Thoughts of Our Fathers (TOF)

Psalm 121 (KJV)

... I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. 3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Matthew 4:4

…He [Jesus] answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

When the devil tempted Jesus, Jesus turned the Word of God on him, saying, “It is written…It is written…It is written…” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10)

Likewise, should the devil remind you of the pain in your body, say what God’s Word says: “It is written, ‘By His stripes I am healed!’” (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24) And tell Daddy God, “I have Your Word for it and I am standing on Your Word. I am not trying to be healed. My healing has already happened. I don’t care what this body says. It has to line up with Your Word because by Jesus’ stripes I am healed!”

And if the devil says to you, “Look at the meager balance in your bank account. How are you going to pay your bills?” just say, “I'm not going to worry because I know that my God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 4:19) It doesn’t matter how much I have in the bank. God’s Word tells me that as the need arises, the supply will be there!”

When fear grips you, don’t say to yourself, “This fear is stupid. Come on, what are the chances of it happening to me?” Don’t try to rationalize or reason your fear away. Instead, speak God’s Word into the situation. Say, “It is written, ‘For God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.’” (2 Timothy 1:7) What if the fear returns? Speak God’s Word again. Say, “It is written, ‘For God has not given me a spirit of fear…’”

When the devil tries to deceive you, give him the Word of God. There is something about the Word of God that causes him not to want to hang around those who use it. It reminds him of Jesus, the Word made flesh (John 1:14), who rendered him powerless and of no effect when He said, “It is written…”

Then Jesus, knowing that they meant to come and seize Him that they might make Him king, withdrew again to the hillside by Himself alone.

—John 6:15

If the devil can’t convince you to be idle and passive, he will drive you to do too much. As soon as you are out of balance, he can devour you (see 1 Peter 5:8). The word disciple comes from the word discipline. To be a disciple of Jesus, you must discipline yourself to follow His ways.

Jesus spent a great deal of time going about doing good for people, but He balanced His time by getting alone to pray and commune with the Father. Time with God renews your strength to do good things that you want to do for others. Live a balanced life by spending time with Him.

Memorise: And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Daniel 6:20

Read: Daniel 6:18-23 (KJV)

6:18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.



6:19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.

6:20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?


6:21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.


6:22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.


6:23 Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.




Bible in one year: 1st King 5-6, Ezekiel 16:44-58, Hymn: Sing hymn 14
MESSAGE:
If your desire to see exploits from the Almighty God, you must know Him personally and believe that He is alive. Unfortunately, when some believers are going through very tough times, you will think that their God is dead. They lose their trust in God, just because they could not feel Him doing anything about their case while putting their trust in Him. Some of such people will no longer confess Him before men because they are afraid He might disappoint them. Hebrews 11:6 says that if you want anything at all from God, you must believe that He is alive and well. You must believe that He continues to exist and that He is in control. Open Heavens 28 July 2017: Friday daily devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye- Situation-Dependent Service. No matter how bad your situation may appear, God is still alive and He is in charge. Nothing happens in your life without His knowledge.


After Daniel was set up by some fellow leaders in the Government of King Darius, He was thrown into the lion’s den. What the king said to him while he was in the lion’s den is very instructive:


“And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?”
Daniel 6:20


In other words, this king recognised that the God of Daniel was the living God. Do people know your God as the living God? Also, King Darius observed the quality of worship Daniel offered to his God. Open Heavens 28 July 2017. Daniel not only severed God in the times of plenty, blessings and answered prayers, but also in the times of persecution and unanswered prayers. If you truly want to see exploits, you must be ready to serve God continuously. Do you know that many people allow situations and circumstances to affect or determine when they serve God? Some people decide to down tools in God’s house just because a particular pending request has not been granted. Some even “threaten” God that if He doesn’t answer their prayer, they will stop pastoring, winning souls or doing some specific assignment that God has given to them. Can you truly threaten God? Is you love for God dependent on your situation in life? If you have downed tools in God’s service, repent and get back to doing the work that God gave to you!

