Bible In One Year-Day 169 (Wednesday, June 18, 2014)

Commentary: 2Chronicles16-18. King Asa happened to be the great grandson of King Solomon. Since the reigns of Solomon, the evil trend has been for them to start well but end badly. Asa was not exempted. He had rest in the first 36 years of his reign because his heart was loyal to the Lord and he trusted Him for victory on different occasions;

2 Chronicles 14:6 “And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.”

A particular scenario was his battle with the Ethiopians. His men of war were just one third of the Ethiopians’ yet he defeated them because God was with him. God made reference to this when Asa erred in his decision (2Chronicles16:8). Prior to this, God had sent His prophet, Azariah, to him to inform him that he should let his heart remain steadfast in Him. The Test of his faith came when Baasha, king of Israel, came against him. Unfortunately, Asa forgot the goodness of the Lord to him which he was enjoying and he sought for help from a wrong place. This brought problem into his life which lingered for five years until he died;

2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.”

Unfortunately, with all he went through in the last days of his life he did not seek the Lord.

2 Chronicles 16:12 “And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.”

Ordinarily we would say he was right for seeking the physicians, but the truth is that the sickness was not what a physician could take care of because it was a spiritual issue. What he needed was to repent and be healed. Since the Bible referred to him not seeking the Lord, it means the solution to his malady was in seeking the mercy of God. Where you seek for help matters, however difficult it is; battles that defy medical assistance could spring up from there. The people we associate with also matters. If God is not happy with such and you enter into agreement with them, it can withdraw the hand of God. The chapter Satan opened in the last days of Asa’s life was not a good one. When we sin against God, we should not run away from Him but run back to Him;

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Through repentance, Satan’s hold is destroyed. David knew the secret; the devil was defeated in the last days of his 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 2Chronicles19-21. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Bible In One Year-Day 168 (Tuesday, June 17, 2014)

Commentary: 2Chronicles13-15. Abijah, the great grandson of Solomon, became king after the death of his father, Rehoboam. He inherited two battles; foundational battle and the battle with Israel (Political feud). He was victorious in the latter but lost the battle in the former. Uncontrollable sexual demon was in his foundation;

2 Chronicles 13:21 “But Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters.”

He invested God’s blessing into sin. His strength was linked with promiscuity.

The account of Abijah’s battle with Jeroboam was a miraculous victory in his favor, though Jeroboam still outlived him. Only chapter13 talked about him in this book. His speech showed that he trusted in the Lord God of Israel but there was no record of worship or any form of dedicated devotion to Him. He probably used religion to fight a political battle. Many are using religion to fight foundational battle which cannot work. The wisdom in his victory was in allowing the right weapon to be in the hand of the right people; the TRUMPET of deliverance and victory was in the hand of the priests, 1Chron16:42/23:30/25:1&3. When the trumpet was sounded, it was a cry of mercy unto the Lord and execution of prophetic judgment upon the adversary.

Psalms 149:5-9 “Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand;To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.”

Sounding a trumpet of praise is a form of executing the “written judgment”. There is power in praises. Abijah had half the number of Jeroboam’s men of war. We could recall that Jeroboam was an army general during the reign of Solomon (1Kings11:28). Though Jeroboam was older and more experienced, but Abijah used the right weapon and people. The experience of Jeroboam was in good order; battle in the front and at the back;

2 Chronicles 13:13 “But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them.”

Abijah’s victory was of the Lord’s mercy;

2 Chronicles 13:14 “And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind: and they cried unto the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.”

This is war between the experience of man (or skill) and God’s mercy. Peter found himself in this situation. Jesus gave him instruction on how to catch fish, he argued with Jesus that he had experience in catching fish. But when he submitted to God’s way, his life took a total turn around. It is not about age, education, experience, etc but about total yielding to the way of the Lord. The Psalmist asked God to teach him His way and lead him in His path.

Psalms 27:11 “Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.”

