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 ).

                                     IMAGE: Google Image

ASK UNTIL YOUR JOY IS FULL

TEXT: JOHN 16: 24

“Until now, you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you will receive that your joy may be full.”(John 16:24).

The scripture tells us that whatever we ask in the name of Jesus shall be given to us (John 14:14). Matthew 7: 7 also promised that we should ask and it shall be given to us.

As sweet as these promises are, they do not come to pass at our own timing but according to God’s timing.

God is not a God of “promise and fail.” Whatever He says He will do, He will surely do- He is not a man that he should lie- He’s too faithful to fail, Hallelujah!

However, God’s ways are not our ways; he does things as He pleases, without permission from us or without explanation to us.

God can never make mistakes or commit blunder- Never! He is a good God. Whatever he’s doing (even if it doesn’t make sense to us) will always be in our favour in the long run.

All we have to do is to keep trusting him and lean not on our own understanding- don’t try to figure out what He’s doing, just trust and follow him “sheepishly.”

Somebody once told me that to walk with God; you have to leave your brain behind! Yes, you have to leave your brain (Human wisdom) and be dependent on His directions.

The scripture says in Ecclesiastes 3:1 that “to everything there is a season, and a TIME TO EVERY PURPOSE.”

If God tells you to ask for anything in His name that He would do it for you- if you ask in His name and the answer is delaying, that does not mean God is not going to bring His promise to pass in your life.

You will receive the answer to your prayer, the only reason why you think it’s “delaying” is that the appointed time has not come (Eccl. 3:1).

When the set time comes, the Lord will fulfil His promise in your life.

Sadly, some people give up on God at their “near success.” At the verge of breakthrough they get fed up of asking and they retrieve to fate- They stop asking for God’s favour while their joy is yet to be full.

The anchor scripture today is encouraging you not to stop asking for divine favour- continue asking, seeking, knocking on heaven’s door till your prayers will be answered and your joy will be full and overflow.

Be patient, learn to tarry in His presence, learn from Jacob that “abandoned” himself with God saying “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” (Genesis 32:26b).

You too can tell God “I will not let you go and I will not keep quiet until you answer me.”

Do not allow the devil to seal your mouth and hinder you from receiving from God, you have no other place to go. Don’t be weary in your request, continue asking and at the appointed time He will bring His promises to pass and your joy will overflow in Jesus name. 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.

Image: Google Image

ARE YOU A MENTOR OR A TORMENTOR?

TEXT: 1 SAMUEL 17: 38- 50

³⁸ Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armour on him and a bronze helmet on his head. ³⁹ David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.

“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. ⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

⁴¹ Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. ⁴² He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. ⁴³ He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”

⁴⁵ David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LordAlmighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

⁴⁸ As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. ⁴⁹ Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.

⁵⁰ So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines a mentor as a trusted counsellor or a guide. A mentor is the one that helps you to get to the highest level of your career or your life in general.

A mentor works on you to bring out the best in you, he or she helps to bring out your authentic power, call your inner power out from within and brush, polish, shape, dress, refine or sharpen it to become a “rare gem.”

A mentor encourages, trains, and impacts you to become a better version of yourself- he or she helps you to develop new idea, skills and knowledge.

A mentor makes all effort within his or her reach to add value to you and make sure that you become successful in your chosen filed.

A mentor is a personal advocate in the secret that the evidence of his or her mentorship will become evident through the life of the mentee without having the feeling of insecurity or jealousy. A mentor leaves you a lot better than he or she met you.

A tormentor on the other hand is the one who causes repeated emotional pain, distress or annoyance to another. A tormentor does not want anybody around him to be successful.

When anybody tries to do something better than him (the tormentor), he gets jealous and angry and will look for every means to jeopardise the effort of the tormented.

Some Christian leaders, departmental heads in the church are tormentors. They get jealous and feel insecure as soon as anybody under them starts excelling. Instead of them to support and help build such person as a mentor will do, they will use all available channels to pull him or her down- this is ungodly!

Some leaders will bet on their lives never to see any of their subordinates successful. Instead of being a mentor to their subordinate they will become his or her tormentor by making life miserable and unbearable for the helpless subordinate. A tormentor would device all mechanism to frustrate his subordinates. He can demote him or her; he can remove the subordinate from any position that will accelerate his progress. Some wicked leaders (Tormentor) can go to the extent of plotting to kill the excelling subordinate.

In first Samuel 16 when God told Samuel to anoint David as the king, David was appointed by Saul to be playing the instrument for him. Saul was the king and David was his “music boy.”

“David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armour bearers. Then saul sent word to Jesse saying “Allow David to remain in my service for I am PLEASED WITH HIM.” (1 Samuel 16: 21-22).

David continued in Saul’s service. There was no rivalry or discord between them until David killed Goliath and people started to praise David. Saul became jealous and wanted David dead by all means.

“⁸ Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” ⁹ And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.

¹⁰ The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand ¹¹ and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.

(1 Samuel 18: 8-11).

Saul’s once “undying love” for David became hatred as soon as David’s fame started to spread. The plan of God came to pass on David and he triumph over Saul despite all odds. Learn from this account, as a leader do not be a tormenting leader to your followers, because either you like it or not the plan of God will come to pass in their lives.

 A tormentor will be disgraced and a mentor will be promoted and be blessed. Be a mentor and not a tormentor for God will reward you accordingly.

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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BE OPEN TO CORRECTION

TEXT: PROVERBS 9: 7-9

 Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.

8 Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you. 9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.

One popular says is “no one is an island of knowledge.” Another one says “Only a fool knows it all.”

Nobody is too “small” to learn from if you really want to learn. If the Lord can instruct us to learn from the Ants (Proverbs 6: 9-11) one of the smallest (if not the smallest) creatures on earth, then you have no excuse not to learn from your fellow human being.

