Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented. Matthew 3:15, NIV
A denominational leader was asked, “Why do you like visiting local assemblies unannounced, and when directed forward you declined and stayed under the ministration of the assembly pastor?” “God uses anybody to pass a message at particular time and for a particular purpose,” he responded. When Jesus was at River Jordan to be baptized by John (v 13), He remained resolute. despite all efforts by John the Baptist to stop Him, Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (v 15). John though not in the same category with Jesus, was assigned to carry out the divine assignment. God designed every situation to pass a message and also prepared a suitable channel by which the message will be well communicated to the particular audience. And a voice from heaven said, this is my son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased (v 17). Likewise, believers should stand firm in the course of which they are assigned, and work without fear, favour, or jittery, even when superiors, or colleagues are present. It is then we can be counted worthy and pleasing unto Christ.
Insight: Let us do the work of our Father at the right time.
Prayer: Help me, Lord not to fail you and my generation.
Dear Servants of God all over the World, please hear me very well, “The Battle against your Spiritual Father is a Battle you can NEVER WIN, no matter who is backing you”.
Don’t even attempt it, you can never win it.
You may be annointed to kill Goliath but will forever not be Anointed and Permitted to Kill Saul. Ask David whenever you see him.
You cannot ERASE the Man who RAISED you.
You cannot DISHONOUR the Man who made people HONOUR you.
You cannot bring EMBARRASSMENT to the Man who gave you ENDORSEMENT.
Never become a PROBLEM to the Man who gave you a PLATFORM to Rise.
Why become a WARFARE to the Man who took care of your WELFARE.
Determine not to become a DISAPPOINTMENT to the Man who gave you APPOINTMENT.
How can a Man put so much INVESTMENT into your life, and your thank you to him, is to put so much BEREAVEMENT into his own life.
In most cases, Fathers may be the one who WRONGED you, but still remember, the God who ANOINTED David to kill Goliath will not ALLOW him to kill Saul.
The DRUNKENNESS of Noah is not a licence to expose his NAKEDNESS. That will be WICKEDNESS AND FOOLISHNESS in the sight Of God.
One of the Sons of Noah EXPOSED his Father’s NAKEDNESS, FORGETTING it was his Father’s RIGHTEOUSNESS that once SAVED him from the FLOOD.
Remember, Noah found GRACE with GOD, yet he found DISGRACE with his Son.
Some Sons think they are more RIGHTEOUS than God who CHOSE a Man despite his WEAKNESS.
If you KNOW the WEAKNESS of your Father, it is because he gave you the ACCESS you don’t DESERVE.
Imagine for a moment, if Noah had LOCKED himself up ALONE in his BEDROOM to drink his stuff, he will wake up and package himself all by himself, without any Son SEEING him and coming under a CURSE.
The MISTAKE of Moses in MARRYING an Ethiopian Woman has not taken away from him the MANTLE to make Mariam LEPROUS. Members must beware of Assistant Pastor Aaron. They will lead you in a FIGHT AGAINST your GOD-GIVEN MOSES, but when it is time for Leprosy to be given, the oil on their head MAY save them, but the GULLIBLE Mariam will suffer alone for following what is wrong. It was Aaron that led the attack against Moses, yet it was Miriam alone that suffered Leprosy.
God respects the Priesthood ANYDAY and ANYTIME.
I AM NOT HERE TO DEFEND THE ERRORS OF SPIRITUAL FATHERS. ALLOW THEIR HEAVENLY FATHER TO DEAL WITH THEM IN HIS OWN WAY AND TIME IF THEY DON’T REPENT.
BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN SONS FIGHT THEIR SPIRITUAL FATHERS ON BEHALF OF THE HEAVENLY FATHER ONLY TO BE PUNISHED BY THE SAME HEAVENLY FATHER.
You know why, EVERY FIGHT AGAINST SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY, REMINDS GOD OF SATAN’S REBELLION AGAINST HIM.
Never forget this statement for the rest of your life: The MAN who came to TELL King David that Saul had DIED, would have been expecting David to rejoice that “finally my enemy is dead.” Instead, King David killed him and said your BLOOD be upon your own HEAD for your MOUTH has TESTIFIED against you that you KILLED the LORD’S ANNOINTED.
Let us pray for Spiritual Fathers:
Dear Lord, We ask you keep our Fathers all over the World from Failing and Falling. Help them to live a life of Scriptural Examples at all times. For those going through the pain of betrayal, heal them and bring them out stronger.
Some are Bleeding and Leading at the same time, let your Grace be sufficient for them.
This I ask for, In Jesus Mighty Name I have prayed. AMEN.
