Daily Understanding Eternity - DUE

HEALING CONDEMNED

“And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?” (Acts 4:7)

The Apostles, being the foundation of the faith movement, witnessed the unjust accusation of good deeds. For something as good and wonderful as healing a crippled man to be questioned to the point of condemnation is a show of the wickedness bottled in the heart of men. Such men (rulers, and elders, and scribes) have lost touch with the most important thing in life examination, the truth. These men have come to adopt a lie, and they are bent on defending this lie at the detriment of what is good.

Let’s read Peter defence as he stands before these men.

“8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
9 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:8-12)

Worthy of note is the fact that Peter and John did not cower in to the threat of the rulers and scribes (Acts 4:21). They stood up to them and said: “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20)

The truth that scares the devil and his co-workers is that the name of Jesus carries healing virtues. His name has been elevated above every circumstance of life.

“9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:9-11)

PRAYER:
Father, thank You for the name of Jesus carries the power to heal and to restore all that the devil has destroyed.

“Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” (Acts 3:16)

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
O Lord, set confusion in the camp of the enemy working against the purpose of God in this nation, Nigeria, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

“And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.” (2 Chr. 20:22)

FREEDOM KINGDOM
“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God’s judgement], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, “Abba! Father!” (Rom. 8:15 Amp.)
Every child of God is brought into a new life in Christ. This new life comes with the mind of Christ. This mind of Christ is devoid of any kind of bo***ge and oppression. We are freed from slavery, sin and impending eternal doom.
As children of God, we must use our freedom, not to serve sin, but to serve God. “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” (Rom. 6:6)

“But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” (Rom. 7:6).

God accepts our service rendered as a freewill offering (Rom. 12:1-2). And His Holy Spirit living in every believer is a token that guarantees our liberty.
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Cor. 3:17)

PRAYER:
Father, let my worship be acceptable before Your throne in Jesus’ name, Amen.

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” (Col. 3:17)

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, sanctify this nation from every strange pollution by the sacrificed blood of Your Son in Jesus’ name, Amen.

“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Heb. 9:22)

THREE GREAT SINS OF BALAAM
“5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.” (Num. 22:5-6)

The story of Balaam is one of the most interesting in Scripture. He is a subject of controversy. Many think he was a mere soothsayer used by God temporarily; but the opposite is true – that he was a genuine prophet of God until he finally betrayed Israel for reward. Balaam had a reputation for making predictions that were markedly fulfilled (v. 6). It is evident that he became a soothsayer after Jehovah left him because of his sin and refused to inspire him by the Holy Spirit.

The way of Balaam was the love of the wages of unrighteousness and coveting the gifts of Balak (Num. 22:7; 17, 37; 24:11).

“Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2 Pet. 2:15).

The error of Balaam was accepting the wages of unrighteousness for his services in giving the secret of how to get God to curse Israel (Jude 11; 2 Pet. 2:15; Num. 31:8, 16).
“Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.” (Jude 1:11)

The doctrine of Balaam was to teach Balak that if he would give his most beautiful women to the Israelite men and cause them to commit idolatry and adultery that God Himself would curse Israel (Num. 25:1-9; 21:8, 16).
“But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” (Rev. 2:14)

PRAYER:
Father, help me to be sanctified and unyielding to the deceitfulness of evil and wickedness of this world in Jesus’ name, Amen.

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Col. 3:2)

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, make none and void any curse placed on Nigeria in the name of Jesus, Amen.

“Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.” (Isa. 7:7)

STUDY MATERIAL: Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible

WORSHIP THE FATHER (2)

"O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our Maker" (Psalm 95:6).

To worship God requires skilfulness. It's a gift given to everyone who so desires it. Just like every other things we do in life requires knowledge to get the best results, our personal time with God in worship requires that we get it right.

To worship God is to tarry in His presence. You just take one song and sing it to Him repeatedly. It might be just one line in the chorus that drives in your point of worship. Look out for that striking cord. Remember that "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). So you are not looking for volumes of songs to sing because all that is required is your heart prepared for the worship of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. God looks at our hearts, not our actions.

So He desires that we worship Him from the depth of our hearts. We must be determined to please Him, to give Him that venison He so delights in. That is how to live as the beloved of God. We prepare Him His best meal, worship.

Worship leads us to effective and acceptable prayers. Worship leads us to the heart of the Father where our requests are granted. It is the ladder we climb to access the attention of God (Psalm 100:4).

It is not enough to know how to pray. We must truly and surely pray. We must never get to that point in our lives where we lost steam for prayers. That is our stronghold. We must never forget our stronghold. So our worship prepares the way for us to enter into effective prayers with God.

ACTION:
During your worship session. I want you to declare this statement of worship 20 times and more: "I worship Your Majesty. I worship Your Royalty."

Learn to give deeper expression to your worship.

