CONTROL YOUR ATTITUDE LET GOD CONTROL THE HEAT

TEXT: DANIEL 3: 8- 27

⁸ Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews. ⁹ They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! ¹⁰ You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; ¹¹ and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. ¹² There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? ¹⁵ Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰ And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. ²¹ Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. ²² Therefore, because the king’s command was urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. ²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”

They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”

²⁵ “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”

²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. ²⁷ And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.

The Lord did not promise us smooth sailing journey in life, He never promised that we will always be seeing sunshine without dark cloud and rainy days. He only promise us  in John 16: 33 that no problem will over power us because He has overcome the world for us, therefore we should be of good cheer (positive attitude).

Along the journey of life, we will encounter situations that are not good or pleasant, because giving your life to Christ is not the assurance that you will have problem-free life, but your assurance as a child of God is that the problem will not overcome you; rather you will be the one to overcome the problem and come out victorious because the Lord is your ever present help in your time of trouble. As believers and as children of God; the battle of life that we are facing has already been won by God; therefore victory is certain for us!

The three Hebrew boys (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego) gave their loyalty to the Most High God; they refused to bow for the Babylonian god. They were arrested and thrown into the fiery furnace to die. These boys were able to control their attitude by not getting angry with God; they did not say "WHY  should they be arrested when they are loyal to the only true God." They did not ask God why He allowed that to happen to them, instead they continued in their loyalty to God. They were calm and trusting God to show His mighty hand to deliver them. These boys were of good cheer (they maintained positive attitude) as the Lord has told us.

They controlled their attitude during a challenging period; this made God to be pleased and happy to control the heat of the fire so that they will not be hurt. The Lord took out the heat of the fire, and turned the fiery furnace to “air condition” for the boys!

The fire was heated so well that it killed the people that threw the Hebrew boys in the fire. Yet these boys did not feel the pain, they did not die in the fire, the fire had no effect on them that when they came out of the fire; there was no smell of fire on them!

In the same vein, if you can control your attitude during a negative season, if you can maintain positive attitude when things are going wrong around you, the Lord will help you to control the heat of the problem so that you will come out unhurt and become better after the problem is over.

Many people throw in the towel; they say derogatory things to God when they are in problem. They are unable to control their attitude; they cannot be of good cheer as the Lord has admonished us.

Let us learn from the three Hebrew boys, let’s learn how to control our attitude during problem and affliction, and leave God to control the heat of the problem for us so that we would come out victoriously. 

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PROGRESSIVE BLESSING

TEXT: GENESIS 24:35, GEN 26:12-13, GEN 30: 41-43

And the LORD has blessed my master greatly; and he has become great: and he has given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and donkeys (Genesis 24:35).

 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great. (Genesis 26: 12-13).

And it came to pass, when the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters that they might conceive among the rods. But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's. And the man increased exceedingly, and had large flocks, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and donkeys. (Genesis 30:41-43).

The scripture made us to know that it is the blessing of God that makes riches without adding sorrow (Proverbs 10:22). It is not your hard labour that makes riches, your intellectual knowledge or intelligence is not enough to prosper you.

If it is hard labour that makes riches; Peter wouldn’t have toiled all night without any tangible result to show for his labour. Peter’s hard labour was fruitless until Jesus blessed him by instructing him on what to do for him to record success (to launch into the deep-Luke 5:1-11).

The Lord assured us in Deuteronomy 28:12 that He would bless the work of our hands. This implies that you may work and struggle to no success if the Lord refuses to bless your endeavour. For anybody to record good and progressive blessing, you have to be in tune with God.

Our anchor scriptures describe the greatness of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The adjective used to describe their blessing and greatness was progressively increasing from generation to generation, from the first generation (Abraham) to the third generation (Jacob).

Abraham was described as great, Isaac was described as very great and Jacob was described as exceedingly great. This illustration shows that you and your generation to come can enjoy God’s progressive blessing, because this is the pattern He designed for His children. Hence, you must be in tune with Him, you must allow God to direct your path and you must live in total obedience of His word.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob obeyed God, they allowed God to direct their path, and they followed the leading of God without swerving or swaying away from His instruction. You and your generation to come can enjoy such blessing as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, provided you listen to God and train your children to live in the way of the Lord and not to depart from it so that they in turn would pass it to their children (Joel 1:3).

