Taking God by His Word

Saturday 17 September
READ: Gen. 21:1-7
MORE LESSON: II Cor. 1:20

Looking at the promises of God, sometimes you wonder whether they are not too big to be real! Take a few examples, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you: I Pet. 1:4. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also: Jn. 14:2-3. The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, and the transgressor for the upright: Prov. 21:18. I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins: Isa. 43:25. These are indeed no small promises and there are truly a thousand and one others like these. We can take God at His Word because, God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Num. 23:19.
Friend, men are known for lying, not God. Again, we have enough precedents that assure us that God will not fail, no matter how incredible the promise. One of such is the prophecy of the virgin birth in Isa. 7:14, … Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. In the days of Isaiah, many would have doubted it and yet today, it is a reality. Moreover, Heb, 6:18 says, That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie. It is just impossible for God to lie. Now you can take God for whatever He says.
Finally, one of the reasons why men cannot be trusted with their promises is because they make promises that are bigger than them but not so with God. He can therefore not fail. What a faithful God He is. He visited Sarah as He had said and did to Sarah as He had spoken (Gen. 21:1). He promised to take Israel out of Egypt, although the promise lasted for 430 years, He did not forget to do it (Exo. 12:41).
In the same way, you will not be forgotten. God's faithfulness will extend to you today. Just keep holding on to whatever God has said concerning you. Don't lose focus, don't give up. The Lord will not fail you.

PRAYER/ACTION
* Father, I believe Your Word, let it be to me according to Your Word.
* Father, let Your wonderful promises find fulfilment in my life.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
By the power in the blood of Jesus, I terminate anything that stands in my way of making Heaven, in Jesus' name.

Heaven is Real II

Friday 16 September
READ: Lk. 16:19 - 31
MORE LESSON: Rev. 20: 13 - 14

The story of the rich man and Lazarus is one of the scriptures that show the reality of hell. The rich man lived without remembering God and when he died, he ended in hell. Lazarus on the other hand, accepted the Lord and at death, he went to Abraham's bosom. It is not poverty or wealth that is the subject matter in this story; it is Heaven and hell. It is how you spend your life here on earth that determines the reward you will get in eternity. Good work is not enough to determine whether a man will end up with God or in hell; it is your disposition to Jesus Christ. Those that accept Jesus and live for Him will go to Heaven and those that refuse Him and live for sin and self will go to hell. Hell is a place of torment where there is fire, regret and anguish.
Hell is the place where all men who do not accept Jesus go immediately after they leave the earth. In hell, they will be tormented greatly while they wait for the lake of fire. Hell is terrible and unquantifiable in pain; it is not a place for any man to go. However, hell is still mere rehearsal; the lake of fire is the real place of eternal anguish and immeasurable pain. Men have been languishing in hell for millions of years and many are still going there and the place is so terrible. After the Great Judgment which will be after the second coming of Jesus, hell and all the people in it in addition to satan, the fallen angels, demons and all people without God will be thrown into the lake of fire for eternal punishment.
So the points to note are:
1. Hell is a place of torment and torture.
2. Hell is a place of painful memorial. In hell, people will remember the things that they did or didn't do and live in eternal regret. The rich man remembered the number of brethren he had on earth, in hell there will be remembrance of things.
3. Hell is a place of no return. The rich man begged to go back and warn others but there is no going back once a man enters hell. A man cannot correct anything or recover any lost opportunity in hell. In hell, the soul is lost forever.
4. Hell is a place of thirst. There is no water in hell. The thirst is at three levels-spirit, soul and body. It shows a perpetual state of need that will never be met.
5. Hell is a place of un-answered prayer. There will be no answered prayer in hell. The rich man’s prayer was not answered in hell.
6. Hell and all in it will be eventually cast into the lake of fire. Heb. 2:1-3 records, Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.

PRAYER/ACTION
* Revoke every activity of the flesh and satan that can hinder your getting to Heaven.
* Ask God not to allow any of your loved ones to miss Heaven.
* Pray for the salvation of all your family members.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Every force of evil, darkness, and sin, I prophesy your end over my life today, in the name of Jesus.

