FLOURISHING IN BABYLON

JUICY JULY 2023

DAY 20

THEME: FLOURISHING IN BABYLON

TEXT: GENESIS 41:52; DEUTERONOMY 30:5

BIBLE STUDY: 1 KINGS 18

As we all know, The Juicy July program is a time to squeeze all the Juice in the month. It’s been a Juicy time over the years for me, I don’t know about you.

Before we go on, take some minutes to truly lavish worship on Your creator. Give Him intense praise, He deserves it.

In actual fact, let’s make it a really practical one.

Pick up your journal and pen and right about fifty names that you think the Lord deserves to be called.

Write the names clearly and from your heart in your journal with the title:

MY GREAT GOD, YOU ARE:

….
….
….

When you are done, call those names out into the ears of our King and worship Him as you do.

By the time you are done, your heart should have burst out into a hearty adoration of the Lord.

Then, play this song and sing before you delve into the bulletin:

WAY MAKER by The Pentecostals of Alexandria

(Download here)

You are here, moving in our midst

I worship You

You are here, working in this place

I worship You

You are here, moving in our midst

I worship You

You are here, working in this place

I worship You

You are

Way maker, miracle worker

Promise keeper, light in the darkness

My God, that is who You are

Way maker, miracle worker

Promise keeper, light in the darkness

My God, that is who You are

You are here, touching every heart

I worship You

I worship you

You are here, healing every heart

I worship You

Oh, I worship You

You are here, turning lives around

I worship You

You are here, and You are mending every heart

I worship You

You are

Way maker, miracle worker

Promise keeper, light in the darkness

My God, that is who You are

You are

Way maker, miracle worker

Promise keeper, light in the darkness

My God, that is who You are

That is who You are

You are, You are

You’ll always be

Even when I don’t see it, You’re working

Even when I don’t feel it, You’re working

You never stop, You never stop working

Even when I don’t see it, You’re working

Even when I don’t feel it, You’re working

You never stop, You never stop working

Even when I don’t see it, You’re working

And even when I don’t feel it, You’re working

You never stop, You never stop working

Even when I don’t see it, You’re working

Even when I don’t feel it, You’re working

You never stop, You never stop working

You never stop, You never stop

Always working

Always moving

I know, I know, I know

My God can

And my God will

Today, God wants to bless us with His Word titled- ‘FLOURISHING IN BABYLON!’

Babylon!

For the purpose to this prayer bulletin, we will be using Babylon as anywhere we are right now!

Yeah!

Where have you been planted right now???

Is it Nigeria?

Is it outside Nigeria?

Is it in a rich state of Nigeria?

Or one of the poor villages there?

Is the place where you are right now experiencing an economic meltdown?

Are you financially down in the place?

Or maybe you are financially okay but not flourishing there.

Maybe the government is terrible!

Or maybe the spiritual atmosphere is very upside down!

You look to the left, you see nakedness!

You turn to the right, you see perversion!

You put on the TV, all you see is bad news!

Or maybe your own Babylon is your place of work.

Full of corruption.

And everything looks so poor.

Your salary is not being paid.

Your promotion is being denied.

Sins and selfish things everywhere.

You are eating from hand to mouth.

You are calling on God but it seems as though He is far away.

For instance, in Nigeria now, we pray and pray and fast and fast. And hope and hope.

Yet, nothing is improving

Each day, we wake up to meet a new development.

Immediately you think things are getting better, something would suddenly come and overthrow it.

Babylonian spirit!

Making the princes to be begging for bread.

Taking loans and credit cards are your survival plans these days.

Maybe you are just as broke as anything!

Everyday, you cry. You are worried. You think and overthink. You wonder when things would be better. But they seem to be getting tougher.

Maybe you have been running from one place to another.

You get this job, resign. Get another one, too bad, resign again.

You run from Lagos to Port Harcourt. Benin to Kano. Lokoja to Abuja.

Yet, the situation everywhere just looks so bad.

You were probably hopeful when the election was to be held.

You thought that finally, the solution to Nigeria has come.

Suddenly, the hope became blurry again.

And even as the present administration started, you felt like ‘Ohkay God, let Your Will be done’

But instead, things keep getting worse!

You started a business, it failed!

You started a farm, the seeds aren’t yielding!

Your poultry farm is as good as dead.

You have almost finished eating the profit of your business.

And you are like ‘God, change the situation of this country’

And it feels as though God isn’t listening!

