DON’T LOOK BACK

TEXT:      GEN 19:12-17, 23-26.

 The determination to turn from the character that annoys God is a big sign of spiritual growth. This means that you care about how God feels about you.

Obedience is an important factor that should be taken serious when walking with God. Partial obedience is as good as disobedience. (Deut 28:15 to the end). In the text the angel of God told Lot to run quickly with his household out of Sodom, the instruction given to them was that they should not look back. 

Was the instruction obeyed fully? No. Lot's wife looked back for one reason or the other, and she became a pillar of salt. Looking back caused her her future. The plan and purpose of God in her life was destroyed because of her act of disobedience. Many have missed their breakthrough because of their disobedience to God. They try to do things their own way and not according to God's plan.

Many Christian today started their Christian race well, but the distractions of this world have caused them to look back, and this has caused them their eternal glory in Christ. (1cor 9:24-25) “Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one get the prize. everyone who competes in a game goes into strict training, they do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever" God created us to serve him, He wants us to have close fellowship with him. Walking with God may be challenging, but there is gain in walking with God.

 A lot of Christian started in spirit but ended up in flesh. Though they may still be active in their service in the church, but spiritually they have gone back to perdition. What Lot's wife looked back to could be what she left behind, and other things they are used to in Sodom. This made her to loose all good things that lie ahead for her. Looking back deprives people from seeing good things that God is preparing for them. The storms of this life make people to turn their back against God, but if you endure to the end you will sing the song of victory.

Once you have decided to follow God; you are a new creation, you need to forget totally about your old ways, and embrace your new life in Christ. Some people cannot persevere; they cannot endure hardship that would lead them to eternal life. Instead they give up and go back to their old self that will lead to eternal destruction.

(Isah 43:18-19) “Forget the former thing; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up do you not perceive it?"

Many believers today are struggling to concentrate fully on God. They are still living in the past. (1Pet1:14) "As obedient children do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance" On the final note, God created us and He put our eyes in front, if He think that there is something to look back to; may be He would have put another eye at the back of our head, but because there is nothing to look back to because He said we should forget the former thing, so He put our eyes in front, so that we would be able to see all good things that lies ahead of us. The importance of our heavenly race is to make heaven, to reign with Christ. People that are living a life of sin will not reign with Him.

Don't loose your focus; you know why you are running the race. Don't give up until you achieve the purpose. I pray that at the end of our Christian race we will not be disqualified in Jesus name Amen. Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw of everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us (Hebrew 12:1)

Whatever you are going through today is not enough for you to turn your back against God; He is the only lasting source of life that can satisfy the desires of your heart. Run your Christian race to the end. DON'T LOOK BACK!

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JEALOUSY: A HINDRANCE TO BLESSING

TEXT: Genesis 4: 2b-12

What is jealousy? It is being envious of someone who has something we do not have. It is being envious of someone’s success, achievements and breakthrough. Jealousy is a sin unto God; it is not an attribute of a good Christian. Instead it shows that such believer is still living in flesh.

Jealousy comes from fear, insecurity and covetousness. When you are jealous, it means you are not satisfied with who you are and what you have. Jealousy is the act of having the desire to be like other people in beauty, riches, intellect and talent. When you are unable to achieve these, you get jealous of the people that you feel they are better than you.

Having the spirit of jealousy shows that you are not satisfied with what God has given to you and you do not appreciate Him. The scripture said that we should be contented with what we have without coveting people’s things.

The text reference (Genesis 4:2b-12) Cain and Abel are brothers. Abel offered good sacrifice unto God, but Cain did not offer God his best sacrifice. When God blessed them accordingly; Cain became jealous of his brother, the jealousy grew to the level that made him to kill his brother. A lesson here is that when you become jealous, you can take an irrational decision. Your sense of reasoning would be taken over by the devil, and the consequences could be disastrous!

 God was very angry with Cain for killing his brother; He placed a curse on him. If he was not jealous of his brother’s blessing, may be God would have blessed him during subsequent offering, but his act of jealousy fetched him curse!

As children of light; we should be happy when people around us are progressing. We need to rejoice with people that are rejoicing, not in pretence but wholeheartedly.

