by lighthouse | Jun 30, 2020 | Fasting & Prayers, News & Announcements
And God did it…again!
Scriptures For Meditation — Joshua 21:44-45; Ps 126:1-6; Isa 55:10-13
“And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD helped them conquer all their enemies.” Jos 21:44
Over the past two days of our fasting and prayers, we have focused on the infallibility of God’s word and the inevitability of the promises that He makes to His people.
As we read previously in Day 1, God had made a promise to the Israelites saying that a day was coming when He would restore their fortunes and bring them into their land and settle them. In Day 2, we read:
So the LORD gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. Jos 21:43
But the story didn’t end there!
Today, we see from our first scripture (Joshua 21:44-45), that every single detail of the promise that God gave to them was taken care of in fulfilment of the promise.
“Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.” Jos 21:45
Child of God, that should make hope come alive in you as you read that scripture!
God gave them possession; He gave them rest on every side so they could enjoy the possession, then He gave them security from oppression of the enemy, so they could retain the blessing. Hallelujah!
There is a word that stuck in my mind in one of the scriptures that we read in Day 1 — Jeremiah 30:3 —
“For the time is coming when I will restore the fortunes of my people of Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to this land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it again. I, the LORD, have spoken!”
This word comes alive, as it appears in one of the scriptures that we are meditating on today — Psalm 126:1 —
When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. (kjv)
It is the word “again”; reading from the kjv translation, it would go on to appear three times in the passage. (Ps 126 verses 1, 4 and 6)
It is a word that should fan the fire of hope that the promise of restoration ignited in you!
Sometimes we can look at the promise especially relating to what we have lost or what has been destroyed, and wonder if it would be possible that we could ever recover those things; maybe because we think time has passed or events have overtaken the situation; that it was past the time of recovery or the window for restoration to be possible.
But the word “again” suggests otherwise; God did it once before, He can do it again; and then again, and again, if He needs to!
God had once delivered His children from the captivity of Egypt. The exiled captives in Babylon to whom this fresh promise of restoration and settlement was now being given, would have heard those stories of God’s deliverance then, and maybe wondered if God would, or could He still do the same for them in their plight?
And then, God did it…again!
Whatever it is that God has promised to do in your life; He knows just what to do to make it happen. He has promised not only to do new things, but to also recover and restore the old things that we have lost as well. Just sometimes, not in the way that we think…
As the song goes, “My God will do it again, just like before; I’m not giving up, I’m not down!”
Can you join me to make this your declaration of faith in this season that you are in?
Selah…
Pastor Wale Ola
PRAYER FOCUS
Psalm 126:1-6
Thank God for the testimonies of the past miracles and demonstrations of God’s faithfulness in your life.
Think of a testimony or testimonies that you have heard of what God has done in another person’s life that you know of. Thank God for His faithfulness in their life.
Ask God to turn your captivity around again. (Ps 126:4). Pray this for yourself, your family, the church.
Pray that God will fill your mouth with laughter and your tongue with singing.
Pray, Lord according to Your word, please restore my fortunes, again in Jesus’s Name.
Thank God for answered prayers.
Prayer & Fasting Corporate Prayers
Please Join Us For Prayers on Zoom TONIGHT from 7:30pm – 8:00pm.
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by lighthouse | Jun 29, 2020 | Fasting & Prayers, News & Announcements
Just As He Said…
Scriptures For Meditation —Jeremiah 30:3; Joshua 21:43; 1John 5:14-15
So the LORD gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. Jos 21:43
The first part of the promise that was fulfilled concerning Israel was restoration of their rightful possession.
God had promised earlier in Jer 30 that He would restore their fortunes and bring them again into their inheritance; and He did just as He had promised to do!
I liked the inclusion of the word “again” into the promise. It meant that they were not just going to take new territories, but that they would also recover lost ground! Hallelujah!
This promise also had another dimension to it — Settlement.
An Enduring Reality
God was saying to them that their possession of their inheritance wasn’t going to be a fleeting or temporary experience; there was a promise of permanence also with it — it was going to be an enduring reality!
As the bible says concerning God in Ecc 3:14;
And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him.
I pray for you my dear friend, that as we stand and pray together on this second day, that will also be the reality of your life and your enduring testimony in Jesus’s Name.
Amen.
Prayer Focus
• Restore My Fortunes O Lord (Pray this for your self, your children, family, church, your nation)
• Cause us not only to take new territories, but also to recover lost ground.
• Bring me/us to a place of settlement
• Make my/our breakthrough an enduring testimony in Jesus’s Name.
Prayer & Fasting Corporate Prayers
Please Join Us For Prayers on Zoom TONIGHT from 7:30pm – 8:00pm.
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by lighthouse | Jun 28, 2020 | Fasting & Prayers, News & Announcements
What He Said…
Scriptures For Meditation —Jeremiah 30:1-3; Matt 5:18.
This month’s fasting and prayers will be in keeping with the theme of what we spoke about in the first part of the sermon series, Rest of God (please listen to the sermon again if you can).