If you have been blessed by any Spiritual Father, all over the World, let this message bless someone by sharing it.
And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way _rejoicing. ( Acts 8:34-39)
It is often said that, “whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well.” Hear me! Baptism is worth doing and it must be done well. Anyway, I cannot actually say about how the mercy of God would handle the issue of water baptism that is not done well or done ignorantly. The question is, how should a minister of God conduct water baptism and what should be the doctrine of his recitation? You see, under the order of service for water baptism, you’ll find what a minister of God ought to recite. There it reads thus…. “The Pastor shall ask the person to be baptised the following questions….. (Q) Your name……(A) My name is…….(Q) Do you believe in Jesus Christ?……(A) _I believe in Jesus Christ whole heartedly that He is the Son of God and He is my Saviour. And on this answers by the fellow who is to be baptised, the Pastor shall say ” …..On this declaration of your faith, I baptise you in the name of the Father, and the Son; and of the Holy Ghost.” Now, I have come to realise that this doctrine of water baptism is from the Holy Scripture and that makes it more valid in my sight. See how the Scripture gave us its own example of the doctrine of water baptism according to Acts 8:36-37 “And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD.” You see, out of all the identities of Jesus Christ, His identity as the Son of God is so preeminent to the extent that it must be the core of the belief of whoever is willing to be baptised. The revelation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God should precede the baptism of anyone. Hear me beloved! It is expedient for a minister of God or a leader of a folk to always check out the belief of the people he is leading whether they have obtained the correct revelation of who Jesus Christ is or not. You see, as for Jesus, He didn’t assume that His followers would have known who He is, He still went ahead to confirm the core of their belief in Matthew 16:13-17 “When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” Thank God that Jesus didn’t call Himself the Son of God when He was asking them the question, we would have thought that He manipulated their answer. See how He referred to Himself in Matthew 16:13 when He says, “Whom do men say that I the SON OF MAN am?” You see, one of the ways to know that God has brought anyone to the true knowledge of Jesus Christ is when the fellow has wholeheartedly believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God. You see, Jesus is always excited whenever anyone is fully persuaded of this wonder of His identity. At this stage of belief Jesus excitedly said to Peter, “…..Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” You see, the revelation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God is one major sign that God has fully persuaded someone to come into the faith of Jesus Christ. You see, as a preacher also, you must constantly preach Jesus as the ‘Son of God,’ so that God can assists the hearer to catch up with the revelation. Hear me! It takes a divine revelation for anyone to accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God and this is the major belief that the devil does not want anyone to conceive. He prefers you to see Jesus as any other thing than seeing Him as the Son of God. Devil also has been fully persuaded that the whole portion of the benefits for every believer in Christ can only be released to them when they have been assisted by God to whole heartedly believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Now, let me ask you, what was your declaration when you were baptised into Christ? You see, it is not the dipping of your body into water that really matters; what really matters is what you wholeheartedly believe in before you are baptised and that should be Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This is what we derived from the acts of one of the outstanding evangelists in Acts 8:36-37 “And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” This also implies that baptism is forbidden for anyone who has not been fully persuaded of this divine revelation that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Hear me! This is where those who are doing infant baptism are missing it. There must be a declaration of belief before anyone is baptised. May God assists those who are yet to know the importance of seeing Jesus as the Son of God in Jesus’ name.
Prayer: I receive the grace and enlightenment of God to see Jesus Christ as the Son of God, in Jesus’ name.
In verse 6 of this wonderful psalm, the psalmist prays for revival. Multitudes today are praying a similar prayer, and in this study we shall discover some of the things that God says about revival. Some of us have seen revivals on a very small scale, where in crowded meetings many souls have been saved, lives have been transformed and there has been a deep spirit of prayer resting upon the people of God; but few of us have seen any large-scale revivals. We have read sufficient about such mighty movements of the Spirit of God to make us long for the Lord to do it again! But – what is revival? Revival is renewal, restoration - a fresh inflow of the life, love and power of God. People faint and then, when help is brought, they revive. Flowers droop, and when placed in fresh water they revive. Christians and churches also droop, faint and need reviving. There are degrees of revival. A sick person may revive and get a little better, and then later be restored to full health and strength. The same is true with Christians and churches.
As we study this psalm let us pray that we may become deeply burdened for God to send a full-scale Holy Ghost revival in our land, and indeed throughout the world. What are the steps that lead to such a revival?
We must confess our NEED of Revival The psalmist’s prayer was a confession of need; it was only when he felt the need that he prayed – verse 6. Think of the need for revival:
In the outside world. Multitudes are without God and without hope in the world (Ephesians 2:12); most of them are outside the churches, and revival is the only key to this tragic situation.
