Topic: Stop Trying and Start Trusting [Saturday May 27, 2017]

[Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. — Philippians 2:13

Most of us desire the good life God has planned for us, but we recognize areas in our lives that need to be changed. Many times you set out to make those changes, yet in spite of your best efforts, you seem powerless to make it happen.

Trying to bring about change through your own strength and plans will always result in frustration. God is waiting for you to stop trying to change and start trusting Him to change you.

If you need to make changes in your thoughts, attitudes, and behavior, understand that you can’t do it by yourself. Spend time with God and ask for His help—after all, if He can’t do it, it can’t be done. But He can . . . and He will!

Topic – Soul-Winning: A Mark of Life [Saturday 27, May 2017]

Memorise: Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. – John 15:2

Read: John 15:1-6 (KJV)

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

Bible in One Year: Acts 12-13, Jeremiah 36:20-32, Hymn: Sing hymn 13

MESSAGE:

Just as it is needful to pray and fast, it is also needful to win souls to God’s Kingdom regularly. Don’t just win one, two or five souls and stop, continue to win souls at all times. John 15:16 says,

 “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.”

Do you know that regular evangelism can keep you in shape spiritually? If you belong to Christ, you are like a living tree that produces fruit (Psalm 1:3). Any tree that produces good fruit will definitely be appreciated by its owner. Bearing spiritual fruit is one obvious sign that you are still spiritually alive. If you are winning souls often, it shows you are growing spiritually. It takes obedience to the Holy Spirit and partnership with Him to win a soul and to give life to the spiritually dead. If you are not bearing fruit, it could be because you are dead or separated from God. A dead fellow cannot be used as an agent of life. Moreover, in the course of soul-winning, there are some ideas, teachings and abilities that the Holy Spirit will endow you with which you may not easily access through any other means.

The truth is that those who go out for evangelism never go out alone. Why? Since they are out to obey the Lord’s command. Which is so important to the Godhead, the Trinity works with them (Mark 16:20). The Lord sees to it that the word of the evangelist does not fall to the ground (Hebrews 2:3-4). The evangelist is a true fellow-worker with God. On the other hand, the fellow who does not win souls is not bringing joy to God’s heart and is also not showing signs of spiritual life. If you continue your Christian life without leading others to Christ, you may be cut off from your Source (John 15:2, Luke 13:7). It therefore follows that if you want to grow spiritually, you must make soul-winning a regular activity. You must win souls and continue to win more souls. If you are actively winning souls, you will experience God’s special love and attention. God will also answer your prayers more easily, and increase your capacity to be fruitful by taking away hindrances to fruitfulness from your life. Using your attitude to soul-winning as a benchmark, are you dead or alive?

Action Point: To catch up on the number of souls you should have won in the past, launch an aggressive personal evangelism outreach drive to bring in at least 100 souls to God kingdom.

Open Heavens Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.

iOpenHeavens is the electronic version of the Hard Copy. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

Topic: Before Retribution [Saturday May 27, 2017]

Text: Jeremiah 21:1-14

Key Verse: “And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.” (Jeremiah 21:7)

The maxim, to every action there is a reaction, is not true only in scientific experiments. It holds true in every facet of life and in all generations. If you live all your life in sin without repentance, be prepared to reap the wages. And if by God’s grace you live a life of righteousness, expect the reward: eternity with the Lord in heaven. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, could have saved himself and his subjects all the agonies they passed through, if he had heeded God’s earlier warnings.

In today’s passage, we see the message of God to Zedekiah King of Judah. The entire nation had consistently and willfully sinned against the Lord. The King raised the bar of transgression when he refused to show the people the right path. God decided that they must go into captivity in Babylon. This message was delivered by Prophet Jeremiah, but the response was the persecution of the prophet by the king’s acolyte, Pashur the son of Immer. God’s word is unchanging. The more Judah resisted the message, the firmer it stood against them.

Those who felt they could circumvent the message, the Lord explicitly said, “he that abides in the city would die by the sword, famine and by the pestilence; and he that goes out and falls to the Chaldeans shall live; but his life shall be unto him for a prey.” As believers, we must not harden our hearts when God speaks to us. Consistent disobedience will only lead to perdition. If Judah and her king had repented of their sins and called upon God for mercy, he would have abundantly pardoned. Today, you have the privilege of going to God in earnest supplication for grace that brings salvation. Remember, there is eternal banishment for all those who live and die in sin.