Are you facing an all round battle? Remember the weapon of praises. I adopt this song for your consideration;

CHORUS
Bigger than all my problems, Bigger than all my fears
God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see
Bigger than all my questions, Bigger than anything
God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see

Verse 1
Bigger than all the shadows that fall across my back
God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see
Bigger than all the confusion, Bigger than anything
God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see

Verse 2
Bigger than all the giants, fear and unbelief
God is bigger than any mountain I can or cannot see
Bigger than all my hang-ups, Bigger than anything
God is bigger than any mountain that I can or cannot see

Anyone who fights someone who praises God with the heart is fighting God. Abijah knew the written judgment and he declared it to Jeroboam.

2 Chronicles 13:12 “And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.”

What Abijah did was what Joshua did to pull down the wall of Jericho; the power of praise and trust in the Lord.

2 Chronicles 13:15 “Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.”

The use of the Trumpet of deliverance is like the barking of a toothless and clawless dog letting the landlord know of the impending danger at the corner. When you pray, you are in battle with the enemy on the ground level, but when you praise the Lord, you are lifted to higher level of honor as the psalmist made us to know. Abijah TRUSTED and PRAISED the Lord in a life threatening battle. These two are part of God’s armor which we could use against invading enemy. However, the enemy that was already seated at Abijah’s foundation was an issue that needed to be dealt with. This is the type of enemy that prays with us, fasts and breaks fast with us; inherited disease. This enemy is not outside but within. Such enemy supervises evil pattern of the family in terms of sicknesses, errors, marital woes and tragedies. Deliverance is needed in such cases. I want us know a truth about bondage before the issue of deliverance;

2 Peter 2:19 “… for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.”

When one is in bondage, it means the person has been overcome and therefore powerless; otherwise, such wouldn’t have gone into bondage in the first place. To break free from this bondage, such needs help from a stronger power, not to appease to the binding power but to break the yoke and set the captive free. This is the teaching of Jesus Christ.

Luke 11:22 “But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.”

Therefore, when you stand on deliverance ground, you are joining your faith with the calling of the man of God to break the yoke. In John5:5-9, Jesus asked the sick “do you want to be made well?” His eventual agreement with Jesus made him free from 38years bondage. Jesus is the greatest deliverer; He works through the anointing of His elects in whose hands are the trumpets of deliverance. That trumpet shall sound in your situation in the name of Jesus and you shall testify shortly. However, let us trust in His name and stay away from every form of iniquity; this was the defeat of Jeroboam. Sin is a defeat (1John3:8); we need to stand against it in the name of Jesus.

1 John 3:8 “He that committeth sin is of the demon; for the demon sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the demon.”

To overcome sin, you can’t do it on your own but in the light of the Holy Spirit. If one is not delivered from this foundational bondage, one cannot be a real Christian but a religious person who goes by the law. Foundational battle makes our service to the Lord so religious and pulls us back into besetting sin. It weakens our devotion to the Lord even if we declare our allegiance to Him like Abijah did. Foundational bondage prays, fasts and breaks fasts with us; the yoke must be broken in the name of Jesus, otherwise, our worship and services become religious exercises without touching the spirit.

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 2Chronicles16-18. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Bible In One Year-Day 167 (Monday, June 16, 2014)

Commentary: 2Chronicles10-12. After Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam reigned in his place. The first error he made was that he listened to the wrong counsel and ignored the profitable ones. This error resulted in the division of the kingdom. He did not offend God in this wise but he displeased the people of Shechem. A revolt led by Jeroboam caused secession to form the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Two tribes were left behind as Judah; Judah and Benjamin. Jeroboam was the Army commander under the reign of Solomon;

1 Kings 11:28 “And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.”

He fled to Egypt when Solomon wanted to kill him only to return when he heard that Solomon was dead and his son reigned in his place. Rehoboam wanted to claim the Northen kingdom back from Jeroboam, but the Lord stopped him and made him to know that it was His doing. The word of God shall ever be true and fulfilled;

1 Kings 11:29-31 “And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:”

Jeroboam was highly favored in this wise. Unfortunately, he messed this grace up eventually. The first error was to reject the ordinance of the Lord concerning priesthood;

2 Chronicles 11:14 “For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the LORD:”

Secondly, he built demonic altars and made Israel to sin against the Lord (verse 15).

