THE REWARD OF FAITH

TEXT: JAMES 1:6, MATTHEW 17:20 

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” (James 1: 6-8).

“He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."(Matthew 17:20).

What is faith? The dictionary defined faith as complete trust or confidence in someone or something- faith is absolute trust in someone or something. The scripture defines faith as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

Now that we have explained what faith is, the question here is who should we have absolute faith in? The only person that we can put our absolute faith in without being failed is the only wise God- the Lord Almighty. Hebrews 12: 1 says “Looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of your faith… Jeremiah 17:5 buttressed this by saying “This is what the Lord says. Cursed is the one who trusts in man who draws strength in mere flesh, and whose heart turns away from the Lord.

Do you wonder why the Lord is advising us not to put our trust in fellow man? The reason is because God knows that there is limit to what human beings can do- our strength, wisdom and knowledge are limited as human beings. Only the almighty God is the unlimited God. Nothing limits Him if He’s set to do a thing.

Human being may promise to do something for you and they may genuinely have the mind of helping, but because of the limited power, strength and wisdom of human beings, they may faith you. Only God will not fail you; that is why He is the only one we should put our trust in.

The reward of faith is that when you put your faith in God He will not disappoint you- He will not fail you, He will bring your expectation to pass. As good as that sounds, there is more to it. To walk with God in faith you have to “leave your brain behind you” What do I mean? Faith requires what does not make sense to ordinary mind (example is when Jesus spat on the ground and used it to heal a blind eyes). It is scientifically proven that human brain is wired to protect and guide human being against any harm. That is why when you want to embark on any new idea, task or endeavour, your brain automatically tries to talk you out of making the move to do what is planned because your brain wants to protect you from “danger”. When walking with God in faith and you are told to do what is “humanly unreasonable” your brain will “enlightens” you not to do it because it makes no sense- this makes trusting God and walking in faith to be impossible.

There were people in the bible that got the rewards of their faith in the word of God- the Lord did not disappoint them, their expectation were made to come to pass.

King Jehoshaphat in second Chronicles 20 defeated all the people that waged war against his nation only by singing praises to God as the Lord instructed him to do. He won the battle without any weapon - without raising his hands to fight! The wall of Jericho came down flat only by marching and shouting of the people of God- they followed the instruction of God with faith and they had victory.

If Peter was using human wisdom when Jesus told him to go to the river to catch the first fish and open its mouth to get money for them to pay their tax, Peter would have said no- but because Peter had done away with his human brain (wisdom) his faith in Jesus made his expectation to come to fulfilment.

To cap it all, I will talk about Abraham’s faith- he was called the father of faith because of his “dangerous” faith in God. He demonstrated his faith to his son Isaac when God told him to sacrifice the boy for Him. When the boy asked the dad that he could see other thing for the sacrifice except the Ram, the father told his son that the Lord shall provide. Abraham believed that God is a loving God and wouldn’t allow him to sacrifice his long awaiting son. Lo and behold, the Lord proved himself as the ever faithful God again- He provided the Ram as Abraham expected!

The take home today is to be steadfast in your faith to God knowing well that the Lord will reward you by granting you the expectation of your heart and give you victory on every side provided you did not doubt Him.

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GET UP AND WALK!!!

JOHN 5: 1-15

“Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.  Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. ³ Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.  ⁵ One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

⁷ “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

⁸ Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” ⁹ At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, ¹⁰ and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

¹¹ But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ”

¹² So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?”

¹³ The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.

¹⁴ Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” ¹⁵ The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.”

At a point during the cause of our lives we are faced with situations that are overwhelming. We find ourselves in a place where it seems we are stagnated, we are not making progress. We feel that we need help and assistance which is not forthcoming.

There are periods when we struggle to breakout of hardship and unpleasant situations, we tried all possible means but all into no avail.

Many looks for help from friends and families but help refused to come from them, because the families and friends need help themselves.

Many times we look for help in the wrong direction- and when we don’t get our desired result because we look in the wrong direction, we become frustrated and we give in to fate without making effort or trying harder.

The disappointment that many people faced in life has made them to be “handicapped” and become “crippled” to every good things of life. they have chosen stagnation over progress, and failure over fruitfulness.

In our text, the blind man at the pool was expecting help from the people around him to help lower him into the pool so that he could be healed. He felt disappointed when help did not come from them as he expected. The blind man accepted his fate and stayed at the pool for thirty eight years without any effort; before Jesus came to rescue him!

