All good things come from God

 Do you really want to know where all good things come from?

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no shadow of turning.” (James 1:17, NKJV).

“We plow the fields, and scatter The good seed on the land, But it is fed and watered By God’s almighty hand.” – song by Matthias Claudius (1740-1815), We Plow the Fields.

Every good gift indeed comes from God only; He is the One who gives power to make wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18). “There is One who pretends to be rich, yet has nothing at all; Another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth” (Proverbs 13:7).

While the portion from Proverbs can be understood in the literal sense, many people are in one of the two categories. Some people see the perfect gift as wealth, but if wealth of this world could gain us eternal life then maybe wealth could be that perfect gift. There are those who pretend to have all it takes to gain eternal life but yet they only deceive themselves and are on the path to destruction.

It is however mostly among those who do not seem to be counted as anything to men that are candidates for heaven.

“Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! (Proverbs 23:4).

What is the understanding of wealth? Those who are rich in the things of the world will agree that that wealth was not gotten from overworking else there would be more rich people in the world than they currently are or maybe those who are currently rich in the world would not be rich. Almost similar is this with being rich towards heaven, it is not by our works, it is the gift from God. Even the grace to walk with God comes from God.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21).

2 Peter 3:11 says, “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

Whether it be fame, riches, good health, favour, they all come from God, but God offers us something even more, something we actually need – Salvation. This Salvation was bought at the cost of the blood of Jesus Christ, but offered to us for free by grace, we only have to accept it by faith in God. Faith leads us to believe in His Word, His commandments.

Such a selfless love from God should only incite love in us for God. Loving God involves keeping His commandments for it is written, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15, NKJV).

“But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.” (Acts 15:11, NKJV). Amen.

Lesson 5 Review: Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land

Introduction

Memory Text: "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" (Ps 137:4)

In a little while, if only the saints will be patient and stand firm in the oaths of the God who cares about them we will all be ushered into the heavenly Canaan with a song that no man will understand except God alone.

Despite facing evil, how can we concrete our Faith in the word of God?

The people's victory in ancient Israel even in lives today depends on the constant perseverance in the word of God.

Read Psalm 103:3-7, what message can you learn from this?

Sometimes, The Lord may permit suffering to come into the lives of his children just to remind us of our helplessness and draw us close to God.

How do we feel about God's absence in our lives?

Life without God is like a wilderness in which nothing fruitful can come, so as empty as we are, God filled us with his riches in Glory.

What can we learn from God's Promises?

God cannot fail, even when we doubt his saving power by the power of his promise God is faithful to fulfill all that he has promised to His children.

What should the modern believers learn from this?

Most Christians today believe that life is a bed of roses where there'll be no trials or temptation, but God wants us to be ready at all times in life to face whatever comes our way.

In Conclusion,

The book of Psalms should be the Christian's war tools, learning about and learning to improve the standard of our spiritual well-being, even as God will give us help in Jesus’ name.

Lesson 4 Review: The Lord Hears and Delivers

Introduction

Memory Text: "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles" (Ps 34:17, NKJV).

What? The Psalmist gives us the bigger picture of the true God that we serve, the Psalmist precisely anchors his trust on One who never fails.

How can we be sure that God is close to us?

In as much God created us for a purpose, He's so near to each and every one that calls upon Him in times of Trouble.

Why the Gospel, then, our only Hope?

The Realization of God's greatness brings fresh inspiration to our lives and a greater hope to the dying world.

Read Isaiah 41:10, What does it mean to fear not for I am with you?

We may experience difficulties in life, but knowing fully well that the ancient Israel also had similar experiences but God was ever with them.

Proverbs 8:10 How is the Lord's name a strong Tower?

We cannot save ourselves from the tempter's powers but through the blood of the Lamb, it gives us Victory in every battle fought.

What lessons can we learn from God's Deliverance?

Jesus calming the Stormy sea was open evidence of a strong deliverer, making it an example of His greatness to every Generation.

Why should the sanctuary be more important to us?

