Bible In One Year-Day39 (Saturday, February 08, 2014)

Commentary: Luke16-18. The book of Luke has been quite interesting so far and a good minister of God and all genuine believers should look deeply into it. Jesus’ worst ministry enemies were not those outside but those who had the scriptures at source; the Pharisees, teachers, scribes and lawyers. These were the guys who loved good appellations, they believe in self righteousness and justification. At any gathering, they want to be recognized, they love the best places to sit where people could see. Going to a bible college to acquire biblical knowledge is not anointing, rather, it is to boost brain power. Anointing teaches and reveals the truth; inspiration. Anointing gives real-time information.

1 John 2:27 “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”

In essence, one could have a Ph.D in bible knowledge but without the revelation knowledge of the reality of God. Without anointing, one could be an award earner in wrong teaching, i.e. Phylosophies. The Pharisees had this knowledge but demons were comfortable while they taught in the Synagogue. But when Jesus taught under the power of anointing of the Holy Spirit, demons were uncomfortable.

Luke 4:33& 36 “And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean demon, and cried out with a loud voice, … And they were all amazed, and spoke among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.”

The Pharisees have the knowledge of the scripture but no revelation of what the scripture says; this is WOE!!! They mixed the resources of the knowledge of God’s word with the love for money. Know something beloved, knowledge is good but it is not the ultimate.

Proverbs 4:7 “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

Only the Holy Spirit gives understanding, i.e. light, of the scripture (Isaiah11:2). The presence of a spirit in knowledge is the power of the knowledge. Any knowledge that touches people listening, positively or negatively, has a spirit behind it. In the case of the Pharisees and co, Lk16:14 tells what spirit was behind their knowledge and that was why they deceived a lot of people in order to earn respect and worship from men. Comparing this to Jesus’ word in John6:63, when the Holy Spirit rests on you, He uses your knowledge in the word of God to work as the word of God is the sword of the Spirit; He gives life to the word. The Holy Spirit gives the understanding of the revealed word. It is absolutely ominous to go into ministry without the fullness of the Spirit of your assignment in the vineyard because you will meet the Pharisees and co in it and they will challenge your knowledge and authority to the core. Jesus did not run away from them. He even dined with them, but because of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, he knew the intents of their hearts and that was the defeat of the Pharisees and co each time they confronted Him. Remember that Jesus was led to the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tested by Satan. Satan used the ‘word’ to test Jesus, but the Holy Spirit was there to raise a standard against the devil.

Luke 12:12 “For the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.”

Which means that it is the Holy Spirit that suggests what to do and say and not you showing off.

Isaiah 59:19 “So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”

A preacher or evangelist who has not the Spirit that searches the heart of the audience will not have the correct word to preach. The Spirit moves, searches the heart and then picks the right word from the knowledge bank to pierce that heart and releases power into it. Please carefully go through these scriptures in order; 1Cor2:10, Eph6:17 and Heb4:12. The words of Jesus gave the Pharisees tough times. Their protests were as a result of the discomfort Jesus’ words gave them. They were only trying to protect their prestige and self justification before men, Lk16:15.

Luke 16:15 “And he said to them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”

When the word of God is sugarcoated, it loses its power and the glory in it is affected. Our resource is the word of God. The messages in Lk16 reflect on the management of these resources. Jesus did not face the Pharisees and co to teach them this management because they were operating under another spirit but He faced His disciples who will soon receive the true riches; the gift of the Spirit of God. However, the splash of His word hit the Pharisees. A good reflection of Jesus’ teaching on management is that of the rich man and Lazarus. The revealed truth of this aspect will be heavier than this piece of article. Meanwhile, the little part of it is that there were two ‘Pastors’ represented in the parable; Pastor Richman and Pastor Dog. Pastor Richman had resources but used it to build a fence round himself to shield the assignment of God (which is Lazarus discomfort) away from getting to him. Pastor Dog on the other hand was compassionate on Lazarus and therefore carried out its ministerial duty by licking the wounds of Lazarus; i.e. (Matt12:34) he compassionately engaged in the assignment of God. THIS IS LOVE. Lazarus is the assignment. The tongue of the dog gave comfort to Lazarus. Believers having the Spirit of God should comfort the discomforted and not use the resources given to them for self comfort just like the rich man. The Holy Spirit is the Kingdom of God we need to seek for, and this is what will bring in other things, Matt6:33. The rich man bought earthly comfort for himself with God’s resources at the detriment of eternal comfort. An attribute of a Pharisee is described in Lk18:9.