I am here to tell you today that:

God wants to prosper you in the difficulty!

He wants to show you favor in the famine!

Halleluyah!

He wants to give you a big big big testimony!

Amen?

What’s a greater testimony between these two?

That God brought you out of the trouble or that he calls you to flourish in the trouble?

That God stopped the economic problems in your country or that you prospered in the midst of it all?

What’s the greater testimony?

Now you tell me.

Jeremiah 29:11 is a very well-known scripture.

It says “These are the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope”.

It’s interesting the context this was written in.

The people weren’t in a good place, it wasn’t an uptime, a joyful moment.

King Nebuchadnezzar had just taken the Israelites out of Jerusalem as captives and sent them to Babylon.

Now the Israelites were living there in exile, not able to go home.

What a great disappointment!

Their whole world was turned upside down!

I’m sure they were praying, “God, deliver us. Please, get us out of here”.

But the word of the Lord came saying that they were going to be there another 70 years.

You can imagine how discouraged they were, thinking they had seen their best days.

The prophet Jeremiah showed up and told them to do something significant.

He said in verse 5 “Build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat the produce. Give your daughters in marriage. Increase do not decrease. Prosper in the land which you are in exile”.

God didn’t say “I’m going to get you out so I can prosper you. I’m going to free you from this captivity so you can build, dream, and see an increase”.

He said “I’m going to prosper you where you’re planted. I’m going to prosper you in exile. I’m going to show you my favor while you’re in Babylon”!!!

We all have times where what we’re hoping for is not happening as fast as we would like.

Nigeria isn’t for instance getting better.

Everything seems terrible!

Everything keeps getting costlier and costlier!

Yet salaries and wages are not increasing.

Maybe yours is about where you presently are right now.

Maybe things are not in your favour.

And you thought you heard God before moving to that place o.

But you see nothing good there.

Don’t expect God to deliver you from every Babylon, but you can expect Him to cause you to prosper in every Babylon.

He may not take you out of that negative environment at work, but he will promote you in the midst of it.

Amen???

If God is not delivering you are from the difficulty, maybe that’s a sign that you’re supposed to shine in the difficulty.

His plans are to prosper you. He didn’t say that when everything was going great, He said that when they were in captivity, sisters!

If you will do what is required, God’s going to cause you to prosper despite what’s been coming against you!

He’s going to cause you to flourish on the enemy’s territory!

Ayayayyayaa

Amen

We’re all going to have these Babylon seasons where nothing is improving.

This is what happened with Joseph in the scripture.

At 17 years old God gave him a dream that he would lead a nation and have great influence.

He was excited, but his brothers not so much.

They didn’t like the fact that he had a big dream, and that there was favor in his life.

They were taking care of sheep in another city. His father asked Joseph to go check on them. When they saw Joseph coming, they thought this was their big chance to get rid of him.

They threw him into a pit. They were going to leave him there, but a caravan of Ishmaelites came traveling through, they ended up selling him as a slave.

Joseph was in a foreign country, working for a high-ranking military officer named Potiphar.

Here, a few weeks earlier, his future looked so bright. He was wearing the coat of many colors that his father had given him, his father’s favorite child, but life has a way of taking twists and turns, things that we didn’t see coming.

Now Joseph found himself in “Babylon” so to speak, in exile, in captivity, just like the people in Jeremiah’s day.

And Joseph had every right to be bitter, discouraged – he didn’t do anything wrong. But Joseph understood this principle, that there are times we’re going to find ourselves in exile.

Instead of sitting around in self-pity, he kept being his best, using his gifts and talents.

He served with such excellence that Potiphar noticed him. He stood out from among all the other staff. Potiphar put him in charge of his whole house.

The scripture says that Joseph became a favorite of Potiphar. It’s interesting how Joseph was a favorite of his father, that door closed, he went into exile, but notice how God works.

If you keep putting in your best, bein honest, being prayerful and on the Lord’s side, favor will follow you into exile.

He became the favorite of his boss.

The favor didn’t leave him just because he changed locations, didn’t leave him because people were jealous, he had a bad break, he was in captivity.

The favor on your life didn’t leave you because you’re in Akure or Ila, Canada or Lokoja, it’s still there.

Genesis 39 says, “The Lord began to bless Potiphar because of Joseph”.

Potiphar was an influential, successful leader. You would think Joseph would be blessed because he worked for Potiphar, but it was the other way around.

Potiphar was blessed because of Joseph, a slave, a foreigner in captivity that had the favor of God.