In ancient Israel, the Lord commanded Moses to build Him a sanctuary that He (God) may dwell in the midst of His children.

In Conclusion,

Yeah! The Lord is ever present to everyone who calls upon His name, He has given us assurance of victory in every battle that comes our ways be it individually or collectively. God says we should fear not. May His salvation be our experience in Jesus’ name.

I GAVE MY LIFE FOR THEE

 I gave my life for Thee

My Precious blood I shed,

That thou might’st ransom be,

And quickened from the dead;

I gave, I gave My Life for thee,

What hast thou given for Me?

I gave, I gave My Life for Thee,

What hast thou given For Me?

 

My Father’s House of Light,

My glory circled throne,

I left for earthly night,

For wanderings sad and lone;

I left, I left it all for Thee,

Hast thou left aught for Me?

I left, I left it all for Thee,

Hast Thou left aught for Me?

 

I suffered much for thee,

More than thy tongue can tell,

Of bitterest agony,

To rescue Thee from hell;

I’ve borne, I’ve borne it all for thee,

What has thou borne for Me?

I’ve borne, I’ve borne it all for thee,

What hast thou borne for Me?

 

The Chief Priests and the Elders gathered together to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him but they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people”.

 

Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights just so we could be saved.

 

Jesus with a deeply sorrowful heart prayed that the cup pass from Him, not at His will but the Father’s.

 

The disciples who went to the garden with Him to pray had fallen asleep.

 

He was left alone, His disciples had all scattered into hiding places to avoid, being identified with Jesus.

 

Peter denied Jesus three times, even after His statement to go with Jesus wherever He goes.

 

Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.

 

The Chief Priests after arresting Jesus did not have any concrete allegation against Him, they only kept Jesus in the court as they waited for false witnesses to testify falsely against Jesus.

 

Jesus was mocked with these;

·         He was asked to prophesy to them who struck Him as He was struck by the palms of the mob

·         He was given a crown of thorns, a scarlet robe, and a reed as proof of His kingship.

He was tagged as deserving of death, with allegations that were all false.

 

He was accused of blasphemy whereas He never blasphemed.

 

He was chosen over a notorious criminal even though He committed no crime.

 

He carried His cross and a crown of thorns even after He was beaten and made weak.

 

He was stripped and bruised in a way that was never done to the criminals who were hung with Him on the same day.

The extent of Jesus’ pain and sorrow was shown when He felt His father had betrayed Him.

 

Some of the words were said to Jesus as a way of mocking Him;

“You will destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, if You are the Son of God, come down from the cross”.

“He saved others but cannot save Himself”

 

The veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, rocks split, graves opened and many bodies of the saints rose from the dead.

 

Everyone who saw what happened testified that Jesus truly was the Son of God because great fear had come to them.

 

Even after Jesus’ burial, the Chief Priests and Elders sought to get rid of Him more completely.

 

Soldiers were sent to guard the grave where Jesus was laid, but after three days from when Jesus died, He rose again.

 

Jesus’ resurrection gives us the hope that even as Sinners who have died because of sin, we will be resurrected never to die again.

 

Jesus bore all these for Us, what have we borne for Him?

 

Jesus suffered for our sins, what have we suffered for Him?

 

What Jesus requires of us is to go into the world and teach them to observe all that He has commanded.

 

Just as the father sent Him, so he is sending us.

 

What does Jesus get in return for all the sacrifices He made for us.

 

Jesus is supposed to suffer only in the time He was on earth, but We make Him sad again when He sees the people He sacrificed for not obeying Him.

 

Jesus has still not given up on us despite our seemingly incessant tendency to sin.

 

God is still interceding for us above, mediating between us and the Father.

 

Jesus’ will for us is that we may have eternal life, and He is working to make eternal life ours.

 

Since we know we have Jesus behind us on our way to eternal life, why should we deny Him?

 

Sin should not stop us from receiving the gift of God, for all we know the end of sin is death.

 

We can receive Jesus while we still can.

 

We can leave all for Him because He left all for us.

 

We can bear persecutions for Him, because He bore persecutions for us.