Luke 18:9 “And he spoke this parable to certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:”

Because of this, Jesus gave the parable on prayer. Humility, purity of heart and faith are not negotiable when you stand to pray. May the Lord shine His light brighter in our souls in Jesus name, AMEN!!!. Prayer: Lord, increase our faith (Lk17:5). Next mile on the trip is Lk19-21. Keep the fire burning and alive. Spread the gospel of JESUS!!!

Bible In One Year-Day 38 (Friday, February 07, 2014)

Commentary: Lk13-15. As we have seen, so far, concerning the relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees, it was full of contentions and so it is till now. The Pharisees had the thought of knowing all and they always chose the best places. I always wonder why Christ was so interactive with them. Jesus spoke of self righteousness because they thought they are better than whoever evil falls upon. He spoke of hypocrites because they taught what they never practiced. He talked about the narrow way and emphasized that we need to strive to enter through it and that many who thought they are qualified will eventually realize that they had worked iniquity all along. Jesus made us to understand that there shall be surprises on that day; there shall be gnashing of teeth.

Luke 13:28 “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.”

He told them all these because He tried to invite the Pharisees, the priests, the learned and the rich, but they wouldn’t accept His invitation. He tried to make them see the light but they said they had the light. He tried to heal their blindness but they said they could see.

John 9:41 “Jesus said to them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.”

However, the poor and the outcast came to honor the invitation to the banquet of salvation. He talked about humility and the promotion waiting for the humble. Jesus taught us how to celebrate a feast; remember the destitutes. Jesus told us how excuses could banish people out of the table of victory and salvation. Luke14::26-35 gives the pre-requisites for a disciple of Jesus. We all know that father, mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters take a great proportion of our love life. It does not imply that they should be regarded as outcasts but what He is saying is that the love you have for these ones should not affect your dedication and devotion to Him so as not to pose any form of excuse. The work of God demands total attention. In His explanation, He even made us to understand that you need to weigh the devotion to God and love for the family. There are three things that are lost in Lk15; lost sheep, lost coin and lost son. These are three types of sinners. The lost sheep are those who went astray into the world. It is possible for someone to be in the church and still be lost; this is an example of a lost coin. If you lost a coin within your apartment, it can take months for you to find it. You need careful searching to find it. You need a lamp to search. A lost person in the church could be difficult to find because you might be judging him by the works and not by the heart as no man can see the heart (Jer17:9-10). An Evangelist could easily find a lost sheep, but it will take the light of the Holy Spirit to search out the Judas Iscariot (deceptive worker or believer) in the church. And this is why many are victims of such lost brethren even in the fold of Christ. You need the light of the Holy Spirit to search for someone who is lost while in the church. That is, you need the Spirit of discernment. The third is the lost son and this is about a Christian misusing God’s resources, especially for self glorification, or using it for splendor just like Samson. Through careless and wild life, Samson lost the power given to him. All these examples given by Jesus are simply talking about REPENTANCE from all known sin. Jesus used these three lost things to correct the Pharisees because you will find all these vices in their lives. The sheep was in the fold before going astray. The lost coin was lost within the house and lost son squandered the gift of the father. The Pharisees never said there was no God. They believe they were obeying or in control of the word of God but never realized they have problems. Jesus was telling them to repent. When a sinner repents, there is celebration in heaven. God loves the sinner staging a comeback. It gladdens His heart. And if the sinner comes back, there is restoration beyond the original position and with power. The ring is a symbol of authority as a heir.

