BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING

TEXT: Philippians 4: 6

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

The scripture says in Matthews 11: 28 that “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” The world is full of ups and downs, many times the tide and storm of life toss us here and there that our sense of reasoning and ability to trust God to see us through may be beclouded. When life comes knocking, we tend to forget about the promises of God to see us through every situation, and never to leave nor forsake us. Why do you need to worry and struggle over a situation that God has offered to help you with? Can you do it better than Him? Why are you worrying yourself over a situation you barely have control over? The situation is beyond you power, wisdom, and strength, so give it to God!

The scripture says “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? (Matthew 6: 27). A secular quote by Ema Bombeck says “worry is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere.” Instead of worrying and being anxious, please just lay it at His feet! Babies and toddlers do not worry about what they will eat, drink or wear. It is not in their place to figure out “How” these things will come by, because they know “Who” will provide all their needs (their parents).

Children have absolute trust in their parents to provide all their needs, they do not have to think about how the needs will be met. in the same vein, you need childlike faith and trust in the lord regarding all affairs of your life, so that you will not be dealing with anxiety and high blood pressure.

Our anchor scripture says, “Be anxious for NOTHING, but with prayer and supplication, make your requests known to God.” All you need to do, is to make your requests known to God- tell him with your mouth what you want him to do for you and leave it at His disposal and see how He will handle it.

Do not worry about how He is going to solve the problem, take the pressure and frustration off your shoulder- have absolute trust in the Lord your maker. God has given us the heads up in John 15: 33 “In this world you will have problem, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.” In your journey of life, tribulation and problem are non-negotiable. We will go through them, but the good part is that the battle has been won before we started!

Be encouraged that God has not brought you this far to fail you. Let me end with these scriptures, “And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. So do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear? Only people who do not know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows you need all of these (Matthew 6: 30- 32). On final note, the Lord is telling you today that “He will not leave nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6 ).

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CHRIST IN YOU THE HOPE OF GLORY

 

TEXT: COLOSSIANS 1:27, JOHN 15: 5-10

“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27).

“5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love (John 15: 5-10).

What is glory? Glory is renown honour won by notable achievements. It is an outstanding achievement that cannot be hidden. Glory is an achievement that announces itself. What do you understand by hope? It is a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen (Dictionary.com).

The Biblical meaning of hope is the CONFIDENT expectation of what God has promised. Our text in John 15 says “if you remain in me and I in you, you will bear more fruit. The relationship that would propel us to glory has to be dual relationship (that is, relating with God- getting intimate with God, and he also has a relationship with you). This is when we can be sure that we are on the path of glory. Some people believe they are in Christ while they play religion. There is clear distinction between being a religious person and being saved genuinely- God resides in those that are GENUINELY saved and not those that attend church weekly without any form of godliness in them!

I heard Joyce Meyer saying one day that “staying in garage does not make you a car, neither does going to church makes you a Christian.” Our right standing with God is what guarantees the manifestation of the glory of God in our lives. The question we need to ask ourselves now is “is Christ in me and am I in Christ?”

Our text says, “Christ in you the hope of glory.” Christ MUST genuinely be in you; He must know you and have relationship with you, and you must do the same by cultivating a very sound and genuine relationship with Him so that he can shower you with His glory. The irony of things are some people believe they are in Christ, they work for God, they pay tithe and never missed services in their local churches. However, they are not walking with the lord they are working for, they have no relationship with God, he does not communicate or relate with them on personal level- They are strangers or aliens to God! This type of relationship would not make you enjoy the glory of God.

Cultivate a genuine relationship with your maker, do not play religion. For the glory of God to manifest in us, we must be sure that we are not alone on our Christian walk or journey, we must be sure that God is on the journey with us. How can we be sure that Christ is in us? By constant examination of our heart and examining your life and standing with God. Your heart needs to be renewed and be transformed. You must have a genuine fellowship with God and not “playing church.” God bless you.