PRAYER:
Father, give me the heart of a worshipper in Jesus’ name, amen (Psalm 65:4).

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, give us a new Nigeria where accountability and prudence is a national culture in Jesus’ name, Amen.

“So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.” (Psalm 78:72)

WORSHIP THE FATHER (1)

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1)

Have you ever reach the climax in your worship life? Have you ever climbed the highest mountain in your personal devotion, in your secret place of worship? It is such a wonderful experience to ascend into the Holy of holy and to seek His face without fear or limitations.

The process of climbing the holy mountain in worship can be liken to flying a kite. I remember when the kids in my former neighbourhood, back in the days, used to fly those kites made of nylon, broom stick and threads. You start by pulling out the kite bit by bit, searching to determine the direction of the wind in order to have the kite fly high on through in the air. The more the wind carries the kite up, the more you release the rope to have the kite fly higher up in the sky. It's such a wonderful thing.

Our worship of God in our personal secret place can be likened to that. When you come to God in your personal devotion, always start with thanksgiving. Thank Him for a new day (Psalm 100:4). Then begin to worship and to praise Him in songs and sweet adoration. As you're on that, always look out for the wind of the Holy Spirit to mount on as you climb up the ladder of worship. If you can sing in the Spirit and pray in tongues, that is an added advantage at this moment (1 Cor. 14: 15). As you carry on, you switch intermittently between songs of praise and worship and singing and speaking in tongues, giving expression to your love and adoration of God. It is always wonderful to be in His presence.

You get to a point in worship where you can no longer be restricted. You climb to the pinnacle in your moment of worship and there you have such confidence and comfort of the Spirit to climb higher in His warm embrace and to remain there. It's such a wonderful moment of acceptance.

ACTION:
Make conscious effort to worship God today in a unique way, taking the step taught in today’s devotion. Have a wonderful experience in His presence (Psalm 5:7).

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, give us a new Nigeria where there is surplus of jobs and an enabling environment for young entrepreneurs in Jesus’ name, Amen.

“The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.” (Isa. 60:6)

WHAT HAPPENED TO MOSES?

“The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him.” (Exo. 2:4 NLT)

There are two saviours in scriptures whom the devil plotted to kill before they were born. Moses and Jesus Christ shared the same experience around their birth and childhood. Before the birth of Moses, Pharaoh had ordered that every male child of the Israelites in captivity be killed upon birth (Exo. 1:15-16). But Moses escaped the death sentence at his birth. However, his mother could no longer hide him from the officers of Pharaoh. She later got an idea to bring Moses in contact with the daughter of Pharaoh whom she knew was compassionate. And the sister of Moses watched from afar to see what would happen to him. The daughter of Pharaoh took interest in Moses. That was how Moses’ life was preserved. And Moses became the son of Pharaoh’s daughter (Exo. 2:1-10).

Jesus also would have been killed at birth. King Herod was ruler of Judea. He was visited by wise men who were in search of the newly born King of the Jews. After they visited baby Jesus, the wise men received a revelation not to go back to King Herod. Eventually, King Herod sent his soldiers to kill all the children that were in Bethlehem and environ under the age of two years (Matt. 2:1-18). But Jesus escaped by the leading and protective watch of God.

“13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.” (Matt. 2:13-15).

There are many saviours sent to rescue Israel at several times in history. But Moses was in the class of Jesus. He himself said: “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken” (Deut. 18:15; Acts 3:22; 7:37). No wonder God hid Moses’ burial from all Israel. They would have idolized him (Deut. 34:5-6).

Hence both Moses and Jesus escaped death and went on to fulfil their purpose. Moses became the leader of Israel. He was used by God to bring the Israelites out of bo***ge in Egypt and to bring them to the Promised Land. And Jesus is the saviour of the world (John 3:16; 8:12). He was born to save the whole world from sin (Matt. 1:21). We sure serve a God who declares the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10). As the Word declares, I make bold to say to you that you shall not die but live to see the fulfilment of the works of the Lord concerning you to your generations in Jesus’ name, amen (Psalm 118:17).

“I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.” (Eccl. 3:14)

DECLARATIONS:
Father, where the enemy thought I will fall, send me help and grant me a lasting testimony of fulfilment in Jesus’ name, Amen (Psalm 124).

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, grant Nigeria the power to pursue, overtake and recover all that has been lost to corruption and wickedness in Jesus’ name, Amen.

“And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.” (1 Sam. 30:8)

UNITY OF THE BODY
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1)

“For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Matt. 12:50)

From today’s text, we understand that unity among brethren is very good and very pleasant. It is good to state here that brethren means the congregation of believers that do the will of God (Matt. 12:50). So regardless of denomination, whenever and wherever we find the coming together of believers who hold the will and the Word of God as a standard for living, the Bible says it is a good thing for them to be in unity. Whenever unity is mentioned or typified in scriptures, it always shows progress, advancement and divine intervention. We have such example like in Abraham and Lot (Gen. 12:5; 13:1-8); Ruth and Naomi (Ruth 1:16-17); Jonathan and David (1 Sam. 18:1-4; 19:1-7; 20:4, 35-42); Rechabites (Jer. 35:2-5, 18); and the early Church (Acts 2:44-45).