The blind man was helpless and hopeless because he looked in the wrong direction for help.

The word of God for you today is “Do not allow the situation of life to make you become hopeless.” Look in the right direction for help- Jesus is the help of the helpless and the hope of the hopeless. Do not accept the negative situation to overwhelm you.

Jesus is your sure hope and your ever present help in time of trouble. Call upon his name today, he is ready and willing to help you to get up from failure and stagnation, and walk you to your place of breakthrough and abundance. DO NOT EXPLAIN IT AWAY LIKE THE BLIND MAN- DON'T GIVE EXCUSES-DON'T JUSTIFY  YOUR STAGNATION. GET UP AND WALK!

Do not let any problem stagnate you. With Jesus there will always be a way around your problem- Nothing can hold you bound if you don’t allow it- Get up and walk out of stagnation!

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WISDOM: THE WAY TO LIFE

TEXT: PROVERBS 3: 13-18

“Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding,
 for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.

 She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.
 Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honour.
Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed.”

Wisdom is the right application of knowledge. Knowledge on the other hand is information gained through experience and acquaintance. It is possible for one to be knowledgeable and lack wisdom, but not the other way round.

For instance, you can be knowledgeable in how to drive a car, but it is your wisdom that will tell you not to overtake another car at a bend or at a dangerous spot.

Go wants us to be wise. The book of James 1:5 emphasised the importance of wisdom by admonishing that whoever lacks wisdom should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault.

The right place to get wisdom is from the almighty God that gives liberally. Any wisdom gotten from any other source is foolishness as the Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:19.

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom, and in all thy getting; get understanding (Proverbs 4:7).

The place of wisdom for godly and successful living cannot be overemphasised.to live and to have good success, you need wisdom. To walk with God and be blameless, you need wisdom. For divine direction and guidance; you need wisdom. For supernatural healing and sound health’ wisdom must come to play. To live in this sinful and perverted world gloriously, the wisdom of God must be evident in your life. Nothing can be achieved without wisdom, no matter how knowledgeable you are- you need wisdom in other to be able to apply your wisdom in the right way.

Having knowledge without wisdom is like using a dull axe to cut a tree- it involves using greater strength and energy; and achieving less success.

“Using a dull axe requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That is the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.” (Eccl. 10:10).

Our text in Proverbs 3: 13:18 highlighted some of the benefits of wisdom:

·        Wisdom makes you the blessed of the Lord

·        You will be valued more than gold

·        You will be profitable

·        You will be more precious than rubies

·        Wisdom guarantees you long life

·        Wisdom gives you riches and honour

·        Wisdom gives you peace of mind

·        Wisdom makes you a blessing to your generation

·        Wisdom protects you (Prov. 4:6)

·        Wisdom exalts you (Prov. 4:8)

I I pray the wisdom of God will reign in our lives in Jesus name. Shalom!

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THE DEVIL’S MINISTRY

TEXT: JOHN 10:10

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

From the time that the Lord disqualified Lucifer from His kingdom (from being one of the angels of God) till present day, Lucifer the devil has not rested on his oars to destroy the children of God in order to vent his anger and revenge.

The devil is in a big battle with the children of God because he has been disgraced and banished from the presence of God as a result of pride. In his quest to retaliate he established a destructive “ministry” to kill, to steal and to destroy the children of God.

Many great and mighty destinies have been stolen by the devil. Many great men and women with promising future have met their untimely death as a result of the scheme of the devil to kill them before they could fulfil their purpose.

Countless seed of greatness that were meant to be used to do great exploit for God were destroyed from ignorant owner of the seeds before these seed could become mighty and fruitful seed, and as a result of this, the owner of the seed could not fulfil his or her God given purpose.

The disposition and purpose of God for our lives is that we would become great, fruitful, replenish and dominate the earth and be fulfilled. God did not create us for the earth to dominate us. It is the devil that brings evil, bad occurrence, set back and non-achievement into the life of the children of God. God didn’t create anybody to be a failure.

Many people are not careful or vigilant enough as the scripture has advised us in 1 Peter 5:8 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” They are careless and carefree about their destiny- They allowed the thief (devil) to craftily come into their lives unannounced to steal, kill and destroy their destinies!

Some of the strategies that the devil uses to destroy great destiny is DECEIT! The devil deceives people to see “poisonous package” as “marvellous breakthrough” and in this wise; they trade their promising destiny for something that is unreal or genuine- it could be by enticing them with treasure that will not last or blessing that will bring sorrow to them later in life.- Like engaging in fraudulent activities, sexual immoralities and so on.

