MEMORISE:
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
James 1:22

READ: DEUTERONOMY 28:1-13 KJV
[1] And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
[2] And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
[3] Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
[4] Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
[5] Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
[6] Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
[7] The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.
[8] The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
[9] The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.
[10] And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.
[11] And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
[12] The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
[13] And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:

MESSAGE:
Many years ago, I went to preach in Onitsha, a town in South-Eastern Nigeria. On my way back to Lagos, I needed to refuel my car, so I stopped at Asaba to buy some fuel. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get any. I kept driving until I got to Benin, but I still couldn’t get any fuel to buy. I continued my journey until I got to Ore. By then, the car’s fuel tank was on reserve. I didn’t know what to do. It was a Sunday evening, and I had to give some lectures the next morning. Then, God spoke to me, “Son, take your eyes off the gauge and keep driving.” I drove the car on reserve fuel from Ore until I parked in my house in Surulere (over 200km). God can bring something out of nothing, but for you to enjoy His blessings, you must be obedient to Him. When He says go, you should go, and when He says stop, you must stop. Proverbs 3:5 says that you should not lean on your own understanding.

In John 5:2-9, there was an account of a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw him lying by a pool and asked him, “Do you wish to get well?” The sick man answered, “Sir, I have no man to put me in the pool when the water is troubled.” Jesus then said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” Immediately, the man became well and began to walk. His simple obedience to Jesus’ instruction to rise and take up his bed broke the bondage he was in for thirty-eight years. No matter how long a problem has existed, once God sends His word and you obey Him, you will have total freedom.

More than four decades ago, I was to travel outside Nigeria for the first time and had never been inside an aeroplane before. I was a lecturer at the University of Lagos and was to give a presentation in Sierra Leone. I was a bit anxious because I had never travelled outside the country, but then, somebody gave me instructions on how to clear myself at the airport. I listened, obeyed the instructions, and my journey was successful.

Beloved, when God gives you an instruction, don’t think you are wiser than Him. He knows the end from the beginning and the best pathway for your life. If you want to succeed in life, simply obey God’s instructions. Obedience always precedes the miraculous.

KEY POINT:
The key to becoming successful is simply obeying God’s instructions.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: OBADIAH 1

AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE.

HYMN:
1.When we walk with the Lord,
In the light of His word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

CHORUS:
Trust and obey!
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.

2.But we never can prove
The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay,
For the favour He shows,
And the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

3.Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way,
What He says we will do,
Where He sends we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey.