IN SEARCH OF WORMS

 MEMORY VERSE: Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. Isaiah 41:14-15

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ecclesiastes 7-8

READ: Isaiah 41:13-16

The Most-High God is always in search of worms - weakest of the weak – to showcase what He can do. No wonder, Hannah in her praise said: "He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them (1 Samuel 2:8).” The Most-High God is not interested in the likes of Absalom. Absalom is an epitome of a complete man. 2 Samuel 14:25 says, “But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.” As such, he was full of himself. The good Lord prefers the likes of Solomon. The circumstance surrounding Solomon’s birth was not something to be proud of. He was a product of adultery – David, his father, killed an innocent man and took his wife. To make matters worse, he was so foolish that he, himself, acknowledge that he was foolish (1 Kings 3:1-9). God picked that worm, that mentally weak boy, and made him the wisest man that ever lived after Jesus Christ. That weak worm spoke 3000 proverbs in his lifetime (1 Kings 4:32).

Your low IQ is not a hindrance to God. The fact that you don’t have a degree is not a hindrance to God. Your small stature is neither a hindrance nor your humble beginnings. Actually, the good Lord is interested in people like you with a dodgy past. Jesus made it abundantly clear, whilst He was on the earth, that He came for the weak. Mark 2:17 says, “When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” He came for those struggling with sin. He came for those who the world has written off. Sometimes back, a brother from India shared his conversion story with us. (Thanks to those who have shared their conversion story with us; we are expecting yours. We will be sharing them. Don’t underestimate the power of testimonies.) This brother went into a forest - as he usually does whenever he wants to smoke marijuana - to smoke. As he smoked, the thought of Jesus, the Man everyone had been preaching to him about , came to his mind. The next thing was he felt a powerful presence around him. Before he knew what was happening, he was on the ground, weeping and asking Jesus to come into his heart. Jesus travelled into that forest to give him an encounter that changed his life forever.

What makes you a good candidate for Jesus to use is your weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says: “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” What has been hindering the Lord from using many of us, despite our cry to Him to use us for His glory in this generation, is our strength. We are too strong for Him. We know too much. We are too independent. We rely on our tiny brains too much. For many of us, it is our razor-sharp minds. We are too advanced for Him. We are always trying to reason everything out. The Most-High is after worms – weakest of the weak- to turn them into sharp threshing instruments having teeth. Isaiah 41:14-15 says, “Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.”

PRAYER POINT: Father, i surrender to you (raising up my hands), please use me for your glory.

twitter@BroOluwatoki

“I REGRET THAT I HAVE MADE SAUL KING”

MEMORY VERSE: Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night. 1 Samuel 15:10-11

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalm 111 - 113

God in His infinite mercy can make the last to become the first. In 1 Samuel 16, He anointed David, the last born, to be king over Israel thereby making him the first, not only in his family but, in the nation of Israel. He can turn a prisoner into a prime minister (Genesis 24). 1 Samuel 2:8 says, “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them.” In 1 Samuel 9:21 the Lord chose Saul, a young boy from the least family in Benjamin (smallest tribe in Israel) to be king. Several months later, the Lord sent him to destroy the Amalekites. When Saul got there, he spared Agag, king of the Amalekites, and killed others. He destroyed the worthless things and kept the good things for himself. 1 Samuel 15:10-11 says, “Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.”

Just as God regretted that He made Saul king, God is regretting over some of His children. Many of them were close to Him when they were looking for visa to travel abroad.They rarely missed church service; they ran from sin especially fornication. The moment they got their visa and traveled abroad, they became a totally different person. They stopped going to church. They began to live in sin – they now smoke, drink, party late night, fornicate and so on. Many used to win souls before they traveled out of the country, but today , they no longer have time for bible studies. Before God provided jobs for some of us, we were punctual in mid-week service. Before God provided jobs for some of us, we used to evangelize and do outreaches. Now, we no longer have time to do those things we used to do. Before many of our single sisters got married, they used to attend workers meeting. Several years into marriage, they no longer go to church. The Lord is regretting over some in ministry. Before the Lord called them into ministry, they used to have time for Him. In the beginning, the ministry was all about Jesus. Today, it is no longer so. The Holy Spirit no longer has a say in the ministry. His ways are now counted as old fashioned. The Lord is saying i regret calling 'so and so' into ministry. God is regretting over some of us because the same gift He gave to us to populate His kingdom is what we are using to populate the kingdom of hell. Friend, have you changed like Saul? For those who are yet to change like Saul i.e. still standing, ask the Lord to give you the grace to remain standing. If you sense in your spirit that God is regretting over your life, you better repent and ask for mercy.

NOTE: Man has a history of disappointing God. Are you going to add to the list of those who will disappoint God in this generation or you will be one of the very few He will say thus concerning, "I am happy I created ‘so and so’"

PRAYER: Father, help me never to disappoint you.

