Labourers and Harvesters

Sunday 22 November
READ: John 4: 37-38
MORE LESSON: I Cor. 3: 6-8

A young missionary came from Europe to Africa and after investing all his lifetime in a community, he had only one young convert. He lost his wife and child to malaria in the land and after all the years, he went back to his country, thinking he had wasted the bulk of his life. He would have died a bitter old man, but for the fact that close to his death he met someone from the same field who gave him a good report. The one convert he had for all his labour had grown to become a great evangelist and church planter in that country. Thousands of people were saved and many churches planted in many nations through him. Today, the Gospel is waxing stronger and stronger in that land. The old missionary repented of thinking that he wasted his labour and praised the Lord for the harvest that others were reaping from his labour. Then he passed on to glory.

When you look at life, you realise that everything you enjoy today is a result of the labour of people who have gone ahead of you. The technologies like cars, phones, computers etc that make life easy for us today are the results of the efforts and labour of some people in the past. Some of such people didn’t even live to benefit from the results of their labours. It was after their lifetime that the efforts began to yield results for other people.

This is true in the spiritual also. All your labour in the spirit such as your prayer, fasting, giving and diligent service to God are counted for harvests in the future. Even after you leave this world, other people, including your children, will benefit from such harvests. Many of us are reaping the good of the spiritual labours of our parents. This is the reason why each person should be very diligent in all the things of God because he is laying up harvest for his seed and the future generation.

The converse is also true. Laziness in the things of God and all the evil that men might do today would also to be paid for by future generations, including the children of the perpetrators of evil. Many countries are suffering and struggling today because of the lack of vision, corruption, embezzlement and evil of their past leaders. Of a truth, ...one soweth and another reapeth. . . other men laboureth, and ye are entered into their labors: John 4: 37-38.
Today, I charge you to start laying down spiritual and physical foundations that others will build on and reap from even when you are gone. This is the path to making everlasting impact.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that your labour in life will never be a waste, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* Pray for a life of impact that extends beyond your generation.
* Ask God for His grace to live a life filled with results, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* Pray for the power of divine speed and fulfilment in life.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
By the leading of the Holy Spirit, I shall always be at the right place at the right time all through my destiny, in the name of Jesus.

You can be Taller

Saturday 21 November
READ: 1 Pet. 2:1-10
MORE LESSON: Psalm 23: 1-3

The Christian life should be characterized by continuous growth. Living is life in progression; it is continuous growth. Every blessing and grace of the believer is in form of a seed and if the seed is cared for it will grow to full maturity. As the Christian walks in the light, he receives knowledge and grows normally to full maturity.

Christian maturity doesn't just happen; our “diet” has to be right and we must “exercise” our faith regularly. It is as we feast on God's Word and obey it that we can realize our full potential. When it comes to how tall we are physically, the inherited genetic factors establish a ceiling that limits our height. No matter how hard we may try, when that limit is reached we can't grow taller anymore, even though many of us have a tendency to continue to expand horizontally. Our potential for spiritual advancement is however unlimited. Spiritually, how “tall” we become depends on our own desire and how much we draw on the provisions of our heavenly Father. We are not held back by the genes we inherited from our earthly parents. For the believer, there is no limit to growth.

Moreover, II Pet. 3:18 makes us understand the secret of growth as believers, But grow in grace, and in the knowledge .... We must pay careful attention to the intake of the undiluted Word of God and pure doctrines. How tall, blessed and strong are you in God's sight? How much have you developed this year? Whatever is your answer, you can be more and stronger. It is the desire of God that we grow more like Jesus, day by day. Drawing close to Jesus more and more produces a growth that is Christ-like.
The Scripture highlights some important issues about Christian growth. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: Eph 4: 12- 15.

(i) We grow spiritually by speaking the truth; that is, confessing the Word of God and making it our own word. (ii) Growth delivers us from instability and deception because it takes us from childhood to adulthood in God: v 14. (iii) Harmony with others; it is only when we are growing that we can be in unity of faith with other believers and overcome immaturity, division, strife and spiritual dwarfness: v13. (iv) Growth is also essential for spiritual service and being a blessing in the Kingdom work: v12. Spiritual growth of the believer enhances the Kingdom of God on earth.

