THE (DEATH) MINISTRY OF LOT

Brother Lot became Minister Lot and some souls were committed onto him. Who were these souls?

-          Those servants of his who were in-charge of his cattle and businesses: the same herdmen who contended with Abraham’s herdmen (Genesis 13:7).

-          His wife and two (2) daughters

-          His sons-in-law

It is obvious that Lot had some lives committed onto his care and leadership. But in the end, we never heard of those servants again; they were lost to the flames of Sodom. Lot began with quite a number of lives but ended with his own life by saved by mercy. His ministry killed more people than it saved. What a ministry of death! Looks like there are some of such ministries today where people are being channelled into an ugly lurking eternity in Hell.

Let us consider still briefly some confirmations of the truth that Lot disappointed God and man in the course of his ministry and living.

1)      God was disappointed

Lot was living in compromise, lust and greed by the choice of Sodom. Yet God made merciful and gracious ways of escape for him but afterward, he still returned to Sodom.

Lot didn’t start by living inside Sodom. In the beginning the Bible says ‘he went to live NEAR Sodom’ (Genesis 13:12). He wasn’t living inside Sodom at first but lived close by. But it wasn’t long after he landed inside Sodom, and when the enemies came to attack, Lot was already living inside Sodom. “And they took Lot, Abraham’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed” (Genesis 14:12).

When God used Abraham to bring deliverance, one would have thought Lot would step away from Sodom, but he went back to the same place and destruction was just miles away.

Backsliding does not begin in one day; it starts gradually. Those who backslide would perhaps receive many warnings and mercy life-line but they would despise such. This was the case of Lot.

If we agree that God gave Lot a second chance after his first capture, then it is clear he failed that second chance.

2)      Abraham was disappointed

Why was Abraham interceding for Lot (Genesis 18:23-33)? Why did he start his intercession with fifty (50) souls? Abraham perhaps expected Minister Lot to at least have won and discipled at least fifty (50) souls, afterall he had servants, herdmen, family members, etc. But in the end, it was clear to Abraham that Lot’s ministry could boast of several cattles, conections, influence, buildings, money, businesses, etc, but it could not account for even ten (10) souls. What a calling!

3)      The angels were disappointed

“And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? Son in law, and thy sons, and daughters, and whatsoever  thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place” (Genesis 19:12).

What a question! Even the angels were surprised that Lot could only account for only his daughters and wife (who eventually missed it). Why would the angels have asked for sons if Lot never had sons?! What sons were being referred to? Not his biological sons, but spiritual sons! But the man either had none or had and lost them to the flames of Sodom.

There is a relationship between Lot and Rahab. While Lot can go for a Minister, Rahab could go for an “ordinary” member. But they had the same mandate, and Lot (the Minister) escaped with only two daughters while Rahab (the member) escaped with all her families. This is how it will be in the end, ministers with no souls to show and members with many souls to show. What a life!

We must remind ourselves that we shall not show God the number of houses we built, or the number of cars He gave us, or the size of our bank accounts, but the number of souls we genuinely touched shall be an eternal legacy.

As we close, it is vital to check and see if Lot had instructions at his disposal. Yes, he had! Did he take them? The end confirmed that! God said about Abraham, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment…” (Genesis 18:19a).

Lot was a part of that household which Abraham commanded but the lust for space, acquisition and accumulation of gadgets, love for money, greed for more, conformity to the world and taste for worldliness overtook him and he landed himself a ministry of death, killing more souls (in the flames of Sodom) than he helped make Heaven.

Today, there are ministries and ministers harming souls than helping them. The question is, where do you belong?

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LOVE AND GRACE

It was LOVE that made God give Jesus (John 3:16).

And with the coming of Jesus came GRACE (John 1:17b).

There is thus a relationship between LOVE and GRACE. We can put it this way: love is the motivation (the reason/the basis) for grace. Where love is, grace abounds. How does this understanding help us? Quickly:

1)      When you love God, God makes grace available onto you. Your measure of love for God determines the measure of grace you can carry. It is error to fast and pray for grace while your love for God is zero.

