House of Prayer

Matthew 21: 1-15

¹              And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,

²              Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.

³              And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.

⁴              All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,

⁵              Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

⁶              And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,

⁷              And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.

⁸              And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

⁹              And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

¹⁰           And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?

¹¹           And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.

¹²           And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

¹³           And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

¹⁴           And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.

¹⁵           And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased,

It has been said that when purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable. From generation to generation, God seeks to have communion with His people. His delight is to have a praying people. In Genesis, we understand that he would always come down to commune with Adam and Eve in the garden in the cool of the day.

Genesis 3

⁸ And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

So Eden was not just a place for Adam and Even to live, work and have children, it was also a place for God to meet with them. We also need to understand that where we live, work and raise our families are places of communion with God. God desires to our communion because that is the easiest way to change our lives.

A man of prayer Wesley Duewell says: “the greatest privilege God gave to us is the freedom to approach Him at anytime.” You are not only authorized to speak to Him, you are invited. You are not only permitted, you are expected.

The moment sin entered into Eden, they no longer want to communicate with God and that was the beginning of crisis in their lives and home.

A family that does not maintain consistent communion with God will be a crisis ridden family. A life that abandons prayer will be filled with hellish experiences.

Psalms 9

¹⁷ The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

Following the fall of the first generation of mankind, Noah caught the revelation of building an altar unto God. An altar is a raised platform where sacrifices are made to God as a form of worship thereby allowing room for supplication.

And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. (Genesis 8:20-21).

God did communicate with men as they raised altars unto Him from generations to generations in the old Testament. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob were men of altars.

In the wilderness, the Lord commanded to build an ark and a sanctuary which was the tabernacle from where He would commune with them. They continued to relate with God from these until later when David desired to build a temple for the ark of God. God did not permit David to do this but allowed Solomon to build the temple. At the dedication service of the temple, Solomon stressed that God should put His name on the temple that it may a place of prayer. In fact, he desired that even from the land of captivity, if any of the covenant people pray towards the temple, God would hear. This was how the temple came to stay as a place of prayer for the people.

Meanwhile, in the wilderness, God gave specific instructions on offerings and sacrifices to be given and how they are to be given. He emphasized on giving their offerings, sacrifices and tithes in the place that He appoints. Eventually, Jerusalem became the appointed place of worship where all the tribes would travel to go and worship. Ordinarily, they were to travel with their “stuffs” for sacrifices some of which may be very large like oxen. These may constitute burdens for them. Therefore, God in His wisdom and mercy gave a proviso so that they could turn their sacrifices to money until they got to the appointed place of worship where they could now convert the money to the material stuff for the sacrifices.

And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:

Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:

                                                                   Deut. 24:14-15

It was based on this that some began the business of exchanging money for goods in the temple.

Essentially, we see that originally, the temple was created as a place of worship and prayer. Whenever they were coming to worship, the people would bring their offerings, vows and sacrifices. In those days, people travelled from far to worship. Some of them will come with money so that when they got to the temple, they would buy the things for sacrifice. Some who intend to give money will come and do some barter. This eventually gave room for abuse as business men and women took over the temple. They set up shops in the temple and began to trade there. Before long, what was meant to be a business to aid prayers eventually became the main thing. Now instead of prayers, what they had were activities. Among these traders were “unbelievers”. They did not know God at all, they just came to do business. That was why the house of prayer became a den of thieves.

In many homes today, Satan has set up shops. In many lives today, activities have replaced prayers. And it is certain that a life, home or Church that have allowed prayer to be replaced with activities will eventually become a den of thieves.

What is a Den?

1.  Room for relaxing: a room in a house where family members and guests relax

2.  Place of crime: a place where illegal or secret activities take place

3.  Wild animal's lair: the hidden home of a wild animal

Who is a thief?

Somebody who takes what does not belong to him with an intention to escape notice. A thief is someone devoted to a mission to steal, to kill and to destroy.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…..

John 10:10

Certainly, if you are not praying, the enemy will turn your life to a relaxation joint. There, he will play host to all his family members and guests.

Matthew 12:43-45

⁴³           When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

⁴⁴           Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.

⁴⁵           Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

From the above scripture, it is crystal clear that when demons find a resting place in any person’s life, home or business, they worsen the situation. A life devoid of prayer is an empty life- empty of divine fire. Although, it may be garnished, that is for the devil to come and occupy. That is why a prayer-less life will get worse and worse. May your life not get worse and worse in Jesus Name.

Like a den of thieves, a life without prayer is devil’s playground. There he commits all illegal activities and crimes. The same goes for a marriage where the couple cannot pray. It may be rosy today but in no distant time, the once beautiful home will become a jungle where demonic agents hide.

But you can refuse that today.

What do you do?

