KEY SCRIPTURE: 1Kings 17:1 KJV “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word”.

(PLEASE READ 1 KINGS 17& 18)

The scripture talks about the prophet Elijah without any reference to any background. What could have instantly brought him to such a limelight? We have no idea how many years he had related to the Lord. The truth is that he had sincerely followed the Lord when he was not known.  Dear child of God or man of God, like Elijah, build your relationship to the Lord in prayer, studying the word and be diligent in obeying God. Do not be concerned about popularity When you have passed God’s preparation in the private life, He (God) may honor you in the eyes of all. Don’t even concern yourself with public praise. It means nothing before God. Pleasing God in all that you do is that which matters.

 Elijah was God’s man and not man’s man. He stood for God against the tyranny of Queen Jezebel and her husband king Ahab. Oh! servant of God whose man are you.  Who is your source? Man, or God. Some servants of God have lost their confidence in God and will compromise their faith for some money or political favors. What could make him challenge the whole regime? He knew God, and had a strong faith in him. All these came as a result of his devotion to Him. Just consider what he said in 1 kings 18:15   ” And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day.” To stand before the Lord, means to be related to Him in fellowship through prayer.

Dear child of God, how deep is your fellowship with the Lord. Your ability to be very successful is directly hooked up to your fellowship to him. The Lord Jesus said in John 15:5 KJV” I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing”. Stay continuously in His presence and you would be able to stand before any man or anything and would never be defeated.

CONFESSION

Abiding in Christ is the key to fruitfulness in ministry. I therefore maintain my close fellowship with the Lord. I bear much fruit to His glory and praise.

FURTHER STUDIES

John 15:6 KJV” If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

James 5:16 KJV” Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months”.

KEY SCRIPTURE :2Ch 16:9 KJV “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. “

(PLEASE READ 2 Chronicles 16)

God our Father is never partial. He is looking for the man with a perfect heart so that He may reveal His might and faithfulness to that individual. One of the things to look out for, when things are not going well with your work is the state of your heart. King Asa in the previous chapters had been enjoying a very good time with the Lord because he had a perfect heart towards the Lord. In chapter 16 he had war with Israel. He forgot about his dependence on God and went to the Syrian King for help. He took of the gold and silver from God’s temple to give king Benhadad to go and fight King Baasha the Israeli king. Despising God to trust in the arm of the flesh ultimately ends in failure

King Asa at this moment compromised God’s word. All the ornaments in the temple were holy utensils which should never be given to any man.  Compromise in any form is a betrayal of your trust in the Lord. The Lord sent a prophet to expose his error but, he got mad with the man of God. (2 Chronicles 16:10). He put the man of God in prison instead. What could have turned a man God described as having a perfect heart to an outright arrogant individual? He allowed his success to take over his heart. When a man loses his grip on God as his strength, support and everything he can easily fall into pride. Dear servant of God, don’t allow success to breed pride in you.

The man of God told him he would not cease to have wars. He could have humbled himself before God and cried for mercy. The wars did not even start but was attacked by a disease in his feet. He perpetuated his error by refusing to seek the Lord and rather went after the physicians. Pride will cheaply put you out of God’s influence. He was the king, yet, he had backsliding from following the Lord. Dear child of God may you never be in church yet very far from the Lord. Demons had the cheap grounds to attack him since he had lost the covering of the Lord. You would never suffer such a thing, because you would be obedient to the Lord in Jesus name.

CONFESSION

God has blessed me. His blessings make me humbler for I always acknowledge that I am nothing without Him. I experience an over flow of His grace.

FURTHER STUDIES

James 4:6 KJV “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

Proverbs 16:18 KJV “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

KEY SCRIPTURE:2 Chronicles 15:2 KJV” And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.”

(Read 2Chronicles 14 &15)

Success in ministry is God’s desire for every servant of His. The prophet told king Asa that the Lord would be with him so long as he kept faith with Him. Success in ministry is mainly man’s major factor or role for God has fulfilled His portion already. In chapter 14 the Bible said Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord. He took away all the strange gods and the altars at the high places. As a result of this the kingdom was quiet before him. Asa was so diligent that he removed his mother from being queen, because she made an idol. Asa cut down the idol and ultimately destroyed it by burning.