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YOUR NAME DEFINES YOUR DESTINY

TEXT: 1 CHRONICLES 4: 9-10
Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.
Your name plays  pivotal role in you fulfilling destiny. We are being identified by the names we bear, also we are being differentiated by our names. Once a name is being mentioned in a statement; it makes the information more meaningful and easily understandable without any confusion.
Aside for the fact that names give more clarity to information, there are other powerful meaning and values hidden in our names. Name is like label, mark or a brand.
People were given their names for a reason. The names you are called reveals your personality, this means you will living up to the meaning of your name.
In other words, it can be said that your name shapes your destiny! Examples are bound in the bible- Jabez in our text was living the meaning of his name ( a child of sorrow). The text tells us that Jabez was more honourable than his brothers, yet there was nothing in his life to make him happy. His name affected his destiny until he cried out to God to bless him and enlarge his coast.
Jabez was more honourable than his brothers, nonetheless, the negative name given to him by his mother did not allow his glory to manifest.
The scripture did not record that Jabez's name was changed before God blessed and enlarged his coast, but God changed the effect of the negative name that was affecting his destiny.
There are some people that God will have to change their names before they can be blessed. Abram's name was changed to Abraham, Jacob was renamed Israel, Sarai was renamed Sarah before the blessing of God came to manifestation in their lives. It was not until Abraham and Sarah got their names changed, that the promised child came.
God also changed Jacob's name from deceiver to Israel the one that wrestles with God. These people experienced change of names and positive turning point in their lives.
Do you know the meaning of your name? Is your name giving glory to any evil God or deity?
The kingdom of darkness understood the importance of names, this is why they changed the names of the four Hebrew boys the Babylonians took into captivity. The Babylonians changed the names of these boys so that they can be fit for services and give glory to the Babylonian gods.
Daniel which means God is my judge was changed to Belteshazzar, the name that honoured Bel the pagan god. Hananiah was renamed Shadrach, Michael was changed to Meshach and Azariah was changed to Abednego.
It can be seen from what the Babylonians did to the Hebrew boys that any change of name signifies a change in relationship and commitment to a new life and relationship. The boys were made indirectly to embrace new relationship with their gods and not the God of Israel that they are used to, they changed their names to make them to be committed to the God of Babylon.
On this note, if you bear names that does not glorify God, if your name has an attachment with any God or deity. You may need to decide to have a change in your relationship and commitment with these negative forces, and embrace the best and worthy relationship with God.
You cannot enjoy the blessing and promise of God if you are connected with negativity. Be committed to God and have a great relationship with Him so that you can enjoy His blessing. If your name has a hidden negative meaning, or if your name is giving credit to any force of darkness; you need a new name like Abraham, Sarah and Jacob. Prayerfully cry to God like Jabez and you will experience a postive turning point in your life.

