FAVOUR UPROOTS OBSTACLES – Saturday August 15th 2015
Memorise: Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. Job 10:12
Read: Zachariah 4:6-9, 6.So he answered and said to me:“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’Says the Lord of hosts.7‘Who are you, O great mountain?Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!And he shall bring forth the capstoneWith shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”8Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying:9“The hands of ZerubbabelHave laid the foundation of this temple;His hands shall also finish it.Then you will knowThat the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.
Bible in one year: Genesis 19:1-21:7,
Genesis 19:1-21King James Version (KJV)
19 And there came two angels toSodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat.
4 But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:
5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
12 And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it.
14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.
17 And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.
18 And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord:
19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:
20 Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live.
21 And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.
John 13:31-14:14
31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.
33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
36 Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.
37 Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.
38 Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.
14 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?
10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
Message
In the journey of life, the enemy can place obstacles in the way of a man to prevent the actualisation of his destiny. Zerubbabel was a man commissioned by God to rebuild the ruins of Jerusalemand to restore the worship of God at His temple. The Word of the Lord concerning this came expressly to him through several prophets and scribes, including Zechariah, Haggai and Ezra (Haggi 1:1-2, Zechariah 4:9, Ezra 2:1-2). In spite of these facts, the enemy still put difficulties along his way to prevent him from fulfilling God’s divine destiny for his life (Ezra 4:3-5). However, Zerubbabel found favour before God, and the unmerited favour of God was sent to uproot the obstacles the enemy placed in his way (Zachariah 4:7). This season, the Lord will remove every obstacle the enemy has placed in your way in Jesus’ Name.
A particular sister trusting God for marriage attended one of our Holy Ghost services, and a word came from God that there was a lady present, whose mother was obstructing her from getting married. The Lord said if this mother continued to stand in her way, she would die within a week. On getting home, this lady told her mother the word she had heard from God. Her mother later stormed angrily into my office saying: “You are the one teaching people wrong things, and saying that I am going to die!” “When did I say that, mama?” I asked. “My daughter returned from your programme and came to tell me so”, she responded. To pacify her, I told her that I did not mention any names, and added, “Don’t mind her. That is how they claim what does not belong to them.” Pacified, she excused her daughter from my office. When we were both alone, she turned to me and said “Pastor, is it true that the mother in question will die?” “Mama, it is not you, but God’s word must be fulfilled. If the person in question fails to release her daughter to be married, within seven days, she will be buried”, I replied. She then confessed, “It is not that I don’t want her to marry, but the challenge is that if she marries, who will take care of me? She is the only one looking after me now.” I told her “Mama, if that is the issue, there is no problem. I will tell her husband that whatever your daughter has been doing for you before she was married should be sustained.” She then responded, “Alright, she can marry.” Within a week, after several years of waiting, a man looked in her direction and said she was the right woman for him. Today, the favour of God will turn God’s search light in your direction and completely flush out everyone standing between you and your expectations, in Jesus’ Name!
Prayer Point
Father, by Your favour, remove every obstacle frustrating the fulfilment of my destiny.