Heaven is Real I

Thursday 15 September
READ: Lk. 16: 19-26
MORE LESSON: : Lk. 12: 1-5

Jesus said there was a certain rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. This story as told by Jesus was the story of two real men who lived at a particular time. Whenever Jesus told a parable in the Scripture, it was clearly stated that it was a parable. When He told a real life story, it was portrayed as such. Jesus knew that cooking up a story that didn't exist is lying even if the story is for the purpose of teaching a good lesson. He also knew that exaggerating equates with lying, so He only told stories as truthfully as they were. So if Jesus said that a certain rich man and poor man existed and He even mentioned the name of the poor man, and the Bible doesn't say that it was a parable that Jesus told as it states categorically in every place where a parable is told, then we have to know that the story really happened and everything portrayed in the story was real.
Hell is not merely a figurative language for punishment as some people claim. It is a real place where fire and brimstone torment souls day and night. The Bible says, and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom: Lk. 16:23. That doesn't sound like a figure of speech. It sounds like a man who was in a definite place called hell and from there, he looked up and saw Abraham and Lazarus in another definite place different from where he was. Hell is real and it is a place of reward of wicked living. The rich man in this story died and while men on earth were conducting funeral service and celebrating his achievement, he opened his eyes and saw himself in literal fire burning in a literal place called hell.
I have preached to people and warned them about the reality of hell and some responded by laughing and saying that they will commit so much sin that when they get to God, He will be so mad at them that He will fling them with too much force and fury and mistakenly fling them over the fire of hell, making them land at the other side where there is no fire. That statement is born out of the peak of satanic deception and mockery of God. Hell is not a joking matter, it is a serious issue. The Bible shows that the rich man died, opened his eyes and found himself in hell. Nobody flung him; he just died, opened his eyes and found himself there.
I pray that you and all the people God has given you will not go to hell. If there is one place you must not go; it is hell. You have to make right your way with the Lord today. Peace unto you.

PRAYER/ACTION
* Declare that by the righteousness of the Lord Jesus, you will not miss Heaven, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask that the Holy Spirit will watch over your destiny to ensure that you make Heaven.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I subdue and overthrow permanently all the anti-progress forces around me, in the name of Jesus.

Heaven or Hell

Wednesday 14 September
READ: Lk. 16:23-24
MORE LESSON: Ecc. 12: 1-8

There is certainly life after death and this life will be in either of two places. It is either with God in Heaven or with the devil in hell. Heaven and hell are actually rewards and not bestowal. There is a life that a man lives and he is rewarded with Heaven and another life that a man lives and he is rewarded with hell. Luke 16: 25 reads, Abraham said to him, 'Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish (NLT). When the rich man was on earth, he gave himself all that he wanted. Even things that were sinful, as long as his body wanted, he got them. After all he had enough money to get anything he wanted for himself. This scripture shows that the rich man didn't remember God when he was on earth but was carried away by money, pleasure and gratification of the flesh. When the rich man got to hell, he was so tormented and in agony that he wanted even a finger-drip of water to cool his tongue but he couldn't get.
Hell is a place where the people who are lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God (2 Tim 3: 4) will be rewarded with anguish. It is noteworthy that hell is not a place for the rich and the rich man was not in hell merely because he was rich; he was in hell because he didn't seek God but used his money to seek pleasures of life. He lived for food, clothes, jewelry, fame, fun and carnal enjoyment. His reward in eternity was hell fire. Heaven is a reward for living a life surrendered to Jesus Christ and dedicated to God. This is why it is important to measure where God is on your scheme, schedule and scale of priority. I urge you to live for God so that you will be rewarded with Heaven. The reward for forgetting God and living a sinful life is the lake of fire.
On a final note, Psalm 9:17 says; the wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God. The reward for living a life as if God does not exist to judge is the lake of fire. This will not be your portion, in Jesus’ name.

PRAYER/ACTION
*Re-dedicate your life to God today.
*Receive the grace of God to be conscious of God’s presence around your life everytime, in Jesus’ name.
*Renounce the lust for worldly pleasures and invoke the love for God upon your life today, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I command every weight and spiritual stone weighing me down in life to roll away now, in the precious name of Jesus.