The bible says we are created in the image of God, and God instructs us to have the same attitude like Jesus Christ. If you are Christ like; you will not be jealous of people that are succeeding.  Jealousy is not of God, it is synonymous with the kingdom of darkness. It is the work of flesh and not of spirit; the scripture says we should live in spirit so that we will not gratify the desires of sinful nature. (Gal 5:16) If you obey this scripture; you will be manifesting the fruits of the spirit rather than manifesting the works of the flesh.

1 Corinthians 3:3 says “you are still worldly; for since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men”? No matter how long you have been in Christ; if you still harbour jealousy in you, it shows you are worldly and the love of God is not in you.

The scripture says in Romans 8:8 that those that are in flesh cannot please God. If you want to please God; you should do away with every works of flesh.

DANGERS OF JEALOUSY

·        Jealousy is a sin, and sin hinders prayers. (Isaiah 59: 1-2)

·        The spirit of God cannot dwell where jealousy dwells. (Matthew 6:24)

·        The person will be tormented by devil because he or she belongs to their kingdom.

·        The person will experience closed heavens; everything will be difficult for such person.

·        Instead of blessing the person will inherit curse.

HOW TO DEAL WITH JEALOUSY

·        Guard your heart against evil thoughts and feeling. (Proverbs 4:23)

·        Ask the Holy Spirit to help you.

·        Dwell on the word of God constantly.( Philippians 4:8)

·        Be filled with Holy Spirit.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

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OVERCOMING THE STORM OF LIFE

 TEXT: MARK 4: 35-41, MATTHEW 7:24-27

 In our Christian walk; storm is inevitable, if you want to make it in life, you cannot avoid the storm that shapes and moulds.

To fulfil destiny; you would pass through the storm to get to your destination. Jesus Christ told his disciples in verse 35 “let us go over to the other side” this shows they have a particular destination that they were going. (The other side)

On their way to their destination; the storm started, if they had gone back because they were afraid of the storm, they would not have gotten to their destination.

The disciples were afraid of the storm, they thought they would drown, but because Jesus was in the boat with them, they overcame the storm.

Jesus was in the boat with them; yet they experienced the storm, this implies that though you are in Christ, troubles will come, but because God is on your side, your victory is sure. (Matt 7: 24-27)

In this text; Jesus likened those that put his words into practice to a wise man who built his house on the rock. Those that hear his words and did not put it into practice are likened to the foolish man, who built his house on sand. The promises in the word of God are enough for believers to rely on during trials.

To overcome the storm of our lives, we need to put our trust in God. He is our rock and we need to sink our root of faith deep in him. To overcome the storm you need one thing to do; that is to involve the controller of storm, the one that can calm the storm of your life. His name is the lord Jesus Christ.

Some people believe they can calm the storm of their lives with their canal wisdom or with their natural strength. These people can be likened with those who build their house on sand, which the wind will easily blow away. You cannot calm the storm of your life with your canal wisdom or strength. It takes the intervention of God to calm every storm that one is facing; the disciples did nothing on their own to calm the storm, because they understand that their power cannot calm the storm. All they did was to call on Jesus to help them to rebuke the storm.

HOW TO OVERCOME THE STORM

·        Always have a close fellowship with God by praising, worshiping, exalting and praying.

·        Study and meditate on the word of God. Be familiar with his words (Joshua 1:8)

·        Pray with understanding (pray by making reference to relevant scripture.)

·        Remember that you are not alone in that situation alone. Jesus is in it with you, so don’t hesitate to commit everything to him.

·        Do not take any decision on your own always ask God for direction. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

·        It is very difficult to concentrate during trials, but do not forget to engross yourself by confessing positive words. His words are powerful; but when you refuse to speak the word, it becomes powerless.

