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Gabriel Agbo. Power Of Sacrifice
Table of Contents
Gabriel Agbo. www.authorsden.com/pastorgabrielnagbo. Tel: +234-8037113283. E-mail: gabrielagbo@yahoo.com
Content. Chapters
Dedication
Introduction
Gabriel Agbo
Chapter One. Power of sacrifice “There in front of the Tabernacle, Solomon went up to the bronze altar in the LORD’s presence and sacrificed a thousand burnt offerings on it. That night God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, ‘What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!” 2 Chronicles 1:6-7
“God said to Solomon, ‘Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for personal wealth and honor or the death of your enemies or even long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people, I will certainly give you wisdom and knowledge you requested. And I will also give you riches, wealth and honor such as no other king has ever had before you or will ever have again!”
“Each year Solomon received about 25 tons of gold. This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon. King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold, each containing over 15 pounds of gold. He also made three hundred smaller shields of hammered gold, each containing about 71/2 pounds of gold. The king placed these shields in the palace of the forest of Lebanon. The king made a huge ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. The throne had six steps, and there was a footstool of gold attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with the figures of a lion standing on each side of the throne. Solomon made twelve other lion figures, one standing on each end of each of the six steps. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it! All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day! The king had fleet of trading ships manned by the sailors sent by Hiram. Once every three years, the ships returned, loaded down with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. So King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king in all the earth. Kings from every nation came to visit him and to hear the wisdom God had given him. Year after year, everyone who came to visit brought him gifts of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.”
And what is sacrifice?
The first sacrifice
“And the LORD made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.”
“At harvest time Cain brought to the LORD a gift of his farm produce, while Abel brought several choice lambs from the best of his flock. The LORD accepted Abel and his offering. This made Cain very angry and dejected. ‘Why are you so angry?’ The LORD asked him ‘why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you respond in the right way.”
“Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and sacrificed on it the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose. And the LORD was pleased with the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the earth, destroying all living things, even though people’s thought and actions are bent toward evil from childhood. As long as the earth remains, there will be spring time and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night. God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, multiply and fill the earth. All the wild animals, large and small, and all the birds and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them in your power. I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables. But now, you must have many children and repopulate the earth. Yes, multiply and fill the earth. Then God told Noah and his sons, ‘I am making a covenant with you and your descendants and with the animals you brought with you all these birds and livestock and wild animals. I solemnly promise never to send another flood to kill all living creations and destroy the earth’. And God said ‘I am giving you a sign as evidence of my eternal covenant with you and all living creatures. I have placed my rainbow in the clouds: it is the sign of my permanent promise to you and to all the earth. When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will be seen in the clouds, and I will remember my covenant with you and with everything that lives. Never again will there be a flood that will destroy all life. When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth. Then God said to Noah, ‘yes this is the sign of my covenant with all the creatures of the earth.”
“When the human population began to grow rapidly on earth, the sons of God saw the beautiful women of the human race and took any they wanted as their wives. Then the LORD said, ‘My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In future, they will live no more than 120 years.’ In those days, and even afterward, giants lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with human women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes mentioned in legends of old.” Genesis 6:1-7
God’s reaction
Covenant
Abraham
“Then the LORD told him, ‘Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon’. Abram took all these and killed them. He cut each one down the middle and laid the halves side by side. He did not, however, divide the birds in half. Some vultures come down to eat the carcasses, but Abraham chased them away. That evening, as the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep. He saw a terrifying vision of darkness and horror ‘The LORD told Abram, you can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, and they will be oppressed as slaves for four hundred years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. (But you will die in peace, at a ripe old age). After four generation your descendents will retun here to this land, when the sin of the Amorites has run its course. As the sun went down and it become dark Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses. So the lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, ‘I have given this land to your descendents, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River – the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Henizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites”
Lot saved by sacrifices
“...One day about noon, as Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent, he suddenly noticed three men standing nearby. He got up and ran to meet them welcoming them by bowing low to the ground. My lord, he said, if it pleases you, stop here for a while. Rest in the shade of this tree while my servants get some water to wash your feet. Let me prepare some food to refresh you please stay a while before continuing on your journey ‘All right’, they said. ‘Do as you have said’. So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, Quick! Get three measures of your best flour, and bake some bread. Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a fat calf and told a servant to hurry and butcher it. When the food was ready, he took some cheese curds and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them there beneath the trees.”
