DATE: SATURDAY 4 MARCH 2017
THEME: IS JESUS IN YOUR BOAT?
Memorise:
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
Read: Matthew 8:23-27, Psalm 37:3-5
23 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.
24 And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.
25 And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!
Psalm 37:3-5
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
MESSAGE:
Have you ever been on a journey and the opposition against your progress was so intense that you felt you would never get to your destination? If your answer is yes, then know that you are not alone. Life is like embarking on a journey to a destination. Every trip has its obstacles and hurdles. While on a journey, the disciples of Jesus once found themselves in this kind of tough situation. It was so bad that they felt their boat was going to sink. In fact, water was already entering their boat, and going by all they saw, it appeared nothing could be done. If you are facing a similar situation today, simply make this confession to yourself: my boat cannot sink, I shall reach my goal and nothing can stop my trip!
Why will my boat not sink? The reason is because Jesus Christ is in the boat of my life. Nobody and nothing can “swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies”, a song-writer declared. The greatest mistake you can make is to embark on a journey without Jesus in your boat. It is important to note here that you should have Jesus Christ in the boat of your life, which you can do by receiving Him as your Lord and personal Saviour. In addition to this, you should also have Him in the boat of your endeavours. Do you know that if Jesus is in the boat of your life but not in the boat of your personal endeavours, these projects or plans can sink? Many believers today take it for granted that because they are saved, automatically they will scale through any rough waters, including projects in which they never involved the Lord. This is not faith but presumption. If you are a believer in Christ and you go ahead to start a business, a home or a career without God’s involvement, you are on your own. This is why the memory verse of today says you should trust God and not depend on your own limited understanding. Even when Jesus appears to be asleep in your boat, as long as He is in your boat, He is still in control. Hence Psalm 121:4 says,
“Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
Is God silent over your situation? Does it appear that He is unaware of what you are going through? Do you feel abandoned by God or even doubt whether He really loves you? Be comforted! God still loves you. He cares so much for you. He empathises with you in that present situation you are faced with, and He will surely make a way for you. In spite of how you feel, God is still in control. In spite of how distant God appears to be, God is right in the middle of your situation to bring you out. It does not matter what is happening around you, the Lord is in control. Very soon, you will testify of His intervention.
Key Point:
Any Faith you exercise that is full of hope and great expectations but puts Jesus at the back burner is presumption and not faith.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Genesis 32-33 and Isaiah 49:24-50:11
AUTHOR: Pastor E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 4: THROUGH THE LOVE OF GOD OUR SAVIOUR
1 Through the love of God our Saviour,
all will be well.
Free and changeless is his favour,
all, all is well.
Precious is the blood that healed us,
perfect is the grace that sealed us,
strong the hand stretched forth to shield us,
all must be well.
2 Though we pass through tribulation,
all will be well.
Ours is such a full salvation,
all, all is well.
Happy, still in God confiding,
fruitful, if in Christ abiding,
holy, through the Spirit’s guiding,
all must be well.
3 We expect a bright tomorrow,
all will be well.
Faith can sing through days of sorrow,
'All, all is well.'
On our Father’s love relying,
Jesus every need supplying,
in our living, in our dying,
all must be well
Prayer Points on Today's Open Heavens, ( Saturday, March 4th, 2017) - IS JESUS IN YOUR BOAT? 1.Lord Jesus, you are the Alpha and the Omega; the first and the last; the beginning and the end; the saviour of the world. 2.Father, in anyway, l have fallen short of your glory, have mercy and forgive me. 3.Father, give me the grace to trust in you, rather than, lean on my own understanding. 4.I decree and declare, that the boat of my life will not sink, because, Jesus, is in my boat. 5.Father, any journey that you will not follow me, please, don't let me embark on it. 6.Father, arise, and silence every raging storm in my life. 7.Father, step into my life and turn every seemingly, hopeless situation around for good, in Jesus' name. 8.Father, go ahead of me and straighten every crooked path, in Jesus' name. 9.Father, let every obstacle, roadblock and opposition against my progress in life, be dismantled and scattered, in Jesus' name. 10.Father, come and make my life your permanent place of abode, in Jesus' name. 11.Father, let every expectation of the enemies concerning my life, come to null and void, in Jesus' name. 12.Your Personal Petitions. (Philippians 4:6) 13.In Jesus' name I pray. (John 15:16) 14.Thank you Father for answered prayers. (1 Thessalonians 5:18). #GodBlessOurNation
Genesis: 32. 1. And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim. 3. And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4. And he commanded them, saying, Thus shall ye speak unto my lord Esau; Thy servant Jacob saith thus, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now: 5. And I have oxen, and asses, flocks, and menservants, and womenservants: and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. 6. And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him. 7. Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed: and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands; 8. And said, If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, then the other company which is left shall escape. 9. And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: 10. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. 11. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. 12. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. 13. And he lodged there that same night; and took of that which came to his hand a present for Esau his brother; 14. Two hundred she goats, and twenty he goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams, 15. Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty kine, and ten bulls, twenty she asses, and ten foals. 16. And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove. 17. And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee? 18. Then thou shalt say, They be thy servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau: and, behold, also he is behind us. 19. And so commanded he the second, and the third, and all that followed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak unto Esau, when ye find him. 20. And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me. 21. So went the present over before him: and himself lodged that night in the company. 22. And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. 23. And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had. 24. And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. 31. And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. 32. Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.
Genesis: 33. 1. And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. 2. And he put the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah and her children after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. 3. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. 4. And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept. 5. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant. 6. Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. 7. And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. 8. And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord. 9. And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. 10. And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. 11. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it. 12. And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee. 13. And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. 14. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir. 15. And Esau said, Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he said, What needeth it? let me find grace in the sight of my lord. 16. So Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir. 17. And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth. 18. And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-aram; and pitched his tent before the city. 19. And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money. 20. And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe-Israel.
Isaiah: 49. 24. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? 25. But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. 26. And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
Isaiah: 50. 1. Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away. 2. Wherfore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst. 3. I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering. 4. The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. 5. The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. 6. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 7. For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. 8. He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. 9. Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up. 10. Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. 11. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.
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