·        Always rejoice in the lord even in that situation that you are in. the bible says we should rejoice always. Rejoice while you are waiting for God to calm the storm of your life. (Philippians 4:4)

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LET NOTHING BE WASTED

TEXT: JOHN 6:12

When Jesus was with the multitude, after he had finished preaching, he wanted to offer them something to eat, and there was nothing. One of the disciples had five loaves of Bread and two Fishes, Jesus gave thanks to

God; and started sharing the bread and fish. The multitude ate and they had leftover, then Jesus said unto the disciples “gather the pieces that are leftover. Let nothing be wasted.” Jesus was the one that multiplied five loaves and two fishes that fed 5,000 people. He has the power to keep multiplying the food as long as he wants. By virtue of his power, he is not suppose to be interested in leftovers, after all he was the one that multiplied five loaves till they could pack twelve baskets as leftover. Since he has the power to multiply things to be in abundance; he should have allowed the leftover to be wasted. Jesus did not take the grace of God upon his life for granted; he requested that the leftover should be collected. Let everything in you speak for His glory. Jesus advice can be applied to physical and spiritual things. Make use of all he has deposited in you. Use your time wisely, use the word of God constantly, use your faith, your intellect, wisdom, talents, experience etc.  When Jesus was on earth; he made everything he did on earth count, he did not waste anything. We are told to emulate Jesus, as nothing was wasted in his life, we should not let anything be wasted in our lives. Not even the things we see as “trivial” things.

Jesus taught us a lesson when he said the disciples should gather the leftover so that they will not waste. Physically; do not waste your resources that God has made available for you. Be prudent with resources! Spiritually, do not look down on any gift or talent God has given to you. Do not allow your spiritual gift to lie in waste. Make every effort to “gather” your physical resources and spiritual gifts and talents. As Jesus said “LET NOTHING BE WASTED! Those little resources or the unnoticed gifts or talents could be what God will use to launch you out. When Jesus received the five loaves and two fishes, he gave thanks to God. Do not look down any resources or talent, give thanks to God and see Him multiplying them for you. Pay attention to every little physical and spiritual resource, gather them together, let nothing be wasted. Use them to the glory of your giver. Shalom! 

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MOULDING? WHAT SHAPE?

TEXT: PROVERBS 22:6

 It was on a Sunday morning, I was busy preparing myself and the children for church. As I was rushing to get things done quickly so that I would not be late for church, I went into my son’s room to wake him up, I helped him to bring his clothes out from the wardrobe, and I told him that I was not going to iron it for him. As a teenager he should be independent to do some things for himself.

He rushed into the bathroom, (he woke up late) Alas! I found myself doing what I said I was not going to do for him (ironing) I did that because he was getting late for church. (Compassion) as I was ironing the lord dropped this illustration into my heart. Chocolate mould, cup cake mould, ice cube mould all come in different shapes. It is the shape of the mould that will determine what you will get from it. For instance, you cannot pour something inside a square mould and expect to get a round shaped object.

In the same way; parents are mould that gives shape to their children. Either you are a

Christian or not, as long as you are a mother or a father, you are moulding the children. The question we need to ask ourselves is “what shape am I moulding?” God gave us the privilege to be parents, the children are His, but He put them in our care to nurture and train them in the way of the lord. The world is moulding the children to its own shape by attacking both parents and children with the ideas that will make them to be “acceptable” in the society. Things like expensive gifts, spending extravagantly on birthday parties, violent movies and games, ungodly music, lack of respect for parents and elders and inappropriate dressing and things like that.

Like the example of different moulds I mentioned earlier, as parent; you can only mould your children to your shape. Children learn faster from what they can see, and they see us as their role model. That is why it is very important to live right, so that we can be proud of our children when they come out in our shape.

If you are a fighter, a back bitter, a whore monger and so on, apparently your children will emulate you, either consciously or unconsciously. If you are the type that put on clothes that reveal more than it covers, be expecting your children to follow suit, because that is what you are moulding them to become.

You cannot be doing something wrong and be telling the children to do the right thing, or expect them to follow the right path. Neither can you scold them when they decide to follow your path, because you are the mould that is moulding them to the shape they are in.

As parents; let us strife to mould our children to positive and glorious shape. If you are the type that forgive easily, and love to help people, the children will cultivate the habit from you. If you show compassion to others, your children will do the same. If you are the stingy and harsh type; that is the same way your children will behave, because they will think that is the right way of life.

May the good God grant us the grace to and wisdom to mould our children to the shape that will bring glory to His name. Keep on moulding Godly children.

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WHERE SHOULD WE PRAISE GOD?

God is everywhere; His ears are wide open to hear you when you call upon Him, He does not slumber nor sleep. He is always ready to hear you when you call on Him anywhere, anytime.