In the Church. Many churches are worldly, formal and lacking in spiritual power and vitality. Only revival can alter this state of affairs.
In our own lives. How powerless we are! How frequently we fail, our testimony seems ineffective, and how little we pray! Revival is our personal need. There will never be any revival until we are willing to admit our desperate need for it.
We must admit the POSSIBILITY of Revival. Are we convinced that revival is possible? The psalmist was! Six times in verses 1-3 he reminded God of what He had done - “You showed… You restored“. And the fact that God has sent revival in the past demonstrates the possibility of revival coming again. Some people will not admit the possibility of revival coming in our day; for example, the ultra-dispensationalists, and all pessimistic, unbelieving, self-satisfied, worldly Christians will be slow to admit the possibility. But history, plus the promises of God, prove the possibility of revival. Look up 2 Chronicles 7:14; Jeremiah 33:3; Malachi 3:10
We must recognise the SOURCE of Revival Where does revival come from? Verse 6 tells us. “You …” - look up Psalm 62:11. It comes from God; it is not worked up but sent down, and therefore our eyes must not be upon men, methods, churches or denominations - but upon Him.
“When we look to man, we get what man can do; when we look to money, we get what money can do; when we look to organisation, we get what organisation can do; when we look to denominations, we get what denominations can do; but when we look to God, we get what God can do.” Look up Psalm 62:5.
We must employ the MEANS for securing Revival. What is the secret of revival? It is prayer – “Will you not… ?” (verse 6) – passionate, believing, urgent prayer. Has there ever been a revival that was not preceded by prayer? Pentecost, the Moravian Revival, the 1859 Revival, the Welsh Revival, movements of the Spirit that are taking place in different parts of the world today …Look up 2 Chronicles 7:14 again.
We must provide the CHANNELS for Revival. God is wanting to send revival, but He needs channels - “us” (verse 6) - believers, Christians; for - “Revival is the outflow of the Spirit of God through the regenerated spirit of man” (John 7:38-39). Thus, if revival is to come, you and I are to be ready to receive the full blessing of God and to be channels through whom that blessing can flow.
We must remove the OBSTACLES to Revival. In verse 6 the psalmist prays for revival - “that your people may rejoice in you.” This indicates fellowship, walking with God, agreement with God (Amos 3:3) - being right with God. The greatest barrier to revival is sin. Are you right with God? Is there sin in your life? Are you living in disobedience to the Lord? Face up to this!
Many years ago D. L. Moody heard Henry Varley say, “The world has yet to see what God will do with one man who is fully surrendered to Him.” Moody said, “By God’s grace, I’ll be that man!” Will you be another? Will you begin now to pray the same prayer for your church, that the world may see what God can do?
We shall enjoy the RESULTS of Revival. Read the rest of the psalm, and notice several results which are mentioned: salvation (7); peace (8); glory (9); harmony (10); increase (11); provision (12); Psalm 37:23!
CHURCH CLOTHES The man behind the pulpit is a sex addict and He is struggling but no one knows..There are things clothes covered
CHURCH CLOTHES She blast in tongues like a multipurpose machine gun.. Brutal in prayer meetings.. BUT dying deep down because she’s struggling with masturbation.
CHURCH CLOTHES I was once a victim many years ago.. Sitting with some of my friends one day and they said “.. Bro, please tell us your story and hide nothing” I tried to answer them; I looked at them and as I replied, I struggled not to get emotional and I said “.. My tongues were deep and brutal in prayer, everyone hailed my fine voice but no one knew I was struggling with a secret sin until God delivered me….”
CHURCH CLOTHES He always used the word “Bless you brother” on me, he was my leader in our Christian gathering. but I didn’t know HE WAS A GAY.. Hmmmm…
CHURCH CLOTHES The beautiful angel on the microphone watch pornography every night to satisfy her lust she wishes to stop, sadly she can’t break free BUT SHE LAYS HANDS ON PEOPLE’S HEAD EVERY SUNDAY… And she’s called “MAMA” hmmm…
CHURCH CLOTHES She hates it, He hates it but they just can’t stop and no one knows that they have sore underneath their garments, they look good on Sunday.. They lift up holy hands.. They are pure on Sundays but impure on Mondays… But no one knows because….. church clothes
CHURCH CLOTHES She or he have a nice voice but she struggles with immorality…… …. Everyone knows them as choir masters or choir mistress but they are abortionist
CHURCH CLOTHES He perform miracles everyday, but have a lady who have a child for him out of wedlock. World wide Prophet, Apostle, bishop, evangelist, gospel artists, let’s humble ourselves and deal with our secret sins
AREN’T YOU TIRED OF THE CHURCH CLOTHES/CHURCH DRAMA? So many DRAMA in the church today… So many religious drama on Facebook, WhatsApp … Everyone is preaching… Why not admit you need help?..
