DATE: MONDAY 4TH SEPTEMBER 2017
THEME: ARE YOU RESPONSIBLE?
Memorise:
To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately l conferred not with flesh and blood. Galatians 1:16
Read: Acts 9:1-6
9:1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
9:2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
9:3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
9:4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
MESSAGE
Salvation is great, but you must ensure you are genuinely saved. After having a definite encounter with the Lord that leads to salvation, there are some signs that will confirm to you that your salvation is genuine. One of these signs is that your emphasis would no longer be on what Jesus can do for you, but what you can do for the Lord. The realisation of how close you were to Hell before God's mercy reached out to save you will birth a heart of gratitude in you the moment you are genuinely saved. You will then feel the urge to serve God wholeheartedly in order to reciprocate His love. Genuine salvation births heartfelt service. If you say you are born again and nothing ever prompts you on the need to work for Jesus, that salvation is questionable. In Acts 9:6, as soon as Saul had an encounter with Jesus on his way to Damascus, he asked the Lord, 'What do you want me to do?" Today, after people say they are saved, they only bombard heaven with their petitions and prayer requests. God will definitely meet your needs, but have you ever said, "Lord, thank You for the salvation of my soul. How can l show my gratitude for Your love? What can I do for the One who loved me and died for me?" If you ask the Lord these questions, He would most probably tell you the same thing He said in Mark 5:19b to the erstwhile mad man of Gadara:
"Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee."
Genuine salvation makes you more responsible and responsive to God. After I was saved, I wanted to know what I could do for Jesus, because God had opened my eyes to see how close I was to Hell, and He made me realise l was now on my way to Heaven. This is why l find it distasteful to hear that some people who have been saved for three years have never witnessed Jesus Christ to anyone. After I was saved, l could not keep it to myself. I was ready to tell all who cared to listen that I was saved. I was also ready to serve. On one of such occasions, one of my ex-students drove by me and saw me carrying a big basket of sawdust on my head, and he screamed in surprise that his lecturer could be doing that in a church at Ebute Metta, Lagos. The location of our church at this time was like a slum. However, that did not change anything about my desire to serve my Saviour and Redeemer. Does the realisation of the great things God has done for you motivate you to go the extra mile for Him in witnessing and giving? How committed are you to the expansion of God's Kingdom on earth? I urge you to become a responsible member of God's Kingdom today.
Action Point: as a mark of genuine appreciation for your salvation, lead some souls to Jesus today!
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
2 Chronicles 7-8
Ezekiel 36:1-15
HYMN 14: TAKE MY LIFE
1. Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise.
2. Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
3. Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.
4. Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.
5. Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
6. Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.
Prayer Points on Today's Open Heavens: (Monday, September 4th, 2017) - ARE YOU RESPONSIBLE?
1.Thank you, Father, for the salvation of my soul.
2.Father, in anyway, l have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me, in Jesus' name.
3.Father, let every spirit of lukewarmness and procrastination, that has crept into my life, be consumed by your fire, in Jesus' name.
4.Father, please, set me on fire for you and let the zeal of your kingdom consume me, in Jesus' name.
5.Father, wake up every sleeping giant in your church, in Jesus' name.
6.Father, remove every hindrance, obstacle and limitations, to my serving you, effectively, in Jesus' name.
7.Father, paralyse, every enemy of the gospel in my life and in this nation, in Jesus' name.
8.Father, make me an unrepentant and committed, soul winner, in Jesus' name.
9.Father, arrest every persecutor of your church and commission them to preach the same gospel, they had opposed and despised, in Jesus' name.
10.Father, let every plant that you have not planted in your church, be uprooted, by the host of heaven, in Jesus' name.
11.Father, rekindle the fire of spiritual revival in my life, in my family, in your church and in this nation, in Jesus' name.
12.Your Personal petitions.
( Philippians 4:6)
13.In Jesus' name I pray.
(John 14:13-14; 15:16)
14.Thank you Father for answered prayers.
(1 Thessalonians 5:18).
#GodBlessOurNation
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR PASSAGES
2 Chronicles: 7. 1. Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. 2. And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD's house. 3. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. 4. Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD. 5. And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. 6. And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood. 7. Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the brasen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, and the meat offerings, and the fat. 8. Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt. 9. And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. 10. And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the LORD had shewed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people. 11. Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected. 12. And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. 13. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; 14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 15. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. 16. For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. 17. And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statues and my judgments; 18. Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. 19. But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; 20. Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. 21. And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house? 22. And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.
2 Chronicles: 8. 1. And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD, and his own house, 2. That the cities which Huram had restored to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there. 3. And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and prevailed against it. 4. And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath. 5. Also he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars; 6. And Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities, and the cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his dominion. 7. As for all the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which were not of Israel, 8. But of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute until this day. 9. But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his chariots and horsemen. 10. And these were the chief of king Solomon's officers, even two hundred and fifty, that bare rule over the people. 11. And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come. 12. Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the porch, 13. Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. 14. And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded. 15. And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures. 16. Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected. 17. Then went Solomon to Ezion-geber, and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom. 18. And Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.
Ezekiel: 36. 1. Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD: 2. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession: 3. Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people: 4. Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about; 5. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey. 6. Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen: 7. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame. 8. But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. 9. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: 10. And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded: 11. And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 12. Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men. 13. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations; 14. Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord GOD. 15. Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord GOD.
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