Category: Topical Studies

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Topical Studies

Title: Don’t despise the gift of God – February 03, 2021

fire in my bones
fire in my bones


Series: Youth for Jesus, Number: Vol. 3, No. 38

“Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom. Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.” (Gen 25:29-34NIV)

Have you ever despised something or someone or judged them as worthless, only to later found out that your judgment was wrong and that the very person you despised, ignored and rejected was someone that would have contributed greatly to your advancement or satisfaction in life? If you have never done that, then, I pray that you don’t ever do it. That is because the regret or pain that may come with it may be for an entire lifetime.

Now such was the case with Esau. Esau was the elder of the twins of both Isaac and Rebekah. And as the bible tells us, he was a skilful hunter, who also went on to have under his command four hundred warriors (Gen 25:27&33:1). So, we are looking at a strong, brave and intelligent man and leader. Yes, we are looking at a very confident man, one who believed in what his intelligence and might could achieve for him.

But Jacob, Esau’s younger twin brother, was unlike him. He was not an impressive person like his elder brother. Rather, he was a quiet person that prefers to stay indoors. That, however, does not mean that he was a stupid person. On the contrary, he was a very clever person, who knew how to use what he had to get what he wanted.

Well then, being an indoor person, one who was always interacting with everyone at home, especially his parents and their servants, it was not long before he learnt about a special blessing from God that was running through their family and which naturally was meant to go to his elder brother. And the moment he got to know about this blessing and what it could do to his life and the lives of his descendants after him, he began to covet it and think of ways to make it his. (Cf. Gen 12:1-3, 22:15-18 & 26:2-5)

Now a day came when his dream came true. Esau came home that day, hungry and fainting and desiring to eat something very fast. And to make things easy for him, he met his younger brother in possession of what he loved best, red stew. So, he asked him to quickly give him some in order that he may quench his hunger with it and renew his strength. But Jacob, who was a very shrewd person, saw an opportunity in that situation to make his brother give up his right as the elder of the two of them and so asked him to sell it for the price of his red stew. Why? It was because he felt that would give him the opportunity he needed to be the inheritor of the blessing of God that was given to their grandfather, Abraham.

How, then, did Esau respond to that? He responded by saying, “Look, I am about to die here. What good is the birthright to me?” So, without giving much thought to what he was about to do, he sold his birthright on oath, collected the food he wanted to eat, ate, drank and then got up and left. And the bible says that by doing that, he despised his birthright. Think about it. That man despised something that only God could give a man, something that no amount of money could ever buy. And by despising his birthright, he also despised the blessing given by God to Abraham and proved himself to be unworthy of receiving it. So, today, hundred of years later, the descendants of Jacob still stand as a recognised nation in the world, but the descendants of Esau are nowhere to be found.

But why did Esau do what he did? He did it because he was a godless man, as the bible notes (Heb 12:16-17). He was someone that did not believe in spiritual things and the roles they play in determining how life goes. Remember I said that he was a very confident young man. But his confidence was not in God but in himself and what he could accomplish for himself. Unfortunately, all that he could accomplish for himself could not give him and his descendants a permanent place in God’s scheme of things.

In like manner, we need to watch never to put confidence in ourselves or our abilities to take care of ourselves. Is that to say it is wrong to be a confident person? No! But our confidence must not be in ourselves but in God without whom we cannot accomplish anything. This, of course, will keep us humble and also from despising people or things that He has given as gifts to fulfil us in life.

Copyright © 2021, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to alaythiabiblechurch@gmail.com / alaythia4all@gmail.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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FROM PASTOR'S DESK 2020 Pastor's Desk Topical Studies

Title: Is anything hindering the flow of His blessings? – March 15, 2020


Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great joy that I welcome you into another week of the month of March 2020. And I pray that your life will be cleansed of everything that is keeping you back from experiencing the fullness of God’s blessings, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

According to the bible, God has blessed all of us who believe in Christ Jesus with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Him (Eph 1:3). So, we have been chosen and ordained by Him to live overwhelmingly blessed lives. But are we fully enjoying these blessings? Are we fully enjoying His blessings of favour, good health, prosperity, joy, peace, self-control, patience and so forth? Is it even evident in our lives that we are blessed of God?

But it ought to be evident to those of the world that we are blessed of God. I mean that they ought to daily see through us what it means to blessed of God, what it means to have Him as one’s Father. For example, we are told in the bible that Potiphar, Joseph’s Egyptian master, was able to see that God was with him and was making him successful in all that he did. In other words, he could tell that Joseph was not walking alone; he had the living God walking with him and making his life a very blessed one (Gen 39:2-6). Interestingly, it was a similar thing that Laban learnt about Joseph’s father, Jacob, when he was with him. He said to him on one occasion, “I have learnt by experience (signs) that God has blessed me because of you.” (Cf. Gen 30:27)

So, the presence of God’s blessings in and on our lives ought to be pronounced and conspicuous. People should be able to say that our lives are orderly, prosperous and full of the fruit of the Spirit because God’s blessings are at work in us. At least, when people are operating under certain curses, we often can tell, regardless of how rich or influential they may be. We can tell that their lives are worn-out or out of place because certain negative influences are at work in them.

