Torments of Hell II

Friday 28 April
READ: Luke 16: 25
MORE LESSON: Psa. 9: 17

A man had a very wonderful family. He was a good man and loved his family very well but he refused to commit his life to Christ even though his wife and children loved the Lord. It is important to note that when it comes to the issue of going to Heaven, being a good person is not enough; no matter how nice a person is, if he refuses to give his life to Christ, he will go to hell. The man was so nice that he would drive his family to church on fellowship days before going back home to watch television. However, his family continued to pray for him.

One day he had a dream where he discovered that everyone in his house was gone. He looked up and saw his youngest daughter in a glorious place while he was in torments in hell. There in intense pain, he cried to his baby girl to come help him out of the place of torments. The girl looked at him with deep feeling and said, 'Daddy we love you but there is nothing we can do to help you anymore.' He screamed and woke up still screaming and sweats breaking out of his forehead. He quickly dashed round the house looking for his family to pray for him, he found the whole house empty. So he thought that rapture had actually taken place. He slumped on the floor and started wailing. It was the wailing that the family heard from the backyard, where everyone was working while he was resting in the bedroom, and rushed into the living room. He didn't hesitate but quickly gave his life to Christ.

Anyone who has a good picture of what hell is will never refuse salvation and risk going there. Hell is a place of untold torments. One of the torments of hell is the punishment that is meted out on the people there. For every sin a man commits on earth, he will be repaid back with torment in hell. For all stealing, lying, sexual immorality and abortion committed on the earth, there is a commensurate measure of pain that will be administered to the person in hell. Worms, demons and other kinds of agents of torture are in hell to inflict pain forever. Luke 16: 25 says about the rich man, ...remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. Notice that the Scripture didn't just say that the man was 'in torments' but that he was 'tormented'. That denotes a deliberate act of inflicting torment on someone. There are agents that inflict torment upon souls in hell. It’s unimaginable! My prayer for you is that hell will not be your eternal home, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that everyone in your household will come to the saving knowledge of Christ, in the name of Jesus.
* Ask God to have mercy on you and your household, in the name of Jesus.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Every Goliath that needs to die for me to be divinely announced to my greatness as it was for David, let the Goliath die now, in the name of Jesus.

Torments of Hell I

Thursday 27 April
READ: Luke 16: 23
MORE LESSON: Luke 16: 19 - 31

The devil tries to deceive people into believing that hell doesn't exist but there is a place called hell. It is not an imaginary place, it is a very real place. Jesus told a story that confirmed that hell really exists. Just like every place in existence is describable and has definite characteristics, hell also has definite characteristics. The first characteristic of hell is that it is a place of torments. It is not just a place of torment but of torments. Luke 16: 23 rightly puts it that the rich man in hell was in torments. Every imaginable kind of torment is in hell. Hell is a place of fire. This is the reason the word 'hell-fire' is commonly used. 'Hell-fire' is not synonymous to hell; it is the fire in hell. Even though the fire of hell is incomparably more tormenting than all the fires on earth put together, it is only one of the torments in hell.

As tormenting as the fire of hell is, a greater torment in hell is the sad memory that haunts the people there. Deceivers have falsely taught that there is no life after death and once a man dies, there is nothing he remembers anymore. From Luke 16: 27 - 28, we see that man still remembers everything he did on earth after he dies. The rich man remembered his father's house and his five brothers that were not born again and started begging Father Abraham that someone should be sent from Heaven to go and preach to them. He also remembered how he lived lavishly on earth and wasted his life in sin. It is a great torment to be continually haunted by the regrets of yesterday when you can't do anything to correct it anymore. One of the great torments of hell is the sad memory and regrets of past mistakes that cannot be corrected but which consequence has to be faced forever. In hell, every sinner will remember the day he had the opportunity to accept salvation through Jesus Christ but he turned it down. That memory will bring great pain and torment.

Another torment in hell is the continual thirst that is there. The man in hell cried for just a finger-tip drop of water but he was denied. Water is so essential to human survival. Geographically, the earth surface is 75% water and the human body is also 75% water by composition. Life without water is unimaginable. Part of the torments of hell is that both internal and external water will be dried out of man. Hell is that it is a place of unquenchable thirst where there is no water forever.

The torments of hell are great indeed. You must not go there and you must do everything to keep all the people you can from going there. Consecrate yourself to Jesus today so that hell will not be your portion.

Prayer/Action
* Declare that your portion in eternity shall not be hell, in the name of Jesus.
* Ask God to take away from your life anything that will make you a candidate of hell, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Today, I strike my name from the list of beggars and debtors, I shall walk in abundance and lend to many, in the name of Jesus.

