“You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” – Genesis 41:40 REFERENCE: GENESIS 41:37-45 It was 2 years after the Butler's reinstatement that Joseph was released from the PIT and brought before Pharoah to interpret his dream. In the fulness of time, after 13 years of slavery in Egypt, God created a problem that needed a solution that only Joseph could provide. Though he was quickly taken out of the pit, Joseph took time to shave and...
“Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit…” – Genesis 37:19-20a REFERENCE: GENESIS 37:18-34 We are familiar with the story of Joseph and how he became a Prince in Egypt. His journey to becoming a prince came at a huge price and it was no mean feat as he had to suffer great losses and shed the ‘weights’ that held him back from becoming who God destined him to be so that he could run to obtain the prize. Firstly, he had the coat...
“…And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” – Esther 4:16b REFERENCE: ESTHER 4:12-16 When we become comfortable with a good job, money, a good spouse and children, we begin to lose focus and our zeal wanes. It is at such times that we need fire starters like Mordecai to help us refocus, restore our passion, give perspective to our privileges and to stir us to fulfil God’s purpose. “Perhaps, God has placed you in your church, family, office and your community for such a time as this.” This may...
“Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” – John 2:17 REFERENCE: JOHN 2:14-17 We saw yesterday that zeal is fervency; a burning fire; and true zeal is embodied by Jesus Christ. His zeal would not let Him stomach people ‘buying and selling’ in His Father’s house; zeal for the house had eaten Him up. In John 4:34 He said, “My meat (what gives Me satisfaction) is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work.” He later said, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it...
“And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” ~ II Corinthians 11:14 REFERENCE: II Corinthians 11:12-15 We conclude our study on the three ways satan tempts Christians today. We have seen him as both a subtle serpent and a devouring lion, now, we will be looking at him as an angel of light. From our text, this strategy of the devil is close to his being a serpent, in the sense that it is built around subtlety and deception. The marked difference between them is that this strategy puts on a spiritual garb; it...
“And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” ~ Job 1:12 REFERENCE: JOB 1:6-20 Yesterday, we saw that the devil comes in a crafty and unsuspecting way to lead us away from God; today, we will discover another strategy or modus operandi of the devil. Interestingly, it is the one that people are more familiar with because it is aggressive, direct and conspicuous. Job’s troubles in this account show the devil as a devouring lion. I Peter 5:8 says he walks about like a roaring lion seeking...
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made…” – Genesis 3:1 REFERENCE: GENESIS 3:1-13 Yesterday, we studied the need to know our adversary by being sober and vigilant, so as to walk in victory. From today, we will begin to look at three main strategies the devil deploys against mankind. The bible first introduced and revealed the devil‘s strategies and his first assault on man in today’s text. He came to Eve in the form of a serpent (a very crafty and subtle animal). One strategy the devil uses is...
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” – I Peter 5:8 REFERENCE: I PETER 5:6-11 As believers in Christ, we are constantly at war with ungodly spirits that attempt to pull us away from our relationship with God and bring us under God’s judgment. Our main adversary is the devil, whom scripture reveals is God’s arch-enemy and despises everything that God loves. Since you and I are the object of God’s love, the devil hates us and works hard at trying to destroy us. In order to...