The devil tried to destroy the ministry of Jesus Christ by asking him to turn stones to bread so that he (the devil) can give Jesus the whole world as his own. Jesus was able to defeat the devil because he was always vigilant and always in tune with God. In fact, he just came down from the mountain where he went to pray when the accuser and the thief came to tempt him. Only by prayer and vigilance can you defeat the devil the destroyer.

Do not help the devil to fulfil his ministry in your life, resist him by being careful of any offer or favour that looks very “enticing”- it could be a bait to catch you into his trap- be vigilant and PRAY without ceasing. Shalom!

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JESUS FOLLOWED THE RULES

 TEXT: ACTS 10:38, MATTHEW 3: 13-17

“ How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil because God was with him.

(Act: 10: 38).

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” Then John consented.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him, I am well pleased.”

The scripture advised all followers of Jesus to be Christ like. What does this mean? It means the mind and character of our Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus came to this world as the son of man, he had the power to do as he pleased- because nobody living on earth was greater than him both in power and in wisdom.

Being the son of man in human form, he could have used his power to intimidate and oppress people. However, Jesus the Son of God that has been given ALL power was humble and submissive to authority. (Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me- Matthew 28:18).

Jesus was humble, caring, selfless, non-partial, nonjudgemental, and approachable. He led without favouritism or pride.

In the anchor scripture, we can see how Jesus started his earthly ministry- he waited to be anointed with Holy Ghost and power, before going around to fulfil his purpose.

In the second scripture (Matthew 3: 13-17) Jesus Christ humbled himself to be baptised by John the Baptist, this is the height of humility. Jesus followed the rules to the letter. During that time, John the Baptist was the only one God appointed to baptise people into His kingdom. Hence, John was not comfortable to baptise the saviour of the world, because he knew who Jesus Christ was. Therefore, as a sign of honour, John felt he was not in the position to baptise Jesus. Jesus insisted that all protocol must be followed- things should be done according to the rules. Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfil all righteousness.” Then John consented.” (Matthew 3:15).

However, in Christendom these days, people are so impatient and eager to start their ministry without waiting for the leading and the direction of God. Many go into ministry without waiting to be equipped with Holy Ghost and power, and they end up struggling in ministry.

Pride had eroded many children of God of their breakthrough. They have allowed pride to limit them from getting to the height that the Lord wanted to take them to.

Many church leaders are partial and they show favouritism in their relationship with their members. If they don’t like you or they “find” anything wrong with you, your “growth” will be retarded!

These are not attributes of our Lord Jesus, Jesus is our role model, we are called to be like him in ALL our ways. Do not break or bend the rules because Jesus never did. Let us examine ourselves and amend our ways. Shalom!

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YOU WILL BE TESTED TO BE PROMOTED

TEXT: DAN 3:8-21, 28-30

 At this time some astrologers or Chaldeans came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us. Or If the God we serve is able to deliver us, then he will deliver us from the blazing furnace and from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace….Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

There is no promotion with test or examination. For you to be promoted to a greater or next level, you must go through a test. Nobody gets promoted without having to face some trials or challenges.

For example, when students wanted to be promoted from one class to the next higher class, the teachers will conduct some test for them to test their ability to that they will know if they are fit enough to be promoted.

In the same vein, for God to elevate you and promote you to the next higher level; your faithfulness and your steadfastness will be tested. God may decide to bring a challenge your way to know the extent of your love and your commitment to him.

You know it is easy to serve God when things are working well for you. You may find it easy to profess your “unending love” for God when the line is falling in good places for you. When the tide turns in “not so good” or in a very messy situation, can you still be steadfast in your commitment to God?

In our text, the three Hebrew boys were having the challenge of renouncing their God by bowing down to worship the image of gold of king Nebuchadnezzar. Failure to bow down for this image would cost them their lives. If they refuse to bow down to the image of gold, they will be thrown into the extremely hot fire prepared at the instruction of the king. The period can be referred to as the period of their test that would get them promoted to the next level.

The Hebrew boys faced the “promotional test” and they came out victoriously. The boys proved their love and steadfastness to God by standing their ground not to bow to the image of gold.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king

“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us 17 Or If the God we serve is able to deliver us, then he will deliver us from the blazing furnace and from Your Majesty’s hand. 18But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Dan 3: 16-18).