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VAIN IS THE HELP OF MAN

 TEXT: PSALM 108: 12- 13

“12 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. 13 Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.”

Help can be defined as making it easier or possible for someone to do something by offering them one’s services or resources (Cambridge Dictionary. Org). A helper may decide to assist his or her beneficiary by embarking on some of the task to reduce stress or workload on the recipient.

Rendering a helping hand to someone may also be in form of providing advice or financial support to someone. As relieving as seeing someone to help with your needs is, it is ideal to know that lasting and genuine help can only be found in Christ. Human beings are limited in what they can do, we have limited strength, resources, wisdom, endurance, temperament and even life span!

Placing your hope and trust on human beings for help may lead to disappointment when they are unable to meet your need, or when they become exhausted in providing help. I am not writing that we should not look around for human help, as we know God will not come down to help us- He sends help through people around us. Therefore, as the scripture admonishes in Hebrews 12:2 “to look up to Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith.” For genuine and lasting help, look up to the ALL-sufficient God. Call on Him to send help to you through vessels that He has prepared for the task. These types of helpers are called “Divine Helpers.” They will not get weary or tired of you, they will not spite you with their help and they will not withhold their help because God has prepared and equipped them for the good cause.

On the other hand, if you seek help from fellow man when God did not lead you to him or her, it may not end well. The person may be willing to help but faced with his or her own human limitations or challenges. A helper that is not sent by God may withhold his or her assistance at any little instance of anger or other reasons best known to him or her.

Hence, our anchor scripture directed us to the right channel or source of seeking lasting and unfailing source of help- which is God, because human help is vain. Do not be going around compelling or soliciting for help from people to the pint of becoming a nuisance. You may be looking into the wrong direction for help. Go to God in prayer and let Him lead you to the vessels He has prepared to help you. May the Lord connect you with your divine Helpers in Jesus name.

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BE COMPASSIONATE

 

TEXT: PROVERBS 21: 13

“If a man shuts his hears to the cry of the poor, He too will cry and not to be answered.”

There is a saying that “One good turn deserves another. Another says, what goes round comes round.” This means, whatever you do to others will come back to you in full measure. This is what is referred to as the law of KARMA.

Karma means, that whatever we do; be it in words, thoughts, or actions either positive or negative will have corresponding effect on us- it will come back to us either directly or indirectly.

The scripture emphasises this with the principle of sowing and reaping. In Galatians 6: 7 it says, “Be not be deceived, God is not mocked for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” We are in the end time where OPPRESSION has replaced COMPASSION. The wealthy are not bothered about the needy around them, all they want to do is to oppress them with their wealth and looking forward to being worshipped by the less privileged. This is what the Social Scientists called “Social Inequality.” Gone are the days of empathy and selfless services to humanity.

The days where believers used to “break bread” with other less privileged believers had long gone. What is seen in churches and the society at large these days is “survival of the fittest” in which no one cares about the poor, the needy or the less privileged amongst us,

In the days of Jesus Christ, he had feeling and compassion for the sick, the oppressed and the poor. He did not only lead them to God, but he ministered to their physical needs.

The “god” of these age has blindfolded some believers to the point of not having human feeling anymore. They preach the word to win people to the kingdom of God, but they cannot minister to the physical needs of their converts.

“suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food, if one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? (James 2: 15- 16). Your act of welldoing and benevolence would go a long way in winning souls for Christ than your empty word without corresponding action.

Our text says, if you refused to listen to the cry of the poor, that you also will not be heard on the day of trials. As believers, we should let our light shine in every dimension. As believers, we should be agent of positive change. If the world is oppressing the poor and the less privileged, they should be able to come to the midst of believers to find comfort and solace. Let us be our brother’s keeper, let us not be weary in doing good, for in proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9).

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MAKE A COVENANT WITH YOUR EYES.