King Asa had a great time of peace. Before you accuse the devil for the trouble in your life, check your relationship to God’s word. God always want servants who will give a total commitment to him. The Lord expresses the requirement for such followers in the preceding verse. Luke 14:26 KJV “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”  The Lord said that His mother and brethren are those who hear God’s word and do it. (Mark 3:34) The minister must make sure he does not show partiality to any.

Asa showed total dependance and faith in God, when the Ethiopians came against him. He expressed his faith by the way he prayed. He prayed this way, Lord it is nothing with thee to save by many or by few. 2 chronicles 14:11a. Faith in God in critical moments is very vital for success in ministry. He exalted God far higher than the challenge. His army was just about a third of the army he faced. You can overcome every difficulty no matter, how big it is by faith. Success in ministry is always by keeping faith in God.

 PRAYER

Father, I pray for all ministers that they would be focused in serving you. Help them by your spirit to be sincere in all they do.

FURTHER STUDIES

Acts 10:34 & 35 KJV Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

1 Samuel 2:30 KJV ” Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me forever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.”

KEY SCRIPTURE:1Kings 11:38 KJV “And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee”.

When we read about the stories of the kings of Israel, we see a cycle of error that keeps repeating itself over and over again. What we find is that a king will assume the reign of affairs over the kingdom, and he will turn to idol worshipping. (Please Read 1 kings 11-14) In the case of Jeroboam, the prophet Ahijah explained to him the error of Solomon and the fact that, the Lord has taken ten tribes of the kingdom, and given to him. In spite of all these, Jeroboam became king and started committing the very sin that Solomon committed, that made him loose his throne

Why this constant cycles of error? They fail to honour God’s very first and principal commandment. Mark 12:30 KJV “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment”. King David was so successful because he was an ardent lover of God. Dear servant of God, the only way to escape this cycle of error is to love the Lord our God with all your soul, all your heart and all your mind. Idol worshipping is the sickness of not loving God. Please note this, if your love for God is not total then you are definitely suffering from idol worshipping.

 A heart filled with love for God never considers his personal interests first, but God’s. Such a one is always ready to obey the voice of the spirit. John 14:21 KJV” He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”  The presence of God with any man attracts favor to him. Loving the Lord makes one a high flyer. Now the question is why are people and even certain ministers not loving the Lord as required? The answers vary. Some don’t know the Lord that they are following. Others are not ready to forsake their personal longings. Dear servant of God, there is no reward or blessing that surpasses a heart totally yielded to God.

 CONFESSION

I love God with all my heart. I have no idols in my life. My God manifests Himself to me in every area of my life. My life is a great delight and have an abundance of favor.

 PRAYER

 Make the following prayer: Father I break myself free from anything that holds my heart from you, in Jesus name I pray.

FURTHER STUDIES

Acts 13:22 KJV” And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.”

Deuteronomy 11:13 14 KJV. And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

KEY SCRIPTURE: 1Kings 12:8 KJV “But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:”

The story in 1st kings 12 reveals the crossroad of the future of the kingdom of Israel after King Solomon. The son of Solomon, Rehoboam had the wonderful opportunity to preserve the unity of the kingdom and to establish his reign, but he chose an unwise counsel. Leadership is not about doing that which satisfies you, but serving the people by bringing them into their inheritance. 1Kings 12:7 KJV “And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants forever”. Rehoboam ignored this wise counsel and chose the unwise counsel of the youth. This should not be your portion.

Every servant of God must always act wisely. The fruit is the standard of our action. The Bible says against the fruit of the Spirit there is no other law. It means if you would allow the Spirit to lead you, you would be a good leader. James 3:17 KJV” But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy”. This kind of wisdom is what God’s word gives us. The above qualities described in James 3 :17 are the character traits that every good leader must show or manifest in his life.

Dear servant of God, you have no business failing as a minister of God. Do not fall after the mistake of Rehoboam. James 3:17 shows us the following wise acts that would establish you as a great leader. They are:

1.Purity of life

2.A man of Peace

3. A gentle man or lady

4. Easy to be entreated or reasonable about issues

5.Full of mercy

6 Full of good fruits

7 Without partiality

8 Without hypocrisy

In recent times there have been scandals about some ministers. I believe if you follow these character traits as listed above, you will never fall. You would be an example of light and hope to many.

 PRAYER

Dear heavenly father, I pray for every leader or minister to follow the way of the Spirit. Father break every evil bondage and let your servants be real leaders of your people into their destinies.