Luke 15:22 “But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:”

Jesus loves you (JLU). Through Him we are joint heir.

Galatians 4:7 “Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then a heir of God through Christ.”

He did not come to judge or condemn but for sinners to repent of their sinfulness. You have every opportunity whilst alive to delete anything that will stand against you at the judgment sit. But after death, mercy, repentance, forgiveness and grace cease; you will give account because the spirit of lies would have departed from you. You will have nothing but to confess everything you did even in the secret. Remember Peter how he fell at Jesus feet at his first encounter with Him; “go away from me, for I am a sinful man”. The power in the glory of Jesus will break the power of darkness and every part of you (hands, eyes, legs etc) will talk; even your shadow. REPENT! REPENT!! REPENT!!! Prayer: Lord Jesus, I need another touch from You. Next mile on the trip is Lk16-18. Keep the fire burning and alive. Spread the gospel of JESUS!!!

Bible In One Year-Day 37 (Thursday, February 06, 2014)

Commentary: Luke10-12. Jesus sent out His disciples to carry out the things they saw Him do.

Luke 10:1 “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.”

This could be regarded as an “industrial attachment or training”. Though they did it under delegated or assigned authority, the motive was to teach them some lessons. On their return, they were very proud of the way they dealt with demons. But the Savior corrected them by telling them where their joy should be directed at.

Luke 10:17&20 “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us through thy name. … Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject to you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”

The mere fact that you cast out demons does not guarantee heaven. It is just to have a better understanding of Lk10:2; the harvest and laborers. God needs to harvest and so He needs laborers to depopulate the kingdom of darkness. However, the laborer should not be a cast away just as Apostle Paul said, 1Cor9:27 (Lk9:25). As we have been reading about Jesus’ ministry, the Pharisees, scribes and lawyers have been problems of unholy and ignorant confrontations. This time around, Jesus faced them out rightly and made them to see who they are; outward beauty but filthy and stinking inwardly. As we could see, the Pharisees were very good in bribing the conscience. They thought that by calling Jesus to eat with them will make them have a right standing and gain more respect with the people. Jesus went in with them to find a way of correcting them but since they were not ready for that, he made them realize their status before God. They hated Him for that. Thank you for being a blessing to men of God but let it be to appreciate Him for being used to positively affect your life and not to bribe the conscience. God will do the final marking. Can you still stand his corrective measures even after blessing him with your substance? If you find it difficult to take to his correction, then the spirit of the Pharisees is already inside and deliverance is absolutely necessary. After Jesus exposed their nefarious activities, they raged and sought to kill Him. But Jesus let His disciples know that their rage shouldn’t be a concern; fear only the person who can kill both soul and body. The lesson is that we should not sugarcoat the word of God, but let the truth be said with good motive and not for selfish one. Once the word of God is sugarcoated, it loses its power or it is defiled. Jesus is the true word and variableness should not be added to Him. Lk12 is more of worry and anxiety. These two (i.e. worry and anxiety) lead to other vices such as covetousness. The root of all is lack of faith. In trying to make things clearer to us, He spoke in parables. Give up worries and break the power of anxiety. God is aware of your plight.  In whatever we do, have or aspire for, we should not trade out our heaven or salvation, Lk12:34. This is the same thing He told the disciples in Lk10:20. One of the parables in Lk12 talks about our preparedness for His coming. Beloved, without any contradiction, JESUS IS COMING SOON!!! At the sound of the trumpet, gold bangles become useless, expensive attires becomes forgotten, certificates loses its relevance and power to do anything and achievements will be tried with fire. Many hearts are distracted and diverted. A lot are full of the pride of achievements; they thought it was through effort not knowing that it was by His grace. We all owe a lot to God, and the manner of paying Him is to praise and give glory to Him, Zech 4:6. Prayer: Father, teach me to appreciate you. Next mile on the trip is Lk13-15. Keep the fire burning and alive. Spread the gospel of Jesus without bitterness but with love.