Wherever you go, there is favor on your life, child of God! The location doesn’t stop the favor.

Joseph was a handsome young man. Potiphar’s wife noticed how attractive he was and she tried to seduce him.

Joseph could have let his guard down but he had so much integrity, he was so honorable, that he wouldn’t give in. He had the fear of the Lord and wouldn’t let his economic situation make him do wrong!

She lied about Joseph, falsely accused him. Potiphar was furious, he had Joseph put in prison.

Now he’s not just a slave, not just in a foreign country, but he was a prisoner.

On the way to your destiny, don’t be surprised if there are twists, people that lie about you, people that try to get you to compromise, jealous family members, co-workers that play politics. How we handle these times will determine whether we prosper where we are, or whether we get stuck where we are.

Joseph was in prison, but he didn’t get sour, he didn’t start complaining, he kept being his best, still serving, still using his leadership skills, still praying, talking about God, loving the Lord.

Verse 21 says, “Joseph had favor with the chief jailer.

Before long, he was put in charge of all the other prisoners and everything that happened in the prison”.

Hahahaha

My brother even became prison head boy!

Oh favour!

Oh what happens when the Hand of the Lord rests upon a man!

God didn’t deliver him out of the trouble, he caused him to flourish in the trouble!

He prospered in the prison!

His environment didn’t change, but he kept seeing favor, promotion despite the bad breaks.

One night, one of the prisoners, Pharaoh’s former butler had a dream, and he didn’t know what it meant. .

Joseph had a gift of interpreting dreams.

He could have thought; “I’m not going to help you, have enough problems of my own”.

He could have been bitter, but he used his gifts to help the butler, he interpreted his dream.

What’s interesting is that his gift worked in the prison.

Your gifts don’t quit working because you had a bad break. You went through a disappointment, you lost a loved one, you’re in Babylon – use what God has given you, sisters!

You just ensure that you are favoured by God.

How?

Isaiah 1:9 says: ]If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land!

Willingness!

Obedience!

The Living Bible says:

Isaiah 1 : 19: If you will only obey me and let me help you, then you will have plenty to eat.

Obey me!

Let me help you!

Let’s go on:

Joseph interpreted the butler’s dream, told him that in two days he was going to get out of prison.

All Joseph asked for in return was for the butler to put in a good word for him.

The butler agreed, got out of prison, forgot all about Joseph. Two more years passed, another opportunity for Joseph to be discouraged.

But Joseph wouldn’t take the bait.

He just kept being his best, being good to people that were not good to him, serving in a country that he didn’t want to be in, speaking well, confessing positively, not joining the multitude to do evil, still loving God, not thinking less of God or becoming suicidal!

When you pass these tests like Joseph, you’re not only going to prosper each step of the way, but God is going to do some unusual things.

He’s preparing you to go where you’ve never dreamed.

As you keep doing the right thing, you’re proving to God that he can trust you.

We always want God to deliver us from the challenge.

“I’m uncomfortable”

“I don’t like the opposition”

“These people aren’t treating me right”

But if you do like Joseph and say:

“God, even if you don’t deliver me right now, I’m gonna keep loving you, doing Your Will, praying, shining, praising, using my gifts, being my best”, then you’ll not only see God’s goodness along the way, but you’ll come into some explosive blessings, blessings that catapult you ahead, where suddenly you’re promoted, suddenly you get well, suddenly you meet the right person, suddenly you’re thrust to a new level of your destiny.

Even right there in Babylon!!!!

One night, the Pharaoh had a dream, the leader of the country, and he didn’t understand what it meant.

The butler suddenly remembered Joseph, two years after he interpreted his dream.

He said to the Pharaoh: there’s a young man in prison, a slave named Joseph.

He can interpret your dream.

Think about this: if Joseph had not used his gift to interpret the butler’s dream, if he had been upset, in self-pity, we wouldn’t be talking about him now.

That’s what Jeremiah was saying to the Israelites:

“While you’re in Babylon don’t waste these years being discouraged, thinking of all the reasons it hadn’t worked out. No! Build, dream, plant, increase”.

He was saying “Use your gifts. Stretch your faith, and you’ll prosper in Babylon. You’ll see favor in captivity”

The scripture says (Genesis 41:14),

“The Pharaoh sent word for Joseph and he was quickly brought from the prison to stand before Pharaoh”.

He had been in captivity 13 years, it seemed like that was his destiny, but God knows how to quickly turn things around.