The king was filled with rage and ordered that the boys should be thrown into the extremely heated furnace. The boys were thrown into the fire but the lord took out the heat from the fire and made the fire to become “air conditioner” for them and they were not burnt!

God does not allow those who trust Him to be put to shame. When the Hebrew boys refused to trade their God for any man made gods, the Lord came through for them by rescuing them from the plot of the enemy.

If you stand your ground in the face of problem and affliction, the Lord will not forsake you. He will rescue and deliver you from the plot of the enemy and you will triumph and be promoted like the Hebrew boys.

“And the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.28Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”30Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. (Dan 3:27-30).

Be encouraged that God will not leave nor forsake you. You will be tested to be promoted, make sure you don’t fail the test if you want to go to the next level of greatness. Failure to pass the test means repetition until you pass that level gloriously. NO PROMOTION WITHOUT TEST!

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BEWARE OF EVIL HELPERS

TEXT: EZRA 4:1-5

When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”

 But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”

Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Help can be defined as the act of rendering assistance to someone in order to get a task done faster and quicker. It is an assistance given to accomplish a task in a less difficult way.

As human beings, we all love it when someone offers to render help for us in order to accomplish our mission. As good as help and assistance may be, we must be careful of the offer of help and assistance we would accept because not all helpers are genuine or real.

The devil knows how to “wrap” and present disaster and calamity with an attractive “wrapper” to make it enticing and irresistible to his victims.

Many believers have fallen victims of the deceit of these “evil helpers” and have missed their glorious destiny as a result. God promised to help us by sending helpers our way. However, it is not all helpers that are genuinely from God.

Some so called “helpers” are from the pit of hell working for their master the devil to frustrate and truncate great destinies- TAKE HEED!

Some people have met their Waterloo as a result of “strange helpers” that “helped” them to destroy their destiny instead of improving it as expected.

Our text today shows how the devil can be cunning in destroying people’s testimony by pretending to be their “helper.”

“When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “LET US HELP YOU BUILD…” (Ezra 4:1-2).

These people were not genuine helpers but enemies that pretended to be helpers. They disguised themselves as helpers so that they can frustrate the good work that the builders of the temple were doing. Thank God for the spirit of discernment that the Lord gave to the builders to recognise them as enemies rather than helpers.

In the same vein, you have to be very careful of the offer of help you would accept from people, because some “helpers” are meant for your destruction and not for your elevation. Pray for the spirit of discernment to identify godly and genuine helpers.

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THE KINGDOM OF GOD OR OTHER THINGS?

TEXT: MATTHEW 6:33

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

The scripture tells us that the first and paramount thing to seek or to long for is the kingdom of God and His righteousness. That is, we would strive to know God genuinely; we should seek Him not only with our lips but with the totality of our life- body, soul and spirit.

We you are seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness; it means you are passionate in pleasing the Lord your maker in all your ways. It means you are always conscious of your ways of life, and you examine yourself at every point in time to see if you are still in tune with God. It means you are heaven minded, courteous to live a life without blemish, spot or wrinkle; a life that glorifies God.

Kingdom seekers are those that believe that there is a place they will go to after leaving this world (eternity).

Kingdom seekers put their minds on things that are not seen (which are eternal) and not on things that are seen (which are temporal and perishable).

The Lord did not say we should be poor, he did not say He will not bless us; He did not say He will not take us to the height that we aspire to be. All He’s saying is that we should seek and love Him genuinely, to have a genuine relationship with Him. God wants us to be rooted and grounded in Him, so that when the day of evil comes; we will triumph.

It is so sad these days that people have put the first thing last and the last thing first. They have put the cart before the horse! Instead of seeking the kingdom of God first, they are busy seeking and running after other things (the world and its pleasures).

People want to become rich overnight. They are passionate and more concerned about building multi-million dollar Business Empire than genuinely seeking after the Lord their maker.

Many people out of desperation have gotten themselves in dubious, sinful and ungodly way to acquire these things that are just for the time being.

Men and women of God are not left out in this quest for the pleasures of the world. The motive of some pastors has changed from genuinely seeking the kingdom of God, to milking and exploiting their members to fulfil their worldly desires.

Many so called gospel singers are lost in the world of deceit. They sing songs that glorify man rather than God. They have diluted their songs with the worldliness of this world so that they would be widely accepted and make money as a result.

Gone are those days when a sinner will hear gospel music and be convicted of his or her sin! The subject and the focus have been changed from the Almighty God to worldliness disguised as gospel of God.

