Bible In One Year-Day 176 (Tuesday, June 25, 2013)

Commentary: Lamentation1-3. When Prophet Jeremiah was called, God encouraged him against fear of the people He sent him to, knowing that they were stiff necked and difficult to deal with..

Jeremiah 1:8 “Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.”

We need to be careful how we minister; where has He sent you to, to who and what is the message? These are what God will deliver to you at the point of the covenant and it is in this AUTHORITY you go, not in your zeal which carries no authority; remember the children of Sceva.

Romans 10:13-15 “For whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

When you set forth in this grace, your leg will leave beauty in that place. I love God’s sealing statement in His assignment “I WILL BE WITH YOUR MOUTH” or “I WILL BE WITH THEE” Without this statement, it is better you remain under a mentor, faithfully and obediently, until you are found faithful to be sent out on another mission. However, if you are driven away, be sure that you do as much as possible to make peace; if you are under punishment, observe it faithfully. If error or mistake is from you, be sober and remorseful for a change and correction. There is no glory in suffering for ungodly mistakes but if you do well and you are tortured for that patiently, God takes it upon Himself to vindicate you;

1 Peter 2:20  “For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.”

1 Peter 3:17  “For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.”

For many years, Jeremiah prophesied concerning the judgment of the Lord, he warned them to repent and turn from their evil ways. The people despised him and it seemed, at a point, that God was deceiving him. His life faced a lot of ministerial discomforts; a thorn in his flesh. God’s faithfulness was proved at the ruin of the pillar of the nation Judah, Jerusalem, when it was seriously attacked, damaged and the people that mattered were taken into captivity in Babylon. When Jeremiah saw what he had been prophesying come to pass before his own eyes, he declared the faithfulness of God in poems;

Lamentations 3:22-26 “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.”

At the ruin of Jerusalem, Jeremiah realized God’s faithfulness and preached to us all reading this commentary that “It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.”

The salvation of God is discovered when we patiently wait for Him; no matter what we are going through. The lamentation is not for the ruin but for God’s faithfulness. All Jeremiah prophesied came to pass before his eyes and this made him to honor God the more. What prophecy or dream have you had in the past and you are thinking God is not conscious of anymore? I will like to tell you that “GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS” The prayers you are praying are not in vain, beloved, because GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS. If the prophecy is ordered by God’s Spirit through His anointed one, then GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS. Are you about giving up? GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS.

Psalms 30:5 “For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

His FAITHFULNESS is in that which He has declared to you.

Let us seek for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. Our reading for today is Lamentation4-5. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Pastor Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries

Delaware, USA

Bible In One Year-Day 175 (Monday, June 24, 2013)

Commentary: 2Chronicles34-36. King Josiah was a pleasant king who loved the Lord, the God of his ancestor, David, with the whole of his heart.

2 Chronicles 34:2 “And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.”

When he heard the word of God, his heart was troubled, knowing very well that his fathers had wronged the Lord and the repercussion would be terrible. He humbly sought the face of the Lord for what to be done to avert His judgment. His attitude made him to win favor in the face of the Lord;

2 Chronicles 34:27 “Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the LORD.”

Josiah’s attitude was a positive attitude; this is what we call “born again” He never trivialized God and His instructions afterward. He made all his subjects submit to God and cleansed the land of all abominable objects.

2 Chronicles 34:33 “And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the LORD their God. And all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.”

Josiah delighted in the word of God than giving worship to the ark of the Lord. He preferred the people to be taught the word of God. The purpose of the word of God is to change us and the first place it works on is the heart. Once the heart is circumcised the whole body would be changed and dedicated to the Lord.

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

The greatest weapon for the Holy Spirit to work with is the word of God. Carrying the Bible about without reading will not make one to be holy or qualified to be a candidate of heaven, but regarding the content in the heart. To regard is to heed and observe according to Deut28:13 and this is what carries the blessings. Josiah loved the old path. We read that no king ever observed the Passover as he did;

2 Chronicles 35:18 “And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

Josiah did good jobs in the land. Unfortunately, his death was not of good report and this caused Jeremiah the prophet to lament over him. God can use anybody to carry out His assignment. Neco was the king of Egypt then and the Lord wanted to use him to fight Carchemish in Babylon He asked for favor to pass through Josiah’s jurisdiction, but Josiah, instead, went into war against him. Neco told Josiah that he was answering God’s calling but Josiah did not turn back from fighting him. This was what killed Josiah. The message of Neco to Josiah was this;