“Where is Sarah, your wife?’ they asked him. ‘In the tent’ Abraham replied. Then one of them said, ‘About this time next year I will return, and your wife Sarah will have a son...‘and the men got up from their meal and started on toward Sodom. Abraham went with them part of the way. ‘Should I hide my plan from Abraham?’ the Lord asked. ‘For Abraham will become a great and mighty nation and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the LORD and do what is right and just. Then I will do for him all that I have promised’ So the LORD told Abraham, ‘I have heard that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are extremely evil, and that everything they do is wicked,. I am going down to see whether or not these reports are true. Then I will know’. The two other men went on toward Sodom, but the LORD remained with Abraham for a while. Abraham approached his and said “Will you destroy both innocent and guilty alike?”
Chapter Two. Sacrifice your only
“Later on God tested Abraham’s faith and obedience. Abraham! God called; ‘Yes’; he replied, ‘Here I am’; ‘Take your son, your only son - yes, Isaac, whom you love so much and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you;”
“On the third day of the journey, Abraham saw the place in the distance. ‘Stay here with the donkey’, Abraham told the young men. ‘The boy and I will travel a little farther”
A little farther
“One day Moses was tending the flock of his farther – in-law, Jethro, the priest of Median, and he want deep into the wilderness near Sinai, the mountain of God. Suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him as a blazing fire in a bush. Moses was amazed because the bush was engulfed in flames but it didn’t burn up. ‘Amazing!’ Moses said to himself. ‘Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go over to see this. When the Lord saw that he had caught Moses’ attention, God called to him from the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!”
“Then, accompanied by the disciples Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. There he told them, ‘Pray that you will not be overcome by temptation’. He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed,”
“At that moment the angel of the LORD shouted at him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’ ‘Yes’ he answered ‘I am listening’ ‘Do not hurt the boy in any way for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld even your beloved son from me.’ Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering on the altar in place of his son. Abraham named the place, ‘The LORD Will Provide’. This name has now become a proverb. ‘On the mountain of the lord it will be provided.’ ‘Then the angel of the LORD called again to Abraham from heaven’ ‘This is what the LORD says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your beloved son, I swear by my own self that I will bless you richly. I will multiply your descendents into countless millions, like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. They will conquer their enemies, and through your descendents, all the nations of the earth will be blessed - all because you have obeyed me’ Then they returned to Abraham’s young men and traveled home again to Beersheba, where Abraham lived for quite some time.”
“It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, though God had promised him, ‘Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted’. Abraham assumed that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.”
Altar
“Then Elijah called to the people, ‘Come over here!’. They all crowded around him as he repaired the altar of the LORD that had been torn down. He took twelve stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel, and he used the stones to rebuild the LORD’s altar...”
“At the customary time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, ‘OLORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O LORD, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself. Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the ditch!
Priest
“And now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are God’s holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ. As the scriptures express it.”
Offering
Chapter Three. I will pass through Egypt
“Now the LORD gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron while they were still in the land of Egypt: ‘From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. Announce to the whole community that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice. If a family is too small to eat an entire lamb, let them share the lamb with another family in the neighborhood. Whether or not they share in this way depends on the size of each family and how much they can eat. This animal must be a one year- old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no physical defects ‘Take special care of these lambs until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then each family in the community must slaughter its lamb. They are to take some of the lamb’s blood and smear it on the top and sides of the door frame of the house where the lamb will be eaten. That evening everyone must eat roast lamb with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast. The meat must never be eaten raw or boiled; roast it all, including the head, legs, and internal organs. Do not leave any of it until the next day. Whatever is not eaten that night must be burned before morning ‘Wear your travelling clothes as you eat this meal, as though prepared for a long journey. Wear your sandals, and carry your walking sticks in your hands. Eat the food quickly, for this is the LORD’s Passover. On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and kill all the firstborn sons and firstborn male animals in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the LORD... celebrate this festival of Unleavened Bread, for it will remind you that I brought your forces out of the land of Egypt on this very day. This festival will be a permanent regulation for you, to be kept from generation to generation.”
“Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron during the night. ‘Leave us!’ he cried. ‘Go away, all of you! Go and serve the LORD as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, and be gone. God, but give me a blessing as you leave. All the Egyptians urged the people of Israel to get out of the land as quickly as possible, for they thought ‘We will all die!”
Lord remember me again
Samson
“The angel of the LORD replied, ‘Be sure your wife follows the instructions I gave her. She must not eat grapes or raisins, drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, or eat any forbidden food’. Then Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, ‘Please stay here until we can prepare a young goat for you to eat’ ‘I will stay’ the angel of the LORD replied, ‘but I will not eat anything. However, you may prepare a burnt offering as sacrifice to the LORD’. (Manoah didn’t realize it was the angel of the LORD). Then Manoah asked the angel of the LORD. ‘What is your name? For when all this comes true, we want to honor you’. ‘Why do you ask my name?’ the angel of the LORD replied. ‘You wouldn’t understand if I told you’. Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered it on a rock as a sacrifice to the LORD. And as Manoah and his wife watched, the LORD did an amazing thing. As the flames from the altar shot up toward the sky, the angel of the LORD ASCENDED IN THE FIRE. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell with their faces to the ground.”
“So the philistines captured him and gouged out his eyes. They took him to Gaza, where he has bound with bronze chains and made to grind grain in the prison. But before long his hair began to grow back. The philistine leaders held a great festival, offering sacrifices and praising their god, Dagon. They said, ‘Our god has given us victory over our enemy Samson! When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying ‘Our god has delivered our enemy to us! The one who killed so many of us in now in our power! Half drunk by now, the people demanded, ‘bring out Samson so he can perform for us!’ So he was brought from the prison and made to stand at the center of the temple, between the two pillars supporting the roof. Samson said to the servant who was leading him by the hand, ‘place my hands against the two pillars. I want to rest against them!’ The temple was completely filled with people. All the philistine leaders were there, and there were about three thousand on the roof who were watching Samson and making fun of him. Then Samson prayed to the LORD, ‘Sovereign LORD remember me again. O God, please strengthen me one more time so that I may pay back the Philistines for the loss of my eyes’. Then Samson put his hands on the centre pillars of the temple and pushed against them with all his might, let me die with the philistines, he prayed. And the temple crashed down on the philistine leaders and all the people. So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire life time.”
Judges 16: 21 -30
If I perish, I perish
“Then Esther told Hathach to go back and relay this message to Mordecai; ‘The whole world knows that anyone who appears before the king in his inner court without being invited is doomed to die unless the king holds out his gold scepter. And the king has not called for me to come to him in more than a month.”
“Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai; ‘Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king if I must die. I am willing to die.”
Who is this uncircumcised Philistine?
“But David persisted, ‘I have been taking care of my father’s sheep’, he said ‘When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and take the lamb form its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the Jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears...”
“Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks to face the forces of Israel. He was a giant of a man, measuring over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet and a coat of mail that weighed 125 pounds. He also wore bonze leggings, and he slung a bronze javelin over his back. The shaft of his spear was as heavy and thick as a weaver’s beam, tipped with an iron spearhead that weighed fifteen pounds. An armor bearer walked ahead of him carrying a huge shield ‘Goliath stood and shouted across to the Israelites, ‘Do you need a whole army to settle this? Choose someone to fight for you, and I will represent the Philistines. We will settle this dispute in single combat! If your man is able to kill me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! I defy the armies of Israel! Send me a man who will fight with me!’ When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken.”
“As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it from his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in and Goliath stumbled and fell face downward to the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine Giant with only a stone and sling. And since he had no sword, he ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill the giant and cut off his head ‘When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran. Then the Israelites gave a great shout of triumph and rushed after the philistines, chasing them as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron. The bodies of the dead and wounded philistines were strewn all along the road from Shaaraim, as far as Gath and Ekron. Then the Israelites army returned and plundered the deserted philistine camp.”
Dynasty of kings for you
“But that same night the LORD said to Nathan, ‘Go and tell my servant David, This is what the LORD says... Now I will make your name famous throughout the earth.. ‘And now the Lord declares that He will build a house for you – a dynasty of kings! For when you die, I will raise up one of your descendants, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house - a temple for my name. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will use other nations to punish him. But my unfailing love will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed before you. Your dynasty and your kingdom will continue for all time before me, and your throne will be secure forever.”