You can praise God in the church, the psalmist say I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Praising God with fellow believers in the church; has its benefits. Seeing people around you praising God; would encourage you to praise. Praising God with other believers in the church gives us the assurance of God’s presence, because God says where two or three people are gathered in His name; that He is there with us.

You can praise God in your house, God inhabits the praises of His people, you know if you are His own or not. Romans 8:16 says “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children” if you stand and appear blameless before Him; He will overshadow you with His glory and His presence anywhere and at anytime. Praising God in your closet where it will be you and God is a way to develop close fellowship with Him. Praising God in your closet does not reduce the way you will experience His awesome presence, in as much as you are in the right attitude and spirit, His presence would come and envelope you in your place of praise. 
praising God constantly in your closet; will make the place to become “Holy Ghost zone” the place will always be filled with the presence of God, this will make your abode to be too hot for the kingdom of darkness to dwell.

It is good for family to come together to praise the Lord at the family altar every morning and at night. The Bible says He ordains praise from the lips of children and infant; do not leave your children out when you are praising God. The whole member of the family should come together at their family altar, to praise their maker. Praising God together at the family altar; increases love and affection of such family. It helps the family to be able to overcome trials or challenges the family may be facing; because God is with them, He will continue to bind them together in love. You can praise God everywhere and anywhere these include:

·        In the car: when you are in your car or in public transport, you can praise God in your heart. The bible says in Colossians 3:16 that we should let the word of God dwell richly in us admonishing ourselves with spiritual songs hymn, and singing with grace in our hearts praises to God.

·        On the road/jogging/ walking: praise God while taking a walk or jogging; look at the things God created and appreciate Him for wonders of His hands.

·        In the school: children should be encouraged to develop the habit of praising God and singing of His goodness from their tender age, this can be achieved by encouraging them to sing hymns and other spiritual songs, and other songs that show the glory of God.

Introducing children to God when they are young; helps to make them to walk in the way of the lord. (Proverbs 22:6) “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

·        Shower time: praise God at your shower time; it is better to occupy your heart with the thoughts of God. This helps your heart to be pure and be free of worldly things. This is a great joy to know that God can answer you anywhere because He is everywhere at the same time because He is the omnipresent God. There are some gods that you can only call upon at a designated  place or shrine; but our God is a supreme being that you can call upon Him anywhere.

·      Lunch  time  in the office: you can praise God during lunch at work; praise Him for provision, and gift of life. This will safe you from mingling with people that could influence you to gossip or do what is against God.
There should not be any barrier between you and God in PRAISE and worship. Cultivate the lifestyle of Praise and worship- this will purify your spirit man. 

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WHOSE VESSEL ARE YOU?

 TEXT- 11TIMOTHY 2:20-21

What is a vessel? A vessel is a household material useful to do one thing or the other. It may be a container, pot, cup, bowl, jug, basin, or bottle.

A vessel may be used for HONOURABLE or DISHONOURABLE purpose in the house. For example; our glass cups are for drinking, while the toilet bowls are for use in the toilet, though it is made with ceramic like other bowls and mugs in the house, but the toilet bowls are serving their purposes in the toilet.

Nobody can go into the toilet bowl to take his or her drinking water, no matter how clean the toilet bowl is. Yet the toilet bowl is serving a purpose in the house.

We are all spiritual vessels that can be used for honourable and dishonourable purposes.

At this juncture; you need to ask yourself this question “what purpose am I serving in the house of God”? Is it honourable purpose? Or am I serving a dishonourable purpose?

Being a vessel of honour or dishonour is a matter of choice

1Thessalonians 4:4 says “that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and in honour” we are all vessel because our hearts can retain something in them. It is what you have in you that will determine the type of vessel you are.

WHO ARE THE VESSELS UNTO HONOUR?

·        Vessels unto honour are those that have been purified, cleanse and set apart for master’s use.

·        They are the people that can go extra mile for the things of God.

·        They are the people that are rooted and grounded in God, that even when they are going through hardship; they will not turn their back against God.

·        They are the people that have the attitude of Christ in them.

·        They are the people that are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Vessels unto honour are used to carry out glorious assignment; the king of kings is the only one that can do all things. He gets these things done by empowering some people (vessels of honour).