FURTHER STUDIES

1Kings 12:8 KJV “But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him”:

1Timothy 3:3 KJV “Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;”

KEY SCRIPTURE :1Kings 11:6 KJV “And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father”.

We continue with the life of King Solomon.

In today’s study we learn that he went after the gods of his strange wives. He did   not’ fully follow’ the Lord as his father David. The Lord was therefore angry with Solomon (1 Kings 11:9) Dear servant of God set your heart right and refuse to disobey God. Refuse to allow anything to take God’s place in your life. Idolatry is anything a man disobeys God to honor. What are you disobeying God to honor? If it is a girlfriend, then she has become an idol to you. If it is a boyfriend, he has become an idol to you. If it is lust for money, then it is an idol to you. Anything that gives you a cold heart towards God is an idol to you.

These things bring God’s anger against His servants. The verse ten says God instructed him to repent. He refused to repent. The Lord decided to divide his kingdom and give ten parts to another man and only two for him.  In 1 Kings 11:14, the Lord stirred up an enemy against him. Dear Minister of God if you decide to be persistently disobedient unto the Lord, He would give you up to the evil powers to attack you. . Mat 18:34 KJV'” And his lord was worth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him”.

 A number of troubles in some ministries come from acts of disobedience from the leader 1Kings 11:23″ And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah”: God allowed more trouble to hit Solomon. Dear servant of God, the troubles emanating from disobedience is simply unnecessary. They are self-inflicting burdens. Note there are other challenges that come as an aggression of the enemy, they come irrespective of your uprightness. This is normal and God is glorified when you hold your ground. If your oppositions come as a result of your stubbornness unto the Lord, then you are suffering unnecessarily. Repent and the trouble would cease.

CONFESSION

I am a child of God totally given to God. Nothing takes God’s place in my life. I have no idols in my life. Jesus is the only Lord of my life.

FURTHER STUDIES

1 Peter 4:15 KJV” But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.”

Proverbs 4:18 KJV” But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

KEY SCRIPTURE:1Kings 11:3 KJV “And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart”.

My concern in this study is not to focus on what turned his heart from God, but the fact that his heart was turned away from the Lord. Proverbs 4:23, says

 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life”. Your heart is the incubation center for the proceeds of this life. The heart must be solely dominated by God and His word. Every good thing is made or created by the word. Any other thing that takes over the heart produces all kinds of dangerous products that would mess up your life. To keep God’s word, is to protect or to guard it. Your failure to do so is your own destruction.

Now the question is, what is drawing your heart away from God? To Solomon it was women. To others it can be lust for riches, or sin in any form would draw your heart away from God. There are even some men of God who get envious of the success of others instead of getting motivated with the success of those who have made it for the Lord. Remember the heart is the center of incubation of the issues of life. Secondly the heart is also the seat for control of the life of an individual. Either God is ruling your heart or something else. Whenever you permit anything to draw you away from God, it controls you.

HOW can one keep his or her heart from being taken over by wrong influences? Solomon erred because he did not take heed to the instructions of scripture. Obedience to the word of God would always preserve you from being led away. Another thing you can do is to keep attention to the word. (Proverbs 4:20.) Keep listening to the word of God. There are messages of very anointed men of God which would keep you focused on course for God. As ministers do not allow your ears to be free of the word. Keep listening over and over again. As you do this you would never be drawn out of course for God, but you would be more and more fruitful in the Lord.

CONFESSION

My heart is for the Lord. Nothing controls my heart except the word of God. I give my total attention and focus on the word of God. My actions are always in line with the word of God. My faith is also very alert to stop every attack of the enemy or create whatever I need.

FURTHER STUDIES

Mark 4:19 KJV ” And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”

Proverbs 4:23-28 KJV “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.

Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”

KEY SCRIPTURE:1 Kings 11:1 KJV “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;”

The servant of God must have one wife.

1Ti 3:2 KJV” A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;” Solomon loved so many women and actually married seven hundred of them. Under the new covenant a minister cannot marry one and a half. I mean he cannot have a wife and a girlfriend. Some have argued that under the old covenant, the kings or fathers married more than one. Marrying more than one has never been the intention of God. The Lord said the minister should be a man of one wife. There is nothing ambiguous about that statement.

What most people fail to recognize is that, they do not know that under the new covenant, we cease to be ordinary humans. Romans 8:10 KJV “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness”. The man in Christ is a spirit living in a body, which does not rule nor dictate to him. Your body does not rule or lead you, but your spirit. This goes for every Christian. The minister or leader in God’s house is an example to all. Dear child of God as much as you must not permit lust of any kind to lead you, you must not allow sicknesses to rule over your body.

