DATE: FRIDAY 16 DECEMBER 2016
THEME: DIVINE PURPOSE
Memorise:
And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? 1 Samuel 17:29
Read: 1 Samuel 17:26-29 (KJV)
26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
27 And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.
28 And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
29 And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?
MESSAGE
Sometimes, you find yourself in a situation where you cannot explain your actions. All you know at that point is that you are strongly motivated by the Spirit of God to act in certain ways that are not really in your personal interest or for your benefit. Such steps are usually seen by others as unreasonable, irrational, and sometimes foolish. In the process of obeying God’s instruction, you ask yourself repeatedly; “What is going on?” I have learnt from my own personal experience that this period is like a roller-coaster ride with the Holy Spirit. On one hand, you are excited, while on the other hand, there is fear and uncertainty. Sometimes, a blend of opposition, obstacle, and criticism, comes in to make the situation more complex.
Such was the situation when at the very early stage of my Christian walk, my father in the Lord, the then General Superintendent of RCCG, asked all of us at the Headquarters to close our bank accounts and bring all the money to the Church on a certain date. Thank God I and my wife heeded the instruction. This puts me in the position to tell you today that such an unusual call provides an unusual opportunity to prove your loyalty to God, thereby setting you up as a major factor in the fulfilment of divine purpose. I pray that you will correctly discern the unusual opportunities that always precede the fulfilment of divine purpose in Jesus’ name.
King Joash had such an opportunity but could not make the best of it. When Elisha was about to die, since there was nobody worthy of his double portion anointing, he felt led to give king Joash an unusual opportunity to defeat all his enemies in all future battles through a prophetic action. With Elisha’s hand on the king’s hand, every arrow shot represented a victory for Israel. If only he had maximized that opportunity, he would never have been defeated: his victory would have been complete. I can imagine that if the king had been aware beforehand, he would have shot all the arrows in order to maximize the opportunity. But unfortunately, he did not discern the times, and the whole nation of Israel suffered loss. May you not miss your unusual opportunities this year in Jesus’ name. God will open the eyes of your spiritual understanding to identify the signs of divine purpose in Jesus’ name.
Prayer point:
Father, please key me into Your divine calendar and help me fulfil Your purpose in my life in Jesus’ name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Leviticus 5:14-7:38 and Psalms 119:145-160
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 2:
O Jesus, I HAVE PROMISED.
1. O Jesus, I have promised, To serve Thee to the end;Be Thou forever near me,My Master and my Friend;I shall not fear the battleIf Thou art by my side,Nor wander from the pathwayIf Thou wilt be my Guide.
2. Oh, let me feel Thee near me;The world is ever near;I see the sights that dazzle,The tempting sounds I hear;My foes are ever near me,Around me and within;But, Jesus, draw Thou nearer,And shield my soul from sin.
3. Oh, let me hear Thee speaking,In accents clear and still,Above the storms of passion,The murmurs of self-will;Oh, speak to reassure me,To hasten, or control;Oh, speak, and make me listen,Thou Guardian of my soul.
4. O Jesus, Thou hast promisedTo all who follow TheeThat where Thou art in gloryThere shall Thy servant be;And Jesus, I have promisedTo serve Thee to the end;Oh, give me grace to follow,My Master and my Friend.
5. Oh, let me see Thy footmarks,And in them plant mine own;My hope to follow dulyIs in Thy strength alone.Oh, guide me, call me, draw me,Uphold me to the end;And then to rest receive me,My Savior and my Friend.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR PASSAGES
Leviticus: 5. 14. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 15. If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering: 16. And he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him. 17. And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. 18. And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him. 19. It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the LORD.
Leviticus: 6. 1. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2. If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour; 3. Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: 4. Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, 5. Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering. 6. And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: 7. And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein. 8. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 9. Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it. 10. And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. 11. And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place. 12. And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings. 13. The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out. 14. And this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD, before the altar. 15. And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the LORD. 16. And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it. 17. It shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering. 18. All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the LORD made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy. 19. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 20. This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto the LORD in the day when he is anointed; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meat offering perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night. 21. In a pan it shall be made with oil; and when it is baken, thou shalt bring it in: and the baken pieces of the meat offering shalt thou offer for a sweet savour unto the LORD. 22. And the priest of his sons that is anointed in his stead shall offer it: it is a statute for ever unto the LORD, it shall be wholly burnt. 23. For every meat offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten. 24. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 25. Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD: it is most holy. 26. The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation. 27. Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy: and when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, thou shalt wash that whereon it was sprinkled in the holy place. 28. But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brasen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water. 29. All the males among the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy. 30. And no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to reconcile withal in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in the fire.
Leviticus: 7. 1. Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy. 2. In the place where they kill the burnt offering shall they kill the trespass offering: and the blood thereof shall he sprinkle round about upon the altar. 3. And he shall offer of it all the fat thereof; the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, 4. And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away: 5. And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a trespass offering. 6. Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy. 7. As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it. 8. And the priest that offereth any man's burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered. 9. And all the meat offering that is baken in the oven, and all that is dressed in the fryingpan, and in the pan, shall be the priest's that offereth it. 10. And every meat offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another. 11. And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD. 12. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. 13. Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings. 14. And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings. 15. And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning. 16. But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten: 17. But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire. 18. And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity. 19. And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof. 20. But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. 21. Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. 22. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 23. Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat. 24. And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it. 25. For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people. 26. Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. 27. Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people. 28. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 29. Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the LORD shall bring his oblation unto the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace offerings. 30. His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD. 31. And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron's and his sons'. 32. And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings. 33. He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part. 34. For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel. 35. This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the LORD in the priest's office; 36. Which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute for ever throughout their generations. 37. This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings; 38. Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.
Psalm: 119. 145. I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes. 146. I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies. 147. I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word. 148. Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word. 149. Hear my voice according unto thy lovingkindness: O LORD, quicken me according to thy judgment. 150. They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law. 151. Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth. 152. Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever. 153. Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law. 154. Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me according to thy word. 155. Salvation is far from the wicked: for they seek not thy statutes. 156. Great are thy tender mercies, O LORD: quicken me according to thy judgments. 157. Many are my persecutors and mine enemies; yet do I not decline from thy testimonies. 158. I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word. 159. Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness. 160. Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
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