MFM Daily Devotional 18 January 2024 

TOPIC:  Lessons from the Life of Prophet Nathan (II)

FIRE SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 12:1-23 
12 And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.

² The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:

³ But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.

⁴ And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.

⁵ And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:

⁶ And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.

⁷ And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

⁸ And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.

⁹ Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.

¹⁰ Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

¹¹ Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

¹² For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.

¹³ And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.

¹⁴ Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.

¹⁵ And Nathan departed unto his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.

¹⁶ David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.

¹⁷ And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.

¹⁸ And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?

¹⁹ But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.

²⁰ Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.

²¹ Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.

²² And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live?

²³ But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.

MEMORY VERSE
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
Proverbs 27:6

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 2, Exodus 3, Exodus 4, Luke 8, Luke 9, Luke 10

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES: I’d rather be a distant Nathanael speaking no guile than be a close Judas who will betray a great friend.

PRAISE AND WORSHIP: Take praise and worship songs as you’re led by the Holy Spirit.

PROPHETIC WORD FOR TODAY: Receive the boldness of God, in the name of Jesus

MFM Daily Devotional 18 January 2024 MESSAGE

Prophet Nathan confronted and rebuked the king’s error. There are many brave men and women of God in the pages of the Bible, but we usually associate bravery with strong warriors not bold prophets! Nathan was a brave prophet who had to deliver a tough message to the king of Israel. It takes courage, risk and a resolve to deliver a word that others may not want to hear. Any prophet, including Nathan, has to learn to hear God well, and deliver the word of the Lord accurately and in the proper time. This takes years of training and practice.

While the Bible doesn’t give us much detail about God’s training and preparation of Nathan, here’s an incident that proved that he has been in the school of God. Nathan had to stand before King David and deliver his most difficult message. It should be noted that warnings, especially to the high profiled personalities of this world, are not easy tasks because the bearer may end up being beheaded like John the Baptist who confronted Herod.

READ MFM Daily Devotional 17 January 2024 – Lessons from the Life of Prophet Nathan

It may end in incarceration like Prophet Micaiah, who told Ahab the truth to his face. Speaking truth to power is not an easy task at all and that is why we must hold in honour and high esteem, all our fathers and preachers that speak the whole counsel of God without fear or prejudice. They are risking a lot to declare the mind of God. They deserve our honour and prayers not ill-speaking. Never join the bandwagon of people who go to the social media to rubbish men of God. It is not for you; don’t do it! The consequences might be too heavy.

Prophet Jeremiah once wept. Why? It is because he was hated by almost everyone for speaking the mind of God to kings, princes, high and low. It shows that men and women too need affection. Beloved, let’s endeavour to pray for our pastors and missionaries. They dare a lot of things at the peril of their lives. “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 13:17). Today, let us intercede for our pastors and ministers.

MFM Daily 18 January 2024 Prayer Points

𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆
1. Congregation of angry fellows, assigned to frustrate our pastors and ministers, scatter to desolation, in the name of Jesus.
2. Conspiracy in the heavenlies, against Dr. D. K Olukoya, scatter to desolation, in the name of Jesus.
3. Wicked altars, hired against our missionaries, catch fire and burn to ashes, in the name of Jesus.

𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆
4. All MFM pastors and ministers home and abroad, receive the smile of heaven in all your affairs, in the name of Jesus.
5. All true pastors and ministers in the body of Christ home and broad, receive the smile of God in your affairs, in the name of Jesus.
6. Missionaries currently suffering persecutions, receive great deliverance after the order of Peter, in the name of Jesus.
7. All our pastors and ministers, receive the grace to always stand for the truth, in the name of Jesus.