The mistake that people are making is that they refused to follow the instruction of God that says “SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO IT.”

If you follow this instruction or commandment of God, you will be doing yourself a lot of good; because life will be very easy for you(not that problem will not come, but you will have victory).

If you devote yourself to serving and pleasing God wholeheartedly, wealth, blessing and every other thing shall be added to you freely as bonus. You wouldn't need to struggle tooth and nail for it.

Solomon never asked for wealth but wisdom to lead God’s people. Because of his commitment to God’s assignment in his hands, God decided to bless him richly beyond his request. Great wealth was added as a bonus to his request.

The scripture says “The blessing of the Lord makes riches and adds no sorrow to it.” (Proverbs 10:22).

Be determined today that you want to genuinely seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness; don’t run after “other thing”- (material blessings). Leave other things for God to add to you as a reward of your steadfastness in seeking His kingdom and His righteousness.

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THE POWER OF HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION

 TEXT: ISAIAH 53:5-7

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing].The punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him, and by His stripes (wounds) we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray. We have turned, each one, to his own way; But the Lord has caused the wickedness of us all [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing] to fall on Him [instead of us]. He was oppressed and He was afflicted. Yet He did not open His mouth [to complain or defend Himself];

Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before her shearers, So He did not open His mouth.”

Jesus Christ was used as the sacrificial lamb for the atonement of our sin. He that knew no sin or committed any sin was made sin for us to be free from sin. Jesus died on the cross of Calvary in place of sinners. He loved us, he wanted to reconcile us back to God; he decided to bear all our sin by paying the price of our sin with his precious blood.

Jesus Christ redeemed us and made intersession for us as sinners. Nothing could wash away our sin except for the precious blood of Jesus; he did not withhold his life but laid it down for us as a ransom for our sin. What a great love!

Jesus Christ died for us so that we can live for him. His death gave us new life in Christ; his death gave us sonship in the Lord Almighty. His death brought us spiritual healing, his death transformed us from being known as grievous sinners to sinless children of God. Through his death; our sin was pardoned and erased!

At this juncture, I want you to reflect on the price that Jesus paid for you on the cross of Calvary to give you eternal life. Think of the pain and hardship he went through to pay for the debt you owe but could not pay. Meditate on the great love that made Jesus to go on the cross for you and I for the sin he never committed!

Answer this question genuinely; are you really living your life for him that gave his all for you? Have you surrendered the totality of your life to him without holding back anything? Or do you only serve him when it’s convenient for you?

Do not forget that he did not withhold anything to die in your place on the cross. His death is what gave you the new life in Christ. HIS DEATH CERTIFICATE BROUGHT ABOUT YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND GUARANTEES YOU ETERNAL LIFE.

If your life is not worthy of the gospel of Christ, if you are living a reckless life, then you are nailing him on the cross the second time. Do not let his death on the cross go in vain. Live to please God.

Apostle Paul decided to lose everything that he counted as gain, for the sake of Christ.

“But whatever was my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.”

(Philippians 3:7).

Like Paul, you too can take account of your life and see what hinders you from knowing Christ genuinely- material things or earthly treasures. Count them all as lost, do away with them all that you may gain Christ. Make Jesus the your priority of your life like Paul did. This season of his death and resurrection, you need to genuinely seek after knowing Jesus, have personal relationship with him.

Ask him to reveal to you the power of his death and resurrection. Apostle Paul counted every other things as loss so that he could have better understanding of who Jesus Christ is, what he’s capable of doing and what he (Paul) could learn from the life of Jesus Christ. He said, “That I may know him and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.(Philippians 3:10).

Don’t get lost with the world and its treasures. Don’t get distracted, have genuine relationship with Jesus Christ that died for you so that you can live for him. May the power of his resurrection make alive anything that is dead or dying in your life in the name of Jesus. Amen.

HAPPY EASTER!

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YOU CAN SING TO GOD IN THE STRANGE LAND

TEXT: PSALM 137: 1-4

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.

 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, sing us one of the songs of Zion.

 How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?

The lord created us to declare His glory in praise and exaltation. God delights in His children making a joyful noise to Him.

Regardless of what you are going through, it is mandatory for you to give God your genuine praise and exaltation.

Psalm 150:6 says “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” The Lord did not say “Let everyone that is rich praise the Lord. He did not say let everyone that has achieved everything in life praise the Lord.”