How then can a man know he loves God? Yeah, I have done a teaching on this before (you can e-mail me via: drbukola@treasuredhouse.org for this teaching), but here are two (2) clues:

i)                    When you keep His commandments and live pleasing to Him (John 14:15).

ii)                  ii) When you love other people (1 John 3:18).

2)      When love abides in your family/marriage, grace multiplies in that atmosphere. I call this atmosphere of grace 'Graceosphere'...it overcomes every contrary and evil atmosphere. Grace chokes satanic manipulations in your family and they die off. And the way to release grace in your family is to express love. Love is a suitable medium where grace seeks to thrive. When you love, grace is available; and where grace abounds, disgrace is absent.

Friend, if you desire to walk in the fullness of grace for life and destiny I recommend to you the way of love. In the end, you can be sure (with love and grace) you will finish well. Be lifted; Live ready; Live blessed.

In His Calling,

Dr. Bukola Williams

TreasuredHouse®

www.treasuredhouse.org

WHAT TO DO WHEN IT APPEARS GOD IS SILENT CONCERNING YOU

Foremost, I want to say that God is a speaking God. The main problem is that some people either do not know how to hear Him or are insensitive to what He is doing or saying. But also, there may appear a season in a man’s life when it seems like in-spite of all the promises, praying and rightful doings nothing seems to be changing. If this is your situation or you know someone like that, then this word is for you.

1.      BE THANKFUL

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thess. 5:18).

God says “in everything” give thanks not in a few situations or when things are going well. Eph. 5:20.

2.      BE WATCHFUL

Look inward to see and be sure there is no (unconfessed or hidden) sin in your life which would disconnect you from God. “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2).

Sin closes the Heaven over a life (1 Kings 8:35; 2 Chronicles 6:26). If there is any sin to confess, don’t delay! (1 John 1:9; Psalm 32:5; Prov. 28:13).

3.      REVIEW YOUR WILL VERSUS HIS WILL

Ephesians 5:17; Col. 1:9

God sponsors and sustains His will through His word and instructions. Disobedience and rebellion to God’s will can disconnect a man from God’s  voice.

Praying in the name of Jesus but outside the will of God will not motivate Heaven to attend to the prayer. As His name is, so His will is.

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

It is difficult to enter divine destiny and impossible to make Heaven by living outside God’s will.

4.      BE PATIENT; STAY POSITIVE AND TRUST HIS FAITHFULNESS

When there is nothing (sinful or rebellious) between you and God and yet it appears nothing is changing and no  word is coming;

a.      Be Patient

“For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:36).

b.      Stay Positive

Confess the word; be positive in your confessions; exercise faith (Romans  4:17).

c.       Trust His Faithfulness

“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5b).

“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee” (Isaiah 49:15).

5.      PERSIST IN PRAYER

Never give up on God. Don’t entertain weariness and discouragement; pray on! (Luke 18:1; 1 Thess. 5:17; Eph. 6:18). You may just be some steps away from your answers. And as you pray, go on and battle against spiritual oppositions (Daniel 10:12-13). Also be sure to avoid murmuring and complaining.

And then remember to “forget about yourself” and pray for others…this is intercessory prayer. Job’s change when he prayed for his friends. He confessed change in Job 14:14, and the change surfaced in Job 42:10. Well, I can’t really say what would have happened if he prayed for them earlier than he did.

6.      ENGAGE THE POWER OF PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING

As you pray on, praise on and be thankful always. “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).

When you have done all you know to do, praise Him!

7.      BE AVAILABLE TO GOD ALWAYS

Let nothing take you away from God and His will (1 Corinthians 15:58).

NOTE THESE:

-          God cannot lie and He does not fail: you cannot be the first victim! (Numbers 23:19; Deut. 31:6).

-          There is nothing God cannot do; He can help you, give you a child, a job, marital partner, and what you trust Him for (Jeremiah 32:17 & 27).

-          When God works, no devil, demon or witchcraft can withstand Him (Isaiah 54:17; Numbers 23:23).