TEXT: JOB: 31: 1-6.

1 I made a covenant with my eyes
    not to look lustfully at a young woman.
2 For what is our lot from God above,
    our heritage from the Almighty on high?
3 Is it not ruin for the wicked,
    disaster for those who do wrong?
4 Does he not see my ways
    and count my every step?
5 “If I have walked with falsehood
    or my foot has hurried after deceit—
6 let God weigh me in honest scales

The above passage was the account of Job the faithful and blameless follower of God. When calamity befell him, he lost all his wealth and children. In his quest to know why that should be his lot after he had followed the doctrine of righteous living.  He started to soliloquise recounting how he lived a good and holy life, how he made covenant with his eyes not to see what would cause him to sin.
Job mentioned that he decided not to allow his eyes to cause him to sin, why did he mention his eyes out of all his body parts and out of all the five senses? The answer is simple. Our eyes play a vital role in our lives. No wonder the scripture says in the book of Matthew 6: 22 says " The eye is the LAMP of the body."
The verse means that the eye is the metaphorical window in which light enters into your body. The eye is the channel  that communicate ideas ( either good or bad) to the rest of your body. The rest of your body or the remaining four senses takes action according to what your eye sees.
When your eye sees, it sends signal to your brain to evaluate what the eyes saw, then your mind takes over by thinking of what to do, the next step to take. If the thought lingers on and becomes established in your heart, then action follows with the use of other body parts. This act, either good or bad came as a result of what the eyes saw!
Can you see why it is very Important to make a covenant with your eyes not to see evil that would cause you to fall?
"  For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world." (1John 2: 16).
If you do not caution yourself to "discipline" your eyes, you may fall to the sin of the lust of the eyes which will lead to other sin like lust of the flesh (fornication/ adultery/theft) and pride of life (amassing wealth even in an ungodly way just to boost your status/ seeing yourself better than every other person as a result of the blessing of God that is evident in your life.).
Do not let your eyes and what you can see around you cause you to miss eternity. Be disciplined in your spirit, ask God for the grace to live above lust of the eyes. Make covenant with your eye which is the lamp of your body, that it will not cause you to fall into temptation and evil. There are tempters and temptations everywhere around the world, your immediate environment,  the social media and so on are places that can cause someone to fall into the sin of the lust of the eyes. We need the grace of God to abide with us to sail through the voyage without wrecking our ship. Many glorious destiny had been destroyed through lust of the eyes. You will not be an addition to this list in Jesus name.  Make a covenant with your eyes, activate your spiritual sight more than the physical. Shalom!

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PRESENT YOUR VESSEL IN SANCTIFICATION AND HONOUR

TEXT: 1 THESSALONIAN 4: 1-8.

“Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; ² for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

³ For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴ that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honour, ⁵ not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; ⁶ that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. ⁷ For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. ⁸ Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.”

Sanctification can be defined as making something or someone holy, setting apart as sacred, purify and be free from sin. On this note, I will define sanctification as separation from the world and  dedication unto God- it means doing away with worldliness, sinful living and embracing holiness- being sold out to God totally by doing His will, walking to please Him in all your ways.

The Bible tells us that the eyes of the Lord are too pure to behold iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13). For you to be at peace with God your ways must be right before Him, you must not be in tune with the world.

“You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” (James 4:4).

We were bought with a price and that makes us to be accountable to the one (God through Christ) that paid the price. Your life is no longer your own anymore because Jesus paid the price with his precious blood. Hence, you cannot live as you want any longer- you must live according to the dictates of your owner (God).  

Whatever God tells you to do, you must do, and your ways must conform to His commands.

From the day you gave your life to Christ, it is expected of you to have turned a new leaf- the scripture says you are now a new man old thing have passed away behold all thing have become new(2 Corinthians 5:17). In this wise, all your sinful old ways shouldn’t be reflecting in you as a new person in Christ.