Chapter Four. I will pay the price
“That day Gad came to David and said to him, ‘Go and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite’, So David went to do what the LORD had commanded him. When Araunah saw the king and his men coming towards him, he came forward and bowed before the king with his face to the ground. ‘Why have you come, my lord?’ Araunah asked. And David replied, ‘I have come to buy your threshing floor and to build an altar to the LORD there, so that the Lord will stop the plague’ ‘Take it, my lord, and use it as you wish’ Araunah said to David. ‘Here are oxen for the burn offering and you can use the threshing tools and ox yokes for wood to build a fire on the altar. I will give it all to you, and may the Lord your God accept your sacrifice’. But the king replied to Araunah, ‘No, I insist on buying it, for I cannot present burnt offerings to the Lord my God that have cost me nothing’. So David paid him fifty pieces of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen. David built an altar there to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the LORD answered his prayer, and the plague was stopped!!”
David’s mighty men
Jashobeam the Hacmonite
Eleazar
Shammah
And the three broke the ranks
“David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem. David remarked longingly to his men, ‘Oh, how I would love some of that good water, from the well in Bethlehem, the one by the gate’. So the three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from there, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out before the Lord. ‘The Lord forbid that I should drink this!’ He exclaimed. This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me’. So David did not drink it. This is an example of the exploits of the three.”
Chapter Five. Follow me! We came for you!
Stephen Bass
“For service as set forth in the following citation for extraordinary heroism while serving with the British Special Boat Service during combat operations in Northern Afghanistan on 25 and 26 November 2001. Chief Petty Officer Stephen Bass deployed to the area as a member of a joint American and British Special Forces Rescue Team to locate and recover two missing American citizens, one presumed to be seriously injured or dead, after hard-line al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoners at the Qala-i-jangi fortress in Mazar-i-Sharif over-powered them and gained access to large quantities of arms and ammunition stored at the fortress. Once inside, Chief Petty officer Bass was engaged continuously by direct small arms fire, indirect mortar fire, and rocket propelled grenade fire. He was forced to walk through an active anti-personnel minefield in order to gain entry to the fortress. After establishing the possible location of both American citizens, under heavy fire and without concern for his own personal safety, he made two attempts to rescue the uninjured citizen by crawling towards the fortress interior to reach him. Forced to withdraw due to large volumes of fire falling on his position, he was undeterred. After reporting his efforts to the remaining members of the recue team, they left and attempted to locate the missing citizen on the outside of the fortress. As darkness began to fall, no attempt was going to be made to locate the other injured American citizen. Chief Petty Officer Bass then took matters into his own hands. Without regard for his own personal safety, he moved forward another three hundred to four hundred meters into the heart of the fortress by himself under constant enemy fire in an attempt to locate the injured citizen., running low on ammunition, he utilized weapons from deceased Afghans to continue his rescue attempt. Upon verifying the condition and location of the American citizen he withdrew from the fortress. By his outstanding display of decisive leadership; unlimited courage in the face of enemy fires and utmost devotion to duty, chief Petty officer Bass reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval service.”
THE UNITED STATES NAVY SEAL CREED
Chapter Six. I will preserve you
Let there be rain!
“Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go and enjoy a good meal! For I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!’... And sure enough, the sky was soon black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel”
Pay your dues
Bitterness into sweetness
“Now the leaders of the town of Jericho visited Elisha, ‘We have a problem, my lord’, they told him. ‘This town is located in beautiful natural surroundings, as you can see. But the water is bad and the land is unproductive’. Elisha said, ‘Bring me a new bowl with salt in it’. So they brought it to him. Then he went out to the spring that supplied the town with water and threw the salt into it. And he said, ‘This is what the Lord says: I have made this water wholesome. It will no longer cause death or infertility’. And sure enough! The water has remained wholesome ever since, just as Elisha said”
Come and eat
“Later Elisha asked Gehazi, ‘What do you think we can do for her?’ He suggested, ‘she doesn’t have a son, and her husband is an old man. ‘Call her back again’, Elisha told him. When the woman returned, Elisha said to her as she stood in the doorway, ‘Next year at about this time you will be holding a son in your arm!..”
