DATE: MONDAY 10TH APRIL 2017
THEME: THE KING IS COMING
Memorise:
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 1 Thessalonians 4:16
Read: Acts 1:9-11
1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
MESSAGE
One of the reasons why there is spiritual decadence in the Church today is the loss of focus on the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus knew this would happen and for this reason, He gave us the parable of a king who went on a journey to a far country, leaving behind his servants to work and await his return (Luke 19:12-27). Our King is coming back to be the Judge of both the living and the dead. As a preview of the nature of the judgement He will declare against those who rejected His Lordship over their lives, Luke 19:27 says,
"But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me."
Beloved, this will not be your portion in Jesus' Name. However, you must always remember that our King is coming, and you must also remember what He is coming to do. This attitude will guide you on how to comport yourself in readiness for His return. Do not be deceived by the error of those who claim that Jesus Christ will not come again or that He has already come in the spirit. These are all lies of the devil. The angels who addressed the early disciples after Jesus was taken up to Heaven said this to them in Acts 1:11:
"...this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."
You can therefore rest assured in your heart that Jesus will surely come back. Our Lord Jesus Christ is coming to put the devil where he belongs (Revelation 20:10). All the angels that fell along with the devil, referred to as demons, will also partake of the eternal damnation that will befall him (Matthew 25:41). Our King is also coming to give rewards to every believer according to his or her works. The Lord in Revelation 22:12 says,
"And, behold, l come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be."
Beloved of God, ensure you are one of those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. If your name is already there, work hard to receive commendation and a good reward from the Master. lf you labour for the expansion of God's Kingdom through evangelism and witnessing or through giving and intersession, you can be sure you will not miss your reward when the King returns.
Prayer Point:
Father, at the second coming of your Son, Jesus Christ, may l not be put to shame. Please give me the grace to be watchful as I live according to your word.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Leviticus 19-20
Jeremiah 10:17-11:8
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 6: DEEPER, DEEPER
Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus
Daily let me go;
Higher, higher in the school of wisdom,
More of grace to know.
Refrain:
O deeper yet, I pray,
And higher every day,
And wiser, blessed Lord,
ln Thy precious, holy Word.
Deeper, deeper, blessed Holy Spirit,
Take me deeper still,
Till my life is wholly lost in Jesus,
And His perfect will.
[Refrain]
Deeper, deeper! though it cost hard trials,
Deeper let me go!
Rooted in the holy love of Jesus,
Let me fruitful grow.
[Refrain]
Deeper, higher, every day in Jesus,
Till all conflict past,
Finds me conqu'ror, and in His own image
Perfected at last.
[Refrain]
Deeper, deeper in the faith of Jesus,
Holy faith and true;
In His pow'r and soul exulting wisdom
Let me peace pursue.
[Refrain]
CLICK HERE FOR THE HYMN
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR PASSAGES
Leviticus: 19. 1. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy. 3. Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. 4. Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God. 5. And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it at your own will. 6. It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. 7. And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted. 8. Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the LORD: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 9. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. 10. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God. 11. Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. 12. And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. 13. Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. 14. Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD. 15. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour. 16. Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD. 17. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. 18. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. 19. Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee. 20. And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. 21. And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering. 22. And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him. 23. And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of. 24. But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal. 25. And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God. 26. Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times. 27. Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. 28. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. 29. Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness. 30. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD. 31. Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God. 32. Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD. 33. And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. 34. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. 35. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. 36. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37. Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the LORD.
Leviticus: 20. 1. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name. 4. And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not: 5. Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people. 6. And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. 7. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. 8. And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you. 9. For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him. 10. And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. 11. And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. 12. And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them. 13. If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. 14. And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you. 15. And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. 16. And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. 17. And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity. 18. And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people. 19. And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister, nor of thy father's sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity. 20. And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless. 21. And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless. 22. Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out. 23. And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them. 24. But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people. 25. Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean. 26. And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine. 27. A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.
John: 10. 17. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. 19. There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. 20. And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him? 21. Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? 22. And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. 23. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. 24. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. 25. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. 26. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 30. I and my Father are one. 31. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33. The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 34. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 35. If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36. Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? 37. If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 38. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. 39. Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, 40. And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode. 41. And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true. 42. And many believed on him there.
John: 11. 1. Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) 3. Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. 4. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. 5. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was. 7. Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again. 8. His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?