He can quickly turn your business around, quickly turn your health around, quickly turn your family around.

Amen???

I have also seen this so particularly in my own life.

I remember when I was at the university.

Attending a private university where there were so many rich kids, spending a lot, dressing their best, eating the best, it felt so intimidating for me to even open my wardrobe.

I only had a few shirts and some old skirts that I used interchangeably. And my parents were only able to send me peanuts for the month.

Many time, I’d have a lot of debts on the table before the peanuts arrived.

I’d go to my prayer room and ask the Lord if that was how it would continue.

Won’t you change the situation?

Must I pray before I get 2k, Lord?

Even to dress well?

To eat three square meal?

Oh Lord?

But I didn’t let that stop me from serving God!

I didn’t let that stop me from singing!

If people saw me, they won’t know I hadn’t eaten all day nor did I have anything to eat at the hostel.

Sometimes, I’d just turn some hunger strikes to fasting. Hahahaha

But I can look back, a few years later, and say ‘Of a truth, God turns things around!’

I am not there yet. I am flourishing as I ought yet but that is why God is making us all to go through this session.

So we can know our rights in Him and claim them!

I shared my experience so you can be encouraged and not lose it!

Don’t lose your integrity because of what to eat, wear, give your parents.

Don’t dare backslide because of that!

Even planning to rush abroad might not solve anything, if God is not in it.

You might make a lot of dollars and lose something important to you. Or maybe many things that are important to you!

Don’t fall into depression! When the goodness comes, you’d be using it to treat your mental illnesses.

Stop crying! Turn it to prayer!

Stop complaining. Sing!

Sing ‘Oh, I know my God will turn it around!’ and believe it.

Amen?

Joseph interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream, he was so impressed, he made Joseph the prime minister of Egypt, second in command only to the Pharaoh.

Looking back, we can see how all those steps were necessary for Joseph to get to the throne.

The bad breaks, the betrayals, delays, disappointments, they were all a part of God’s plan.

Had Joseph not kept being a strong believer in God, kept his integrity, not used his gifts, not been his best, he would have gotten stuck.

God is going to connect the dots in your life, my sisters.

You may not understand everything along the way, but you can be sure that God knows what he’s doing.

He may not deliver you out of every situation on your timetable, but if you’ll stay in faith, he’ll cause you to flourish at every step of the way.

He’ll prosper you wherever you’re planted.

He’d make you flourish in Babylon!

Halleluyah!

A few years later, Joseph had a son that he named Ephraim.

Ephraim means productive, fruitful.

He said: “I’ve named him this, because the Lord has made me prosperous in the land of my suffering”

Oh my!

He was saying, “I had bad breaks, things weren’t fair, but God caused me to prosper despite what tried to stop me”

If you’re going to have an Ephraim, if you’re going to see God prosper you in the midst of the difficulty, you have to stay with God, keep going regardless, trust Him, keep being productive, ask for His guidance, keep being forgiving of those who will wrong you, keep being friendly and prayerful, keep using your gifts, keep stretching, keep being good to people.

Don’t put your dreams on hold because you’re in Babylon.

Stop focusing on how to jump out of Babylon when God is not sending you!

Like Joseph, God can make you prosperous in the affliction.

Not when you get out, but in it!

In the trouble, in the disappointment. You can shine, you can still build, still see a great man of God to marry, still accomplish your dreams.

This is what the apostle Paul did: he spent the last few years of his life in prison.

He could have been sour, thinking “Man, this is how it’s going to end in Babylon, in exile”?

But Paul knew that those prison bars couldn’t keep his gifts from coming out.

While he was in prison, he wrote books of the Bible. Scriptures that we all quote today,

“I can do all things through Christ”

“God will do exceedingly, abundantly above what we ask”

“Be strong in the Lord and the power of his might”.

He wasn’t complaining in the prison, he was flourishing in the prison!

While he was in captivity, he was writing books that would encourage us 2,000 years later.

If Paul were here, he would tell you, “You can prosper wherever you’re planted. You don’t have to wait ’till everything is perfect – you can flourish in the trouble, see favor in the famine, be promoted in the pandemic”.

I can’t promise you that you’re going to come out of every Babylon overnight, but I can promise you that God will prosper you in Babylon,

I can’t promise you that Nigeria will be better but I know that even in Nigeria, you can make it.

Even if you are in a rocky place, you can still get hectares of healthy green vegetation!

Halleluyah!

He’ll show you favor on the enemy’s territory.

