Steal No More

Friday 27th October
READ: Eph. 4:28
MORE LESSONS: I Tim. 6:6-11

There was a man who took his son to farm to gather their harvest. The son duly followed as the man walked to another man’s farm; he looked left and right, front and back to see if anyone was coming. When he realized that no one was watching, he quickly dug some yams, put them in a basket and told the son to carry them and follow him. The son said, ‘Daddy, you looked left and right, front and back, but didn’t you look up? Why didn’t you check if God was looking?’

We cannot make it in live by taking things that do not belong to us. No one ever amount to anything great in destiny and eternity through stealing. This is the reason the Bible says, He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hand, that he may have something to share with those in need; Eph. 4:28 (NIV). A scriptural antidote to stealing is hard work. Since you don’t want to steal, you must decide to work with your hands for all that you need. When you are very productive, you rise above stealing. People only steal what they believe they are incapable of producing. Even big time thieves who steal public funds do because they believe they will never be able to make those billions by their own productivity and ingenuity. So they steal as the easy way out. The world respect productive people but despises thieves.

Greed and lust for things cause steeling. This is why we must learn to be contented with everything we have. Some people have so much but still continue stealing;  their end is destruction unless they repent. Stealing is like accusing God of unfaithfulness. It is like saying God has not done enough for you so you take advantage of people or your position to get what you want. All thieves are liars and liars will have their portion in the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8).

Steal is not limited to taking material things. A person who is seeking to reap what he did not sow is attempting to steal. It is only a thief that expects a harvest where he did not sow any seed. Therefore, Clamouring for a harvest without sowing the necessary spiritual and physical seed is trying to steal. A man who refuses to give offering and tithe and is looking for prosperity is trying to steal. God told the children of Israel that they were stealing from Him when they refused to pay their tithes (Mal. 3:3-9).

One of the injunction of the Lord in the Ten Commandments is ‘Thou shall not steal’. Exo. 20:15. This command stands till date.

Prayer/Action
• Pray against the spirit of covetousness
• Ask for grace to be content with what He blesses you with.
• Prayer that God will make you a channel of addition and not subtraction.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
I announce the next venue and address for celebration and sound of testimony in my house, in the name of Jesus.

Living Above Offence

Thursday 26 October
READ: Col. 3:13-14
MORE LESSON: 1Cor. 10:32

You cannot go to play at the river and then complain when someone splashes water on you. It is impossible to play at the river and not get splashed with water. In relating with people in any community, one of the things that we cannot avoid is being offended. Whether at home, school, work or church, people will do things that we do not like. The reason is that everybody cannot behave the same way in a community. Offences result from differences in behaviour. Has someone ever done things and you wonder how on earth anyone could behave like that? Well, the reason is because he is not you; if he were you, he would never behave like that. People are different and so they will behave differently.

The Lord Jesus Himself in Luke 17:1, unto His disciples, …It is impossible but offences will come… He realized that there will always be people who will offend us. Therefore our quest is not to look for a place where we will not be offended but to seek to live above offences. Do you know that one cannot be offended until he decides to take offence? You can refuse to take offence when it is offered to you. The New Living Translation of Col. 3:13 says, Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

We must learn to make allowance for people around us. Give room to people when they do things that you don’t like. Probably you like quietness while he likes noise and turbulence wherever he is: you have to learn to make room now that both of you are roommates or else you will fight every day. Life is a about recognizing people for who they are and learning to overlook their faults.

Everyone loves to hear that he is a gem who is unique and uncommon in every way. It is pleasing to know that no other person in the whole earth has the same finger print as yours; you are specially and wonderfully made. The other side of this pleasant news is that no one else is like you so they will not behave like you. Therefore, grow out of complaining that the person behaved in such and such a way. If you insist on relating with only people that are like you, then you will relate only with yourself.

On the other hand, there are people who delight in causing offence and then claim, “that is who I am; you must learn to live with me.” The truth is that no one causes offence anyhow and goes scot-free. People around may be spiritually mature enough to overlook it but the one involved will suffer the consequence ahead. We should not take offence and we should not cause offence.

Pray/Action
• Ask God for grace to live above offence and to forgive those who offend you.
• Pray that you will not be an agent of offence to others.
• Ask God for grace to always make room for others and be an agent of peace.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
By divine favour, I shall no more be tolerated but celebrated in life and destiny, in the name of Jesus.