God wants you to be sanctified, to avoid all form or immorality and other works of the flesh.

Our anchor scripture says in verse four “that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honour.” This verse is telling us that it is our sole responsibility to decide to live a sanctified life. You must make the determination to stand out from the world and its sinful pleasure so that you can embrace holiness and attain perfection by the grace of God.

Living a sanctified life is a personal obligation- the determination to live according to God’s precept is a matter of choice rather than coercion. God will not force you to do anything; He has given us the free will of choice.

Your pastor, Sunday school teacher, Bible study leader, House fellowship leader or the church counsellor cannot compel you to separate yourself from the world; they can only preach the word and encourage you to be a doer of the word. The onus is on you to obey the word of God and be determined that you will walk blamelessly with Him. Sexual immorality, lust of the eyes and pride of life, greed and covetousness should be avoided.

We are vessels of God- a vessel is an object that can retain contents either liquid or solid substance.

As spiritual vessels your heart can retain things; that is why the writer of our anchor scripture says we should possess our vessels in sanctification and in honour. You are the temple of God the spirit of God lives in you, but as soon as you harbour filthy things inside of you, any immoral act would make the Holy Spirit to take a break from you because light and darkness cannot mingle.

Let no corrupt though be in you like the people of the world. Examine yourself and be honest with yourself, make amends if need be. God did not call us to be impure; but to live a holy life. If you reject this instruction you are rejecting God and the outcome may be grievous.

As you cannot use a dirty plate to eat, so also God cannot use a dirty vessel. You must be purified and sanctified for God to use you.

DON’T SELL YOUR BIRTHRIGHT.

TEXT: GENESIS 25: 27-34

“²⁷ The boys grew up, and Esau became a skilful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents.²⁸ Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

²⁹ Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. ³⁰ He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.)

³¹ Jacob replied, “First sell me your birth right.”

³² “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birth right to me?”

³³ But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

³⁴ Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

So Esau despised his birthright.

Birthright can be defined as a particular right of possession or privilege a person has from birth, especially as an eldest son.

Birthright is a moral right possessed by everyone- birthright can be explained as your inarguable, unncontending right and power bestowed on you at birth. You don’t have to do anything to get it. Birthright is your natural endowment- your natural blessing (no canvassing, competition or lobbying needed).

Our text talked about the twin boys of Isaac and Rebekah named Esau and Jacob they were twins but they were not delivered at the same time. Esau was born before Jacob; this made Esau the first born of the family.

They both grew up and took up different professions of their own.

Esau was a skilful hunter while Jacob was content to staying at home among the tent.

In those days, firstborns were honoured with the right to have right over the father’s assets – they can exercise authority and responsibilities after the death of their father. In addition to assuming the leadership role of the family, the first born is bestowed the privilege to inherit twice than what other children will receive- there is no argument about this because it is the natural law of being the firstborn of a family (birthright).

As believers, we have an inheritance of birthright through Jesus who is the firstborn of the almighty God.

Success, blessing, breakthrough,  accelerated promotion and so on are your birthright as a genuine believer, so you don’t need to be running around looking  to get what is already yours- you don’t beg or solicit for what belongs to you!

Back to our anchor scripture; Esau came back home hungry from hunting his hunting trip. He saw his brother Jacob cooking porridge and he begged his brother to give him some to eat.

Jacob asked his brother to part with his birthright with his birthright for him to eat from his food.

Can you imagine what Jacob wanted in exchange of some morsel of porridge? (Think of the definition and the explanation I talked about in the beginning).

Esau did not think much of his glorious future and all the benefits attached to being the firstborn before he accepted to sell his birthright for momentary pleasure or satisfaction!

How many pots of porridge do you think he would have been able to have in his possession if he had endured the hunger that made him to sell his birthright?

However, he was unable to hold on to make his own food- he was unable to delay his gratification. Hence, he sold his glorious future for a brief enjoyment and satisfaction.