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

YOU NEED A KING

MEMORY VERSE: And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them. Exodus 18:8

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Thessalonians 1-3

READ: Judges 21:25 – Ruth 1:5

One of our biggest problems in this generation, especially amongst the teenagers, youths , young men and young women, is independence. Everyone wants to be independent. Everyone wants to live their life the way they want. They want to marry who they want, live where they want, go to church when they like, work when they like, do things when they like, dress how they like, eat how they like, drink what they want, talk how they like, watch movies they want, listen to songs they want, go to where they want, etc. They hate to take instruction. They hate to be accountable to anyone. They just love to be free and many quote 2 Corinthians 3:17 – “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty”. The liberty or freedom Paul was referring to here is not independence. It is not the freedom to do what you like. It is not the freedom to challenge authority, whether at home or in the church. Paul was not advocating for lawlessness or living an i-don’t-care life.

“And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” means where the Spirit of the Lord is, Spirit of illumination, there is freedom from former blindness and darkness. Where He (Holy Spirit) is a spirit of regeneration and sanctification, there is freedom from the bondage of sin, and captive of Satan. Where He (Holy Spirit) is as a comforter, there is freedom from the fear of hell, wrath, and damnation. Where He (Holy Spirit) is as a spirit of adoption, there is the freedom of children with a father. Where He (Holy Spirit) is as a spirit of prayer and supplication, there is liberty of access to God with boldness. Liberty does not mean one can eat any how or eat anything one wants. A man who does not watch his diet may end up with a health condition.

Judges 21:25 says, “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Because there was no king i.e. someone in the position of authority, someone in charge, a leader or a discipler, every man did what he liked. Every man was independent. They went to church when they wanted. They married who they wanted. They did what they liked. A man who lives this way will not prosper. Even Jesus whilst He was on the earth only did what He saw the Father doing not what He wanted. Any man who will prosper must have a king over him. He must have someone who he reports to. He must be accountable to someone. As mighty as Moses was, he had someone he reported to which was his father –in- law Jethro. He would report to this man, this man would give him instruction and he would follow it. Exodus 18:7 says, “And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how the LORD delivered them.” Had it been that bro Elimelech had someone he reports to like a king, he would not have left the presence of God for a pagan nation where he lost his life and his two sons.

NOTE: The independent spirit does not recognize any authority over one’s life and it leads men to take steps to their own hurt. At times, they even jeopardize the lives of people under them.

twitter@BroOluwatoki

Bro Samuel | Reaching the world

NO KING IN ISRAEL

In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 54-60

Judges 21:25 says in those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes.This was a time in Israel when lawlessness was at its peak. There was no king i.e. ruler, everyone did what they liked. There was nothing like parenting, pastoring, disciplining, counselling and so on. During this period, every man was his own lord ; they were responsible to no one and did what they pleased. It was at this time, Bro Elimelech took his family and relocated to Moab – a pagan and God forsaken land. Had it been, Bro Elimelech had a mentor or was under a pastor, he would not have relocated to Moab, his mentor or pastor would have counselled him against the move. But because he was not under any authority - a discipler or a pastor, he moved into a strange territory. At Moab he perished, his two sons perished also leaving Naomi (his wife) with two daughters in laws. It is this kind of independent spirit that does not recognize any authority over one’s life that has led many to take steps that they later regret and in some instances, they lost their lives.

We live at a time where people crave independence; no one wants to be under any authority; no one wants to be told how to live their life ; everyone wants to do things their way not the way of the Spirit. Our sisters do not want to be told how to dress modestly or how to conduct themselves in a relationship. Our brothers no longer want to serve. A lot of us say we want to be like Christ, to be like Christ means we must be ready to serve not to be served. Matthew 20:28 says even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. We live at a time where virtually everyone wants to be free as air, to do what they like, move at will and to where they want. Everyone wants to be independent from their pastors and parents. Some sisters get pregnant before bringing the brother to meet their parents. This spirit of independence , the spirit of it is my life and i will live it they way i want, the spirit of no one can tell me when to come to church ,etc , must be shunned. They are destructive spirits; they have destroyed the life of many, if we do not wage war against them, they will rob us of our glorious destiny.

Had it been, Bro Elimelech was under authority, he would not have moved into trouble and calamity. God has put every one of us under authority in our churches, homes, families and work places. Let us remain under that authority He has put us. If we become independent and leave, the end result may be disastrous. There is a reason why God has put that pastor or youth leader over you. Let us remain under the authority God has placed us.

PRAYER POINT: Father, every spirit that wants to take me away from where you have planted me , please deal with them.

Bro Samuel – Reaching the world for Jesus.