The Extra Oil II

Wednesday 19 October
READ: Matt. 25: 1-13
MORE LESSON: Eccl. 9:8

I remember conducting a wedding in one of our churches and the bride delayed for so long. She was probably taking all the time to dress up. After a while, I told them to start the service and it started. The order of the service continued and this lady was still nowhere to be found. Close to the time allotted to the actual joining and exchange of marital vows, the lady arrived outside and sent to the ministerial seat that the processional hymn be sung for her to enter majestically with her train. I sent back to inform her that she should gather the flowing gown in her hands and run straight to the altar if she is still interested in the joining. She should come or else we would skip that item and close the service. Of course, she rushed and she sat quietly down beside her husband who had been troubled waiting.
I called them to the altar to be joined, she looked at my face and broke down in tears. It is not pleasant to see a bride being joined while crying, so I allowed her to finish all the crying. In fact, I was prepared to wait and allow her cry, finish crying, do her make-up and regain her composure before I continued the actual joining. However, she and everyone in that service had learnt the lesson that a wedding service before God should be approached with reverence. It is not a day to keep God and man waiting while you take all the time to dress and make up. I also discovered that the wedding day is a terrible day for a bride to cry.
In Matt. 25: 1-13, we also see five ladies that wept bitterly on their wedding day. Theirs was more terrible because their tears would last for eternity. The reason was that they were not prepared for the bridegroom and were careless about eternal things while they focused on less important things. Jesus is coming back and since we do not know the day of His arrival, it is imperative not be careless with the things of God. If any man misses the coming of the Lord, there will be no opportunity to reverse the damage. The five virgins who cried on their wedding day did so because they didn't have extra oil in their lamps.
The extra oil means going an extra mile in the things of God. The difference between the wise and the foolish virgins was the extra oil. It is the extra you do for God that stands for you and makes you an uncommon man in common situations. The coming of the Lord is so close you can't leave anything to chance. God is not only demanding your all, but the extra mile also. In all you do for God, go the extra mile, it shall not go unrewarded.

Prayer/Action
* Surrender your life to God afresh today.
* Receive grace to be faithful to the end, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask God for grace to be able to warn others about Heaven and hell today, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Anything in me, spiritual or physical, attracting strange occurrences to my life or family, be exposed today, in Jesus' name.

The Extra Oil I

Tuesday 18 October
READ: Matt. 25:1-6
MORE LESSON: Rev. 22: 12

Jesus told a parable, using it to describe what His coming will look like. He said there were ten virgins - five were wise and five were foolish. Both the wise and the foolish were waiting for the coming of the bridegroom in the night. The wise five took extra oil in addition to what was inside their lanterns. The foolish five took their lanterns, put oil inside and forecast that it was enough. However the bridegroom delayed and all the oil burnt out.
Eventually the bridegroom came in the dead of the night and all the virgins got up to go and receive him. All their oil had burnt out but the ones that had extra oil, had something to pour into the lamps afresh and therefore met the bridegroom with their lamps still burning. The other five who had no extra oil had their lights gone off. They couldn't meet the bridegroom with lights gone off, so they quickly went to look for oil. But before they returned, the bridegroom had entered in with the ready five and locked the door. Afterwards, came also the other virgins saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not: Matt. 25: 11-12. Definitely, it is a painful thing for a bride to be told by the bridegroom that he doesn't know her. How can a woman come to be wedded only to be told by her bridegroom that he does not know her? The bridegroom said to the five foolish virgins, I don't know you, and they were locked out forever. They left home fully dressed for a wedding but never returned home with a husband. And I want to say to you that there is a great day coming. Jesus, the Bridegroom of the Church, is on the way. The five virgins that had extra oil were prepared.
All the ten were virgins, which means they were saved but some were prepared while the others were not. The issue of going with the Lord when He comes is the issue of preparedness. I want to ask you whether you are busy with the mundane affairs of life or you are living in preparation for His coming. You need the extra oil; you need more zeal than you have ever displayed. You need more attention to the things of God. You need more consciousness that the end is near and live with that consciousness. In a short while, the sound of the trumpet shall be heard and the Bridegroom will come. Only the people with the extra oil and lamps still burning bright will go with Him.