2 Chronicles 35:21 “But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not.”

This warning was clear enough. There are some things we need to know and understand about God; God is not a respecter of persons, He could use anybody for His work and He does not need anybody’s permission to call or send anyone on errand. However, any hindrance to His course could lead to self destruction just like Josiah. Neco was a gentile. Perhaps Josiah thought God has nothing to do with him being a gentile or it was not possible for God to relate with a gentile. The moon and the sun are over all people of the earth. Christians, pastors, bishops, overseers and superintendents who run down other callings are absolute doing the wrong work which is outside their assigned job. God does not need to contact or take permission from any of them before He assigns His job to another person. Whoever answers a calling is answerable to God only. Any ministry not under the administration of the Holy Spirit will not last. Josiah really did a good job but was not sensitive to God in another person’s ministry. All other kings after his untimely death did wrong in the sight of the Lord also and this led to their captivity in Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar;

2 Chronicles 36:20-21 “And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.”

It is a dangerous mission to stand against God’s course.

Let us seek for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. Our reading for today is Lamentation1-3. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.

2 Corinthians 3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

NOTE: THE LAMENTATION OF JEREMIAH AND THE PEOPLE OVER JOSIAH ISN’T THE SAME AS THE BOOK OF LAMENTATION.

Pastor Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries

Delaware, USA

Bible In One Year-Day 174 (Sunday, June 23, 2013)

Commentary: 2Chronicles31-33. Hezekiah was a man who had the zeal of the Lord just like his ancestor, David. He loved the Lord and the things of God. Hezekiah, as we read, was the first king who delighted in taking care of the priests and the Levites because he wanted them to do the work of God with the totality of the heart. He campaigned for their support;

2 Chronicles 31:4 “Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD. And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.”

Hezekiah made his people to be engaged in what is called deeds of faithfulness. Since God gave it as a commandment to bring their firstfruits, Hezekiah was the first king that enforced it on God’s people and the result was wonderful;

2 Chronicles 31:10 “And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the LORD hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store.”

God’s overflowing blessing is the first thing to point at in faithful tithing and firstfruits offerings. A firstfruits has been a controversial theme in Christendom. In clarifying this aspect, we need to first know that it was a commandment by God to the Israelites before they ever entered the Promised Land.

Exodus 23:16 “And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.”

Secondly, it is a faithful deed or a deed of faith. It shows how faithful you are to God, i.e. you are reliable, and God can trust you with His blessing. Whatever He gives you, you can easily do away with it to bless others. It is a sign of your giving attitude or involvement in charity, i.e. nothing can come between you and God. As a matter of fact, faith is the only thing you could use to honor God and faith is the only thing God honors in you;

Proverbs 3:9 “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:”

Therefore, thirdly, it is an act of honoring God through faith.  When you don’t give it, it means you are walking by sight, in the flesh and not by faith; you have idolized you money or produce. Also, it shows the position of God in your heart.

The forth thing about first-fruit is that it has no measure attached to it, i.e. it is invaluable. Rather, it is something you cherish most, the first harvest which you would have eaten or love to taste. For instance, if you have 10acres of farm, your first-fruit is not an acre; rather, it is what you would have taken as your first taste in a seating. I searched the scripture and found nowhere “a tenth” is attached to first-fruit or the totality of your harvest in terms of first-fruits. Only the tithe did the scripture indirectly attach a measure of a tenth. First-fruit, in essence, is to tell God that you gave Him the honor to have the first taste of your harvest, i.e. God first. It is the honor attached to it that matters. Therefore, in the beginning of every year, you need to give, qualitatively, to God without considering whatever the need on ground; this honors God as the first partaker of what you harvested. As for tithe, it is the tenth of what you worked for after tax and not after settling the debts you owe. These two deeds of faith should be done with all the heart just as Hezekiah did;

2 Chronicles 31:21 “And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.”

The first-fruit, fifthly, makes the whole harvest holy, i.e. it sanctifies every other harvest afterwards.

Romans 11:16 “For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.”

The writing on the theme “Tithes and First-fruits” is beyond the scope of this medium. However, I need to let you know that this is based on what is seen in the light of the scripture. Your Pastor might have his or her own interpretation about it. In whichever way, make sure it is done in the faithfulness and integrity of the heart.

Through Adam, law of sin and death took mankind captive, but through Christ there is resurrection into life. Christ is the first-fruit in resurrection, but at His coming those who are His will be harvested. Christ being the first-fruit, made us to be holy as a lump unto the Lord. Therefore, our holiness and righteousness are not our doing but what Christ did for us; a perfected work.

1 Corinthians 15:23 “But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.”

This is why holiness is absolutely important in a Christian’s life.