Give me a guarantee
“Now swear to me by the Lord that you will be kind to me and my family since I have helped you. Give me some guarantee that when Jericho is conquered, you will let me live, along with my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families” We offer our own lives as a guarantee for your safety; the men agreed. ‘if you don’t betray us, we will keep our promise when the Lord gives us the land..... Before they left, the men told her, ‘we can guarantee your safety only if you leave this scarlet rope hanging from the window. And all your family members - your father, mother, brothers and your relatives-must be here inside the house.”
Where you go I will go
“But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. I will go wherever you go and live wherever you live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. I will die where you die and will be buried there. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!”
“Yes, I know’, Boaz replied ‘but I also know about the love and kindness you have shown your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers. May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge reward you fully”
Chapter Seven. Cook that last meal
“So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a window gathering sticks, and he asked her, ‘Would you please bring me a cup of water?’ As she was going to get it, he called to her, ‘Bring me a bite of bread too.’ But she said, ‘I swear by the LORD your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of a jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.’ “But Elijah said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and cook that last meal, but bake me a little loaf of bread first. Afterwards there will still be enough food for you and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be plenty of flour and oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again.”
“Some time later, the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. She then said to Elijah, ‘O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to punish my sins by killing my son?’ But Elijah replied ‘Give me your son.’ And he took the boy’s body from her, carried him up to the upper room, where he lived and laid the body on his bed. Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy on this window who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?’ And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him’. The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer and the life of the child returned and he came back to life! Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. ‘Look, your son is alive! He said.”
Few loaves and a little fish
Others
“So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administration responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t have a worry in the world, except to decide what he wanted to eat. Now Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, and about this time, Potiphar’s wife began to desire him and invited him to sleep with her. But Joseph refused. ‘Look!’ He told her, ‘my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do! He had held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I ever do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”
Chapter Eight. The power to save
“Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him. Stepping forward to meet them, he asked, ‘Whom are you looking for?’ ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ they replied. ‘I am he’, Jesus said. Jesus identified himself. And as he said ‘I am he’, they all fell backward to the ground!”
“Meanwhile, all his disciples deserted him and ran away. There was a young man following along behind, clothed only in linen night shirt. When the mob tried to grab him, they tore off his clothes, but he escaped and ran away naked. Jesus was led to the high priest’s home where the leading priests, other leaders, and teachers of religious law had gathered. Meanwhile, Peter followed far behind and then slipped inside the gates of the high priest’s courtyard. For a while he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.’ “Meanwhile, Peter was below in the courtyard. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest noticed Peter warming himself at the fire, she looked at him closely and then said, ‘You were one of those with Jesus, the Nazareth’ Peter denied it. ‘I don’t know what you are talking about’, he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed”
“At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three 0’clock. At about three 0’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, Eli, Eli lema sabachthani? Which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?.. “Then Jesus shouted out again, and he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the Temple was torn into two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead after Jesus’ resurrection. They left the cemetery, went into the Holy City of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, ‘Truly, this was the Son of God!”
The Third Day
“Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it. His face shone like lightning and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shock with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women ‘don’t’ be afraid! He said, ‘I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He has been raised form the dead.”
Chapter Nine. Praise, prayer and fasting
Praise
“I will thank you, LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O most High... ‘Sing praises to the Lord who reigns in Jerusalem. Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds.”
“We praise you, LORD, for all your glorious power. With music and signing we celebrate your mighty acts.”
“The LORD is my strength, my shield from every danger. I trust in him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving”
“Let the godly sing with joy to the LORD, for it is fitting to praise him. Praise the LORD with melodies on the lyre; make music for Him on the ten-stringed harp. Sing new songs of praise to him, play skillfully on the harp and sing with joy. For the word of the LORD holds true and everything he does is worthy of our trust. He loves whatever is just and good, and his unfailing love fills the earth “The LORD merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born. He gave the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs. Let everyone in the world fear the LORD, and let everyone stand in awe of him. For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.”