His plans for you are for good.

He sees your commitment!

Keep doing more!

Keep being obedient the more!

Don’t let a temporal issue rob you of a greater glory!

He sees you doing the right thing when it’s hard.

The time you rejected that rich guy trying to marry you with his wealth and who insulted and cursed you saying ‘you will die in poverty for saying no to me’. The Lord sees!

When you refused to sign that false document even though it would ascertain your promotion or give you an extra bonus. He sees it!

He sees you being your best when you’re not getting the credit.

Your time is coming and it is here!

Amen????

From today, you’re about to see God prosper you despite what’s trying to stop you.

You’re going to see uncommon favors, favors that will catapult you ahead; dreams coming to pass, negative situations turning around, new levels of your destiny, in Jesus name.

And if you receive it, can you say amen?

Let’s take our second song for today before we pray:

I KNOW MY GOD WILL TURN IT AROUND by Pastor Enenche

(Download here)

Are you weighed down by battles in life

Are you thinking of quitting the race

There is no need to give up on your journey

Because I know my God will turn it around

I know my God will turn it around

I have seen my God turn it around

There are so many many many times in my life

That I have seen my God turn it around

Have you suffered from disappointment

Have some people turn their backs on you

Just keep holding onto the one who cannot disappoint

I know my God will turn it around

I have seen my God turn it around

There are so many many many times in my life

That I have seen my God turn it around

Are you thinking that you’re alone

Do you feel God has forsaken you

He has promised to keep you to the end of the journey

I know my God will turn it around

I have seen my God turn it around

There are so many many many times in my life

That I have seen my God turn it around

I know my God will turn it around

I have seen my God turn it around

There are so many many many times in my life

That I have seen my God turn it around

There are so many many many times in my life

That I have seen my God turn it around

Before we pray, let me ask you:

Are you gonna trust God or believe what the economy of your country of residence is saying?

Would you rather choose to bemoan yourself or take charge in faith and put the desired action to it?

Do you think that joining to sit and analyse the situation of things in the country will help you come out of all those troubles?

To prosper in your home place, you must do some things. I have mentioned a number of them in the study about but let me outline them again:

Acknowledge that the Giver of prosperity is God! John 15: 5c

Submit your gifts to Him and ask Him to bless it. Exo 23:25

Start/Keep sowing. Without sowing, you can’t reap. Get busy! *Gene 26:12 says, Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him*

Water what you have sown

with prayers as we are doing in Juicy July and always. *1Thess 5:17 says; Pray without ceasing*

Have faith: For without faith, it is impossible (to flourish in Babylon)

Stop complaining! God hates complaints and murmurings. They signify unbelief.

Forgive those who hurt you. For instance, those close to you who have but have refused to help you etc.

Prioritize giving to Others. Many times, God gives to us, so we can give to others. If you don’t give to others when you have little, He knows He can’t trust you with much.

Now that you understand better, wouldn’t you behave like the lepers who asked “Why sit we here till we die?”

Go grab all the goodies of the land the devil has taken from you.

Your prosperity is not in the hands of your government.

Let’s go take possession!!!

Amen?????

Thank God for your life, family and everyone around you.

Thank God specially for the BUD family. Appreciate Him because it has been from one level of glory to another.

Thank Him because we are always gathering to celebrate.

Thank Him because it’s been 7 whole years since the inception of this family and we are getting stronger and better.

Thank God for the Juicy July. Thank Him for answered prayers from the previous editions.

Thank Him for all the prayers that have gone ahead of us into our future.

We see all Your works Lord, and we are super grateful.

Thank Him for the opportunity to participate and this is the 20th day of the month.

Ahhhhh, God is faithful!

Thank Him for strength. Thank Him for revitalizing you.

Thank Him because your freedom is guaranteed and you shall never be captive again.

Confess your faults and ask the blood of Jesus to cleanse you. Remember, the prayer of a sinner is an abomination before God. Ask Him for cleansing.

Ask God for the grace to stay under the crimson flow of the blood of Jesus so that it will keep you white as snow.

Take charge of your environment by the Name of Jesus which is above all other names.

Pray that every power comes under the submission of God’s authority.

Pray that your spirit man comes under the subjection of God’s spirit. Bind every spirit of distraction so that you can communicate with heaven effectively.

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you pray and Pray through.

In Jesus’ name, we have prayed! Amen.

Let’s take our next song:

FAITHFUL IS OUR GOD by *Hezekiah Walker*