Bible In One Year-Day 36 (Wednesday, February 05, 2014)

Commentary: Luke 7-9. The centurion sent respected elders of the Jews to Jesus because he felt inferior to come in contact with Jesus; what a humble heart. He did this probably because of his nefarious political life or for his attitude towards religious meetings. He scanned himself and realized his unworthiness when compared with the righteousness of Jesus. But he believed in Jesus and in His miracles. When you look at the trends of criticism in Jesus’ time, you will realized that those who doubted Jesus’ ministry and works were the learned in the scripture; unfortunately, they lacked the understanding of it. But those who were not versed in it had their faith built through the miracles of Jesus, i.e. the power of God. A faith can be in the wisdom of man which is the works of the flesh, but that which is built on the power of God honors Jesus the most and Jesus also honors such faith just as He did for the centurion’s faith. Do you believe the power in His word can settle you? On the other hand, the elders begged Jesus earnestly on behalf of the centurion and not on behalf of the servant just because of his patriotism and the love he has for the nation or the Jews. His attitude and patriotic works showed that he feared God. This is a message for us. What is your contribution to your nation? Are you killing the nation through little foxes? The book of Luke gave detailed account of what happened but Matthew shortened it. Just as the centurion showed that he owed a lot to God, the woman with the alabaster flask showed that she owed a lot to God too. Unlike the Pharisee who put himself in a place to judge who a sinner is or is not.

Luke 7:39 “Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spoke within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.”

The Pharisee is a sinner just as the woman is a sinner but the Pharisee did not realize his position before God and never knew he owed a lot to Jesus. His friends even judged Jesus for saying a sin is forgiven. Religion is dangerous and pride kills. Religion does not take us anywhere but deprives us of the benefits in Jesus Christ. The food the Pharisee brought for Jesus to eat was to justify himself and bribe his conscience; we could see that his friends were those he thought were righteous, so the sitting was supposed to be for the ‘righteous’. A lot of Christian meetings are so religious that Jesus Himself is not having a seat to Himself. They judge the appearance of those who come in and tag such as sinners not worthy to be in their midst. Jesus came for the sinners and if these sinners are not allowed into where they would hear the word of life that would change them, the gathering has become the seat of the Pharisees and so Jesus is shut off also. The Pharisee showed his own side of fellowshipping with Jesus and the woman also showed hers, but Jesus marked the woman’s appreciation. Where the Pharisees are seated, you could see those who conform but not transformed. The analysis of this is in the parable of the Sower (Lk8). The centurion and the alabaster woman are examples of a good ground as narrated in Lk8:15 (noble and good heart with patience). God does the final marking. 1 Corinthians 4:5 “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.”

The flesh can do ‘good’ just as it could be wicked; however, both the good and evil done in the flesh, none is accepted before God, Rom8:8.

Romans 8:8 “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Your natural gift is different from your spiritual gift. The natural gift is good but it is carried out in the flesh. The spiritual gift on the other hand is equally good but activated by the Holy Spirit and also under His control. One is man’s inborn nature while the other is God’s grant on receiving Jesus as the Lord and Savior by the Holy Spirit. We can’t please God with our natural gift. The action of the woman touched the heart of Jesus. The motive behind your service to God and your giving is what God marks. Jesus’ families are those who hear and do the word of God (not those who are over familiar with Him). They are known by their faith in the word of God. Through faith you could draw tremendous power from Jesus’ word to solve your problems. Jesus Christ is alive forever more, AMEN!!! Prayer: Lord Jesus, help my faith. Next mile on the trip is Lk10-12. Spread the gospel of Jesus!!!