 

We can give our lives as a sacrifice to Him, because He gave His life as a sacrifice for us.

 

There is no loss in doing these things, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

 

This world is not as good as it seems, as the leaves on the tree that blossom and flourish then whither and perish.

 

Jesus has a better plan for us and that is why He made that sacrifice.

 

Jesus made the sacrifice because He knew what would be gained at last.

 

No sacrifice is so hard to make for this great gain in Jesus.

 

If we can sacrifice our money, time, energy, and resources for the temporary things of this world, it should not be so hard to sacrifice for everlasting things.

 

The Lord will always be there to help us with making this sacrifice.

 

We only have nothing to lose.

 

Jesus gave His life for Thee; give your life to Him.

Lesson 3 Review: The Lord Reigns

Introduction

Memory Text: "The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure" (Ps 93:1, NIV).

With the worldview, the psalmist wants the reader to have the foundational truth about their Creator (God) and the root of the Beginning of this world.

The Lord Has Made Us:

Read Psalm 8:4, What is your Response to God as your Creator?

It is expected that man should be in Total submission to God knowing fully well that without God man is completely helpless.

Though the Great Controversy Ranges God is still the Rulers of both the heavens and the Earth.

 How can we show that the Lord Reigns in our Lives?

We must understand who our God is and how to Glorify Him, with total submission He and He alone is the chief cornerstone of our Life.

 God is the Judge

 Read Psalms 75, Why is the boasting of the wicked in vain?

Several texts in the Bible picture God's Judgement as just and true, as the elect of God we believe that He's not a man nor the son of man that will compromise the standard of Humanity when it comes to judging the Earth.

 Ever Mindful of His Covenant

 Read Gen 8:1, What does it teach us about God's Promises?

Undoubtedly, God's is Name the covenant-keeping God despite the longer it may be, He never forgets or forsakes anyone He made His promise to.

 Your Testimonies Are Very Sure

When speaking of Testimonies it refers to Laws, Decree, or Commandments, which govern the religious and social life of His people.

Read Psalms 119:165-167, Why should we take the laws of God important in our Life?

Oh yes, but the Law alone cannot save us we depend on the Righteousness of Jesus that makes an open access to Eternity.

 In Conclusion,

In our daily life, we should endeavor to study the book of Psalms diligently, because the more we study the psalmist the more the character of God is unveil and it sink deeply to our understanding to Render God's kindness to our lives In Jesus’ name.

THE BEGINNING OF EVERY SUCCESS

 Proverbs 15:33 – The Fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is humility.

Many times we believe we can work out our success on our own. Proverbs 15:33 lets us know that every true wisdom begins with fearing God. Fearing God requires that we do what He expects of us.

It is only by fearing God that we can rely on Him as the Leader and source of strength to succeed [Patriarchs and Prophets, page 553].

When We humbly fear God, He will give us the wisdom for success in our endeavors.

The fear of God is not one borne out of terror rather it is one that has to do with honoring Him by worshipping Him and doing what He says.

God gave the commandments as recorded in Exodus 20:1-17 for us to keep.

However, we cannot keep the commandments by our strength, we are

to rely on Him, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

If we only believe and rest on His promises, He is willing to guide us into all truth (John 16:13).

The honor comes when there is success, and it is only when We humble ourselves before God that we can attain success.

It takes humility to obey God and His law. God asks us to humble ourselves before Him, this will lead us to live a humble life before men and He will not fail to do much for us.

Matthew 5:5 – Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.

Moses, as we all know, was a very great leader of Israel, God manifested Himself to Him in person and through him, all the wonders that were wrought in Israel were wrought.

However, there is a characteristic that makes Moses stand out greatest among all the Prophets in the bible. He was the meekest of all the men on the face of the earth (Numbers 12:3).

We only obtain great favor and success from God when We fear Him, fear is an act of humility and obedience to God shows that we really fear Him.

We will all agree that many successes attract enemies who are envious of that success. However, the success God gives to those that fear Him is above the reach of enemies.

