Quiet Time

Scripture : 1 Thessalonians 5:12(NASB) Topic : Be thankful to God’s servants who are sent to you.  "But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction,.." 1 Thessalonians 5:12 (NASB) It is important to be thankful for the servants of God. It is very easy to become ungrateful and discontented with the servants that God has sent to you. When Moses was leading the children of Israel, they became discontented and began to speak many evil things about him. Instead of being thankful that God had sent one of the greatest prophets to lead them, they were filled with evil spirits and grumbled continually against the servants of God. As you develop the spirit of thankfulness, learn to be appreciative of God’s servants. God’s servants are God’s gift to you.  When God wants to be kind to you, He will send you a man of God. “…And he gave gifts unto men: Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pa...

Scriptures: Psalm 95:2, Psalm 100:4 Topic : Use thanksgiving as your key to getting near God’s presence.  "Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with Psalm."  Psalm 95:2 "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name."  Psalm 100:4 Thanksgiving is the master key to experiencing the presence of God. You will notice how many churches experience the presence of God by singing praises. Saying, “Thank you”, praising God, worshipping Him truly, is a master key to the presence of God. Do you know why demons have filled the atmosphere around you? It is because of your continual discontentedness. Do you know why demons and evil spirits fill people? It is because they are continually grumbling and complaining. They are angry at everything. They are unhappy with everything. This continual attitude of unthankfulness opens the door for evil spirits.  As the children ...

Scripture : Colossians 2:7 Topic : Your flourishing and your abounding is dependent on your level of thankfulness.  "Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving."  Colossians 2:7 Your flourishing in the kingdom of God is dependent on your thankfulness. Abounding is possible only with thanksgiving. Do you want to abound and flourish in God’s house? Then you must be thankful. You must be thankful for the church. You must be thankful for your pastor.  You must feel that it is a beautiful church. You must think that he is good pastor. You must be appreciative of your shepherds. You must thank God for the music. You must be appreciative of the preaching. You must love the atmosphere. You must be thankful for everything. Those who flourish are always thankful.  You must be thankful that you are in the house of God. You should not desire to get out of church as soon as possible. That is the master key ...

Scripture : Ephesians 5:18-21 Topic : Giving thanks is a key to being filled with the Holy Spirit and the anointing. "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in Psalm and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." Ephesians 5:18-21 Giving thanks is the master key to being filled with the Holy Spirit and the anointing. People who give thanks are anointed people. I remember a testimony given by a man of God. This man of God constantly preaches about the anointing.  One day, two old ladies were looking for this anointed young man and they were told: “When you get to the church, you will find a young man who is smiling and always happy. That’s the man you’re looking for”. And truly, that is the way they identified him.  This great...

Scripture : 1 Timothy 4:3-5 Topic : Saying thanks is a weapon that neutralizes diseases in food.  "Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, IF IT BE RECEIVED WITH THANKSGIVING: for it is SANCTIFIED by the word of God and prayer." 1 Timothy 4:3-5 Giving thanks is your master key to disinfecting, sanitizing and sanctifying the food that you eat. Everything that you eat is sanctified as soon as you utter a word of thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is your master key to killing germs, viruses and bacteria. In this era of pandemics, you cannot afford to not say “thank you” before you put anything in your mouth.  Every drink you have, every sandwich you eat and every morsel of food you take in must be sanctified, sanitized, and disinfected by thanksgiving. Remember, God has given you something more powerful t...

Scripture : Romans 1:21 Topic : Unthankfulness in a person is a door to many evils.  "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, NEITHER WERE THANKFUL; BUT BECAME VAIN IN THEIR IMAGINATIONS, AND THEIR FOOLISH HEART WAS DARKENED..."  Romans 1:21 The scripture above shows us clearly that many of the evils and perversions in this world came through unthankfulness. When men discovered more about the creation and discovered the beautiful earth that God had made, they were not thankful.  When they discovered planets, when they discovered the moon and when they discovered the stars, they were not thankful to God. And because they were unthankful, they became vain in their imaginations. Your imaginations become more vain, the more unthankful you are.  When people are unthankful they become almost mad. Their unthankfulness is a form of insanity. Why would you not be grateful for the oxygen you breathe, the air you breathe, the water you drink, the life t...