Likewise, as children of God you have glorious future ahead of you. It does not matter what you are going through now, regardless of what the devil is making you to see about yourself, if you can wait and endure the challenge, God will set you free and you will enter into your inheritance.

Do not fall for the “deceiving and enticing offer” of the devil. The devil has nothing good to offer you. All he wants to do is to entice you with “small morsel” of gift or blessing to steal your birthright forever!

 The devil’s gift does not last long- like the morsel of porridge Esau sold his birthright for did not last him the whole week, because I believe he ate something else after his porridge ordeal.

Do not let the devil deceive you with some fake or make believe “breakthrough” that will deprive you from enjoying the inheritance of your birthright. Persevere; be able to delay your gratification- instant gratification may bring calamity and regret.

Be careful of the nature of offer you will accept so that you don’t tie down your destiny.

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MOVE TO THE NEXT LEVEL

TEXT: DEUTERONOMY 1: 6-8

“⁶ The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. ⁷ Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighbouring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. ⁸ See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.” 

The plan of God for us His children is to prosper, flourish and dominate the earth. God wants us to make positive impact in our generation.

God does not want His children to be stagnant, He wants us to enjoy accelerated or progressive blessing- that is to be moving from one level of greatness to another higher level of greatness.

The scripture says “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof… (Psalm 24: 1). The earth belongs to your father, therefore you should not be stranded at a location- You are to break grounds to have global relevance. God told us to go into the world and make disciples of all nations.

The gift of God in you should be made known all over the world. Do not let anything debar you from moving from glory to glory because that is the disposition of God for your life.

If your gift is making way for you as the scripture has promised, have it in mind that there is room for improvement for you to do greater exploits.

Do not stay too long at a level celebrating your victory or success.

Rather, keep soaring and aspire to get to the next level of greatness that the Lord has prepared for you.

The anchor scripture tells us how God prompted the children of Israel not to stay stagnant at Horeb- because He has given them a vast land for their possession.

God has released His blessing on them, He prepared a land flowing with milk and honey for them to inherit and enjoy; but for one reason or the other they were delaying the “Taking over” of the land until God rebuked them for their stagnation.

There are things that you have to do for you to enter into your greatness. Whatever part God wants you to play for your blessing and divine transformation, if you don’t do it; God will not play your part for you.

This is where some believers are missing it, there are things that do not need prayers to accomplish again because God has already decided to favour you- He has opened the door before you. When a door is opened, what is the next thing to do? The next thing is to move! You cannot substitute prayers for action: if you do and you didn’t get your expected answer, you will be “blaming” God that He did not answer your prayers.

I am telling you today that the Lord has opened the door of breakthrough before you; you do not need prayers and fasting to take the action of moving to the higher level of greatness.

Have you gone into the wrong direction of destiny and you found yourself stagnant? Or are you in the right direction of destiny but for one reason or the other, things are not working as expected because of some stumbling blocks and hurdles on your way to the next level? You cannot afford to be stagnant because you are created for upward movement- Look for the exit door from your stagnated point and retrace your steps to where you will possess the blessing that the Lord has prepared for you.

Ask God for help to advance against all barriers and oppositions to your greatness and be ready to take corresponding action. You are not created to be limited in your career, spiritual life, ministry and in all aspects of life- You are a global champion not local champion, let nothing hinder you. Arise now and take your possession, break every barrier against all odds DO NOT STOP MOVING. It does not matter the size of your step; either baby step or giant step- Just keep moving forward!

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BENEFITS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

TEXT: PROVERBS 14: 34

“Righteousness [moral and spiritual integrity and virtuous character] exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”

Righteousness means uprightness, decency, honesty and guiltlessness. It is the quality of being morally right or justifiable. Being righteous is when no mistake or bad deed is found in you- when you are blameless.

