Let Your Hands Be Strong – Part 1
Friday, March 1, 2024Key Verse
“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built” (Zechariah 8:9).
Text — Zechariah 8:1-12
Message
The gospel outreach to Filey (England) in the early days of the Methodists was difficult because several preachers sent there failed one after the other. Being hopeless, the mission council thought of abandoning it. Just then a burdened young man volunteered to go. He was John Oxtoby, nick-named, ‘Praying Johnny’ by those who knew his prayer power. As John ascended the hill between Muston and Filey and viewed the community, he knelt under a hedge and prayed for several hours. Assured of breakthrough, he entered with a message, “Turn to the Lord and seek salvation.” A dozen of hardened sinners wept and repented. That was the beginning of his exploits.
In our text, God revealed the glory He would make of Jerusalem that was then desolate with her people scattered among other nations. All that God expected from Israel was boldness to forsake the idols and sinful habits that led them to captivity for Him to save them. Repentance is very easy but it demands courage to say good-bye to old sinful ways. You can become a temple for God’s dwelling.
Quote
Say good-bye to old sinful ways
Challenge
God is passionate to save the penitent.
Prayer for today
Holy Father, save the sinners in my school.
About Author - Pastor W.F. Kumuyi
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