Scripture : Luke 6:35 Topic : Avoid bearing grudges against the unthankful.  "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil."  Luke 6:35 Experiencing an unthankful person can be a terrible thing. It is important that you do not allow someone’s unthankfulness to create bitterness in you. When you encounter unthankful people, your personality can change.  You will no longer be kind to people. You will no longer be caring. You will no longer try to help anyone. You will always remember the things you did for people and how they did not even seem to notice it. How they even turned around and insulted you after you were so kind, forgiving and gracious to them.  Today God is warning you not to allow the unthankfulness of people to enter your heart. You will become bitter within yourself and it will affect many others. ...

Scripture : 2 Timothy 3:2 Topic : Avoid unthankfulness since it is a sign of the last day evils.  "For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, UNTHANKFUL, unholy, ...." 2 Timothy 3:2 The scripture above mentions unthankfulness as one of the moral blemishes and catastrophic evils of the last days. The fact that unthankfulness is included in this list is very alarming. For unthankfulness to be listed alongside blasphemy, covetousness and other well-known high-ranking evils makes unthankfulness a very serious problem indeed.  Unthankfulness must not be trifled with. It is a dangerous evil. I recently met someone who was unthankful for all the things that had been done for him. That spirit of unthankfulness opened up his heart and he was swallowed up by seven other evils mentioned in the scripture above. Before he understood what was happening to him, he had invoked seven curses upon his life.  Dear friend, be c...

Scripture : John 6:23 Topic : Give thanks as a weapon that releases the greatest miracles.  (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:)  John 6:23 It is interesting to note how Jesus used thankfulness to release one of the greatest miracles ever. Do not forget that Jesus was surrounded by five thousand hungry people, and He was able to feed all of them with some to spare. The reason why this miracle ranks as one of the greatest ever to be performed by Jesus is because, when the people saw that Jesus had fed five thousand people with His basket of bread, they were so amazed that they came along and tried to make Him a king. I do not know of any other miracle that Jesus performed where they tried to make Him a king afterwards. (John 6:15) Indeed, the entire crowd was stunned by the amazing miracle that Jesus performed. How did He perform this great miracle? What was the master key that He used...

Scripture: Colossians 3:15 Topic: Be thankful as an attitude of your life. "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful."  Colossians 3:15 There are people who have learned to say “Thank you” because it is part of their culture. In certain cultures, children are taught to say “Thank you” as soon as a hand is stretched out to give them something. They say “Thank you” before they even know what they have received. Saying, “Thank you” is an automatic thing for many well-mannered people.  There are unthankful and ungrateful people who have learnt how to say “thank you” but are not thankful. Being thankful is a spiritual state. It is a state of constant gratefulness. It is a state of singing, praising and thanking God. It is a state of great appreciation. It is important to appreciate all the good things that God has done for us. Remember that it is possible to say, “Thank you” without being thankful.  Credit: E...

Scripture : Philippians 4:6 Topic : Saying thanks is a constant part of prayer. "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."  Philippians 4:6 In all your prayers you must always include a part for thanksgiving. It is possible to pray a lot but not say “thank you” for anything. Not saying, “Thank you” for anything is a sign that you are not grateful in your heart.  It is also a sign that you do not recognize the great things that God had done. We see a scripture telling us to note the great things that God has done for us.  Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? Who can shew forth all his praise? Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. Psalm 106:1-3 It is important to write down and note the mighty acts of God that have taken place in your life....

Scripture: Colossians 3:15 Topic: Be Ye Thankful "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and BE YE THANKFUL."  Colossians 3:15 There is a list of eighteen moral blemishes that will characterize the last days. You will find “unthankful” in the list of terrible faults of the human race. In the last days, men will be more and more ungrateful. It is the nature of the devil to be ungrateful and forgetful about all the good things that have been done for him.  "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, UNTHANKFUL, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." 2 Tim...

Scripture: John 15:8 Topic: Jesus’ eighth Law of fruitfulness: Fruit-bearing makes God very happy with you. "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. "                                                                                                                                                                      John 15:8 What exactly does it mean to glorify God? To glorify God is to bear much fruit. Many Christians are happy and content to bear little fr...