To be used by the king of kings is the greatest honour. Nothing can be compared to being used for the master’s service. As vessels unto honour; we need to examine ourselves regularly so that we will know when we are going out of God’s will.

Self examination is important; because if the channel that connects us with God is blocked with pride, anger, bitterness, hatred, jealousy, lies, selfishness and other desires of the sinful nature, how can we be used by God? Ezekiel 18: 24 says “But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die”.

God cannot use a filthy vessel; any vessel unto honour that is dwelling in sin becomes a vessel unto dishonour, so it is very important to live right so that the glory of God will continue to rest on us.

WHO ARE THE DISHONOURED VESSELS?

·        They are those that are being rejected because they did not meet for the master’s use.

·         They are those that are living in flesh rather spirit.

·        They are those that are manifesting the fruit of the flesh instead of manifesting the fruit of the spirit.

·        They are those that their hearts are filled with filthy things.

It is the level of our holiness that will determine the measure of power of God that will rest upon us.

As spiritual vessels; we cannot be empty, is either you are filled with the things of God (spirit of God) or the things of the devil (satanic spirit).

If a vessel unto honour begin to have filthy things in him/her, the spirit of God will depart from such vessel and satanic spirit will take over his/her heart.

Saul is a good example; when he disobeyed God, the spirit of God left him, and a satanic spirit came into him. (1 Samuel 16:14)

A vessel of dishonour can become vessel of honour, if he/she is ready to repent, and if he makes himself/herself available for God to purge him/her of his sinful nature. (11Timothy 2:21) “If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work”.

For example; if you have a cup that you have not used for a long time, you cannot just pick the cup and start drinking with it. You will need to wash it before you can drink with it. That is how God deals with any vessel he wants to use. So also can a vessel unto honour can be discarded if he/ she is dirty.

BENEFITS OF BEING A VESSEL UNTO HONOUR

·        He/she will enjoy eternal inheritance. (Heb 6:10)

·        God will glorify himself through them, and they will reign with Christ. (11 Timothy 2:12)

·        He/she will be able to know the heart of God. (Amos 3:7)

·        He/she will enjoy close fellowship with God. (Eph 2:13-14)

CONSEQUENCES OF BEING A VESSEL UNTO DISHONOUR

·        They will suffer disgrace, dishonour, and rejection. (Matt 10:33)

·        They will have their portion in the lake of fire. (Rev 21:8)

I pray that God will cleanse us of everything that can make us to be vessels unto dishonour in Jesus name. We will not be discarded, and on that glorious day, we will reign with Him.

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All scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ( NIV ) copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by international Bible Society all right reserve world wide.

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THE WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE

TEXT: PSALMS 63:1

The opening statement in the chapter shows that David wrote this psalm when he was in the wilderness of Judah. Before he could rule Israel as King, He was trained in the wilderness by God for many years.

Most Christians; especially those who have serve the lord faithfully for a long time have had a “wilderness experience” a period of dryness, a time when nothing is working as planned. It is not a joyful time; rather it is a period of confusion and wanting to throw in the towel!

Questions like God have you given up on me? Have you forsaken me? Why have you deserted me lord? What did I do wrong? Where have I missed it? ….. Would be asked. There is not much comfort in a wilderness experience, but the comfort we have is that we are not the first; neither are we going to be the last to have such an experience.

Many Saints of the old had their various wilderness experiences, in fact in reoccurring manner! Some people believe that when somebody is going through an unpleasant phase in life, it is as a result of his or her sin, but this is not always right. David was conversant with “wilderness experience” yet he was a man after God’s own heart.

Anytime you are experiencing a “wilderness experience” be sure that there are one or two lessons God wants you to learn. Until you patiently use your faith and learn these lessons, you cannot be prompted to a higher ground. Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness and he came back with power. Elijah in 1 Kings 19:11-13 after a resounding victory on mount carmel, he ran to the wilderness Jezebel was after him. He was down cast depressed and told God to take his life, but he encountered God in a new dimension. God sent an angel to him to supply him food and his strength was restored to continue his journey.

 However; when you are going through the wilderness experience, like Elijah; you will be depressed and down cast. A feeling of hopelessness will set in, but if you cry unto God like Elijah did, you will have an encounter with Him the same way Elijah experienced God in that wilderness.