In like manner, the workings of God’s blessings cannot be hidden. In other words, if His blessings are truly at work in us, those around us will be able to tell. If this, then, is not the case, we need to find out why. We are blessed of God already, unless we are not Christians. So, we should be enjoying these blessings to the full. And if we are not enjoying them, we ought to find out why.

Now, of course, the problem can never be with God. It is always with us. We are always the ones doing something that will hinder the flow of the blessings or not doing something that will make His blessings freely flow. For instance, from what we see in the bible, one major thing that kept the children of Israel that Moses brought out of Egypt from entering and possessing the Promised Land was unbelief. The bible actually declares in no uncertain terms that they could not enter God’s rest because of unbelief (Heb 3:19). But they were brought out of Egypt so that they could enter that land that was flowing with milk and honey. And they experienced the wonders of God both in Egypt and in the wilderness so that they would be full inheritors of that land. Nevertheless, the bible says God was not pleased with most of them. So, He caused their bodies to be scattered over the desert during a period of forty years (1Cor 10:1-5).

But why was God not pleased with the same people He delivered from Egypt? Why was He displeased enough with them to keep them from going into the land He had promised them and enjoying it? Paul says one major reason is unbelief. They did not believe that God was able to deliver on His promises. And that cost most of them their place in the Promised land. But unbelief wasn’t the only reason. As Paul shows us in a letter of his, there other reasons as well. Some of them did not make it into the Promised Land because of idolatry, sexual immorality, grumbling, lack of contentment or rebellion against authority. And the apostle says we are to learn from what happened to these people, so that we too will not be denied of the full experience and enjoyment of God’s blessings because of our own errors. (Cf. 1Cor 10:1-11)

So, as we begin this new week, ask the Lord to open your eyes to see whatever wrong thing in your own life that is preventing you from fully enjoying His blessings that have been generously poured out on us. And you can be sure that He will answer you. But if you already know what wrong things you are involved in, don’t boast in them or act as though you did not know that these things are present in your life (James 3:14). Instead, admit your wrongs and repent of them quickly. Otherwise whatever you are still experiencing of God’s blessings may soon enough be taken away from you. And then you will begin to understand what it means to function without the goodness of God. May things never come to that for you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Do have a splendid week.

Copyright © 2020, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to alaythiabiblechurch@gmail.com/alaythia4all@gmail.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)

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Fire in my Bones Life Application Topical Studies wisdom for living

Prove yourself profitable with what is available

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” (Luke 16:10-12NIV)

When God first made man, He told him to rule over the earth, subdue it and replenish it. But we see clearly from Scriptures that God did not immediately leave him to start moving round all the face of the earth in order to fulfill the mandate He had given him. Instead, He first put him in a small garden, the garden of Eden. And He did that to teach us that until we have learnt to manage that which is little and profit with it, there is no way we can manage that which is great and be fruitful with it. (Cf. Gen 1:26-29 & 2:4-8)

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Pastor's Desk Topical Studies

DON’T LIMIT YOURSELF

“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left…” (Isa 54:2-3NIV)

Do you know that the God we serve is a God of increase? He is a God who wants His people to grow, develop, multiply, expand and enlarge in every good thing. He demonstrated that by putting a blessing of increase on every living thing that He created in the beginning. And that blessing is still at work, even now. (Cf. Gen 1:20-28)

So whenever we see redundancy or stagnancy, we should not be quick to associate it with God. God is not interested in limiting anybody; for He created all of us for unlimited and unrestricted productiveness, except the proud. (Cf. James 4:6, 1Pet 5:5)

Now you ask, “Since God actually created all of us for unlimited and unrestricted increase, why am I not experiencing it?” The reasons for that are simple: it is either you are proud or you are limiting God by limiting yourself. You say, “Oh, no, I am not proud.” Well, I hope so. But if truly you are not proud, then, you must be limiting God. We all do that unconsciously, from time to time.  

Take a look at our opening scripture again: the Lord asks us to enlarge the place of our tents and to stretch our curtains wide. That is nothing but a call to expansion or enlargement. Now when do we talk about expansion? We usually talk about it when we are expecting more or when we start to have more than what our current location can hold—more people, more children, more facilities, more provisions and more of anything.

So when the Lord tells us to make room, He is simply saying, “Look, I want to fill you, but the place you have right now cannot hold what I am bringing. Therefore, begin to prepare for the increase that is coming. Begin to prepare for your promotion. Yes, begin to make ready for your uplifting. For you will surely spread out to the right and to the left.”

Now notice that, in that scripture, God also says, “Don’t hold back.” That means don’t limit yourself. See, as far as God is concerned, we are the ones who will define our own limitations in life. Remember that poor widow that went to Prophet Elisha for help: she was the one that determined how much of God’s blessings she received. (Cf. 2Kings 4:1-7) In the same vein, we are the ones who will determine the degree of increase we will experience at the hand of the Lord this month and for the remaining part of the year.