Prayer/Action
* Receive power to be conscious of the end time, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that the negative prophecy of the end time will not be fulfilled on you, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that God will help you to proclaim the goodnews in this end time, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, this month, do for me what I cannot do for myself, fight my battles and grant me victory, in the name of Jesus.

The Earth is the Lord’s

Monday 17 October
READ: Psa. 24: 1 - 2
MORE LESSON: Psa. 115: 15 - 16

The Bible says in Gen 1: 1 that God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning. This silences the scientific theory of evolution which submits that the earth came to be as a result of a big bang. The earth belongs to God and He is the Owner of everything. If God owns everything by the right of creation then He is the only Land-Lord. Everyone else is a care taker; even the landlords that collect rent from others are not lords after all. Even our house landlords are tenants on the earth. Jehovah is the only Land-Lord because the earth belongs to Him.
Everyone should live with a mindset of stewardship. This means that you treat everything you possess on earth like they were committed to your trust by God. You were given to take care of them as a steward and you will give account of everything that you have on earth. It is important to know that no matter how much you labour for things on earth; they will never become your own. You can only be given in trust to manage them for a while. Materialism has so much taken over the world that all people think about is how to own things and own more things. Acquire all you can, however do not forget the real truth that it is not yours. The real Owner can still take it any day. The mistake the rich fool in the Bible made is not that he was rich, it was that he didn't have the mindset that both he and his riches belonged to God (Luke 12:13-21). It is good to be rich but the rich should have a mindset that recognises that all that they have belongs to God. The poor should also know that all things belong to God and He is rich towards all (Rom. 10: 12). If everything belongs to God, why does a child of God live with a sense of lack? The entire earth belongs to your God, so live without a sense of lack. Do not believe that everything is difficult and there are no resources available to you. The whole earth belongs to your God.
All men should learn to honour the God of all the universe who is the Owner of everything. Be conscious that no one brought anything into the world and no one will take anything away. The best thing to do is to connect to the Owner of all things by giving your life into the hands of He that owns the universe. When you become a child of the Owner of Heaven and earth, then you become a part-owner, a joint heir with Him. You are blessed, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
* Thank You Lord for making everything beautiful for me.
* Lord, because You own the world, let everything work together for my good.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I set confusion in my enemies camp this week and I scatter them, in the name of Jesus.

Building a Great Nation

Sunday 16 October
READ: Prov. 14: 34
MORE LESSON: Rom. 12: 2

As I travel around the nations of the world preaching the gospel, I have noticed that everywhere I get to, I see Africans doing great things and making contributions to economic, social and technological development. I have met great people being the best in what they do overseas, only to discover that they were born and raised in my country. Therefore it is not the colour of the skin that determines your capability. God didn't make one race to be superior to another; therefore you can become the best anywhere in the world if you will believe. I know that God created everyone in this nation with the capacity for greatness.
The evil report about our nation and continent in the international media can be changed. The crimes, poverty and evil that have been associated with our world can be corrected if we will change our mindset and belief system. There is need for the minds of the people to be renewed so that we can change our values and precepts as a people and as a nation. There is nothing wrong with the pigmentation of skin or with the geographical location of any race, we only need to change whatever is wrong with the way we think. The principal and most worthy agent of mind renewal is the Word of God. It is the Word that starts building confidence in you and make you know that you are not inferior and whatever anyone is doing you can do as well. The Word is the agent of change that we need in this nation. The Word of God in our hearts will make the difference. Every institution, including government institutions should raise the Word of God to its proper place and we will see that we will be able to build a great nation.
The Word therefore is an instrument of national development. Teaching the Word of God should not be left to the Church. In fact, training children in the Word of God is best done in the family. Each parent should take full responsibility to teach the Word and create a paradigm for change in their children. The government should also realise that the issue of having God's Word being given its rightful place in the system of the society is not about religion. It is an issue that affects the development or lack of it in our nation. Therefore government should know that they have to make laws that favour the Word of God in our system and not against it if we must achieve national greatness and development. Every nation that allows the Word a free flow will never lack development. The rejection of God’s Word is the beginning of all evil in our society and the home should be the beginning of such lessons.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to grant you an unsatisfiable appetite for His Word, in Jesus’ name.
* Grant our nation the grace to be righteous, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Any power that wants me to suffer for an offence I did not commit, be exposed and disgraced by the Holy Ghost, in the name of Jesus.