Scripture: John 15:7 Topic: Jesus’ seventh Law of fruitfulness: Fruit-bearers are guaranteed answers to their prayers.  "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you…. " John 15:7 Whilst Jesus was speaking about bearing fruit, He guaranteed answers to prayers. When you are in to fruit-bearing, you can expect guaranteed answers to your prayers. Even we, who are evil, do not respond favourably to our rebellious children. When a child is disobedient, you are less likely to give your good things to that child. Do you think God gives His good things to rebellious children? Certainly not! He gives His good things to those who are obedient and who bear good fruit. Indeed, if you abide in Him you can expect to receive a hundred per cent answers to your prayers! Fruitful believers are not likely to ask for unnecessary things. If you look at Paul, one of the most fruitful apostles, you will notice how he prayed for the Spirit of...

Scripture: John 15:6 Topic: Jesus’ Sixth Law of fruitfulness: Slow deterioration and withering is the sign of those who no longer bear fruit. "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned…. " John 15:6 Withering is a process where you change gradually. You lose lustre! You lose the freshness! You decay and change and deteriorate! If you look closely at many once-famous ministries, you will notice a slight withering and decaying in many of them.  It takes a trained eye to notice withering when it is happening. Withering is a very important feature to watch out for and to look out for.  Withering is a sign that fruitfulness has ended.  Withering is a sign that the presence is gone.  Withering is also a sign that people are not abiding in God as they used to.  Withering is a sign that the presence of God is no longer there.  The more spiritual you are, the more yo...

Scripture: John 15:5 Topic: Jesus’ Fifth Law of fruitfulness: Abiding in Christ is essential for fruitfulness. "He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit …"                                                                                                                                                                  John 15:5 Abiding in Christ means staying in God. So many people are in and out of God. Today, their hearts are committed! Tomorrow they are not so committed! It is imp...

Scripture: John 15:4-5 Topic: Jesus’ fourth Law of fruitfulness: Closeness is needed for fruit bearing.  "... As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches…"                                                                                                                                                                                        ...

Scripture: John 15:3 Topic: Jesus’ third Law of fruitfulness: Cleanness and purity are needed for fruit bearing.  "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you…."                                                                                                                                              John 15:3 Whilst Jesus was sharing about bearing fruit, He spoke of cleanness, purity and holiness. Without removing thorns, thistles and weeds, plants will never grow and will never bear the fruits they are expected to bear. Without holiness you ca...

Scripture: John 15:2 Topic: Jesus’ Second Law of Fruitfulness: Fruitful Christians will be purged to make them bear more fruit.  "Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit…."                                                                                                                                                                       John 15:2 Expect purging because you are bearing some good fruits. Purging is a semi-violent process in which unwa...

Scripture: John 15:2 Topic: Jesus’ First Law of Fruitfulness: Fruitless Christians Will Be Taken Away.  "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away…"                                                                                                  John 15:2 This law means that you will be removed from the higher realms of ministry when you do not bear fruit.  This law means that you will be taken away from the front line of ministry when you do not bear the fruits expected.  This law means that you will be sent back into the secular world when you do not bear the fruits expected.  This law also means that you will die prematurely if you do not bear the expected fruits. Indeed, the lack of fruit in your life could ...

Scripture: Luke 16:1-8 Topic: Don’t Waste Your Goods! And he said also unto his disciples, there was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and THE SAME WAS ACCUSED UNTO HIM THAT HE HAD WASTED HIS GOODS. And he called him, and said unto him, how is it that I hear this of thee? Give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, what shall I do? For my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, how much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the lord com...

Scripture: John 12:23-24 Topic: Sacrifice: The Key To Fruitfulness "And Jesus answered them, saying, the hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat FALL into the ground and DIE, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much FRUIT." John 12:23-24 Without sacrifice there will be no fruit! Many people have knowledge. Many people are learned but simply do not have fruit.  Becoming an effective and fruitful minister is not just by passing exams or acquiring knowledge. There is a need for Christians to rise up and pay the price for bearing fruit.  Jesus Christ came to this world and preached many wonderful things to us. He could have ended His ministry without making a sacrifice. Indeed, there would have been no lasting fruit. Jesus Christ went to the cross and gave His life for all of us. By giving His life and releasing His blood, the power of fruitfulness was unleashed.  Today, Jesus Christ bears fr...