God encouraged us to live righteous so that we would partake in the blessing of righteousness. God wants absolute righteousness from us without spot or wrinkle- though the scripture says our righteousness is like filthy rag in His presence, yet God wants us to try all our best to live a holy life (we cannot continue in sin and ask grace to abound). Grace is available for all the children of God, but you MUST strive to live a holy life because righteous living cannot be replaced with anything.

The scripture made us to know that the spirit is willing but our flesh is weak (Matthew 26:41).

¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[a] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

(Romans 7:15-20).

The above quote is from Apostle Paul in his wrestle against flesh and sin. We must constantly subject our flesh so that we will be able to live a righteous life to enjoy the promises of God concerning righteous living.

BENEFITS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

·        It makes your way to be straight (Proverbs 11:5)

·        Righteousness delivers from problem (Proverbs 11:6)

·        You will be rescued from trouble (Proverbs 11: 8)

·        God will make your enemies to be at peace with you (Proverbs 16:7)

·        You will inherit the land – This means you will flourish in the land

·        (Psalm 37: 29)

·        It shall be well with you (Isaiah 3:10)

·        You will not be forsaken (Psalm 37: 25)

·        The Lord will grant you your heart desires (Proverbs 10:24)

·        Your children shall be delivered from evil and affliction (Proverbs 11: 21)

·        You will live in safety under the shadow of the almighty God (Proverb 18: 10)

·        Your path will be smooth and glorious- you will be moving from one level of glory to another (Proverbs 4: 18)

·        God will not withhold any good thing from you (Psalm 84: 11)

·        You will enjoy God’s favour in every area of your life (Psalm 5:12)

HOW TO LIVE RIGHTEOUSLY

·        Fear the Lord and do not do anything that can cause separation between you and God.

·        Study His word (Bible) and apply it to your lifestyle.

·        Obedience is crucial- not partial obedience to His commands.

·        Put your flesh into subjection and let the spirit of God rule over your flesh.

·        Holiness and humility is key to righteous living.

·        Acknowledge God in all your doing, so that He can direct your path..

·        Live a lifestyle of praise, worship and prayer.

·        Live in love- love the “unlovable” do not follow the slogan of “an eye for an eye.”- Do good to them that hates you (This takes the grace of God… the grace is sufficient for you- ask for it).

The benefits of righteousness cannot be over emphasised. If we can stand right with God and walk in His will, we would not need to struggle for many things in life, because God will take care of everything in our favour.
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HE WILL BLESS THE WORK OF YOUR HANDS

TEXT: DEUTERONOMY 28: 12

“¹² The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.”

God’s plan for us His children is for us to live in abundance. God wants us to bless us to be blessed to the point of being a blessing to people around us. He wants us to be lenders to nation without us borrowing from anyone.

God promised us that He would open the heaven’s storehouse to us and send us rain in due season- This means we will flourish like the tree planted by the river side. However, as good and comforting this promises are, there is a condition attached to it. All these promises will only come to pass in your life provided you engage your hands in any decent labour or endeavour.

God cannot bless an idle hand. Remember the widow that the creditors were coming to collect her children for the debt her husband owed (2 Kings 4). Elisha asked her what she had in her house and she replied that she had a little jar of oil… This tells us that no matter how intangible that job or business brings back to you, God would prefer to work with that than to encourage idleness! Proverbs 14:23 says “All hard work brings a profit but mere talks leads only to poverty.”

You cannot be idle and expect God to bless you. Our God worked to create the universe- He is not a lazy God; therefore Hr won’t overlook your laziness.

We have heard of stories of people that became   wealthy as a result of “one small hubby or business.” They did not start with the mind-set of having chain stores or business empire- They started small and the Lord fulfilled His promise by blessing the work of their hands.

As harsh as this may sound, permit me to use this word “NO WORK, NO BLESSING.” That is the gospel truth. Where will your blessing come from if you are idle? Your hands are not engaged productively and you are claiming kingdom blessings? My friend, it does not work like that. Engage your hands in any honourable endeavour and see where God will take you to. It will blow your mind what God can do with the little in your hands.