-          God has a plan for your life and He is taking it through His own (ways). Sometimes we may not understand, but we shall understand it better by and by. Your testimony is sure (Jeremiah 29:11; Isaiah 55:8).

-          Value your relationship with God and your place in Heaven above all other things. In the end, what matters most is making Heaven and not missing rapture when it happens (Luke 12:15; 1 Timothy 6:7; Matthew 16:26).

Hear God’s word: “Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him” (Isaiah 3:10a). IT IS WELL WITH YOU BELOVED.

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DELAYED REPENTANCE

“And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee” (Acts 24:25).

The man had the opportunity to repent, but he deferred his salvation to a time he thought he would be ready. Though he had a more perfect knowledge of these things – of God’s expectation and judgment, yet he postponed the opportunity to make Heaven and escape hell.

Pilate had the opportunity to know the truth, but he asked a question and never waited for the answer: “Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all” (John 18:38).

There was a man whom  Jesus said was not far from the kingdom: “And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34). He was not far, but he was not in. This is the case of everyone that postpones repentance and salvation. Unfortunately, some shall be locked outside because no one knows when the door shall be locked. I pray that we shall not be locked outside of Heaven in Jesus’ name. To delay repentance is to play with eternity.

Do not delay to stop sinning. Do not delay to do restitution. Do not delay to do what is right. Today is the day of salvation…eternity may be a blink away.

Maranatha.

THE POWER OF TESTIMONY

For four (4) generations, the Herod’s class was a perpetual antagonist to the gospel of Jesus.

i)        Herod the great who killed innocent children while he tried to kill Jesus (Matthew 2:16).

ii)      Herod the Tetrarch (Herod Antipas) who killed John the Baptist (Matthew 14:1-11).

iii)    Herod Agrippa I (Grandson of Herod the great) who killed James and wanted to kill Peter (Acts 12:1-5).

iv)    And then Agrippa (Herod Agrippa II, son of Herod Agrippa I). It was this Agrippa that Paul encountered and it is amazing how Paul stood before this man but the same man whose ancestors hated the gospel, the same man requested to hear Paul and vindicated him (Acts 26:1, 31-32).

Not only was Agrippa there, his sister (Bernice) was there and also was governor Festus (Acts 25:23). There was a king, a governor and a princess all gathered and Jesus’ words were fulfilled: “And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles” (Matthew 10:18).

Paul stood and shared his testimony and after his testimony, Herod Agrippa II stood up and said he (Paul) has done nothing deserving of death. His ancestors killed Jesus’ people, but his own wings were plucked by the reason of Paul’s testimony. This is a confirmation of Revelation 12:11a: And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony”.

Paul’s testimony brought to an end four (4) generations of spiritual opposition and antagonism against the church. How powerful is a man’s testimony! The most difficult man to stop is a man with an intact testimony before God. Death could not stop Enoch because God took him “for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” (Hebrews 11:5b). Enoch’s testimony opened a door to glory that not even death could shut. Amen.

By your testimony of holiness and grace before God, you can bring to an end generations of manipulation in your family and ministry. The apostles battled Herod by prayers and suspended antagonism for a while, but Paul terminated oppression and hostility by testimony!

When your testimony before God is intact, the devil stays away from you. This was the story of Job, by his testimony, the devil stayed away from his life and became a wanderer (Job 1:6-8).

You may have been praying and fasting because of spiritual oppositions and it might look like the battle has been long. But, I charge you today, examine your standing and testimony before the Lord. The devil is scared of certain people…these are men whose testimony before God (not men) is well pleasing. It is these ones that overcome by the word of their testimony.

THE TRUTH THAT SAVES

Nathan; he was David’s friend and prophet. Though David was king, Nathan told him the truth however painful it was (2 Samuel 12:1-12). It was a heavy truth that sent David on his knees in repentance.

The reason why we have not seen the fruit of repentance in the lives of some of our friends is because we do not tell them the whole truth. For many, familiarity has sealed their lips for truth. For some, they cannot say the truth because they themselves do not have testimony of the truth.