Can people hear God speaking through you?

We don’t all speak the same language, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try and make connections with the world around you. Instead of expecting the world and the times to change their language for you, you’ll have to change your language to fit the time you’re in. One thing we can’t change, stop or fight is time.






Knowing we’re living in a time when Christianity is on the decline in this country, for the first time in history, we have to ask ourselves how we’ll stand strong in the face of people who don’t accept Scripture as law. Just because your surroundings may be out of order, don’t let the order be out of you. There’s someone out there whose tastes are different than yours, whose background and lifestyle are different than yours. But can they hear God speaking through you -- in their language?

. . . make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.

—Psalm 145:12

Some years ago I heard about a clergyman who had a friend who was an actor. The actor was drawing large crowds of people, and the clergyman was preaching to a few in the church. He said to his actor friend, “Why is it that you draw great crowds, and I have no audience at all? Your words are sheer fiction, and mine are unchangeable truth.” The actor’s reply was quite simple. “I present my fiction as though it were truth; you present your truth as though it were fiction.” I fear that so often we Christians give the idea that the truth is fiction by the way we live and by the lack of dedication to the teachings of our Lord.

We can all grow in our faith. Browse these spiritual growth topics for answers and guidance.

Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.

Numbers 14:9

Thousands of years ago, God told the children of Israel to go up and occupy the land that He had given them. He told them to take it, by force and without fear, from the ungodly ones who were dwelling there.

He's still saying that today. God is still trying to get us, as His people, to take the good land He's given us. He's still trying to get us to use the power He's given us to run the wicked one out.

You see, this earth doesn't belong to the devil. It belongs to God (Psalms 24:1). The devil has just moved in and taken control of things because we believers haven't stopped him.

That is our job, you know. Jesus took Satan's legal rights away from him on Resurrection morning. Then Jesus put us in charge of enforcing Satan's defeat. The Scripture says that Jesus is going to sit at the right hand of the Father until His enemies are made His footstool (Hebrews 10:12-13). Do you know what that means? It means Jesus is waiting on us to kick the devil and his crew out of the affairs of this earth. He's waiting on us to carry out the victory He won at Calvary and occupy this land.

But just like Israel had to rise up physically to take the land of Canaan, you and I have to rise up in the spirit if we're going to establish the dominion of God in the earth. We're going to have to get moving. We can't do it sitting down!

Listen, you may not know it, but we're at war. We're in a spiritual battle—and we're winning. In fact, if you realized what was already established in the spirit world, you'd laugh at the devil every time he showed his face.

So today if the devil has control of an area of your life or your church or your community, rise up in the spirit through faith and prayer and the Word and start taking that territory back. Don't be afraid. His defense is departed from him. He has no weapon that can stand against you.

The Lord is with you. Rise up in the Name of Jesus and take back the land!



Scripture Reading:

Exodus 14:10-31

READ: Romans 5:15-19

...every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry...
Philippians 4:12

The apostle Paul was intent on obeying the Lord. If the instruction was hunger, he was prepared for it; if the instruction was fullness, he would obey!

The consequence of obeying or disobeying one little instruction can be so great that no sacrifice could ever compensate for the act of disobedience.

Think about Jesus, who by one act of obedience has rescued millions from the throes of Hell. There is nothing like obedience in the eyes of God. To obey is better than to sacrifice. This is the most important truth you must learn about obedience.

I remember the story of an army lieutenant who received orders to fire his artillery at the enemy . As his soldiers prepared to fire, the radio operator had a message from the general asking the lieutenant to hold his fire. Something had changed: the enemy position had now been occupied by his own troops. The lieutenant was so zealous to fight that he did not listen to the radio operator, but rather opened fire and pounded his own soldiers.

God is like the army general, who sees the whole picture. He knows when to fire and when not to fire; He knows when to sacrifice and when not to. I have learnt that to obey is better than to sacrifice. God has sometimes asked us not to do things that we habitually do. Could it be that there will be times that it is more important not to preach, than it is to preach because that is what God says?

Jude 1:20: But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,