The Israelite also went through the wilderness for them to be able to get to their “promised land.” When God freed them from Pharaoh’s oppression, they had to pass through the wilderness for them to get to their place of abundance that God prepared for them. Between the wilderness and the promised land, they encountered many challenges, but it is for them to experience God’s power in different ways, for them to know that God can do the impossible. As believers we will go through different wilderness experience. Like the Israelite  we were set free from Satan’s oppression (through the blood of Jesus) the day we accepted Him as our personal lord and saviour. Before we can enter into our promised land (heaven) we have to go through the wilderness, like the children of Israel did. Your response to the wilderness experience will determine whether you will go to the next level in your relationship with God or not.

This is where the Israelite missed it; they saw the wilderness as an inconvenience or a problem. They complained and wanted to go back to Egypt. Have you ever felt like giving up? Or are you feeling like that presently? Is life getting too hard and unbearable for you? Are you longing to go back to the old life that the world has to offer? Don’t look back! Be still and you will see the salvation of the lord.

In that wilderness; God is there with you, you are not alone. He never left the Israelite alone in the wilderness; He was with them all through. He provided them everything they needed to make the journey. He will do the same for you; He will sustain you through the journey. Your wilderness will soon come to an end, and you will cross into your promised land. The question now is when you come to the end of your wilderness experience, how will you be? Would you have become better and learnt what God want you to learn? Or are you going to make the wilderness journey longer like the Israelite did? If you don’t have positive attitude towards God during the wilderness journey, the journey will be prolonged. Wilderness experience could be the following:

·        Sickness and disease

·        Unanswered prayers

·        Lack, failure and worthlessness

·        Period of stagnation

·        A period when nothing is working well with you

·        A period when you feel you are not breaking forth

·        A period of bereavement (loss of loved one)

·        A period of hopelessness

I pray that God will give us the grace to persevere and develop a right attitude that will take us to a greater height in Jesus name.

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WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF YOUR SERVICE TO GOD?

TEXT:  LUKE 19:13, 1 CORINTHIANS 12:4-6

 Service means carrying out duties, being useful for a particular task. God gave everybody special gift that can be referred to as “TALENT” there is nobody that is living without at least one talent.

How effectively are you using your God given talents? Are you doing it wholeheartedly? Our services in God’s house should be without eye service, God’s standard is very high; so he is not expecting anything lower than his standard from us.

God wants you to give him quality service in anywhere you are functioning in the church.

God wants the best of every service we want to render in his kingdom. But King David replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing." (1chronicles 21:24) It is either you give him your best or nothing, he will not settle for less, he cannot compromise his standard for anything.

Are you doing your service fully with all your strength? “Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart.  Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.  Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free”. (Ephesians 6:6-8)

What is the motive behind your service? Is it to get the favour of man and your pastor? Is it that you want to show to the world that nobody can do it better than you?

Are you doing it so that you will be promoted? Or are you doing it to give glory to the giver of all good and perfect gifts which is the best thing to do with your gift.

Remember God cannot be deceived; then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. (Revelation 2:23b) our service to God should be borne out of love and affection we have for him, and not for other selfish reasons.

We should not render service to God; basically because we want to get something from him. We should not offer any service that is not worthy to God, we are not doing him a favour by working for him, he has nothing to loose if he don’t work for him, but we have a lot to loose when we stop working for him. 

“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain”. (1corinthians 15:58) it is not all service in the house of God that attracts positive reward; you cannot render unworthy service to God and be expecting positive reward. Revelation 22:12 says “Behold I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone ACCORDING to what he has done” (NIV)

FOR YOUR SERVICE TO BE REWARDED POSITIVELY YOU

NEED TO DO THE FOLLOWING

·        Give yourself fully to the service; you must do it with joy even when nobody is there to tell you thank you.

·        Count it all joy when you are being persecuted or treated unjustly (James 1:2-3)

·        Do not give up on your service; remember you are doing it for God and not man, so you need to keep working to the end. (Luke 9:62)

·        Make sure you don’t use your talent as a weapon against the kingdom of God. For example if you are a chorister; because something happened in the church; you refuse to lead praise and worship in the church, such person has turned the gift that God gave to him/her to a weapon against God. Lucifer did it and God relegated him to nothing.

