Bible In One Year-Day 191 (Wednesday, July 10, 2013)

Commentary: Zechariah9-11. These chapters actually contain the message of Zechariah to the people. In the message, God’s intention for their future was revealed and those who were still in Babylon were advised to come back to Jerusalem.

Zechariah 9:12 “Turn you (i.e. return or come back) to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee;”

Though some past experiences were referenced in his message, but clearly they were to remind the people of God’s faithfulness. Some threats of judgment were in it but promises were not left out. God’s chastisement is to show His love for us; even in that chastisement, He is still faithful. He chastised the Judeans to restore them in a better form; God’s chastisement is to bring you back to the right path. He does not chastise to destroy or kill but to reform and transform.

Lam3:22-23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (ESV)

God showed His loving kindness to His people and protected them in their chastisement.

Psalms 78:38 “But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.”

God is Love and all about Him is the expression of His love, even, the troubles we go through in which it seems He is silent or unable to deliver. May His grace be sufficient for us in the name of Jesus.

Psalms 27:10 “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.”

When you sin against the Lord, do not run away from Him but run to Him; this was what made the difference between David and Saul. David knew the heart of God (love) but Saul was short of this because the light of God’s love could not reach his heart. Beloved, even in our difficult times, let us realize God’s faithfulness is unfailing; He cares for 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 Zechariah12-14. 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 190 (Tuesday, July 09, 2013)

Commentary: Zech5-8. Zechariah saw three visions which were in parables, Zech5&6. In the first place, he did not understand either of them until the Angel of the Lord explained them to him. Dreams come in this manner. Lack of understanding of our dreams made a lot to lose the best of their lives and the knowledge of the will of God for their lives. In understanding our dreams we need the Holy Spirit for the interpretation. The first vision of Zechariah was about the flying scroll which contains two curses; one against the thief (Ex20:15) and the other against false swearing and using the name of God in vain (Ex20:7). These are terrible sins before the Lord. Stealing what belongs to others is like killing them, while using the name of God in vain is identifying God with Satan. The house where such violators live is not safe to live in, because the stones and the wood used in constructing it is cursed also. This could pose a problem to any tenant that eventually live in such a house.

Zechariah 5:4 “I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.”

The actions under these curses were violations of the Ten Commandments. Sin is an act of wickedness against the Lord.

The second vision has to do with the basket of sin in which wickedness is covered up and is personated as a woman sitting in the basket. The basket was carried back to Shinar (Babylonia), where it came from. When you become born again, the first evidence of it is that sin becomes alien in your land. The people thought they could fast and mourn to cover up their sinful acts, but God corrected them.

Zechariah 7:5 “Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?”

God’s preference is obedience to His word. Fasting does not change Him, but should break the bands of wickedness and the power of sin.

Zechariah 7:7 “Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?”

Obedience to the word of God brings Him into our words. Demons mock the disobedient Christians who pray in the name of Jesus. The delight of God is for us to have a wonderful relationship with human beings.

Zechariah 7:8-10 “And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.”

God’s rules concerning the relationship between one another have not changed. He gave us His Holy Spirit to accomplish all that was difficult for man to achieve through the flesh. All you need to do is to be submissive to His leading and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

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 Zechariah9-11. 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 189 (Monday, July 08, 2013)

Commentary: Zech1-4. Prophets Zechariah and Haggai were contemporaries in the first return of the Jews. Zechariah’s message from that Lord to the Jews was full of God’s promises to restore them after the rebuilding of the walls and the gates. The Lord’s restoration centered on spiritual and agricultural abundance; they were going to have a renewed experience of God’s presence. This was necessary because they lived a filthy life while in exile. But their liberty was a form of deliverance, mercy and cleansing. Satan came to accuse Joshua the high priest of his past but God stood as an Attorney to defend him, Zech3:1-5.

Salvation came through Jesus.

Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Jesus came to redeem us from the curse of the law and by His blood we are cleansed.

Zechariah was wearing a filthy garment without knowing. There are two types of spiritual garments; that of salvation and that of righteousness.

Isaiah 61:10 “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”

Your conversion earns you salvation, but you need to grow in grace by the Spirit of Christ to be clothed in His righteousness. The Ten virgins were Christians who experienced salvation together, i.e. they had the garments of salvation. But those with oil (a symbol of the Holy Spirit) were recognized as having the garment of righteousness because they paid some price to store up treasure for sustaining the light which they received at the time of their salvation and therefore qualified to enter the kingdom. At the time of giving your life to Christ, your spirit, which is the candle of man (Prov20:27) receives light from the Spirit of God.

Psalms 18:28 “For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.”

However, there is a price you must pay to sustain the glowing of the light otherwise the lamp will gradually be going out, just as it was in the time of Eli and Samuel (1Sam3:1-4). Eli did not know because his eyes were going so dim. If you pay more attention to the intensity of the light in you, you will know that the lamp needs refilling. The careless person will not pay attention to that, not to talk of having any reserve. To store up oil, you need to pay for it. To sustain the light you receive at salvation you need some spiritual sacrifices to make which are the prices you pay; praying, fasting, studying the word of God and walking in the spirit. These are what the Holy Spirit use to grow you into Christ likeness which qualifies you for the robe of righteousness. Garment of Salvation is a gift but you will have to work for that of righteousness as a reward; gift is different from reward. According to Matthew6:33, you must seek for ‘righteousness’

The presence of the Holy Spirit is the presence of heavenly nature, i.e. the righteousness of God. You need to maintain the relationship with Him, but to do that, there is a price to pay. To have Him, let your heart be opened to Him and the word of God to continually illuminate it. That is the only way to enjoy the fullness of Christ’s salvation.