We will begin today’s meditation by looking at God’s instruction to Jeremiah concerning the prophetic word to Israel in Jer 30:1-3:
Write down for the record, everything that I have said to you.
This is an instruction from a God who is so sure of the inevitability of EVERYTHING that He has said.
At all times, our first, continuous and even our last line of defence against doubt, discouragement or lies of the enemy in times of challenges is the promise that God has made to us, or what He has revealed or declared as His will.
What Did God Say ?
In the case of Israel, God continued His discourse with Jeremiah with a confirmation of what He had said earlier, and what He was presently saying:
Jer 30:3 For the time is coming when I will restore the fortunes of my people of Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to this land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it again. I, the LORD, have spoken!”
God made a promise to them of Restoration, Possession and Settlement.
He told Jeremiah to write these things down, so the people could use them as a point of reference to navigate through the adverse seasons of their lives.
So, what has God said to you?
Has He made any specific promises to you in prophecy or are there any promises that you can claim as His revealed will in His word?
The assignment for you today is to take some time out to write out these things that you are believing God for, and let’s bring them before His Throne of Grace today as we pray and wait on Him in fasting.
When Jesus was confronted by the Tempter, His response was: “It is written”
And in 1Timothy 1:18, Paul advises Timothy to use the prophecies that have been spoken concerning his (Timothy’s) life, as a weapon of warfare against the enemy.
This will be our opening gambit against the enemy this month!
Let’s bring His words to remembrance and let’s dig in our heels in faith, to resist and counter the wiles of the enemy against our destiny.
Shalom,
Pastor Wale Ola
Prayer Focus
Rewatch Sermon (Rest of God)
• Write Down What He Said
• Meditate on What He Said
• Thank Him For What He has Said
• Declare What He said: “Lord, You Said…”!
Prayer & Fasting Corporate Prayers
Please Join Us For Prayers on Zoom TONIGHT from 7:30pm – 8:00pm.
Click the link below to Join directly from your, PC, Mac, Linux, and on your iOS or Android phone:
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by lighthouse | Jun 1, 2020 | Fasting & Prayers, News & Announcements
Just A Thought
Scriptures For Meditation: Eze 20:30; Zec 9:10
Eze 22:30 “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.”
This session brings us to the final cycle of the 3 cycles of 26 days that God laid on my heart for us to fast and pray for the nation.
Looking back from when we started, it is interesting to see how each cycle has dovetailed into poignant moments in the affairs of the nation.
The first cycle coincided with the weekend that our Prime Minister was hospitalised for Covid-19 infection and also recorded the worst death rate throughout the whole pandemic.
The second cycle coincided with the Prime Minister’s address to the nation on the decision on the way forward concerning the lockdown. And this third cycle that begins today, now coincides with the beginning of the ease of lockdown measures, and a potentially combustible situation with the protests, riots, looting and deaths happening all around America.
Yes, we listen to the news and think America, so far away from us…
Just How Far Away Is Far?
Just spare a moment’s thought if you will; when the outbreak of the pandemic began, we watched the news and thought…”China; thank God, so far away…”.
And then it got to Europe; but even then, Spain, France and Italy were not part of the Uk; so it was still something we just watched on the news; background noise on the telly as we went about our business; something we talked about in passing, maybe with an occasional cursory acknowledgement of the people that died —It was still reasonably far away from us; until it was not!
But please spare a moment’s thought if you will.
What if the riots are not as far off as we think? What if there were to be a filtering through of the sense of injustice and the burning angst against the inequitable social justice system and perceived racism to the ethnic minority groups in different spheres of life in this nation?
What if what’s happening now in America kicks off something here in our nation too?
What if someone dear to you were to be on the receiving end of a fatal act of injustice? Would it be “near enough” then for you to sit up and take notice?
We started these cycles with a scripture from Ezekiel 22:30, and we are ending with the same verse of scripture.
God is still looking for someone to stand in the gap so that the land will not be destroyed. He’s waiting for someone to help rebuild the wall of righteousness.
Will that person be you?
Prayer Focus
George Floyd should not just be the name of a random person that just happened to be on the receiving end of the fatal miscarriage of justice — he is someone’s son, father, brother, uncle, nephew or friend. He is a part of someone’s family that is now broken and stricken with grief. He is a life that will never fulfil its full potential. He is one for whom the bell has tolled.
Saints, let’s remember his family, and the families of those that have lost loved ones to acts of injustice and racial bias.
Let’s pray concerning what is happening in America right now; let’s speak peace over the nation and pray that God will cause righteousness to flow like a river over the land.
Let’s pray that God will shut the mouth of the devourer heal the wounds and the hurts of the oppressed, and still the rage of the vengeful.
Let’s pray for this nation that God will protect us from the looming unrest and still the roaring of the waves of discontent.
Let’s pray that God will give the government wisdom to navigate the next steps in our post-covid recovery process.