Bible In One Year-Day 35 (Tuesday, February 04, 2014)

The knowledge of Christ is in varieties. To hear or learn of Him is different from the knowledge of Him; knowing Him is different from Him being revealed to you. The names of the high priests mentioned in Lk3:2 were highly placed in the society because of what they know about the Messiah. They got to know about the coming of the Messiah through learning. This is a reported knowledge of Christ. This type of knowledge is different from the knowledge received by three sets of people which we have read about; the shepherds knew Him as Christ the Lord (Lk2:9-12, 15), Simeon knew Him as God’s salvation (Lk2:25-33) and Anna knew Him as the Redeemer (Lk2:36-38). This is knowledge by revelation and this is only given within God’s discretion (Check Lk10:22).

Luke 10:22 “All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.”

The first types of knowledge are good but not the ultimate, it only sheds some lights; they are shadows of the object. You still need to know the real object. The ultimate is in the revelation knowledge of Christ. That is why Paul declared that he may know Him and the power of His resurrection (Phil3:10).

Philippians 3:10 “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death;”

Who qualifies for this type of revelation? Looking into the characters, we could figure out what it entails; the shepherds were diligent, faithful and loyal to the work committed into their hands, Simeon was just and devout, full of faith. Anna was never weary in prayer and fasting, very enduring and persistent. She did that for 84 years. Gathering the attributes of these characters we could see what it takes to get to that level. The high priests learnt a lot about Christ, but they could not get the real thing. Jesus had been going with His parents to the Feast of the Passover and He had seen the priest preached wonderful messages about the Passover. The purpose of the Passover (which was Jesus) was there with them on yearly basis, yet they never realized it. For three days Jesus, at 12 years, stayed to challenge their knowledge through questions, yet they never realized that the purpose of the Passover was with them. What I learnt was that Jesus preached at 12 years. But our reading in Lk2:46 showed that He did not preach but “listened and asked questions”. He took the position of a student to task the brains of the teachers and so the teachers were amazed at the type of questions being asked by Him. Many do not want to take this position before jumping to the level they never prepared for. Jesus remarked in Lk6:40 that perfect training is required to be like the teacher. He balanced obedience to parents with obedience to God. Jesus was disgusted about the ignorance of the teachers and He said He had to be in His Father’s work to correct things (1John3:8). Good or bad, the Pharisees or the teachers would never do any of them on the Sabbath. They had set minds. Set mind is dangerous if it is not well set. Peter was almost loosing the benefits of the glorious contact that day due to set mind, Lk5:5.

Luke 5:5 “And Simon answering said to him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.”

The Pharisees and teachers came to Jesus with set minds, Lk5:17-21. In this verses, two things were present; the sick and the power to heal. There are three ways to be sick; body, soul and spirit. All of these were present. The man with paralysis was sick bodily but the Pharisees and the teachers were sick in their souls and spirit. The man with body sickness got his healing easily because he had no set mind. But the teachers and Pharisees had set minds and they were looking at what Jesus said. Jesus left further work on the man on the bed to address the sickness in the heart of the teachers, then He continued on the man on the bed. This is His ministry, Lk4:18-19.  And the result was Lk5:26. Anytime you go into His presence, the only thing that should occupy your heart is what is written in Luke1:37.

Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

Jesus is bigger than all your problems and troubles. Remember, Jesus came for the sinners and the sick. Lk5:31-32.

Luke 5:31-32 “And Jesus answering said to them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Jesus chose His 12 disciples out of other disciples after praying on the mountain and the first teaching He gave them was the standard of life in chapter 6. Before taking a paramount decision in your life, PRAY! PRAY!! PRAY!!! Prayer: Lord Jesus, rest the Spirit of revelation knowledge on me (Isaiah11:2). The next mile on the trip is Lk7-9. Keep the fire burning and alive. Spread the gospel of JESUS!!!