Fear Not

Friday 14 July
READ: Joel 2: 21 - 27
MORE LESSON: Isa. 41: 14-20

If there is one thing that greatly limits people in actualising their destiny, it is fear. There are lots of opportunities awaiting people every day but fear prevents men from maximising opportunity. People are afraid of investing, doing business or starting a project. They wonder how they will cope and whether things will work out or not. These are the days of diverse kinds of fear and multiple anxiety. A person graduates from school and is afraid whether he will get a job or not. Another gets a job and he is afraid whether his appointment will be confirmed or he will be relieved of his job. Young people who have reached marriageable age are afraid of getting married because of the economic situation. In times like this only the Word of God can come through for you.
Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength: Joel 2:21-22. The Word of the Lord for you today is 'fear not, for the Lord will do great things.' Do not let fear cripple you, go ahead and do what you have to do, rest assured that the Lord will back you up. Do you not know that if the animals were afraid of stepping out in the morning to look for food because there are predators out there in the field, those animals would die of starvation in their holes. The beasts of the field conquer fear daily, that is why you see them roaming around looking for food to eat. If the beasts do not allow fear to prevent them from going about what they need to do daily, then you will overcome fear in the name of Jesus Christ.
When you conquer fear and you step out in faith, the wilderness will become a fruitful field for you and the fruitful field will become a mighty forest (Isa. 32: 15). It is time for you to bear fruit and the first thing to conquer is the fear of stepping out. Remember that He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world. So when the world cringes in fear, then it is time for you to leap in faith. The old song writer did a great work when he wrote: “Have faith in God when your pathway is lonely..., have faith in God in your pains and sorrows... have faith in God though all else fails about you, have faith in God, He provides for his own, He cannot fail though all kingdom shall perish, He rules and reigns upon His throne!”

Prayer/Action
* Break the hold of fear off your life, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray for grace to face each day with full courage to conquer, in Jesus’ name.
Recall the things that have made you afraid and loudly say NO to them.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, You are my dwelling place from generation to generation, therefore safety, joy and happiness shall be my portion throughout my years, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Fulfilling your Purpose

Saturday 8 July
READ: II Tim. 4:5-8
MORE LESSON: Heb. 12:1-3

True success is the fulfilment of original purpose. Success is not measured by what you have done compared to others, but rather by what you have done compared to what you should have done. In the journey of destiny, this is Heaven’s chosen yardstick for all men. Discovering your personal purpose must be accompanied by the pursuit of that purpose. In our text, Apostle Paul fought the fight of destiny to finish his course, as he said, I have fought a good fight.
The following steps will help you fulfil your purpose in life
1. Discover who you are and what you are here for.
2. Ask God for grace and strength to pursue your purpose.
3. Ask God for divine direction on a daily basis.
4. Ask God for the helper of your destiny to come along your path.
5. Do something about your purpose; launch out.
6. Realise that enemies of destiny are out to frustrate you, so fight the good fight of faith.
7. Don't compare yourself with others; you are unique, but you can learn from the success stories of others.
8. Whatever your height of attainment,
you are only an instrument, so give God all the glory.
People that fulfil purpose die empty. May that be your portion as you daily live as a purpose-driven child of your purpose-driven Father. Don't end today's study by just saying Amen, do something about your purpose in life. For example:
1. Ask yourself what is my purpose in life?
2. What am I doing here, where I am?
3. What have I contributed to God's kingdom, my family, and community?
4. What is God's assessment of the number of years I have spent on earth?
5. What was my yesterday like, what about today and tomorrow?
6. When last did I examine myself?
7. When last did I hear God for myself and destiny?
At Gethsemane Jesus told God the truth about His assignment; He said, “Father, let this assignment pass over me” but He quickly added “…let your will be done…” Today, tell God in all sincerity the state of your life assignment and ask Him to help you.