What must the minister do so that he keeps himself from going for more than one wife?

1.You must acknowledge that God’s word forbids you to marry more than one.

2.Accept and say to yourself that you would not marry more than one. Not even a girlfriend.

3.Mortify or kill the flesh by acknowledging that the body is dead and does not or should not lead you in any way. (Rom 8:10)

4. Anytime the body suggests to you to go after another flesh quickly respond by saying you are in the Spirit and are only led by the spirit.

5. Always remind yourself that you would not want to miss heaven by acting against the scriptures

CONFESSION

I am of the Spirit; my flesh is my servant and does not dictate to me in any matter. I live by faith, that is according to the word of God and not according what I see or feel

FURTHER STUDIES

Titus 1:6 KJV” If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly”.

Ephesians 5:31 KJV “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh”.

KEY SCRIPTURE :1Kings 3:9 KJV” Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?”

King Solomon was offered a rare opportunity to ask whatever he wanted. He could quickly have asked for abundance of riches, or the destruction of his enemies. He said give me wisdom that I may be able to rule the people well. 1Kings 3:11 KJV” And God said unto him, because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; “The Lord gave him the wisdom he requested and then added wealth as well. He chose the interest of others first.

Somebody said the word JOY is the abbreviation of the words Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last. Putting others first always spells joy and fulfillment to anyone who does so. Every servant of God is called to be a blessing unto others. The number one task the Lord asked the church to do is to seek the salvation of others. The call to reach out to others is the result of various international missions. You have been called to serve others with the gifts and abilities God has given to you. It is a big error for any minister to take advantage of the people. It is unscriptural for a minister of the gospel to charge money before praying for them. 1Co 9:18 KJV” What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.”

Jesus gave His life for others. John 15:13 KJV” Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”. Everything about ministry is about others. The word minister means, a servant. One major way to keep yourself from blemish is to make sure that you do not allow any form of selfishness to lead you in anyway. Every scandal that has been made about any minister happened because that individual gave no regard to the principle of others first.  If it is an act of immoral acts, financial misappropriation or any offence of any kind, the underlying cause is SELFISHNESS.

 CONFESSION

I live for God and so I live for God’s purpose for my life. I put others before myself in all I do. God my father is excited with me about my love for others, and continually blesses me. Thank you, Lord.

 FURTHER STUDIES

Philippians 2:3, 4 KJV” Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others”.

Matthew 28:19 & 20 KJV “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen”.

KEY SCRIPTURE :1Kings 3:4 KJV “And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.”

Solomon made an extravagant sacrifice unto the Lord. He gave a thousand burnt sacrifices unto the Lord. The verse preceding this key scripture said, and Solomon loved the Lord. One may give without love, yet you cannot love without giving. Ministry is all about receiving God’s approval or endorsement on you. Solomon through his great sacrificial giving attracted the presence of God to furnish him with all he needed to succeed as a king. 1Kings 3:5 KJV” In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee”.

 The Lord responded to Solomon’s generosity with a limitless request form to him. He asked him, whatever you desire, ask me and I will do it for you Dear ministers and children of God, I believe many crying and agony for certain things would cease if we would cheerfully make generous sacrifices to God. The truth is that most people don’t sincerely love the Lord. They would rather use God to achieve the things they want. This is the wrong order, and a very selfish approach. It is also an insult unto God. God must rather use us to get what He wants.

In ministry, one always needs a divine touch. Sacrificial giving is one of the ways to attract God’s manifested presence to your life. There are certain ministers who are just expecting their members to be giving. They do not give offerings nor pay their tithe. Even if they are to give any offerings at all, it is just the leftovers. You are unfortunately deceiving your very self. Dear Minister or child of God, you have an option to permit God’s manifested presence to be with you, by making some lovingly ‘brutal’ offerings or sacrifices to God. The next verse tells us the effect of a bountiful sacrificial giving to us. 2Corinth 9:8 KJV” And God is able to make all grace abound towards you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work”

CONFESSION

I love the Lord. All that I have is His. I joyfully and bountifully give to Him. I have His approval on my life. I do not lack any good thing. His divine presence is always with me. Thank you, Lord.

FURTHER STUDIES

2 Corinth 9:6-8 KJV” But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.