Let us seek for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. Our reading for today is 2Chronicles34-36. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Leviticus 23:10 “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:”

James 1:18 “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

Pastor Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries

Delaware, USA

Bible In One Year-Day 173 (Saturday, June 22, 2013)

Commentary: 2Chronicles28-30. Hezekiah became king after His father, Ahaz, died. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord. He repaired the abandoned altar and temple of the Lord and evangelized all cities for repentance and returning to the Lord. It seemed Hezekiah knew how to use letters to reach out. He loved the Lord with the whole of his heart and supervised sanctification of the priests and Levites before carrying out their duty as commanded by God through Moses. This is because he knew God is Holy and must be approached in holiness of heart and appearance. The closeness of Hezekiah to God made him not to tarry too long before the Lord in receiving answers to his requests;

2 Chronicles 30:20 And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.

He was a good intercessor who carried other peoples’ burdens to the Lord. In his reign and due to the work he did, the joy that was never experienced since the reign of Solomon, was experienced;

2 Chronicles 30:26-27 “So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem. Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto heaven.”

When we return to the Lord with a repentant heart, His love changes us and we are able to appreciate Him better. His love makes all things new and old things becomes testimonies. There is always this unusual joy and peace within that cannot be explained.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Perhaps you have been told or taught about what it looks like to experience God’s love, this is not enough as for you to really experience Him. To experience Him, we need to repair the damage temple and altar just as Hezekiah did.

Let us seek for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. Our reading for today is 2Chronicles31-33. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Pastor Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries

Delaware, USA

Bible In One Year-Day 172 (Friday, June 21, 2013)

Commentary: 2Chronicles25-27. Amaziah became king after his father, Joash, was assassinated. The first job he did on resuming duty was to take revenge on those who killed his father. His life followed the trend of his ancestors; started well with the Lord but ended without Him. He went to war and brought the gods of his enemies that couldn’t rescue the enemy and he was worshipping it. I couldn’t imagine such bewitchment. But the truth is that there was an evil power in his father’s house that caused him to do that. God, in his infinite mercy still sent a prophet to warn him, but he scolded the prophet.;

2 Chronicles 25:14-15 “Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them. Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand?”

Amaziah forsook the Lord that helped him in the first part of his reign and he lost his fame, the loyalty and confidence of his subjects and, of course, life;

2 Chronicles 25:27 “Now after the time that Amaziah did turn away from following the LORD they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent to Lachish after him, and slew him there.”

This was the trend in the life of his son, Uzziah, who died of leprosy because his heart was lifted against the Lord after God exalted him.

Many follow this manner of behavior; their hearts become lifted up after elevation. Such was the heart of Lucifer. Many lose focus on God after promotion. Uzziah prospered exceedingly in the Lord to the point that people brought tributes to him;

2 Chronicles 26:8 “And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he strengthened himself exceedingly.”

Unfortunately, his end was not a testimony but a shame and ridicule.

Beloved, we need to learn from these kings and humble ourselves the higher we go. The devil is also a patient foe; he holds back for some times and watch for our hearts. We could realize that these kings overcame the devil in the first parts of their reign because they loved God and held unto His instructions. But on attaining the height of divine elevation, their hearts were harvested by the devil. One of the greatest weapons in the hand of Satan is promotion. If he sees that you pray hard and couldn’t stop you, he could be very patient with you to attain that exalted seat before striking. He played the prank on Jesus but he failed;

Matthew 4:8-11 “Again, the demon taketh him up upon an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, And saith to him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus to him, Be gone, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the demon leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.”

Your achievement in life should not be your focus; your focus, rather, should be God’s final marking. The best way to know if Satan is already working is when pride takes over. Without any contradiction, pride is the fire that lights the candle of anger; too big to be insulted, disregarded, called names or to talk about. In most cases, you see people who love to introduce themselves; this is pride. When you feel too big to be offended then pride has taken over. Pride is self-decoration and it so does it that it looks very beautiful to the carrier; he or she is always right and always on the defensive side. Such corrects others but never wanted to be corrected; this is pride. The devil’s mission is for people to rise so high that the fall would be so resounding. Dear readers of the scripture, the more you realize God’s grace in your life the more you have to pray for humbleness of heart. You need to cry to God to renew your corrupted soul. This was David’s cry.

Psalms 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” He wanted God’s help because he knew he had a corrupted soul. The Psalmist further declared to the Lord;

Psalms 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Let us learn to guide our hearts more when we start receiving the result of our hearts desires.

Let us seek for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. Our reading for today is 2Chronicles28-30. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Pastor Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries

Delaware, USA