Prayer/Action
* Pray that you will not die without fulfilling your purpose, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray for the discovery of your destiny, power to fulfil it and grace to pursue it with focus, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask God to deliver you from every distraction that can take you away from your purpose in destiny, in the mighty name of Jesus.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
The sun of righteousness shall rise today with strength and glory upon its wings for my destiny, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Knowing your Purpose

Friday 7 July
READ: Matt. 1:18-21
MORE LESSON: Jn. 18:1-13

One of the major lessons from the way Jesus lived on earth was the constant consciousness of His purpose. Everything He did showed that He knew what He was living for. The angel had announced to His mother at His conception that He shall save His people from their sins. That was the driving force for all that He did. Everything He did was to advance the purpose which He knew he came to achieve. In fact, this knowledge was the guiding light to the cross. Even before He gave up the ghost, He made sure that He cast His mind back to review all scriptures concerning Him and His purpose. He was satisfied that everything about His purpose was done before He yielded up the ghost (Jn. 19:28-30).
Obviously, this must have given Him joy and fulfilment despite the pain that He went through. Even the pain was a joy because He knew that it was part of His purpose for coming to the earth. When a man knows his purpose, he can enjoy whatever comes his way and handle his situations rightly. Seek to know your purpose that your life may be fulfilled and
ordered. Again the manner in which Jesus handled and went through His betrayal, denial, arrest, prosecution and death tells much about His pre-knowledge of His divine assignment on earth and the effect of that knowledge on His achievements. First, His prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane, which provided the strength to go through the rigours and the pain of His crucifixion, would be impossible if he was ignorant of His assignment. His knowledge of the roles of His close friends, like Judas and Peter, helped Him to absorb the disappointment that was generated by their acts. The cruel beatings that He received did not change Jesus' mind about going to the cross. He did not even complain except to seek for His Father's continual presence.
In the same way, if only you can get to know your purpose and the process to it, many things that weigh you down will change as you pray for grace to fulfil your purpose. You need to trust God for more understanding of your purpose so that you can draw power from the Giver of purpose in order to fulfil it.

Prayer/Action
* Rebuke every spirit of confusion and lack of direction in life, in Jesus’ name.
* Ask God for power to fulfil your destiny, in the name of Jesus.
* Pray that God will send helpers to help you fulfil your purpose, in Jesus’ name.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, throughout today mercy will follow me and speak for me, therefore there shall be no failure in my destiny, in Jesus name.

Becoming like Christ

Sunday 2 July
READ: Phil. 3: 10 - 21
MORE LESSON: Acts 4: 9-13

As disciples, we must resemble our Master in every way. The most wonderful achievement for us is to be compared to Jesus in word, deed and attitude though Jesus is beyond compare. When Jesus was to be arrested by the Pharisees, they needed someone to point Him out among His disciples. This was because He and His disciples all lived, dressed and talked alike so that outsiders could not easily differentiate one from the other except someone very close identified Him.
This is a lesson for all leaders in the Body of Christ; we need leaders that will so much mix with the people in humility that we cannot easily see the demarcation between the leaders and the led by positional differentiation. God wants us as disciples of Jesus to be so much like Christ that people would have a hard time differentiating between us and Christ. From the Bible, we know that the disciples were first referred to as Christians in Antioch.
This was because they behaved so much like Christ in every way that they had to refer to them as 'People who are like Christ'. The moment people see us they should know we are followers of Christ. In fact, they should know we are from a living church of God. It is a great thing for us to do wonderful things and people ask, ‘Are you from so and so church? we have noticed that people from there have this unique attribute’. Our lives should be a testimony of the glory of God and not a reproach to the Lord. We must live for the Lord and be like Him. Becoming like Christ is the hallmark of the Christian experience.
Christianity is not about prosperity and success even though God blesses us with those as we serve Him. Christianity is not about marriage and having wonderful family though they are part of the blessings obtained in Christ, nor is it about greatness and becoming prominent though it is part of His blessings as we follow Him. If there is a summary of what genuine Christianity is, it is becoming like Christ in word, work, nature and lifestyle. When we become like Christ, the things that we struggle for will naturally come to us. We must make becoming like Him the highest pursuit of our lives.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to make you more like Jesus, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* Pray that you will be a worthy epistle of Christ for the world to read, in Jesus’ name.
* Pray that the pursuit of the presence of Jesus become your burning ambition.

TODAY'S PROPHETIC PRAYER
My Father and my God, I declare that the second half of the year is for my advancement above every force of darkness, in the mighty name of Jesus.