1.   You must invite Jesus into your temple. He is the only one that has and gives the authority to cast out all that buy and sell in the temple.

Matthew 28:18

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Luke 10:19

2.   Repent of every sin of prayerlessness in your life.

1 Samuel 12

²³ Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:

       Prayerlessness is a sin. It is neglect of God’s command and an act of pride. When we cease from praying, it means we are claiming to be sufficient of ourselves.

3.  Cast out everything that is buying and selling in your life. The responsibility is yours to cast out the enemy out of your life using the authority in the irresistible name of Jesus. Once it is done in faith and in submission to the authority of God, the devils cannot resist you.

And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; Mark 16:17

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

And in casting out whatever is illegal in your life, you must be brutal on the enemy. Your enemy is not gentle. Jesus who was known to be gentle took on a new identity on that day. He took whip and sent the illegal occupants out of the temple. It was a forceful ejection. No quit notice was served. He did it with zeal for His father’s house. This is the same attitude you must put on otherwise, the enemy remains.

Prayer Point

1.   Ask the Lord to forgive you if you have been prayerless

2.   Invite Jesus anew into your situation

3.   Cast out everything that has settled in your life illegally

4.   Receive a complete restoration of everything that the thief has stolen from you- opportunities, blessings, materials things, joy, spouse, children etc.

5.   Ask for a fresh fire from God to fill your life.

GRATITUDE

GRATITUDE

Text: Leviticus 23: 34-44; Malachi 2: 1-3

The Test: Write down five greatest blessings of God in your life; tangible or intangible; what you have now or is in view.

Introduction: when God gives  a law, statutes or institute a memorial, His target is to inculcate an attitude towards a subject. For instance, the law of tithing in Lev. 27: 30-32 is essentially to let the people learn how to give back to God. For the principle of the first-fruits which was first mentioned in Exodus 23: 16- 19, God wanted them to have an attitude of making him first in all that they get, including what they labour for. The law that permits a person to eat from his neighbour’s farm (as stated in Exodus 23:24-25) but not to steal was to create an attitude of giving back to the society especially the poor.  We see Jesus and his disciples benefit from this principle in Luke 6:1-2.

In the same vein, God wants his children to always express gratitude. So, He instituted the celebration called Sukkoth in Israel. During the celebration, they would live in booths so that they can remember that their God was there to provide shelter for them in the wilderness.

In that book of Malachi, the Priests failed to express gratitude and God was angry with them to the point that He cursed their blessings. May our blessings not be cursed in Jesus Name.

Gratitude is taken from two words; Grateful + Attitude.

Grateful: To be grateful is to be appreciative. The Oxford Advanced Leaners’ dictionary defines it as showing thanks because somebody has done something kind for you or has done as you asked.

Attitude: The way you behave towards something that reveals the way you think about it (Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary). So, I say attitude is our mindset that affects our conducts and dispositions in every situation. It is our inward thinking that eventually affect our character because every man’s character is a function of his thinking pattern.

J.C Maxwell has this to say on attitude:

–      An inward feeling expressed by the behaviour

–     The “advance man” of our true selves

–     Its roots are inward but its fruit is outward

–     Our best friend or our worst enemy

–     More honest and more consistent than our words

–     An outward look based on past experiences

–     The thing which draws people to us or repels them

–     Never content until expressed

–     The librarian of our past

–     The speaker of our present

–     The prophet of our future

Ingratitude and Its Causes among Believers

The opposite of gratitude is ingratitude. It simply means an ungrateful attitude. It is equally a mind thing and it is common among believers. In Malachi 3, God was talking to His own Priests that were serving on His altar, people who were supposedly closer to Him than others. Amazingly, it is those who are closer to God that often takes Him for granted. In the New Testament, every Christian is a Priest (I Pet. 2:9, Rev. 5:10). In this generation, we are the ones who often take God for granted. We become familiar with His presence and wonders in our lives and fail to glorify Him. We have become like many old couples who no longer appreciate their spouses any longer, whereas, in the beginning, it was not so.   

More often than not, New Testament Believers behave like the Israelites. Let’s look at some of the causes of ingratitude among Covenant people; Christians:

1.      Forgetfulness: human beings are generally forgetful. When things begin to go well for us, we just seem to quickly forget the days we had nothing. In the same vein, when challenges come, we quickly forget the days that He showed us His faithfulness.

In Psalm 78:10-20; the people soon forgot God and His wonders of old and it did not take them time to begin to murmur against Him when faced with temporary hunger.

And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness

And the children of Israel said unto them, would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger  (Exodus 16:2-3).

No matter how great the enjoyment of Egypt, it can never compare to the hunger of Canaan. More so, they were still on the way to Canaan. Stop allowing the devil deceives you that your yesterday was better because of your temporary challenges today. God is taking you somewhere and you will get there. The hunger will not kill you. You shall not die in that present situation. Give Him praise because you are confident that the sufferings of this present moment are not worthy to be compared to the glory that shall not be revealed in you.

