Treasure Store
...Weekly insights into scriptures by Olumide Ayodele
LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. [Matthew 5:14-16]
Ye are the light of the world…
The world, in which we live, is in total darkness, and Christians ought to be its light. If you refuse to shine, you will keep the world in darkness. The world is already calling good, bad, and they are calling bad, good because of the prevalent darkness. BUT WHO IS TO BLAME? Can you blame the people in darkness for remaining in the dark? How will they know the way out? Can you tell the man lost in the mud to clean himself up while still in the mud? Men have remained in the darkness of sin and evil, NOT because they so wish, but because you have refused...
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The Kingdom of God...
Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He replied to them by saying, The kingdom of God does not come with signs to be observed or with visible display, Nor will people say, Look! Here [it is]! or, See, [it is] there! For behold, the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you] [Luke 17:20-21 AMPC]
The Pharisees came to Jesus. They were so curious to know when the Kingdom of God would come, what would be the signs that it is on the way, and when it eventually comes, what physical things will men begin to see and what tangible things would it bring? They thought that the Kingdom of God was something physical. They are like many people today who also feel that getting God always translates to physical and material gains. Jesus in answering, was quick to reveal that the Kingdom of God is not an event , rather, it is an experience – a personal internal experience. The ki...
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A VESSEL UNTO HONOUR...
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the masters use, and prepared unto every good work. [2 Timothy 2:20-21]
In every house, there are different types of vessels made of different materials, some vessels are made of gold material, others are made of silver, others are of wood and others still are made of clay. It is NOT the material that a vessel is made of that shows whether that vessel is useful or useless. NO, EACH VESSEL (REGARDLESS OF ITS MATERIAL-WHETHER GOLD OR CLAY) will determine based on its own decision to be either of noble and honorable use OR to be of ignoble and dishonorable use.
To be a vessel of gold or silver does not automatically mean you will be of noble uses, NO, even gold can become cankered and tarnish...
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TRUE PRAYERS...
In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee, and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day... Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment, behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an...
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A LIVING ALTAR
And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down... and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed… And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word... Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God. The LORD, He is the God. [1Kings 18:30,32,36,38,39]
In our previous study, we saw how...
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YOUR ALTAR
You also are like living stones, and God is using you to build a spiritual house. You are to serve God in this house as holy priests, offering him spiritual sacrifices that he will accept because of Jesus Christ. [1Peter 2:5 ERV]
God has been longing to make His permanent home and dwelling within a human heart – The utmost desire of God for His tabernacle, home and dwelling, is never to locate it in a physical BUILDING or upon GADGETS or MATERIALS... He wanted a human life. In fact, the reason why He CREATED man was because HE wanted friendship, companionship, fellowship, communion and worship WITH HUMAN LIVES AS HIS SANCTUARY.
Men of old built altars TO MARK the dealings of God with them. They built their relationships with God AS THEY BUILT altars. If you saw any man who walked with God, one thing always marked them out - they built personal altars where they related together with God. IF YOU DO NOT ...
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What is my capacity?
Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. And a certain Centurions servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus... [Luke 7:1-3a]
...He had ended ALL His sayings...
Ended ALL? Does it mean that Jesus had exhausted all the treasures in Him at this point, so He had to stop speaking? Is it that He had nothing else to release unto men? I was thinking that Christ was bottomless, unsearchable and endless in His depth of wisdom, and therefore no man could ever drain Him because He is inexhaustible? Isnt it an insult even to compare the wealth of Christs treasures to the boundless oceans, since He created the ocean? Why is the Bible now saying that He had ended all His sayings? If He had more in Him to say, why not continue to release it?
Well, Jesus is inexhaustible. But He knows the exact port...
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Tarry at Jericho...
And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. Then said David, I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And Davids servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? Wherefore Hanun took Davids servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away. When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return...
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Moses was Faithful...
And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after [Hebrews 3:5]
Moses was a man who had prepared to inscribe his name into the history books. By the life he purposed to live, he decided to write history with it. He didnt stop history by his life, instead he wrote history that will be referred to in many years with the kind of life he lived.
Many people cannot see beyond their noses, they concentrate on the numerous gains of today, without thinking about the message their lives are sending out to the world. Whatever they get today, they consume it wholly upon their lusts. They are selfish, self centred and only concerned about how issues affect them in the present. They dont have eyes for tomorrow. They labour for the meat that perishes and never for that which endures till eternity and is worth making references to. Bible says that for a testimony of thos...
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The Blessed Man...
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. [James 1:25]
...looketh into...
This is not just a mere looking at, it is not just "considering the word", it is not mere reading of the Bible, it is "looking into", a prolonged gaze, a sincere search in order to get something fresh and refreshing out, a passion to get a direction from Gods word to follow. It is a sincere faith in Gods word, and a decision to make it your guide and leader. It connotes that:
1. You have agreed that the word of God ONLY has the solution, the answer to ALL the issues of your life.
2. No matter what it is that you know before, it is too little, therefore, you have come to receive fresh, clear instructions and grace to handle life issues.
3. No matter how familiar any passage is, it is settled in you that Gods word ...
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