CHURCH CLOTHES Preaching publicly against the same thing we struggle with in the secret, public success but private failure
CHURCH CLOTHES So many people DYING INSIDE/STRUGGLING inside… So many people in Church… Youth leaders… Youths…Pastors, Bishops, Evangelist, Reverend, Apostles, dying of masturbation.. Sex addiction.. Pornography… BUTTTTTTTTT THEY CAN’T OPEN UP… WHY??? CHURCH CLOTHES….
Church clothes give them a covering… CHURCH GLORY… CHURCH REPUTATION… CHURCH CLOTHEEEESSSSS…
THEY ARE SUFFERRRRINGGG!!!!! THEY ARE DYING!!!! THEY WANT TO BREAK FREE!!!! MY LOVE WHO CARE ABOUT YOUR REPUTATION???????… WHO CARES IF YOU BREAK HIS HEART??? WHO CARES IF SHE CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT YOU??? YOUR DESTINY!!!!
BEWARE OF HIDING BENEATH CHURCH CLOTHES… THE WIND WILL BLOW ONE DAY AND IT WILL EXPOSE WHAT’S UNDERNEATH…
I told them I LEARNT THE HARDWAY THAT THERE ARE SOME MISTAKES THAT CAN’T BE CORRECTED. Oh Lord, am tired of CHURCH CLOTHES, I want to make heaven, this is my earnest crying for myself and my generation……
Oh Lord, invade my privacy Why not cry out today.
BIBLICAL PRESCRIPTION TO OVERCOMING ADDICTION:
• PURIFY YOUR MIND DAILY WITH GOD’S WORD – Psalm 119:9 (NIV) says, “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.”
• WATCH YOUR THOUGHTS AND GUARD YOUR HEART – Proverb 4:23 “Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life.”
• WATCH THE THINGS YOU WATCH. YOUR EYES CAN SET YOUR BODY ON FIRE. Job 31:1 says, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.” Matthew 6:22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
May God deliver us from every secret SIN AMEN…
DON’T LET SHARING THIS BE A BURDEN TO YOU, YOU NEVER CAN TELL WHO YOU ARE BLESSING AND SAVING BY SHARING
There is something both the aged and the infant do not know anything about.
The church also has closed her eyes on this particular issue. Nobody wants to talk about it but it is very real.
In case you are not aware my brethren, I want to tell you that: SEXUAL IMMORALITY is the last bullet the kingdom of darkness has thrown against the church of God, and the church is wounded very sore that there seems to be no cure or remedy.
I want to make it so clear and not in jargons or vocabularies that, you cannot count the number of people who go to church and proclaim the name of God, that are still living in immorality. They may either be suffering from lust, masturbation, pornography, adultery, incest, homosexual, lesbianism, sodomy, bestiality and many more which time will fail me to mention.
Hardly will you come across a young lady who has not been misused by ‘so called boyfriends’. And every guy is now dating because of sex.
God is watching all those that are having sex with people they haven’t married.
It’s a headache for God seeing his own created people perishing in a sin called sexual immorality. How many young men today in the church can you count and point fingers at that fornication has not pulled down?
A pastor slept with his junior pastor’s wife, impregnated her, and used the name of God to defend himself that it was God who instructed him to do so.
Sex that is supposed to be between husband and wife only, is now between father and daughter in the church, do I need to tell you there is fire on the mountain?
If sex that is only legalized between a man and his wife, is now between a guy and his girlfriend or between a man and his fiancee, do you need angels to come and sound the warning against sexual immorality?
If sex that is a sacred thing in marriage has become a desecrated thing in dating, what else do you want before you prepare the way of the Lord?
PASTOR, WHY ARE YOU QUIET?!
Cry aloud, spare not. And tell the house of Jacob their sins, and Israel their transgressions. Pastor why are you not crying aloud? Why are you so mute like ELI? Heaven is shedding tears over the perishing souls every day and you are there raising funds every Sunday to build bigger Auditorium.
You call your members for anointing services and prayer meetings without urging sin out of them.
Some are living together with men that did not pay any dowry on them.
Some commit abortion and cover it up. Some are lesbians and homosexuals. What are you doing about that?
Where has the word of God that says “flee fornication” gone to in your Bible? From henceforth, if you don’t take this warning and start declaring war against this strange spirit that has taken over the church, you’ll have questions to answer.