The Good Seed

Wednesday 26 April
READ: Matt 13: 37 - 38
MORE LESSON: Luke 13:18 - 19

A seed is anything that has the ability to reproduce after its kind. A seed carries life and can replicate after the life it carries when it is sown. So when you sow love, you reap love. When you sow money, you reap money. Whatever a man sows he shall reap (Gal 6: 7). There are many seeds you can sow, but above them all, you must know that you are also a seed. Every believer is a seed on a good ground. Your life is a seed that when it is sown on a good ground, it brings forth a harvest of lives. God has planted you as a seed and he is expecting a harvest of fruits from your life.
When you plant a seed in the ground, unless it is watered and taken care of, it will not thrive. In the same way, as a child of God, there are things you do that are equivalent to watering the good seed that God has made you to be. These include coming to church, personal prayer, devotion, reading the Word of God, fasting, paying your tithes, pledges, vows and offerings. Staying in the presence of God, doing night vigil, having your own personal fasting days are all ways of watering the seed of God that you are so that you can bear fruit. The reason many lives are unfruitful is because they do not adequately water the seed that has been planted in them.
In John 15:8, Jesus said, Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. Jesus' desire is that you bring forth much fruit. This means living a successful Christian life and bringing forth fruit that is worthy of all God's investments in your life. When any man sows a seed, it is always with the expectation of getting fruit one day. You are a seed sown by God and He is expecting fruit from your life. God always wants to eat from the fruit of your life.
This is why He makes sure that the conditions are favourable so that you can have good fruit. Therefore, the reason He has blessed you with whatever you have - life, health, sanity, food, certificate, money, job, marriage or children - is for you to bear fruit. You may not have all of these; but at least you have one. So why not let Him reap enough fruit from the ones He has given you and as you do, I know that He will add the rest to you so that you can bear more fruit. I pray that you will not be a barren tree in the kingdom of God, in the name of Jesus Christ. The seed of your life will produce a mighty great forest in the kingdom of God, in the name of Jesus.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that you shall be a fruitful Christian, in the name of Jesus.
* Pray that everything/ability God has given you will bring fruit to profit His kingdom, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Every negative mystery that has surrounded my life and destiny for ages, be terminated now, in the name of Jesus.

Do You want to Get Well?

Tuesday 25 April
READ: John 5: 6
MORE LESSON: Mk. 10: 51

Every time Jesus wanted to heal a person, He would first ask them if they wanted the healing. In the text today, Jesus saw a man who had been suffering an infirmity for thirty-eight years and the first question Jesus asked him was, do you want to get well? Jn 5: 6 (NIV). It was obvious that the man needed healing, but Jesus was making it known that in life you don't get what you need; you get what you place a demand for. In another place in the Bible, Jesus met a blind man and asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus didn't assume that it is every blind man that wants healing. Some people are satisfied with where they are in life and trying to help them is an effort in futility.
You must develop a godly hatred for your present situation if you mean business with moving forward. There is no man that will make progress in life without hating stagnancy. It is possible for a person to be in the same situation for several years and stay like that forever if he does revolt in the spirit against his situation and limitation. If you are satisfied with where you are, everyone will like it for you, and life will arrange for you to stay like that forever. From today, you must embrace the challenge to become more than you are presently.
It is a wrong assumption to think that it is everyone that wants more from life. There was a true life testimony of a crusade where a blind man was walking along with the boy that was leading him around to beg for alms. The power of God was mighty in that crusade and miracles were erupting spontaneously everywhere. All of a sudden, the blind man began to see and that made him really angry. He got so angry that he began to hit everyone around with the stick in his hand, starting with the boy that was leading him around. He asked the boy, 'Why did you bring me here?' Then he started swinging the stick at everyone around. The people held him and asked what was wrong. He answered that he didn't want to see, as no one would give him money again since he could see. He didn't want to start having to fend for himself; the man was satisfied with the blindness and saw it as the source of his livelihood.
There is nothing you can do to help a man who is satisfied with where he is. Even God cannot help such a man. This is why Jesus asked the man in the text, 'Do you want to be healed?' Similarly, He is asking you, 'Do you want to move ahead in life or are you satisfied with your present level?

Prayer/Action
* I terminate the appetite and tolerance for affliction, in Jesus’ name.
* I receive divine endorsement for my desires, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Today, the Lord shall increase my greatness and comfort me on every side, in the name of Jesus.