Thought for the day: He who spurns God’s entreaties, spins eternal destruction to himself.

Bible Reading in one Year: Zechariah 10-14

DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.

A Promise For You From Bible Promises:

Topic: It’s For A Purpose [27/05/2017]

But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah: but the LORD had shut up her womb. 1 Samuel 1:5. Read: Pro 13:12

Whenever something is going on (whether good or bad), one of the understanding God expects one to have is to find out God’s purpose concerning such happening. Reason being that, nothing happens without the knowledge of God and without His permission (permission in the sense that, when He sees it, He overlooks). When you take time to find out God’s purpose behind everything that happens to you, you will know what to do per time. For example, God purposely blocked Hannah’s womb to give her Samuel the great prophet. In spite of the delay, she kept her faith alive, going to the house of the Lord year in year out.

On the other hand, the devil oftentimes is responsible for the delay most children of God experience in life. He deliberately does it to discourage God’s children, he makes them believe that God is too slow in answering prayers therefore, causes them to seek alternative ways to solve their problems. God answers prayers and He will answer all your prayers today in Jesus Mighty Name. The Bible says the very first day Daniel began to pray, God heard him and answered his prayer but the prince of Persia delayed the answer till twenty one days. Dan 10:12-13.

#BiblePromisesPrayer

* Today, God will answer all your prayers
* All your pending answers to prayers shall be speedily delivered unto you
* Your testimony shall no longer be delayed because God has answered you in Jesus Mighty Name

Topic: Dysfunctional [Saturday May 27, 2017]

Read: Romans 3:10–26, Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 1–3; John 10:1–23

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

The word dysfunctional is often used to describe individuals, families, relationships, organizations, and even governments. While functional means it’s in proper working order, dysfunctional is the opposite—it’s broken, not working properly, unable to do what it was designed to do.

In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul begins by describing a spiritually dysfunctional humanity (1:18–32). We are all part of that rebellious company: “All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. . . . For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:12, 23).

The good news is that “all are justified freely by [God’s] grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus . . . to be received by faith” (vv. 24–25). When we invite Christ into our lives and accept God’s offer of forgiveness and new life, we are on the path to becoming the person He created us to be. We don’t immediately become perfect, but we no longer have to remain broken and dysfunctional.

Through the Holy Spirit we receive daily strength to honor God in what we say and do and to “put off [our] old self . . . to be made new in the attitude of [our] minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:22–24).

Prayer: Lord, in our dysfunctional lives we turn to You for restoration and strength. Thank You for Your amazing grace and love!

Drawing close to Christ helps us to live as He designed us.

Insight:

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are the fruit the Spirit grows in our lives because we “belong to Christ Jesus” (Gal. 5:22–24). In what area can you ask the Spirit to help you grow?

This message was written By David C. McCasland [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]

Topic: Good Packaging- Key to Global Relevance [Saturday May 27, 2017]

Scripture: To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. Matthew 25:15. NIV.

Thought For The Day: A Great potential that is bankrupt of excellence equals frustration.

It has been confirmed that God has wired everyone on earth with a unique set of potentials to fulfil a particular purpose on earth. (Matthew 25:14-15). However, you might have seen a person who though multi-talented is facing limitations in many areas of life. This is because potential alone is not enough for the fulfilment of destiny.

Now, the question is, what does a person need to do with potential in order to fulfil destiny?
It is called PACKAGING

This can be described as a coordinated system of preparing goods for sales and end use.

As it is with physical products so it is with human potentials. Human potentials require packaging. Without packaging, one can have global potential and still end up localized in life. A person can package himself either for local championship or for global relevance and impact.

There are people with great gifts and abilities but are wallowing in obscurity today for lack of solid packaging. The potential is there but the quality of delivery is lacking. There are people and organization with great potentials but are buried in irrelevance because of wrong packaging.

Beloved, a great potential that is bankrupt of excellence equals frustration. For the purpose of effectively representing the Kingdom of God in excellence as a child of God, you must determine to package both yourself and what you do for global relevance.

Remember this: Great potentials that is bankrupt of excellence equals frustration.

Assignment(s):

1. Ask God to show you how to package yourself for global relevance.

2. Upgrade yourself to meet the needs of your generation.

Prayer: O LORD, baptize me with the spirit of excellence. Help me to deploy my potentials according to your expectation, LORD, in Jesus’ Name.

FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: POTENTIAL IS NOT ENOUGH.