·        Always appreciate God by giving him the glory for endowing you with such a great talent. Remember he does not share his glory with any man; praise him rather than praising yourself.

·        Do your service without complaining or grudging. (Philippians 2:14)

In conclusion; we need to encourage ourselves not to give up rendering our genuine service to God. Knowing fully well that He will reward us in due season. (Galatians 6:9).

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HOW TO PRAISE GOD

Before a particular task can be successful; right tools must be used, so that best result can be achieved. So also it is when you want to render praise to God almighty.

For God to accept our praises; we must have the right attitude to praise; we must also have the right spirit. The bible says in (John 4:23-24) Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and in truth, for they  are the kind of worshippers the father seeks.God is a spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth .This scriptures explains why we should worship God in spirit and in truth; because He is a “SPIRIT”. If you want to be in His presence; you need His spirit to also come upon you, when you are in the realm of the spirit; then you can feel the presence of God.

In praising God; He is asking for more than song he wants our heart to be filled with his thoughts. The bible says in Romans 8:8 that those that live in flesh cannot please God. If you want to please God in your praise, you need the Holy Spirit to lead you.

The attitude we should cultivate when praising God is filling up our hearts with the good deeds of the most high, we need to ask the spirit of God to take over and lead us through the period of praise.

A lot of people praise God in the flesh, but they believe they are truly praising God in spirit. Going to church does not make you a worshiper, worship starts from our hearts. Some people dance and jump up not because they know what they are doing, or why they are praising, but they just love the music and they feel like dancing, God does not inhabit such praise.

There is more to praise than music, instrument, vocal chords and lyrics of the songs. God is not interested only on the melody of the songs or the voice; He does not want to be entertained. God is not looking for entertainers but the true worshipers that have the understanding of who He is. God knows everything about us; he knows when you praise Him with your heart. We can’t deceive Him.

Our salvation plays an important role in our praise to God; salvation means that you have genuinely accepted Jesus as your personal lord and saviour; you have changed from your old self to a new person in Christ. If you are not genuinely safe; the spirit of God cannot dwell in you, but the moment you accept Jesus as your lord with all your heart; He will release His spirit upon you to indwell you. 

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MY STORY WILL CHANGE-By Bolatito Caroline.

JESUS IS THE KING. BY BOLATITO C. PETER

WHEN SHOULD WE PRAISE GOD?

There is no specific time that is scheduled to praising God. Praise is a thing of the heart, praise should not be seen as a routine, and rather it should be seen as a habit or duty. Seeing praising God as a routine means that you will have a particular place, way and pattern of doing it, but seeing praise as a way of life or duty; makes it to become easy for you to do. You can praise anywhere and at any time because it has become part of you; and you will derive joy in doing it. (Psalm 145:1-2) "I will exalt you,my God the king; i will praise your name forever and ever. Everyday i will praise you and extol your name forever and ever." giving praise to God should be done everyday regardless of our circumstances or what we are going through. The psalmist says “let everything that has breath praise the lord”. For sleeping and waking up safely; He deserves all praise. As long as you are living on this planet earth; you must praise the name of the lord most high.

Praise is a journey into God’s heart, so you need to praise God everyday if you want to be relevant in the kingdom of God. Engaging in ceaseless praise keeps your mind away from all the problems of life; and it builds confidence in you that God is on your side. If you only praise God when you are happy; this shows that you did not see God as the Supreme Being that can handle all problems of life, this is disobedience to God’s words.

 (Isaiah 43:21) "the people i formed for myself that they may praise my name" This verse explains the purpose of our creation. (To praise God)  it is better to praise God in the midst of adversaries; this will make God to be please with you, that you are not serving Him basically for the material blessing alone but for who He is(the supreme being).

Cultivate the habit of praising God everywhere, at any time and in any situation, do not allow any negative situation to overrule your reasoning to see reason why you should praising God.