So I ask you, “What level of increase do you want to witness in your life this month? What exactly can you believe God for?” Now this is not something that you rush about; rather, it is something that you have to intelligently and patiently consider. And when you are done making your decision, then, you can begin that process of enlargement by: first, express your desires to God in prayers, and second, take steps in the direction of your prayers. (Phil 4:6, 2Thess 1:11)

Remember the woman with the issue of blood: she not only desired and decided to be well; she also pushed her way through the crowd to take her healing. May the Lord fulfil every good desire of yours and honour all your steps of faith in Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

(Adapted from ‘House of Prayer’, Vol. 6, No. 8, April 2014)

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Pastor's Desk Topical Studies wisdom for living

He knows where you live

power
power

Beloved: grace and peace be yours forevermore from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Saviour and Lord. Welcome to another week of the month of June 2020. And I pray that your heart will be strengthened to remain true to the Lord to the very end, irrespective of the circumstances of the place in which you find yourself, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

One of the things the Lord commended the church in Pergamum, one of His churches in the province of Asia of bible days, for was their loyalty to Him, even though they were living with Satan himself. Look at the way He puts this in His letter to them:

“I know where you live — where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city — where Satan lives.” (Rev 2:13NIV)

Now the first thing the Lord tells these brethren is that He knows where they are living. And His point is not that He knows the name of their city. Of course, He knows the name of their city, which is Pergamum. But the name of that city is not the issue; the issue really is what is going on in that city and the impact it is having on the everyday life of the people there.

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Fire in my Bones Life Application Topical Studies wisdom for living

The force of unity

“But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” (Gen 11:5-7NIV)

One major lesson that the bible account of the Tower of Babel teaches us is the power of unity. Men at the time they attempted to build this tower were all speaking one language. But it was not just because they were speaking one language that they could attempt such a mind-blowing project; rather, it was because they were united in mind and in purpose. They knew what they wanted, and all of them were willing to give their best to bringing it to pass. And so united and devoted were they to this cause that even God Himself acknowledged that their unity was a force not to be taken lightly.

Now, of course, as the account further shows, God needed to confuse their language and scatter them all over the face of the earth. Why? Was it because He was against unity? No! Or was it because He could not stand the progress of humanity? No! First, God is never against unity, as shown us all through Scriptures. Rather, He loves unity, preaches unity and always wants His people to live in unity because He Himself is a God of peace and unity (Ps 133; Eph 4:3; Phil 2:1-2; 1Thess 5:23).

Then God is never against our progress. Remember that when He first brought man forth, He placed on Him the blessing of fruitfulness, progress and multiplication. Why would He do that, if He did not want progress for us? Also, even after the flood of the days of Noah, He still did the same thing – He blessed humanity. And all through the Scriptures the same message is communicated, which is that God wants us to prosper in all ways and also live in health. (Cf. Gen 1:28 &9:7; 3John 2)

However, when a man begins to pursue prosperity, peace or growth without God, he is in danger of ultimately losing himself and whatever it is that he is labouring for. And that was the case with men in the days that they sought to build the Tower of Babel. Though they were united, their unity was not towards honouring God or upholding His cause. God wanted them to fill the whole earth and replenish it. But they wanted to stay in one place and make a name for themselves, as though they were existing for themselves. So, God confused their language and scattered them. And that is to teach us that anytime we gather together to stand against the will of God or cause of God for humanity, regardless of how great our number may be, whatever we are up to will certainly end up in chaos and confusion for us all (Ps 2:1-6).

Nonetheless, the unity of those people must be commended. God Himself, as I pointed out before, commended it and said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” In other words, unity is a force that cannot be stopped, unless God Himself stops it. And God won’t stop it, inasmuch as it is functioning according to His purpose. So, if we want to be unstoppable in our homes, organisations, communities, churches or anywhere, we need to employ the force of unity, a unity that is not contrary to the will of God. Yes, if we want to be able to accomplish any good and righteous goal we set for our family or whatever group we belong to, all of us there must love unity, embrace it and also labour to maintain it. Otherwise, however talented or gifted we may be, individually, nothing we set out to do will end in success.

See, one of the reasons some families, organisations and even Christian assemblies will never rise beyond where they are is that they have not embraced unity. Yes, there may be many gifted or talented people in them. But as long as they do not embrace a culture that loves and promotes unity, they will never make any real progress. Yes, I know there are certain diabolical philosophies in the world that teach leaders that unity is contrary to development and that their followers must be set against one another in order to get the best out of them. That is nothing but satanic wisdom. And ultimately, it will be the ruin of those who embrace and practise it. So, don’t ever yield yourself to that or anything that resembles it. Instead, embrace God’s wisdom about unity, and you will be amazed at the kind of power it will release for your growth and the growth of whatever family or group you belong to.

Copyright © 2020, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to alaythiabiblechurch@gmail.com/alaythia4all@gmail.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 07085711280)