Daily Reading: 2 Samuel 12:1 to 31, John 16:1 to 33, Psalm 119:65-80, Proverbs 16:4-5.

Quote: Let your arrival signal change. Let a difference be made anywhere you are found. Culled from CAREER AND WORK PLACE WISDOM by Dr Paul Enenche.

Amazing Fact: The blue whale has a heart the size of a small car and its blood vessel is so broad that a person could swim through it.

Today In History: 27/5/1153 – Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland.

Dunamis International Gospel Centre (DIGC), is a powerfully anointed church, headquartered at Abuja, Nigeria, with Dr Paul and Dr Becky Enenche, as the Senior Pastors. It is a power-packed arena where God’s Presence, Principles and Power are at work for the salvation, healing and restoration of human destinies and dignities.

Topic: Petition Not Repetition [Saturday May 27, 2017]

Mark 8:24-25, “And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.”

Matthew 7:7-11; Mark 8:22-25

It was unusual for Jesus to inquire about the results of His ministry as He did in verse 23. It was even more unusual that Jesus laid hands on this man a second time. This is the only example in the New Testament where Jesus had to minister to any need more than once to affect a total healing.

Many people request things from God and then look at their circumstances to see if God answered their prayer. That is walking by sight and not by faith. If they can’t “see” God’s answer, then they pray again asking for the same thing. This is not the way Jesus taught us to pray and receive. We can be certain that Jesus didn’t lay hands on this man a second time because He thought His Father hadn’t heard Him the first the time. Since the man received partial sight, it is evident that God’s healing power was at work in him. Jesus was not petitioning His Father again for healing.

Through His spirit, Jesus knew that unbelief was hindering a perfect manifestation of God’s power in this man, and He simply gave him another “dose” of the anointing power of God. Satan may hinder, but cannot overcome someone who continues resisting him. Believe that you received when you prayed and continue to apply the power of God. Press in such a degree that you can confront anything that is contrary to what you have asked and overcome it. Perseverance in prayer is the key to overcoming Satan – not God.

This message was written by The Association of Related Ministries International (ARMI) is an extension of Andrew Wommack Ministries (AWM). ARMI is a unique partnership committed to providing resources to help like-minded ministers succeed in a spirit of excellence and to draw from the experience and expertise of both the AWM and Charis Bible College staff. (www.awmi.net)

Topic: God Wants You Well [Saturday May 27, 2017]

If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee. – Exodus 15:26

Has the devil ever tried to put you under condemnation by telling you that it’s contrary to the principles of faith to use doctors and medicine when you need healing? If so, here are some encouraging words that I believe will help you put your heart at rest.

It is God’s will to heal you. That’s the first and most important thing for you to understand. If your faith is strong and you can believe the Word without wavering (regardless of what circumstances or symptoms come against you), then you’ll be able to receive that healing by faith alone.

But that kind of faith takes more than just hearing a few sermons about healing. It takes a deep personal revelation of God’s healing power. So, if you haven’t yet developed that kind of faith, the doctor is your best friend.

If you’re not certain whether your faith is strong enough or whether you need a doctor’s help, follow the instructions of the Apostle Paul (Colossians 3:15) and let peace be your umpire.

If fear rises up within you when you think about doing without medical help, then go to a doctor. And go in faith! On the other hand, if you have a sure confidence within you that healing is yours strictly by faith, let your faith do its work and receive your healing directly. Whether or not you go to the doctor is not the issue. It is what you do with your faith.

Either way, you can rejoice knowing God is working with you, meeting you at the level of your faith. Thank God for your healing—however it comes!—and do not let Satan put you under condemnation. It is none of his business!

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 7:8-15

This message was written by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, the leader of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries (www.KCM.org) that specializes in teaching principles of bible faith – prayer, healing, salvation and other biblical topics.

Topic: A Sacred Institution [Saturday May 27, 2017]

Follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. — Romans 14:19

The home is basically a sacred institution. The perfect marriage is the uniting of three persons–a man and a woman and God. This is what makes marriage holy. Faith in Christ is the most important of all principles in the building of a happy marriage and a successful home. The secret strength of a nation is found in the faith that abides in the hearts and homes of the country.

Prayer for the day: May we so love one another, through You, Lord Jesus–that our homes will be reflections of the glory of Your inestimable love.

Written by Billy Graham, Founder of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association(BGEA). BGEA exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ by every effective means and to equip the church and others to do the same.