God also warned His Children against forgetfulness when they reach Canaan (Deut. 8:7-11). Canaan was their promised land. When God blesses you with that Job, husband, wife, child, house, promotion, car, contract, will you still remember Him?

2.      Pride: it is pride that makes us to arrogate to ourselves the Glory that is due to God. We fail to acknowledge that it is he that gives us the power to get wealth. Pride sometimes comes from the forgetfulness of our humble beginning (I Samuel 15:17; Deut 8: 11-18).

And Samuel said, when thou was little in thine own sight, was thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee King over Israel?

Pride always go before a fall. It was the undoing of Saul. Thank God for hard work but the race is not to the swift.  Bless God for intelligence but bread is not always for the most intellectually gifted. Thank God for skill, favour is not for the best in the field sometimes. It is a product of His mercy (Eccl. 9:11 , Rom. 9: 15-16). This we must always keep at the back of our mind and let all the glory goes to God for all that we see in our lives. A wise man once said, in the kingdom, there is no achievement, we only have entrustment.

3.      Sense of Entitlement: we believe we deserve something. This generation promotes so much of human rights. The right to basic necessities of life. We can even claim the right to air. But if God chooses to cease any of those things, what will you do? In Psalm 92: 1-6, David expounded on the need for giving thanks to God and rejoicing in His works. He concluded that a brutish man does know this. To be brutish is to be stupid.

It is the sense of entitlement that makes people to protest when the government has failed in providing certain amenities. Amazingly, there are many believers today who are protesting at God for things they believe they deserve and He has not given them. After all, they see similar things in the lives of their neighbours who they consider as not so prayerful of faithful and yet is more blessed.

A stupid child would take his father for granted after receiving his tuition fees. A stupid man thinks he has the things of life because he deserves them but the righteous will rejoice in the works of the Lord. Make up your mind today to quit a “protestant” and stupid attitude and be grateful for His wonders in your life.

Christ’s Attitude:  The greatest we can become on earth is to become like Christ. It is to have His attitude. Christ has an attitude of giving glory to God (Phill. 2:5-8 Amplified). We are to emulate that attitude. And because of His attitude, he enjoyed the blessings of thanksgiving.

Case Study 1:

John 11: 1-4, 40-43. Jesus knew that raising Lazarus would bring glory to Him. Certainly, most of the people would not have praised God because they were not seeing God rather they were seeing Christ. It is normal for the people to acknowledge Christ as the one that did it. But Christ knew His source. He knew He had prayed to someone in the secret over the matter and that while praying there, it is because God would choose to answer, that is when a miracle could occur. Truly, because he gave glory to God, his prayer received speedy answers. He was able to bring the dead back to life. He did beyond the expectation of people. What they called closed case, by his thanksgiving, was re-opened. As you give thanks this month, every good thing that is dead in your life will come alive again. Your prayer shall receive speedy response In Jesus Name. God shall use you to wipe away the tears of many and resurrect people’s hopes in Jesus Name.

Case Study 2: Matt. 15: 32-36. He had a need he wanted to meet. I believe He knew He had the power to feed the multitude although he had nothing to do it except the 7 loaves and few fishes. He gave thanks so that what was not enough became more than enough. He worked a miracle through the instrument of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving has a miracle working power. It releases divine power to make things happen and bring multiplication. As you give thanks this season, God shall multiply what is not enough in your life in Jesus Name.

Conclusion: Back to those blessings we wrote down. What has been our attitude to God on those blessings? Is it of forgetfulness, pride or entitlement? If it is of any of these things we shall need to repent before the Lord.

Prayers:

Repent of every attitude of forgetfulness, pride and entitlement sense before the Lord.

Lift up those blessings to God in thanksgiving. Whatever is dead there will come alive. What is not enough will be multiplied and you will have more than enough.

Special Call:

A man that refuses to give his life to Christ is not grateful to God for the gift of His  only begotten son John 3:16. And if you deny Christ today, God will deny you in eternity. Your attitude to God here will determine His attitude to you. When you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you. If you refuse Christ  today, He will also refuse you in eternity II Tim 2:12 . but He is craving you to come to Him today and be saved.  If you are not born again, make up your mind to give your life to Christ today and it shall be well with you.

Make this confession of faith:

Lord Jesus, I believe you died to set me free. You also rose from the dead to give me the hope of salvation.

Today, I confess you as my Lord and Saviour.

From this day, I renounce the devil and sin.

I confess that I am now free from Satan, Sin and the Curse of the Law, to serve the Living God.

Thank you for saving me In Jesus Name.

Amen.