammer and chisel. This continues for a long while. Obtaining the carving from the wood is not an instant business. It takes considerable time.
“From henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus” (Galatians 6:17). That was Paul’s remark when he was going through this process. Just when he thought the work was done and it was time to rest, he heard the sound of the saw again. But after the Sculptor has chiseled out things like covetousness, anger, impatience, pride, etc., the carving moves to the stage of sandpaper. After this comes the polishing stage by which time you are almost ready for display.
Carvings are of different categories. There are showpieces which the carpenter will want to display. Elijah was God’s showpiece. After he had gone through the sawing and chiseling processes at the brook Cherith, being fed by birds and some years in the house of the widow, he was moved to the sandpaper stage where he was being prepared for mount Carmel. Eventually it was time to showcase him a mount Carmel and through him the Baal prophets were defeated and destroyed and the nation turned to God. Beyond this, God further exhibited Elijah in heaven as he rode in the chariot of the King of kings while the angels gave him a standing ovation. One quality that made Elijah God’s showcase was his burning passion to please God. He was jealous for God and anything against God was taken as personally against him. How is your zeal towards God? God intends to showcase you both on earth and in heaven but how prepared are you? Are you complaining of the sufferings you are going through for the kingdom? Stop complaining. You are being prepared to become a showcase for men and angels.

MEMORIZE: 1 CORINTHIANS 4:9 –For I think that  God has set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death; for we are made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men.