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FEAR THE LORD

TEXT: PSALM 128: 1-4
" Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways.  You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.  Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table.  Thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD."
Our God is the omnipotent God that does as He pleases, no one can question or query Him for His actions. He owns both  heavens and the earth and all that are in them (Psalm 24).
By the word of His mouth were the heavens made and all of the host of them by the breath of His mouth (Psalm 33:6). His power and wisdom no one can fathom! He is a supreme and sovereign God that can promote and demote, He has the power to kill and make alive. He can raise the poor up and bring down the rich. He is the God that can make the poor to sit among the princes. In fact, our God is full of doing the unimaginable- He brought out water from the rock (Psalm 105:41), He brought money out of the mouth of a fish ( Matt 17: 27), He parted the Red sea and made the children of Israel to walk on dry land (Exodus 14).
Our God is the greatest Mathematician that can multiply five loaves of bread and two fishes to feed 5,000 men! All glory, honour and adoration to His name forever.
When the scripture admo ish God's children to fear the lord, the scripture is not saying we should dread the Lord or be afraid of Him. Rather we are to love, respect, cherish, honour and obey our God in humble adoration.
Living in the fear of the Lord means that you will not do what would make Him to be angry or upset. When you fear the Lord you would want to obey and keep all His commandments and follow His precepts to the letter.
When you live in the fear of the Lord you would always want to be on His presence knowing fully well that He's your all in all that can vindicate you from all afflictions.
Living in the fear of God is to your benefit. When you reference God and respects Him, there are blessings accrued to people who live in the fear of God that you would benefit from- you will enjoy God's everlasting love (P's 103:17) when God loves you, He would do everything to make you happy and protected.
Another benefit is that God will make abundant provision for you, and you will lack nothing (Ps 34: 9). When you fear the Lord there will always be food on your table. You will always have enough to eat (111:5).
Another benefit of living in the fear of God can be found in Proverbs 14: 26- you will have a secure fortress in God, and your children will enjoy God as their refuge.
Our anchor text outline other benefit of a man or a woman that fears the Lord these are:
- The fear of the Lord will make you a blessing to your spouse and children. Your family will flourish without lacking anything. Your children will excel
- You will eat the fruit of your labour, that is no wasted effort in all your endeavours.
- Blessing and prosperity will be yours.
Living in the fear of God has endless list of benefits. Below are more benefits of living in the fear of God.
1) For divine instruction - Ps 25:12
2) You will spend your days in prosperity and your descendants will inherit the land -  Ps 25:13
3) Enjoy the goodness of God - Ps 31: 19
4) Divine Protection - Ps 31: 20
5) Divine Revelation - Ps 25:14
6) Abundant life - Prov 14:27, 19:23
7) Divine satisfaction -  Prov 15: 16
8) Divine Confidence - Prov 14:26
9) God's Compassion - Ps 103: 13
10) Divine wisdom - Prov 1:7,9: 10
11) Power to live above  sin - Prov 8: 13
12) Life of integrity and faithfulness - Job 2:3
13) The Lord will delight in you - Ps 147:11
In fact! BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO FEARS THE LORD. Live in the fear of God and reference Him al all times so that you can partake of God's unending blessing for these that live fear Him. PEACE!

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NOT BY LABOUR BUT FAVOUR

TEXT: LUKE 5: 1-7
“So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, 2 and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. 3 Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. 4 When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at your word I will let down the net.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.”
One day of God's favour supersedes many years of labour. No man can make it without the help and favour of the Lord Almighty. The scripture says Paul plants Apollo waters but it is God that gives the increase (1Cor 3:6). You may work and labour hard and have nothing to show for it. Your intellectual skills, your human effort and knowledge can take you nowhere without the favour of God!
Labouring with human knowledge and effort can be frustrating if the favour of God is absent. This is why many people toil around the shore of life engaging in different unproductive businesses, careers, and projects. Once one project is not productive as they planned, they switched to another one and another and continue in that pattern of failure until they get frustrated, weak, weary and depressed.
From our text, we can see the result of frustration in the statement of Simon to Jesus "But Simon answered and said to him” master, we have TOILED ALL NIGHT AND CAUGHT NOTHING... " (v5). Simon was a skilled fisherman; he had been in the business of fishing years before that very day of toiling without anything to show for it. In utmost disappointment he gave up and was washing his net to go back home empty handed.
However, the favour of God located him when Jesus chose to go into his (Simon) boat. Jesus turned Simon's disappointment into a net breaking miracle- FAVOUR!
When the favour of God located Simon who was preparing to go back home defeated, he was able to catch net breaking fish that he could not carry alone, but beckoned to the people around to come and help him. Favour moved Simon from level of failure to supernatural success without struggling and toiling for it.
The lesson of this story is that your human effort, skills and expertise may not generate the "net breaking success" you are expecting. It is the favour of God that can cause you to be successful without much labour or toiling.
Jesus said to Simon “launch out into the deep and let down your net FOR A CATCH." (v4). Simon was directed towards where his success lies without having to do trial and error with his net. Another lesson from this story is that ONLY GOD CAN DIRECT YOU TOWARDS YOUR SUCCESS AND ACHIEVEMENT. Hence, you need to be a beneficiary of God's favour for Him to help you. Do you realise that Simon was not the only fisherman around on that day of his divine favour and change in destiny? Yes, there were other fishermen around when Jesus chose to favour Simon. Therefore, you need to ask for the anointing of favour that erases the yoke of unproductive labour. For someone to be a partaker of God's favour, he or she must be obedient. Simon did not argue with Jesus that he was a skilled fisherman. He did not damn Jesus by saying “what do you know about fishing?" Instead he decided to obey in humility he said “nevertheless at your word I will let down the net." (v5b).
If you want to make headway in life, you need to be obedient to the leading and direction of your maker. God is our maker; therefore he has the instructions of our lives in His hand. To be successful we must adhere to these instructions.
I pray that the favour of God will locate us and terminate every yoke of hard and unfruitful labour in our lives in Jesus name. Amen.Image: Google Image

VOID YOURSELF OF PRIDE

TEXT: JAMES 4:6

But He gives greater grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 

Pride is the weapon the devil is using against people of God. Satan does not want to see anybody fulfil his or her God given purpose. He would make all effort to rid them of the glorious future that the Lord has prepared for them. This he would achieve by enduing them with the spirit of pride, the devil wears pride like garment on people.