“9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Eccl. 4:9-12)

Jesus sent His disciples out to evangelize. He sent them two and two (Luke 10:1). Hence, Jesus understood that two are better than one. It is so important because two can help each other in tests, loneliness, and discouragement (Eccl. 4:9-12; Rom. 15:14). When one falls, the other can lift up his partner, and be a balance in success (Eccl. 12:9-10; Gal. 6:1). They can strengthen each other in weakness when burdened (Rom. 15:1-5; Gal. 6:2). They can achieve unity in prayer (Matt. 18:19). As a team, they stand for each other for protection in attack (Eccl. 4:12; Deut. 32:30). They can also represent each other for confirmation of preaching (Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16).

It has often been said that if there is no vision, the people perish. And if there are no people, the vision will also suffer. This is a call to unify the body of Christ. This is a charge towards kingdom advancement that would involve the unity of the church body worldwide. I’m talking about the togetherness of each denomination, working in unity to attain the target of the THRONE on the earth.

There are mission that wouldn’t succeed unless the church join forces together to execute them. There are people that would not change until we begin to speak the same language, and to sing the same song.

PRAYER:
Father, let the Church be unified across denominational line in Jesus’ name, Amen (John 17:21).

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, scatter the gang-up against Your Church in Nigeria in Jesus’ name, Amen.

“8:9 Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces.
8:10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.” (Isaiah 8:9-10)

STUDY MATERIAL: Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible

THE SPIRIT OF HOLINESS

“And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4)

Jesus’ life, death and resurrection are proof that man can live without sin, for He condemned sin in the flesh (Rom. 8:3). He proved to the devil that sin can be subdued and overcome.

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” (1 Tim. 3:16)

The same help He received to live in holiness is available to every believer in Christ (Rom. 1:4). He also gave us power to live as children of God (John 1:12). We must now walk in that consciousness to validate the new life we have received. The Bible makes it known that “the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets” (1 Cor. 14:32). The Spirit of holiness for instance is like having a brand new car and the car key handed over to you. The car won’t move by itself. You have to start it and drive it. The benefit of having a vehicle is that it makes life easy for you. What you cannot do by your own power is made easy and cheap for you. Where you cannot get to running, you get there sitting down to drive the car in few minutes. All you have to do is activate the gears and drive.

We are called to live a life of holiness. There’s no excuse for not meeting this target. You have all it takes right in and around you; the Holy Spirit, the Holy Bible and holy brethren.
“15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:15-16).

DECLARATIONS:
Father, I pray for the activation of the Spirit of holiness in me. The Father and child relationship I enjoy will not be compromised for anything in Jesus’ name, Amen (1 Cor. 6:17).

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, magnify Yourself in the lives of Your children in the land and subdue our enemies before us in Jesus, Amen.

“And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.” (Psalm 89:23)

THE ROD OF AARON

“For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.” (Exo. 7:12)

The purpose of miracles in scriptures is to proof the validity of the omnipotence of God among His people. There is no other power but of God (Rom. 13:1). The Israelites were been held captive in Egypt against their will. And God sent Moses to rescue them from slavery. God was determined to use force to bring Israel out of bo***ge.

“And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.” (Exo. 7:5)

In order to proof to Pharaoh the seriousness of His mission, God turned Aaron’s rod into serpent before Pharaoh. And when the Egyptian magicians performed the same act, God made them all rodless. Aaron’s rod swallowed up the rods of the magicians (Exo. 7:8-12).

There is a lesson to be learnt from this whole experience. The world system has been in contention with the kingdom of God, and it behoves on children of God to stand up and take away the evil rods being used by the workers of evil in disguise. The best way to swallow the rods of the magicians is to throw down the rod of Aaron. The rod of Aaron is the wisdom of God in combating enemy forces and rendering them powerless.

You recall that Moses and Aaron went to meet Pharaoh to demand for the release of God’s people from slavery and oppression. As children of God, we must rise up to challenge the onslaught of hell being perpetrated in all kinds of misjudgements and inappropriate conclusions. We have to throw down our rods.

PRAYER:
Father, strategically position the Moses and Aaron of this generation to activate the process of swallowing the rods of the magicians in the land in Jesus’ name, amen (Exo. 7:12).

A PRAYER FOR NIGERIA
Father, swallow up the rods of injustice and political manipulations in this nation in Jesus’ name, Amen.

“What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.” (Nahum 1:9)