These two characters teach some lessons. Though it did not augur well with Rehoboam because of the secession and the invasion by the King of Egypt, he still obeyed the voice of the Lord which was spoken by the mouth of Prophet Shemaiah on the two occasions; this was a credit to him. We could see allegiance to God’s word in him. Unfortunately, there was a problem in his root which he needed deliverance from; inherited infidelity or sexual promiscuity. This was started by Judah, his ancestor;

Genesis 38:16 “And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?”

The evil river flowed down to David, his grandfather, who killed a man to take his man’s wife. Solomon excelled in this evil trend and remained unrivaled with hundreds of wives and concubines. Now, Rehoboam was caught up with this evil spirit;

2 Chronicles 11:21 “And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; and begat twenty and eight sons, and threescore daughters.)”

Not only did he acquire many wives and concubines for himself, he sought many wives for his children as well, 2Chronicles11:23. The problem Solomon ran into through women, he also had the same problem; this is what is known as evil inheritance.

His beginning was good but the evil flow in his root rubbished his ending;

2 Chronicles 12:14 “And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.”

Do you notice any evil trend in your root or any evil pattern in your family? You need to stop it before it stops you; seek for deliverance. Without deliverance one cannot be a good Christian, or worship the Lord in spirit and truth. Without deliverance one cannot practice holiness, the yardstick of seeing the Lord. Without deliverance one cannot retain any testimony for a long time because the evil spirit will shake it off.

2 Corinthians 7:1 “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

One could become a slave to this if one is overcome by this evil flow;

2 Peter 2:19 “…, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.”

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 2Chronicles13-15. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Obadiah 1:17 “But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.”

Bible In One Year-Day 166 (Sunday, June 15, 2014

2Chronicles7-9. When Solomon took up the task to build the temple of God, he followed the following sequence;

a)     Laid the foundation as it was handed over to him by his father, David (2Chr3),

b)     Ensured the structures are put in place, chapter4 (reparation, repentance and restitution),

c)     Ensured the proper furnishing of the Temple, chapter5 (use the word of God to nourish your soul),

d)     praises, prayer and supplication, chapter6 (habitual praises and prayer in the new nature in Christ)

The result was unimaginable; fire fell.

2 Chronicles 7:1 “Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house.”

Our Christian life should follow that sequence as in the parenthesis above; justification, repentance, sanctification and disciplined life; this leads to a life full of the fragrance/ savour of His glory;

2 Corinthians 2:14 “Now thanks be to God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour(or fragrance) of his knowledge by us in every place.”

When we allow our lives to follow this sequence, we will not live a religious life but Christ Himself is built in us.

2 Corinthians 2:15 “For we are to God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:”

Prayer is just an aspect of fellowshipping with God and not the totality. There are things that hinder answers to prayers;

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

From this passage, pride of the heart tops the list and what God desires is humbleness of heart. A man could be proud and not know. He would rather think he is trying to ensure equity and justice; this is the work of the flesh. Only God could expose such demon. From pride other vices spring up which are also listed in the passage. Lack of prayer is next to pride and its root is in pride. For somebody to lead a congregation in powerful prayers does not mean that is the person’s private life. The next is not seeking the face of the Lord genuinely; rather, people seek miracles. Many stand in the place of prayer but their hearts are far away from where they stand. The Spirit of God revealed this to us by the mouth of Prophet Isaiah;

Isaiah 29:13 “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men (religious activities as taught by men):”

They receive prayer points but their hearts are far from whom they are praying to; rather they are thinking of how to use the testimony to satisfy the lust of the flesh. This is where Satan comes in to take advantage of such. He gives them the smell of breakthrough knowing that they will drift away from God when they have it. So many testimonies are not really from God. Any testimony that takes you far from God is not from God but satanic gimmick to divert the path of righteousness. But God’s testimony will take you closer to God. Jesus gave a clue to where our hearts should go;

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Our duty is to seek the face of God and His righteousness and God’s duty is to reward us in healing, deliverance and other splendors. Unfortunately, we seek the additions by all means. This is why most are always going back to square one.

