Early today morning, April 20, 2020, the Lord took me in a dream to a classroom setting. All lectures/lessons had been concluded, and all was set for examination to commence.
Thereafter, I came out of the classroom, with the mind of going to the house to pick something.
However, there was no way to get to the house because a roadblock had been mounted by armed soldiers.
When I told one of armed soldiers at the road block that I wanted to get home to pick something, he replied sternly, “NO”. At that point, I woke up from my sleep.
As I went on my knees to pray about the dream, the Lord told me He had allowed the Lockdown we are currently experiencing, so that we can undergo SPIRITUAL EXAMINATION.
While the world governments are preoccupied with physical examination to checkmate the spread of corona virus,
the Lord says we should be occupied with that which concerns our spiritual well-being. Just as the world is clamouring for physical checkups against corona virus, the Lord is urging us to give ourselves spiritual checkups.
2 Corinthians 13:5 says,
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?-unless indeed you are disqualified
The lockdown, the Lord is saying to us, should be utilised to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith – if we are really Christians as we claim or merely imposters.
This is the time to Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13).
This is the time to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2 Corinthians 7:1).
This is the time to actively seek to grow closer to God, and not to draw farther away from Him.
This is the time to ask ourselves whether we are walking according to the gospel that we profess.
After the lockdown, that is, the time God is giving us for the SPIRITUAL EXAMINATION, the Lord says,
He will release the results of the SPIRITUAL EXAMINATION of each and every one of us, that life will never be the same again. The outcome of the SPIRITUAL EXAMINATION, would be a determinant of the kind of life we will experience after the lockdown.
Dear people of God, we wish to draw our attention for the third time to the following counsel we gave to us while the lockdown was to commence in Delta State on April 1, 2020:
Beloved in Christ, let’s seize the opportunity the lockdown provides to utilize to the maximum our QUIET TIME (personal devotion), COUPLE ALTAR (husband and wife having devotion together), and the FAMILY ALTAR (parents, children, etc living in the home having devotion together). It is time to Stoke the fire of these three altars (personal, couple and family) where the fire has simmered down, while we await Jesus’ second coming’.
As we conclude this message, we urge you to know
…that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, [19] but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Peter 1:18-19).
And
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”(1 Thessalonians 5:23).
Now when [He] rose early on the first [day] of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.
She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.
And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.
And they went and told [it] to the rest, [but] they did not believe them either.
Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
“And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
“they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
✝📃STUDY
The writers of the four gospels recorded how Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection. She was formerly possessed and afflicted by seven demons but her encounter with Jesus changed her history: She became His follower and the first evangelist to proclaim His resurrection. Jesus can always rewrite our history for good when we encounter Him. The disciples did not believe the news about Jesus’ resurrection until when He appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief.Unbelief is doubt, the opposite of faith;its consequences are great such as external condemnation(v.16). James asserts that anyone who doubts is unstable in his faith and cannot get anything from God. Secondly some Israelites did not enter the Promise Land because of unbelief (Heb. 3:19). We need grace to overcome this cankerworm in our journey with God.
Can you see the manifestations of believing from verses 17-18?Those that believe will cast out demons, speak with new tongues, take up serpents, lay hands on the sick and they will recover and if they drink deadly poison, shall not be hurt. Indeed the power of belief is immeasurable. Have you experienced any of the signs in your Christian life? Note, these signs shall follow them that believe, so be a believer and not an unbeliever.
Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.
And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.
But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.
And He said to them, “What kind of conversation [is] this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”
Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”
And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
“and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.
“But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.
“Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.
“When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.
“And certain of those [who were] with us went to the tomb and found [it] just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”
Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
✝📃STUDY
In today’s passage, Jesus appears to two of His disciples going to Emmaus, one of them was Cleopas. These men apparently did not recognise Him for certain reasons. Consider Jesus statement to them “O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken”(v.25).As followers of Jesus, we are expected to understand the scriptures and believe and act on them. They are not ordinary words; they are life (Deut. 32:47). Every Christian needs this understanding so that he can flow with the perfect will of God.
It was at the table when they reclined to eat with Him and He prayed that their eyes were opened (vs. 30-31). They recognised Him and He disappeared from them leaving them convinced that He is alive. The impact of their encounter with Jesus moved them to proclaim the good news about His Resurrection. Have you ever encountered Jesus in your life? What impact did this encounter create in you? This encounter is personal and necessary for our new life in Christ, empowerment, growth and relevance in the Kingdom of God.
✝🙏 PRAYER: I need a touch from the Master O! Lord.
“ If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary? But who can withhold himself from speaking?
Surely you have instructed many, And you have strengthened weak hands.
Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, And you have strengthened the feeble knees;
But now it comes upon you, and you are weary; It touches you, and you are troubled.
Is not your reverence your confidence? And the integrity of your ways your hope?
7.“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off?
Even as I have seen, Those who plow iniquity And sow trouble reap the same.
By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.
The roaring of the lion, The voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
The old lion perishes for lack of prey, And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
12.“Now a word was secretly brought to me, And my ear received a whisper of it.
In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men,
Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all my bones shake.
Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair on my body stood up.
It stood still, But I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; There was silence; Then I heard a voice saying:
17.‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?
If He puts no trust in His servants, If He charges His angels with error,
How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before a moth?
They are broken in pieces from morning till evening; They perish forever, with no one regarding.
Does not their own excellence go away? They die, even without wisdom.’
MESSAGE:
Jobs three friends visited him to sympathize with and comfort him over the trouble that came upon him. When they saw his situation, they mourned with him and remained speechless for seven days and seven nights. Finally, Eliphaz, one of them, broke the silence and made certain assumptions: the innocent and upright do not have trouble (v.7); they that sow evil reap it (v.8); mortals cannot be innocent before God their maker (v.12).
In some cases of course, his assumptions may be true but not in Jobs case. To Eliphaz, Jobs suffering was as a result of his sins but the testimony of his life in verses 3-7 and Chapter 1:1 as a blameless man contradicts his assumptions.
Many a time, when brethren suffer as a result of sickness, horrible afflictions, etc., we quickly attribute such to sin. Though sin has a devastating effect, it is not responsible for every negative condition, as in the case of Job.
Let us therefore show brotherly affection to our troubled ones by praying for Gods mercy and intervention in their situations. Sometimes, costly assumptions are more painful than the trouble itself.
PRAYER:
Father, use me always to bring succour to troubled hearts.