Waxing Exceedingly Great

Wednesday 25 October
READ: 2Chron 17: 12-13
MORE LESSON: 1Chron 11:9

Jehoshaphat was a seed of King David who sat on the throne of Judah. He followed after the ways of the Lord and his testimony was recorded that he waxed exceeding great. Jehoshaphat experienced financial prosperity, military strength, wealth and infrastructural during his reign, all because he remove the idols in the land and served the Living God.

It was the same Jehoshaphat that faced a battle in 2Chron. 20, and by trusting the Lord and His Prophet  he allowed the praise singers and the priests to lead the procession into the battle and the Lord gave a might victory without them having to lift a single weapon. He destroyed all the high places of idols worship in the land and Jerusalem to the Lord God. He employed priest whose assignment was to around teaching people the ways of the Lord in his Kingdom. The Bible says that Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance (17:5) because he sought the Lord . it was the spiritual prosperity of the land under him that resulted in the greatness, military victories, wealth and economic prosperity of the land.

Genuinely seeking God results in greatness; every true seeker of God ends up experiencing greatness in destiny. The Bible shows us many people that become great by seeking the Lord. Abraham became the father of greatness by forsaking the idolatry of his father’s house and follow after Jehovah (Gen 12:1-2). Isaac waxed greater and greater by continuing in the covenant of the God of Abraham (Gen 26: 13). David became the great king of Israel because his was devoted to the Lord (psa 18: 35). The list of ordinary men that became epitome of greatness through passionately seeking God is endless.

Every greatness and success you want in life is inside God. It is the deception of the devil that make people run away from dedicating their lives to God because they feel they want to pursue a successful life and that serving God will not afford them that opportunity. More often, such people run after the wind and at the end come back with nothing but chaff to show for all their pursuits.

True greatness is achieved by a life that is devoted to serving and seeking God. Devoting your life to God will not take from you; it will add to you. God will add greatness to your life as you seek him. Jehoshaphat was a king who sought the Lord and because of this he had strong armies and storehouse which were like banks and even business empires in the land. He got all these by making sure the whole land sought God. Seeking God is the secret of waxing exceedingly great.

Prayer/Action
*Pray for more of God in your life
*Pray that nothing will disconnect you from God and service to Him
*Pray that God will empower you to exceed the greatness of your parent.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYERS
This month will not end without me at the king’s banquet, where Haman shall be sentenced to death and glory announced, in the name of Jesus

Springing Up

Tuesday 24 October
READ: Zech. 1: 20 - 21  
MORE LESSON:  Isa. 44: 4 – 5

A spring is an elastic metal that contracts when a force presses it down and expands when the force is removed. The spring goes up when the load which has been holding it down is removed. Most people are familiar with the pen that one presses and the ball-point comes out and you press again and the point goes inside. The mechanism of such pens operates by a spring. When a force is applied, it pushes the ball-point out and when force is applied again, it causes the point to go in. The same is true of the destinies of men. There are forces that hold men down and there are forces that make them spring up. For your destiny to spring up, a force higher than that holding you down must be applied. The fullness of your potential will only manifest when the superior force of the Spirit causes you to spring up. This force must be stronger than any force oppressing and holding down your destiny.

There are yokes of oppression that limit men and hold them down so that they are not able to lift up their heads. Zech 1: 20 – 21 talks about the four horns that scattered Israel, Judah and Jerusalem so that no man was able to lift their heads. However, the Lord sent four carpenters to destroy those horns. The result is that the people of God began to spring up and lift up their heads. Today, whatever force has been holding you down is destroyed, in the name of Jesus Christ. You are free to spring up and attain the fullness of your potential. Every curse, limitation and weight upon your destiny is destroyed, you are free to go higher.

Sometimes it is the force of sin that holds men down and does not allow them to reach the fullness of grace and calling of God on their life. Those yokes of sin need to be destroyed so that you can soar in the spirit. According to Hebrew 12: 1, we are to lay aside every weight and sin which easily besets us. This means we should remove the force of sin from our destiny so that we can spring up. Every sinful habit and stronghold that has forced your destiny down is destroyed today and you will spring up to righteousness and holiness as you move in great grace and do mighty things for God, in Jesus’ name.

Finally, ignorance also holds men down. The Bible says, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...: Hos. 4:6. When men lack knowledge of what God has put in them no one can lift them up. We must search God’s Word for His promises for our life and go from there to discover our God-given potential and by faith put them to work. Prophesy to your destiny to spring up now, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
*Command every force and darkness holding you down to be broken now, in Jesus’ name.
*Declare that there is a lifting up for you today, in Jesus’ name.
*Pray that your destiny will bud and blossom, in Jesus’ mighty name.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER
His banner over me is love; no force of hatred will be able to conquer me, in the name of Jesus.