God commanded us to praise Him every time; let us look a it this way, if you devout your time to praise God; you will be spiritually vibrant, also your health would be very sound, because when you are living a life of praise; you would not have time to think of other situations that is facing you having the understanding that your God is bigger than all your problems. Magnifying God more than your problems will keep you away from depression and other health problems.(Colossians 3:16) "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God"

Engaging yourself in ceaseless praise; keeps you away from problems like gossips and unholy words and thoughts.  . Occupying your heart with God’s praise would make everything that comes from your mouth to be holy, and then you can be rest assured that you will be able to stand in the presence of God. God wants us to live a life of increasing praise, praising God have nothing to do with our circumstances, and our situations. Since His mercies are new every morning and not every other morning; we need to praise Him daily. (Lamentation 3:22-23)

(Psalm 34:1b) says i will bless the lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. To praise continually means that you will praise Him in good and bad days. Praising God can never be out of season because God will always be relevant forever. 

 It is good to start the morning with the praise of the most high, and end the day singing His praise.

We should see praise as a lifestyle, a habit; an attitude of our heart and soul. Praise should be made to become part of you, if you want to always be in the presence of God always. If you see praise as part of you; it will not be difficult for you to praise God anywhere and any time.

Praise is our communication with God therefore we should be able to praise God in the car, in the kitchen, on the road and so on, God created us to proclaim His praise. As long as you are still breathing; you owe Him your highest praise. 

Do not say you cannot praise God because you have pending request, or because you lack some material things, nothing should hinder you from praising your God, not even on sick bed! The bible says in everything we should give thanks for that is the will of God for you. (1 Thessalonians 4:18) 

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MARY AND MARTHA

TEXT: LUKE 10:38-42

In our Christian walk with God; our service and our personal fellowship with God are both important. It is not enough to render service to God and not having a close fellowship with Him.

As important as rendering services in the house of God is, if you don’t fellowship with Him on a daily basis, God would not appreciate such service.

When Jesus got to the house of Mary and Martha; Martha was busy preparing food, taking care of the house, and making provision for Jesus and his disciples. Mary on the other hand sat at the feet of Jesus to learn “the word of life.” Martha went ahead by challenging her sister to join her in the preparation. Jesus replied Martha by saying “Martha, Martha you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The lesson here is that we should not occupy ourselves with the service we render in the house of God, and neglect our fellowship with God. It does not make any sense working vigorously without having any relationship with the one you are working for. It is when you have a close relationship with someone that you would know the person better, and this will enable you to know what you can do for him or her.

If you occupy yourself with work or service in the house of God, leaving out your fellowship with God, you may be doing the wrong thing or service. It is when you develop a close relationship with God that He would reveal to you where He wants you to function in His kingdom. Jesus told Martha that “Mary chose the one which is IMPORTANT and NO ONE CAN TAKE IT FROM HER.” Your personal fellowship with God is the best thing that can ever happen to you!

The revelation and knowledge gained when you are fellowshipping with God can never be taken from you, you may be told to leave your post or your department in the church. Another competent person may be available for the service you render in the house of God, but when you equip yourself with divine knowledge and revelation from the presence of God by fellowshipping constantly with Him. You will forever be relevant in His kingdom.

Fellowshipping with God gives you the right ideas and tools to do exploit in His vineyard. “Those that know their God; they shall be strong and do exploits,” (Daniel: 11-32b) In the same vein, fellowshipping with God alone without making effort to render any service in God’s house, makes one to look selfish and ungrateful. If Martha had sat like her sister (Mary) to be listening to Jesus, it would have been said that they are not hospitable. There should be a balance in our service and our fellowship with God. You cannot be working for God without walking with Him.

Render your service to God and at the same time, spend quality time with Him by studying, praising, and worshiping Him. Don’t let the work of God suffer because you have to fellowship with Him. Neither should you jeopardise your fellowship with God, while busy working for Him.

Many people have “forgotten” God, they have no relationship with Him, but they are busy working for Him. They do not know the God they are busy working for!

If everybody is concerned only with fellowshipping with God and nobody is interested in working in the house of God, how will the house of God be organised and conducive for people to worship? At the same time, if we concentrate solely on working for Him without knowing Him, what will our spiritual life be? Fellowshiping with God renews our strength and charges our “spiritual battery”. Do not neglect your “quiet time” be in His presence often and carry out your services diligently. “BE A LITTLE MARY AND A LITTLE MARTHA.” Combine both characters so that you can please God!

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