Prayer/Action
* I receive grace to grow spiritually and physically, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* Father, let the hunger and thirst for Your Word and fellowship with others increase in my life now, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* Lord Jesus, help me to apply Your Word always to every situation of my life.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Today, I receive the ability to break forth on the right and on the left, in the name of Jesus.

Respond to Training

READ: Eph 6:1-3
MORE LESSON: Prov 22:6

Parent-child relationship is ordained of God primarily for the care of the child. That is why ideally every child is born into the hands of two matured adults (father and mother) so that the child (male or female) can find nurture and training. Most times children want to do their own things even though God has given every child parents to teach him/her how to live as today's text explains. The word,“train” involves controlling your mouth and learning subjection, obedience and avoidance of sin. “A child” can be an infant, a pre-teen, a teenager or an unmarried young adult; and “the way he should go” is the direction God wants you to go“When he is old” refers to when you have grey hair and have given birth to your own children.

Every parent is saddled with the responsibility of teaching his/her children, to the third generation all that he has seen and experienced in his dealings with God and man. Only take heed to thyself, ...but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons: Deut. 4:9c. However, when children refuse their parents’ instructions and teachings and go their own way, they are rejecting God’s instruction, Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord: Col 3:20. The result is recorded as follows: I was almost in all evil Having not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me: Prov. 3:14-15.

On the other hand, when children obey their parents, there are at least six blessings of security awaiting them. So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet: Prov.3:22-24.They have life, grace, safety, stability in life, no fear, restful sleep. 
Obedience to parents is very important. Therefore, if your parents and leaders are training you to be all God wants you to be, respond promptly and properly. If you do, then you will reap it's harvest in time to come.

Prayer/Action
* Father, I yield to the control of the Holy Spirit and Your Word, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* Lord, I receive Your Spirit to obey all in authority over me, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* I receive grace to obey my parents and teachers, in Jesus mighty name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
I shall not die before my time, but like Abraham, I shall reach my full age and be blessed in all ways, in Jesus’ mighty name.

God honours Faith

Thursday 19 November
READ: Hab. 11:1-2
MORE LESSON: Rom 10: 38

Bible says that the just shall live by faith. (Hab 2: 4, Rom 1: 17, Gal 3:11, Heb 10: 38). God is all you need and He will never fail you. When God gives you an assignment, He expects you to trust Him for the consignment. When He gives you a vision, you need to have faith in Him for the provision. There is the great hero of faith, George Mueller, who founded an orphanage and gathered children who did not have parents in large number and he was feeding and educating them. He had nothing and no government support of whatever kind; he lived by faith and took care of the children by faith in God, and God never failed him. One day in the orphanage, there was nothing to eat and the children were at the table waiting for him to give them food.

One thing about children is that they are not interested in whether daddy has money or not, they don't want to know how mummy gets food into the kitchen, all they care to know is that when it is meal time, there must be something on the table. The children sat around the table and were ready to eat and the man of God didn't have anything to give them. The man of God went to the table and told the children, 'let us pray'. He started to bless the meal and the children were excited that there was food, but actually he knew there was nothing. Immediately they finished praying, a man knocked at the door. He opened and it was a dairy farmer transporting fresh milk in a truck to be sold in town. The truck broke down in front of the building. He did all he could but when the vehicle would not start, he was left with no other option than to leave it and go back to the farm. He looked to his side and saw there was an orphanage there. Fresh milk goes bad if left unused for a period of time. In other to avoid the milk wasting, he decided to donate the milk to them.

They immediately blessed the milk and distributed it to the children on the table. As they were thanking God, another man ran in and said, 'I have a bakery and today, a great burden came over me to bring bread to this orphanage. Please I'm sorry if I came late'. He gave them bread and left. The man of God had already blessed the meal before it arrived so they just shared the food and the children had a nice breakfast of fresh milk and hotly baked bread. 
God honours faith. When God commits a vision to you, He will definitely make provision for it. Today is the day to step out on that kingdom assignment that God has told you to do, knowing fully well that He will make provision for its fulfilment. Have faith in God.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God for faith to face impossibilities.
* Declare to God that you will never doubt him.
* Tell God that you trust Him to set a table in the desert at no cost.
* Proclaim that this year will not end without a divine provision for you.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
In the name of Jesus, I refuse to continue to labour under a closed heaven.