David saw a man who could tell him the truth and he kept him (Nathan) as a life-long friend. Even on his death bed, Nathan was there (1 Kings 1:23). This was one of David’s secret – love for the truth! Tell him the truth, he would love you more. It was him that said: “The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips” (Psalm 12:3). Truth sustained him and preserved him: “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me” (Psalm 25:21). If you hate to hear the truth, then you hate true greatness and you dislike Heaven. Those who seek to close up the truth end up with a ‘closed destiny’: “For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth” (2 Corinthians 13:8).

David heard the truth and repented, whereas Saul heard the same truth but tried to cover up by blaming the people (1 Samuel 15:24). When we wrong, we must accept the truth and repent without looking for excuses. Our attitude to the truth determines our altitude in life through grace.

A friend is someone who tells you not just what you want to hear, but what God is saying to you. He tells you the truth whether you love to hear it or not, but he stays there to help you through getting it right.

Many who say they are believers are comfortable seeing their friends in sin(s) and error(s) and keep quiet. For this reason, many such friends sin comfortably even in their presence. The truth is, if your presence does not ‘rebuke’ or represent a ‘check’ to someone who knows you as a believer of wrongdoing/sin, then check your testimony. By the Holy Spirit’s presence and operation in your life, your presence should ‘discourage’ your friends from their sins/wrongdoing (John 16:8).

What kind of friends do you have around you; those who tell you the truth or tell you want you want to hear? There are people who stopped talking to some people simply because the latter spoke the truth to them. Do you belong here? The truth you do not want to hear might just be your lifeline for eternity in Heaven.

Choose friends whose presence in your life pushes you closer to God and Heaven.

WHAT IS THE HOPE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS?

We are in a time and a generation where righteousness has been regarded as old fashioned and outdated. What a lie from the devil! It is this same lie that many have believed and having been taught so, they have concluded that it is impossible to live and do well without compromise, cheating and corruption. When few people choose to stand for righteousness, integrity and truth they are seen as foolish and destined to fail. For this reason, corruption is being celebrated and evil has become a standard. But God has not changed, neither has His standards. As it was in the days of Noah, so it remains today...nothing short of righteousness will qualify for the rapture and for Heaven.

God is a righteous God and righteousness is a pre-requisite for divine destiny and Heavenly eternity. Unlike the devil suggests to men, holiness is never a negative. Holiness is God's lifestyle and pattern for His children, and it is also God's pathway to a blessed life (Matthew 6:33). It implies putting God, Heaven and eternity ahead of earthly possessions and relevance.

Here are a few of God's plans for His righteous children;

- "The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous" (Psalm 118:15a).

- "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in lebanon" (Psalm 92:12).

- "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace" (Psalm 37:37).

- "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18).

- "Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings" (Isaiah 3:10).

- "I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread" (Psalm 37:25).

- "Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows" (Psalm 45:7; Hebrews 1:9).

- "Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serve God and him that serve Him not" (Malachi 3:18).

- "The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever" (Isaiah 32:17).

I have been led of the LORD to share these scriptures with you and to say to you exactly what the scriptures say. I have found no other way to excellence and distinction apart from the way of holiness and purity. The seed of God is in us and we are equally made in His image. The call to holiness is not for material gain but as a demonstration of love for God, and a necessity for effective spiritual fellowship with the trinity (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit) and other brethren, and as a requirement for eternal fellowship in Heaven. And as we live righteously  and contently, we are also correctly positioned for God’s favour, provisions and preservation.

The devil promotes sin (corruption, cheating, compromises, etc) as way to greatness, but that greatness ends in Hell (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25). Unfortunately, this is the way many are following and hell has widened its mouth. But there is one way to TRUE Greatness - divine destiny and Heavenly eternity; it is the way of holiness and truth (Isaiah 35:8). It is an highway...a way above sin, above lust for money and the flesh, above greed and corruption, and a way above accusation and eternal regrets. I pray that you shall find that way in Jesus' name, and everyone who finds that way, please do not depart from it (Proverbs 23:23).