The last thing mentioned is “turn from their wicked ways”. This simply means repent, make a U-turn from your own ways which are destructive. Such wicked ways are as stated in;

Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The result of Solomon’s prayers and dedication was announced all over the world. This attracted Queen of Sheba in chapter9.

2 Chronicles 9:3-4 “And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, … there was no more spirit in her.”

When she saw the Temple and Solomon’s wisdom, she ‘fainted’, i.e. amazed (2Chron9:4 “no more spirit in her”). We are able to get result only if we make our ways right and be in order as Solomon was;

2 Chronicles 8:16 “Now all the work of Solomon was prepared (or well-ordered) unto (from) the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected.”

You are the temple of God; you must be constantly cleaned or refreshed by the WORD of God and perfected by the Spirit of God in you. To pray hard is not the same as to pray fervently (glowingly). One can pray very hard but without the required fire. Fervent prayer takes root in God’s word and carries the fire of faith; this is what moves mountains.

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 2Chronicles10-12. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Bible In One Year-Day 165 (Saturday, June 14, 2014)

Commentary: 2Chronicles4-6. Solomon was committed to building the temple of the Lord. The foundation was laid in chapter3 and the structures put in place in chapter4. He furnished it with all the materials David his father had provided and dedicated in chapter5 (1-10). When all these were put in place, the priest completed their task in the Holy of holies; the Levites started their prophetic (i.e. spirit filled) praise. As we discussed earlier in 1Chron25, genuine praises that brings down the glory of God must be inspired by the Spirit of God; the Spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus, John16:13-15. The praises they offered here in chapter5 brought down the glory of God because it was inspired by the Spirit of God. Solomon only prayed after seeing the glory of God. This is the essence of praise and worship in the house of God. It is pathetic that many don’t know the essence and purpose of this aspect of fellowshipping with God. Ignorance of this is what makes them to get late to church. And when they get to church after praise and worship, they are in a hurry to live thinking that prayer has been said. It isn’t like that, beloved. Note that praise was offered and the glory filled the temple. You are the temple of the Holy Spirit, when you praise God, His glory fills you and prepare you for other activities. The prayers that you pray after that carries faith because the Holy Spirit has filled you with His glory and power;

Romans 8:27 “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will ofGod.”

The Holy Spirit prepares the heart for the prayer of faith. Imagine the contents of the prayer of Solomon in;

2 Chronicles 6:29-30 “Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house:Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:)”

This is the reason why some get the answers and miracles to their heart cry faster than some other ones even though they prayed the same prayer. We could gather together for prayer but we receive answers differently. Instead of the heart being filled with the testimony of Jesus (the spirit of prophecy which talks to our heart and builds our faith), it is filled with negative thoughts and other discouraging activities because it was not prepared.

Another lesson is that there is a glory that goes with praises and there is another that goes with other activities in a service. You never know which could break the yoke you have been crying to God for. And the devil who is very wicked knows how to make one miss it.

The manner of prayer is worth considering. Solomon started by quoting God’s promises. By doing this, the faithfulness of God was challenged. This is in line with what God says in His word;

Isaiah 45:11 “Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.” (also Psalm105:5).

Psalms 105:5 “Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;”

Take His promises and past works to Him and let Him know you trust in His faithfulness and not in your ability to pray or fast. The centurion let Jesus know that he trusted in His word and Jesus was challenged.

After this he started making his requests known. First, he used God’s promises (God’s word) as basis for his faith. If your faith is not based on the word of God, prayers withers easily and does not go beyond the ceiling, i.e. it is not efficient. It is the Spirit in the word that carries your prayer to the throne of grace where mercy releases answers. Second, his prayers were centered on righteousness of heart and not with a set mind (2Chron6:38-39). These two are the pillars of unabated and efficient prayers; faith and right mind, i.e. righteousness of heart.

Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Psalms 102:17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.

To be destitute is to be naked before God, nothing hidden from him. Whenever you stand to pray, learn to be a destitute like the man in Luke18:10-14. God reads and listens to the voice of your heart and not your appearance. Praises prepares the heart to receive from 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 2Chronicles7-9. Keep the fire burning and alive.