WHAT DO YOU HAVE THAT YOU HAVE NOT RECEIVED?

TEXT: 1 CORINTHIANS 4:7-9

Human beings love to be respected and elevated. We like to showcase our skills, talents, wealth, affluence, intellect and so on. We boast of these qualities to step up the social ladder of the society.

We tend to think too high of ourselves that if care is not taken, pride may set in.

I have seen some people that the prefixes in their names are longer than their real names! (This is nothing but a way of getting recognition and applauds of men).

Men may give you standing ovation when you are addressed with your many “titles” before mentioning your real name. However, you must be very careful not to let these “lorry loads” of titles get into you and cause you to become arrogant.

The scripture says in 1 Peter 5:6 “Humble yourselves therefore under God’s mighty hands, that He may lift you up in due time.” God does not like proud hearts; He loves meek and humble people.

Whatever you think you are now is by the grace of God- all good and perfect gifts are from above coming down from the father (God) of the heavenly lights (James 1:17).

Do not attribute your success to your wisdom, connection, intellectual ability, strength, or strategy. If you are able to acknowledge that God made that status possible by His grace, it will make you to be humble and be able to ascribe all the glory to Him and not to yourself.

In our text, Apostle Paul asked “What makes you different from anyone?” I will answer by saying it is the grace of God over your life that makes the difference not human wisdom, strength or effort.

Consequently, the grace of God that made you to stand out among your counterparts is also available to others- do not be intoxicated with success or achievement, rather, glorify God and be able to be a blessing to people.

You received your blessing, breakthrough and success from God- it will not stop with you, our God is not a partial God; He gives literarily without finding fault. What He did for you, He will do it for others as well.

Let no pride override your sense of gratitude- do not bully people with your success, relatively, bless people with it so that the name of the Lord can be glorified through you.

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GOD'S PROMISES WILL NEVER FAIL

TEXT: 1 KINGS 8: 56

⁵⁶ “Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.”

God is not a man that He should lie. The scripture made us to know in 2 Corinthians 1:20 that God’s word is yes and amen- What does this mean? It means that when God speaks it will come to pass; all you need to do is to believe with faith.

God is not a talkative that loves to talk for fun or for the sake of talking without being serious about his words.

Once He speaks, He will fulfil His word because our God is a God of integrity- He does not talk to impress because He does not need to impress anybody.

God is capable of bringing all His promises to pass because no situation can be beyond His power- He is above all situation- He is God over everything.

God does not need to cajole or sweet talk anybody to gain their favour.

On this note, when God promises you anything, hold on to His promise without losing hope. It may tarry, it may seem not coming forth, but no matter how long it takes, if the promise is from God He will bring it to manifestation. The scripture says in Isaiah 55:11 “so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth, it shall not return to me void, but shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

Our text said “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to all His people Israel according to ALL THAT HE PROMISED, Not one word has failed of ALL THE GOOD PROMISES HE GAVE THROUGH HIS SERVANT MOSES.

The children of Israel went through hardship, trials and different difficult situations before they all the good promises that the Lord promised them. He promised them a land flowing with milk and honey and He fulfilled His promise.

The lessons here are – waiting is inevitable to enjoy the goodness of God.

Secondly, you may need to go through obstacles and many difficult situations before His promises will come to pass in your life. God never promised problem free life, He told us in John 16:33 that in this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer because He (God) has overcome the world. For the fact that a promise is from God does not mean it will be easily achieved.

However, the best part of the promises of God is that GOD WILL NOT FAIL HIS PROMISES- ALL WILL BE FULFILLED! Therefore, no matter how long it takes, wait for the promises of God – let Him fulfil His promises for you in His own time. Don’t look elsewhere for the fulfilment of God’s promise. Wait patiently and expectantly. Shalom!

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