When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies be at peace with him. (Proverbs 16:17).

This is simply the reason why many successes (per se) know no peace. It is only when We begin with God that we can have perfect success.

Proverbs 10:22 makes us understand that God’s blessings do not include sorrow.

Better a dish of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred. (Proverbs 15:17).

True success is one that comes with peace of mind.

Jesus is the way, the truth and life (John 14:6). It is only when we acknowledge this that we can find the everlasting success. The best and worthiest is not of this world.

The worthiest and highest success a man in this world can get is succeeding in entering the kingdom of God.

Good for us, when we fear God, He will not only prosper us here on earth, He will also give us access into His kingdom.

Why then should we involve ourselves in evil to attain success that will only last for as long as we live on earth?

Another characteristic of this kind of success is that it does not come with peace.

The poverty of a righteous man is much better than the wealth of many wicked. For without peace, even the wealth cannot be well-enjoyed.

The Poor man who is righteous has a greater reward in heaven because His eternal and it is one that has no sorrow.

And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? (Matthew 16:26).

Bible Texts: Jeremiah 22:13, 17:11, Luke 12:20, Psalm 55:23.

Seek Ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things (both on earth and in heaven) will be added onto us. (Matthew 6:33).

I pray that We find this success as it is the greatest of all successes in Jesus’ name.

Lessons 2 Review: Teach us to pray

Introduction

Memory Text: “Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples’ ” (Luke 11:1, NKJV).

A belief that only spontaneous, unlearned prayer is real prayer appears to be prevalent among some Christians. It was one of the best requests that the disciple pleaded from their master, teach us how to Pray and it was granted unto them.

What does this mean to us if we ask according to the will of God?

Prayers move mountain is sure and certain but what if we don't know what to pray about or what to ask God for we must humble ourselves to learn better from God.

How are we to apply the book of Psalms in our prayers?

sometimes we flip the scriptures looking for a suitable passage that will suit our prayers but a contrite heart doth God had pleasure because He owns us and He knows the thoughts of every human whom He created and there's nothing we can hide from Him.

what does it mean to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly (col 3:16)?

Apostles Paul concrete the hearts of Christians in Colossians helping them to know that if their hearts are full of the word of God then there will be no room for yielding to temptation but they'll all overcome.

how can we trust or depend on God in Times of Trouble?

Psalms 84:12. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.  Our patriarchs like Abraham, Hezekiah, David and so others trusted in God and reached out to them and delivered them, they also left a footprint message to us in this Generation whatever situations we face trusting in the Lord should be our greatest desire as God never forsake us amidst in troublous time.

A Psalm of Despair

Psalms is the book in the Bible that will help us to appear before God and present our sorrow before the caring Saviour.

what moral lesson can we obtain from Job’s trust in God and his suffering?

the man named Job has left to us what it means to trust in God despite his hard times and suffering believing that the one who owns his breath will not fail him.

From Despair to Hope

Sometimes God puts these trials before our very path not to harm us but to test our loyalty to Him.

Amidst our trials, how can trials draw us close to God?

God asks Jeremiah, can a suckling mother forsake her child?  Yes, but I the Lord of Israel will not forget or forsake you, God is ever closer to us than before we see and believe by faith that God dwells in and within us.

Oh, Restore Us Again

Sometimes we may experience hardship or affliction, it may be as a result of Rebellion and stubbornness toward God that God gives us to our enemies so that we can return to Him with Repentance.

Whom and what can we do to a Friend who has gone astray that needs to be Restored by God?

In our hymnals, we have a song titled I Need the Prayers of Those I Love, we all have friends who need our prayers which is more important than anything else in our spare time we pray for them, visit them and encourage them with the word of God as well it will be a joy to us when we see how God Restore them to the Glory of God.

In Conclusion,

God is still involved in the work of saving souls from Darkness to His marvelous light, it is not in His plan to see His children afflicted or to the point of sorrow but our coming is a rope that draws us back away from God but His word has granted us Victory through His Blood in Jesus' name.