If you are not open to correction, if you believe you have known it all, you will be limited in wisdom and knowledge.

You will only be able to perform in the level of the wisdom and knowledge you acquire.

We need to learn from each other so that we can add to what we know- for your knowledge and wisdom to increase and not become obsolete, you need to constantly learn from others.

Wisdom and knowledge can come to you as a form of CORRECTION. When it comes like that let your heart be open to receive it will joy and gladness, so that you can add to your wealth of wisdom.

We need to learn from each other so that we can add to what we have already known. Nobody is hundred percent complete- that is why we need to rob minds so that we can exchange ideas, knowledge and wisdom.

Your area of weakness could be someone’s area of strength. If you are not open to correction, how will you be able make amends and work on your weakness?

Would you prefer to continue in the act of foolishness rather than accepting to be corrected in love?

 People that are not ready to be corrected are proud people. Their pride is what hinders them from adding to their wisdom and knowledge- Pride has made their mind to be closed from all great ideas, wisdom and knowledge that they could have gained from others.

They become narrow minded because they refused to inculcate into their lives Romans 12:2 which says we should be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Your mind can only be transformed and be renewed from its original state when you are open to correction.

Our text says “Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults; whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse. The Bible refers to those that are not open to correction as mockers, wicked and foolish people. The text says they hate you when you correct them- when you want good thing for them, they want evil for you- they take you as their personal enemy!

The text said on the other hand that when a wise person is being corrected, he will take your correction on board and make amends; and add to his wealth of wisdom and knowledge to become wiser. Wise people accept correction with gladness of heart and love you for correcting them. What a big difference between the wise and the foolish.

“Rebuke the wise and they will love you. 9 Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.” (Prov. 8b-9).

The conclusion of today’s message is that you should not be too “big” to be corrected- have a receptive heart to corrections, good ideas and advice – if you want your wisdom to be relevant at all times, learn new wisdom from others.

For you not to be a mocker, a fool and an evil person, you must be receptive to corrections. God bless.

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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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YOU SHALL DECREE A THING AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS

TEXT: JOB 22:28
"Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways."
There is great power of accomplishment in our spoken words. As children of God, the Lord has delegated some of His rights to us. One of these rights is the power and ability to decree a thing and see it become established.
Jeremiah 1:9-10 says "then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. "See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, To pluck up and to break down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant."
If you have faith and you believe in God, you don't have much stress to deal with any situation; no matter how difficult it may look. All you need to do is to speak the word, decree what you want to see to come to manifestation; and it shall be done and established.
As you speak God's word with faith and confidence, divine power accompanies it to make it fulfilled. When David went to face Goliath in 1st Samuel chapter 17, from verse 45 down to 50.
Before David could raise his hand to fight the battle physically, he had fought and won the battle spiritually by sending out "God's spiritual bullet" ( name and the word of God).
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David."
The scripture made us to know that there is no force or power that is greater than the name of God. At the mention of the name of God every knee must bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord (Philippians 2: 9-11).
The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runs to Him and they are saved (Proverbs 18:10).
What difficult situation are you?  Don't be afraid to speak and decree the powerful word of God into the situation. Decree healing into that sick body, speak life upon that dead business, decree fruitfulness into that barren womb. What about the dead situation? Common speak life upon all those dry bones. The Lord is waiting for your declaration, so that He can stamp it with the zeal of accomplishment.
Do your part by decreeing the word, and the Lord will fulfil His own part by making the word come to pass. The only thing that could make a believer's word not to hold water when spoken is sin, unbelief/ lack of faith. Void yourself of sin, ask for forgiveness, repent genuinely, act in faith and be confident to decree a thing and watch as God backs up your word and bring it to pass.
I speak to you today that the power to decree a thing, and see it become established shall rest upon you in Jesus name. Amen.
Shalom.

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WHAT CAN SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD?

TEXT: ROMANS 8:35-39

³⁵ Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? ³⁶ (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” ³⁷ No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. ³⁹ No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The above scripture is asking us a question and at the same time emphasizing that even in time of trouble, problems and afflictions; we should not turn our back against God. Nothing on earth is worth losing God for, no situation or problem is genuine enough to cause us to turn away from God our maker.

The later part of our text tells us that nothing in this world should make our love for God to grow cold; rather it should wax stronger because in every situation; God loves us and He is always with us, even in our times of darkness!

Our anchor scripture listed some things that can cause people to back off from serving God- Trouble, calamity, hunger, danger, persecution, being destitute, or death. In truth, many people throw in the towel when things are difficult for them.

However, there are some people that serve God more and better when they are in difficulty. Many people turn to God when during tribulation, distress, affliction, lack and hardship.

In other words, the problem they are facing drew them to God, knowing that He is their lasting hope and solution. Hence, as soon as they overcome the problem, they turn their back against God. Why?  This is because their problem has been solved and they don’t see any reason to stay with God again. The blessing or the divine turnaround was what separated them from God and not the problem {problem knitted them to God and they allowed blessing or answered prayer to separate them from God}.

Some people are driven away from God because of problem or affliction while some are driven away as a result of answered prayer. When God bless them, they believe there is no reason to serve God again!

Today, I am encouraging you not to allow problem or success to separate you from God. No success or breakthrough is good enough to separate you from God, and no problem is too big or bad enough to drift you apart from your maker.

If you are in the midst of trouble or affliction, hold on to God; let not your love for the lover of your soul go cold. Also, if you pray for blessing and He blesses you, do not be an ingrate by taking the blessing and rejecting the giver of the blessing.

Remember, in blessing, tribulation, lack, hunger, and in death, we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us.

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