“I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praise. I will beast only in the Lord
As it is in heaven
“And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it! The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones-jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. And from the throne came flashes of lighting and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven lamp stands with burning flames. They are the seven spirits of God. In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.’ “In the centre and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. The first of these living beings had the form of a lion, the second looked like an ox; the third had a human face, and the fourth had the form of an eagle with wings spread out as though in flight. Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come’. Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the thrown, the one who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one who lives forever and ever. And they lay their crown before the throne and say. ‘You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created everything. And it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.”
Jonah
“Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from inside the fish. He said, ‘I cried out to the LORD in my great trouble, and he answered me. I called to you from the world of the dead, and LORD, you heard me! You threw me into the ocean depths, and I sank down to the heart of the sea. I was buried beneath your wild and stormy waves. Then I said, ‘O LORD, you have driven me from your presence. How will I ever again see your holy Temple? ‘I sank beneath the waves, and death was very near. The waters closed in around me, and seaweed wrapped itself around my head. I sank down to the very roots of the mountains. I was locked out of life and imprisoned in the land of the dead. But you, O Lord my God, have snatched me from the yawning jaws of death! ‘When I had lost all hope, I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord. And my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy Temple. Those who worship false gods turn their backs on all God’s mercies. But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise, and I will fulfill all my vows. For my salvation comes from the Lord alone. Then the Lord ordered the fish to spit up Jonah on the beach, and it did.”
Jehoshaphat
“Jehoshaphat stood before the people of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new courtyard at the Temple of the LORD. He prayed, ‘O LORD, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you!”
“Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, ‘Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets and you will succeed. After consulting the leaders of the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the LORD and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang: ‘Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!’ “At the moment they began to sing and give praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had finished off the army of Seir, they turned on each other.’ “So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, there were dead bodies lying on the ground for as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped. King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing, and other valuables – more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all! On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today. Then they returned to Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, full of joy that the Lord had given them victory over their enemies”
Paul and Silas
“Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a great earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, ‘Don’t do it! We are all here!”
Prayer and fasting
Elijah
Stretch out yourself
“And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, ‘O LORD my God, please let this child’s life return to him’ The LORD heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he came back to life!”
“When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there on the prophet’s bed. He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the LORD. Then he lay down on the child’s body, placing his mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on the child’s eyes, and his hands on the child’s hand. And the child’s body began to grow warm again! Elisha got up and walked back and forth in the room a few times. Then he stretched himself out again on the child. This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes!”
“Then Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go and enjoy a good meal! For I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!’ So Ahab prepared a feast. But Elijah climbed to the top of mount Carmel and fell to the ground and prayed. Then he said to his servant ‘Go and look out toward the sea.’ The servant went and looked, but he returned to Elijah and said, ‘I didn’t see anything.’ Seven times Elijah told him to go and look, and seven times he went. Finally, the seventh time, his servant told him, ‘I saw a little cloud about the size of a hand rising from the sea’. Then Elijah shouted, ‘Hurry to Ahab and tell him, climb into your chariot and go back home if you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’ And sure enough, the sky was soon black with clouds.. a heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm.”
“Now stand here and see the great thing the LORD is about to do. You know that it does not rain at this time of the year during the wheat harvest, I will ask the LORD to send thunder and rain today. ... So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain. And all the people were terrified of the LORD and of Samuel.”
“Then Moses went up the mountains, and the cloud covered it. And the glorious presence of the LORD rested upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from the cloud. The Israelites at the foot of the mountain saw an awesome sight. The awesome glory of the LORD on the Mountain top looked like at devouring fire. Then Moses disappeared into the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain. He stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.”
“Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him. ‘Get up and eat!’ He looked around and saw some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, Get up and eat some more, for there is a long journey ahead of you. So he got up and ate and drank and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. There he came to a cave, where he spent the night.”
“So Moses, the servant of the LORD, died there in the land of Moab, just as the LORD had said. He was buried in a valley near Beth-poer in Moab, But to this day no one knows the exact place.”
“As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between them, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven,”
“It was not long after he said this that he was taken up into the sky while they were watching and he disappeared into a cloud.”
“Then Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by the Devil! For forty days and forty nights he ate nothing and became very hungry.”
A living sacrifice
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice. The kind he will accept when you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?”
“Follow God’s example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him”
Prayer
Very Important
Rev. Gabriel Agbo
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