The bible says “God RESISTS the proud and gives grace to the humble.” If a proud man is resisted by God, tell me how the person will fulfil destiny.

There are many that God have the plan of taking to a height they least expected in life, but after some success stories in their favour, the spirit of pride begin to manifest in them. Not knowing that the success that is making them proud is a tip of iceberg compared to what God has in stock for them.

However, instead of them to keep going higher on the ladder of success, they will be coming down until they are relegated to nothing! Did you just ask why? Because pride is a heavy burden and nobody can run or climb successfully at a faster rate having a load with him or her. That is why Hebrew 12:1 admonish us to throw of everything that hinders and the sin that easily entangles…

The bible warned about pride in several verses of the scripture. Pride goes before a fall (Proverbs 16: 18). King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon suffered from the sin of pride and he lost his kingdom to pride (Daniel 4). When Nebuchadnezzar came back to his senses and exalted God rather than exalting himself for his greatness and wealth, God reinstated him back to his throne.

His statement after he was reinstated showed that he had learnt his lesson that God is capable of subduing any proud heart. “And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” (Dan 4:37^b). Without God we can do NOTHING. That is why we should not allow the devil to fill our hearts with the spirit of pride. Apostle Paul knew this, so he wouldn't have to learn humility in the hard way like Nebuchadnezzar.

Paul understood that it is God that promotes and not human wisdom and effort. No wonder he said “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

Whatever position you may be occupying, no matter the height you find yourself on the ladder of success, no matter the level of your achievement and greatness. DO NOT forget that it is by the GRACE of God that you achieved everything. Always have it in mind that you cannot do anything without God (John 15:5). Do not let pride disconnect you from God, because the result could be disastrous. I pray you will not lose your destiny to pride in Jesus name. Amen. 

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BY STRENGTH SHALL NO MAN PREVAIL

TEXT: PSALM 127: 1

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.

God talk to His children through different means and channels. He relates with you with what you are conversant with, for instance; God can communicate the same message to people in different professions with examples and illustrations in line with their profession. For example, God can use different illustrations to explain a message to a teacher and a doctor. If you love playing golf, His illustration to you will be golf related. God’s illustration will always be from what you know and can relate with, He will not use something that is out of the blues to explain things to you, because He wants you to get the right understanding of what He is talking about. Therefore God has His way of expressing Himself to people by using different illustrations best known to the person He’s communicating with. God’s wisdom is unfathomable!

At my free time, when I feel like taking a break from work, I love to unwind by playing a particular game. The game has different levels, to move to the next level, you have to perform well and score high point. I do not play the game constantly, but only when I needed to have a break from writing or typing. There was a particular level that I got to that requires unlocking a key before I would get to the next level. I tried all I could to unlock this key, yet I was unable to do so, despite my effort and high scores.

I spent weeks (since I don’t play the game often) trying to achieve my purpose, with high scores, yet I was unable to unlock the key despite all effort, and techniques devised. All was to no avail. As I was determined to unlock the key to go to the next level, the Holy Spirit ministered to me using the game!

The Lord used the game to explain to me how human beings struggle to achieve greatness with human efforts and wisdom, with little or nothing to show for it. I was trying all human wisdom and effort to get to the next level, yet my effort was thwarted because I could not unlock the key that will take me to the next level. The Holy Spirit made me to see how human beings struggle to get to the next level of their life, by applying all human strength and wisdom, coupled with the best instrument, tools, and technique. Instead of getting to the next level, they meet with obstacles and walls of limitation.

The Holy Spirit made me to see that human effort is futile without the help of God. You cannot get to the next level of your life without God. It is God that will give you the key that will unlock your passage to the next level. Without this key, progress will be impeded regardless of the effort, tools and techniques. Ask God for the master key that will take you to your next level. I pray that the key that will unlock the door to our will not be stolen by Satan and his cohorts in Jesus name.

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