Lessons 1 Review: How to Read The Psalms

Introduction

Memory Text: “Then He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44, 45, NKJV).

The book of Psalms is a book known to be used when one is perplexed or full of anxiety he read the book of Psalms to present his/her matter before God but not only so we also praise God too using the book of Psalms. In this week's lessons, we will see what and how to use the Book of Psalms.

How do you use the book of psalm?

We must have had difficult times, affliction and many more experiences even our patriarch (David) had in his days he uses the book of Psalms to narrate his challenges to God.

How do I know God answers my Prayers through reading the Psalms?

We know we were commanded to enter into our closet and pray that He Will Reward us openly (Matt 6:6) This helps us to understand that He (God) is ever near to us and He will deliver us from our foes.

Was Psalms meant for prayers only?

Many Christians believe that the Book of Psalms is for prayer only, no never in Psalms we also praise, confess and glorify God for what He has done for us and another prophecy that was written in the Book of Psalms was for us to learn about the coming Messiah.

Who wrote the Book of Psalms?

Though David is best known to be the Chief writer of Psalms it was written by many authors like Moses, Solomon, Kora and Ethan the Ezrahite and many others too who wrote the book of Psalms

A Song for Every Season

In the book of Psalms, we learn that they are inspiring songs that Glorified God when we worship Him with songs of Thanksgiving appreciating His good works in our Life, a Song for Lamentation pouring out our hearts to our God when we are afflicted and many others.

Inspired Prayers

Read 2 Samuel 23:1, 2 and Romans 8:26, 27.

What do these texts teach us about prayer?

Most of the time we don't know what to do or how to direct our prayers to God, but the Spirit of God helps us with perfect utterances.

Jesus in the book of Matt 6:6 also taught us huge lessons regarding prayer, following these steps to Prayer with faith, we believe that God is always there to answer us anytime we call Him.

The World of the Psalms

The centrality of God in life produces the centrality of worship. The worship in which the Psalms lived was fundamentally different from the worship of people who don't understand the Image of their Creator, the world of Psalms produces a better atmosphere of Miracles when God is involved in these last days.

How can we make our environments like a World of Psalms?

Sometimes, we worship God based on feelings or our own understanding which is wrong, but when the Spirit of God surrounds us even in our homes, churches, Schools or on the Global scale at large we can please God with our worship.

In Conclusion,

Yeah every one of us wants to know and worship God but we do not see God we only have to believe in His word, whatever our challenge is we are to pray to God, for there's God who will always answer our prayers. When we are broken down with burdens and distress, God is ever ready to accept and help us out in this troublous time in Jesus’ name.

1st Quarter of 2024 Sabbath School Study Guide Introduction

The theme for the Sabbath School Study Guide for the Third Quarter of 2023 is "The Psalms”. In this Quarter we will have a glue of inspire beginning to the untouchable and the most searchable book of the Bible, why Psalms this Quarter? The book of psalm helps us to get closer to our creator even as He (God) is closer to us too in our distress. Many with their affliction appear before their maker using the book of psalm to present their burdens before the caring and saving God to uplift them from their sorrow to a level beyond the reach of their adversary. as we look upon God this Quarter with the book of psalm, God also will behold us with his compassionate face towards his children. In this Quarter we learn and understand how to praise God, worship God, and Pour out our hearts to God using the book of Psalm.

Here is an outline for the weekly topics for this quarter:

Week	LESSON’S TOPIC	PERIOD
1	How to Read the psalm Period	Dec 30-Jan 05
2	Teach us to Pray	Jan 06-12
3	The Lord Reigns	Jan 13-19
4	The Lord hear and Delivers	Jan 20-26
5	Singing the Lord's song in a strange Land	Jan 27- Feb 2
6	I will Arise	February 3-9
7	Your mercies Reaches unto Heavens	February 10-16
8	Wisdom for Righteous Living	February 17-23
9	Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord	February 24- March 1
10	Lessons for the Past	March 2-8
11	Longing for God in Zion	March 9-15
12	Worship that Never Ends	March 16-22
13	Wait on the Lord	March 23-29