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 Zechariah5-8. 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 188 (Sunday, July 07, 2013)

Commentary: Haggai1-2. Haggai was a prophet amongst the first set of the Jews that returned from exile under the leadership of Zerubbabel;

Ezra 5:1 “Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.”

He was a motivator and an encourager in God. When the Jews faced serious oppositions in building the walls and the gates, they were frustrated and they gave up building the project. They faced their personal affairs and abandoned the Lord’s temple. They were living in nice buildings while the temple was in ruins;

Haggai 1:4-5 “Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.”

God further made them realize that the measure of their works was higher than the measure of their gain just because they neglected the most important thing. This neglect resulted into closed heaven and unyielding land;

Haggai 1:9-10 “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.”

Haggai was raised by God to preach wake-up sermons in four stages; renewed vision, holiness of life, courage and faith in God. He rounded up with the Lord’s mind to endorse Zerubbabel as a symbol of authority to the people;

Haggai 2:23 “In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.”

God’s project in our dispensation is care for the needy and the poor, Matt25:31-46; this is Jesus’ standard. Amassing wealth without taking care of the needy is not Jesus’ standard. Your substance is to be used to honor Him by giving out. The ruler thought that he measured up to standard by obeying the law, but when Jesus told him the pre-requisite for perfection before God, he was sorrowful.

Mark 10:21 “Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said to him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.”

Jesus loved him and because of the love for him, Jesus had to correct him so that he wouldn’t have followed the law in vain. The man’s wealth had taking over his soul and if he had to follow Jesus, the wealth must be disposed first. No one follows Jesus with material things as the major thing in the heart. Making money to lay treasure for the future is a pitiful phenomenon. Christians should not do that. Christians should be generous in their giving and sharing to the glory of God. It is scriptural to honor God with our substance;

Proverbs 3:9-10 “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”

Those who don’t give their tithes, offerings and firstfruits are only dishonoring God and, of course, reducing themselves. The scripture says by doing this, i.e. giving, your barns shall be filled with plenty beyond your bargain. If you desire the treasure in heaven, your heart will not be stuck to the treasure on earth which cannot stand the test of time. Be a giver! The Jews had beautiful houses to live in but there was not peace or satisfaction in them just because they abandoned God’s project for their personal business. Consider God first, beloved, and He will consider you first; though His love is unfailing.

Ephesians 5:1-2 “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”

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 Zechariah1-4. 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 187 (Saturday, July 6, 2013)

Commentary: Esther7-10. The defeat of Haman started in chapter6 as we discussed in the last commentary. But to properly understand and enjoy this battle between Haman and the Jews, we need to dig a little bit into history. We need to check their various ancestries.

When Balaam was hired by Balak to curse Israel, after much efforts, he realized that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as he used to go about it to curse, rather he approached God in another form and the Spirit of God rested on him and a prophecy came out of his mouth;

Numbers 24:5-7 “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.”

This prophecy was of the battle that was to be between Jacob and Agag in the future. One of the descendants of Jacob was Benjamin.

Kish was also a descendant of Benjamin. Here is also what we have to know about Saul;

1 Samuel 9:1 “Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.”

But King Saul went into war with the Amalekites and captured King Agag alive, 1Sam15. The battle was instigated by the Lord as Samuel told Saul earlier that God wanted him to do it to punish the Amalekites. Unfortunately, Saul spared King Agag even after killing other Amalekites. Agag was actually the strong man of the Amalekites that was supposed to be destroyed first. He spared the good things also and this angered that Lord to the point that He told Samuel that He regretted ever choosing Saul as king over Israel. That which Saul spared grew and multiplied to become the problem of Mordecai, Esther and the Jews.

Mordecai and Esther were Benjamites;

Esther 2:5 Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;

The father of Kish was a descendant of King Jehoiachin who was exiled in Babylon, 2Kings24:6-16. Kish could probably be the ancestor of both Saul and Mordecai. Nonetheless, most importantly, all of them were Benjamites.

Haman was an Agagite;

Esther 3:1 “After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.”

Haman became a seed of revenge against the Jews due to the battle between their ancestors. This is what we call generational battle.

In essence, there was a prophecy in Jacob, fulfilled by Saul, a Benjamite and the revenge invoked in Mordecai. But then, God being a faithful God, His word still prevailed. He said in Num24:7 “… and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.” The word of God shall always prevail. Ancestral battle is real and to overcome it, you need go into spiritual warfare against the strong man behind it. If Saul had totally carried out what God committed into his hand, Mordecai and the Jews wouldn’t have had such problems. Esther was not a manipulator but a prayer warrior who believed in spiritual warfare. Haman fell and his advisers said Esther 6:13 “… Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him, If Mordecai be of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.”

The fall of Haman was because a law was established in prophecy that the lineage of Agag would never prevail over the lineage of Israel. However, it does not leave prayer and fasting out of the way. God gives prophecies but prayer and fasting makes it real, i.e. makes it come to be fulfilled. Mordecai, Esther and the other Jews faced what is known as Ancient Battle. Jesus is our deliverer and has given the prophecy that need to be enforced through prayer and fasting with a pure heart;

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

If the prophecy of Balaam came to pass then we shouldn’t doubt Jesus’ word; He gave the word to Balaam by His Spirit. He is faithful. If you have the faith in Jesus, let it be the foundation of your prayer and fasting. This is what makes our prayers to be effectual and fervent, i.e. faith in His words. Resting and trusting in the word of God will strengthen you against every ancient spiritual Agag troubling your life. Psalm119 is an awesome chapter to read to understand the power in word of God.

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 Haggai1-2. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Pastor Supo Abayode

+1-302-230-6792

Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries

Delaware, USA