Therefore, as long as you still have the breath of life that He breathed on you, you must sing and exalt the giver of life.

The scripture says in John 10:10 that the thief comes to steal, to kill and to destroy. Satan uses discouragement and hopelessness to still to kill and to destroy people’s praise life.

In our text, the children of Israel were taken into captivity in Babylon. They were so depressed and down that they could not open their mouth to sing to their maker again. They were so heavy and down casted that they hung their musical instrument. They wept when they remembered Zion the place of God that they left. Zion is a place of glory, peace, comfort and freedom. All these they were enjoying before they disobeyed God and God gave them to the Babylonians to enslave them. The Babylonians were mocking them that they should sing their Lord’s song for them, but the children of Israel were so down and confused that they asked how they can sing the Lord’s song in a strange land of hopelessness, depression and confusion.

Satan is so crafty that he would make people not to see any good things in their lives that deserve praising God for. Talking about “strange land”, what does it mean? A strange land is a place of discomfort, a place of dejection, a place of failure, affliction, stagnation, delayed progress, fruitlessness, hopelessness and so on.

I called these situations “a strange land” because that is not the plan and purpose of God for us.

The plan and purpose of God for our lives can be found in the book of Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of good and not of evil; to give you a future and a hope.”

Having given us this promise, God did not assure us a stress free life (John 16:33).

Peradventure you found yourself in a strange land, do not stop praising the Lord. You should be able to sing and dance to God in anticipation that you will arrive at the Promised Land, because it is sure you will not die in the strange land.

The Lord promised the Israelites that they will dwell in the Promised Land. They did not get to the Promised Land without going through the wilderness.

In the same vein, the Lord has promised you that you will live in the Promised Land, but at a point in your life, you will find yourself in the strange land while you are on your way to the Promised Land.

The people that were taken into captivity in Babylon asked “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”

Many of us are at this stage in our lives- asking “why do I need to sing to God? What is so praise worthy in my life?

The lord is encouraging you with this message today that it is okay to lose EVERYTHING, but DO NOT LOSE YOUR PRAISE! Your victory, deliverance, healing, success and breakthrough are in your praise.

I pray that the Lord will deliver us from any strange land that we may be in. he will take us to Zion a place of peace and comfort in Jesus name. Can I hear amen?

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GET THEM INVOLVED!

TEXT: EZRA 3:8-9

As I was doing my morning devotion. I was studying the book of Ezra. I was on Ezra chapter 3 ( Rebuilding the Temple).
The Lord called my attention to something from the verses. Ezra 3: 8-9
" 8 In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak and the rest of the people (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work. THEY APPOINTED LEVITES TWENTY YEARS OLD AND OLDER TO SUPERVISE THE BUILDING OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. 9 Joshua and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah[a]) and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers—all Levites—joined together in supervising those working on the house of God."

The words in capital letters caught my attention. We know how our children and youths find it uneasy and uninteresting to be in the church. Some of them only come to church to please mum and dad. From the look on their faces during praise and worship, and also during the sermon. One can conclude that they were just physically in the church, but their minds and souls are elsewhere!
As I was studying, when I got to the verse above ( those in capital letters). The words jumped out on me, like "this could be the solution to the "I am not part of this attitude  of our children" thinking church activities are for  adults alone!
If we get them actively involved in EVERY aspects of the church like getting them to usher, sing, cleaning and arranging chairs, teaching younger children, teaching in their classes rather than having an adult to teach them at all times. It would make them to be more interested in the "church thing" instead of leaving them on the chairs to wallow in "boredom".
As an educationist, I was taught by my lecturers and profs. That children are more active when they learn by DOING, rather than learning by ROTE (memorisation) method.
Getting them involved in the planning of their teaching methods, and giving them the opportunity to teach would get them closer to their Bibles! ( They would want to study to show themselves approved ).
The church becomes less interesting to our youths because many are idle in the church.Therefore, they did not see themselves as part of the church.
Also, we need to make the service to be interesting in some way that will not contradict the way of the lord, and yet will be interesting to our children and youths.
Educational curriculum and syllabus are being reviewed periodically, so that it will be suitable for the changing world.
Pastors, preachers, Evangelists, Sunday school teachers, Children teachers. A clarion call to you all. Review your teaching methods, let's move from the age- long methods of teaching, let's bring new innovations and ideas to our teaching methods in the church. The world is not static, it changes by the day.
Let us move with time, so that we will not lose our children to the WORLD!!!

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