And those who claim they love holiness messages with negligence to this particular truth about sex have actually missed the mark.
AND YOU CHURCH MEMBERS!
To be active in church and still be committing immorality, God is watching you.
To be a child of God and still having a boyfriend or girlfriend, God is watching you.
To be a choir member or youth leader and still be doing what the married are doing, if you like continue.
All you need is genuine repentance.
CHRIST’S COMING IS VERY IMMINENT!
YOUR GROUP MEMBERS NEED THIS MESSAGE. YOUR FRIENDS AND ENEMIES ALSO NEED IT. KEEP SHARING UNTIL IT SAVES A SOUL FROM THE BONDAGE AND DANGER OF HELL FIRE, AND GOD WILL BLESS YOU FOR THAT IN JESUS NAME, AMEN!!! SHALOM
God Said : There will come a time when mankind will love five things and forget five things.*
They will love the enjoyment of this world and forget the day of judgement.
They will love money and forget the day of accountability of how they acquired and spend the money.
They will fear things that are created and forget the creator.
They will love beautiful mansions and forget their grave.
They will love sins and forget to seek for God’s forgiveness.
Think twice
Repent, confess your sins, believe in Christ, turn away from sin and you shall be saved.
We always think of
Valentine’s day
Birth day
Father’s day
Mother’s day
Children’s day
Our day,
Farmer’s day
Teacher’s day
Christmas day
Independence day
Boxing day,
This day,
That day,
Day in Day out.
Have you ever thought of Judgement Day, is it going to be a day of celebration or condemnation for you ?
If you’re safe, what about your friends & loved ones. Show them love by telling them about the Judgement Day. Please pass this to any group and let heaven be happy for you today. Please don’t say later, do it now because tomorrow may be too late! [10:57, 10/30/2020] +234 806 351 0796: He who called the fisherman of Galilee is still calling men to His service. And He is just as willing to manifest His power through us as through the first disciples. However imperfect and sinful we may be, the Lord holds out to us the offer of partnership with Himself, of apprenticeship to Christ. He invites us to come under the divine instruction, that, uniting with Christ, we may work the works of God.{DA 297.1}
‘But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.’ – Ephesians 4:7, NIV
A minister was moved to request for the gift of working of miracles after seeing the great exploits of his colleagues who have the gift. All his efforts yielded no positive results. At last, God told him that He wouldn’t give him that gift because he has other gifts that his colleagues do not have. In life, there can only be age mates; there can never be grace mates. The unity and oneness of believers are rooted in the sovereignty of God who made all things and has absolute authority over all of creation (v. 6). This unity is perfectly positioned in diversity and does not mean uniformity in God’s sharing formula. This is why Paul observed that even though our faith is unified under God who is the Father of all and who works in everyone (1Corinthians 8:6), He gives each person the gift of grace in the exact measure that is needed, depending on who we are and our assignments (v. 7). The measure of the gifts of God in our lives is in accordance to our calling and the largeness of our capacity because God does not give little fights to big soldiers. Building your spiritual capacity today is very important for the multiplication of your gifts. You can achieve this by studying the Word of God and praying more in your secret place.
Insight: God does not give spiritual gifts for competition but for completeness.
Prayer: God, help me not to take Your grace upon my life for granted.
Inferior mentality or low self-esteem is the strength of captivity, adversity and calamity.SCRIPTURE: And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. Numbers 13:33.THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Inferior mentality or low self-esteem is the strength of captivity, adversity and calamity.It has been confirmed that one deadly enemy of destiny is called inferiority complex, rejection or low self-esteem.Dr Mike Murdock calls it the “Grasshopper mentality”. It is the mentality one has when one says, “I am not like other people. I cannot make it in life. God does not love me. Other people can succeed but not me.” Inferior mentality or low self-esteem is the strength of captivity, adversity and calamity. Resist it!In Numbers 13:33, where Dr Mike Murdock got the phrase, the “Grasshopper mentality”, the Bible says, “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”Can you see how the children of Israel saw themselves? They saw themselves as grasshoppers; that is, they were confined by their mentality to the grass. When people talk, they simply manifest the mentality they have in them. For instance, you tell someone, “I saw your name as one of the new employees the Central Bank of Nigeria just shortlisted. Are you not John Michael?” And he may say, “Me? Who ‘dash monkey banana?’ It must be another John Michael.” He has limited his destiny to that of a monkey and its constant feeding on banana because of inferiority complex. That will never be your portion in Jesus’ Name. Beloved, determine never to be resisted by inferiority complex.Remember this: Inferior mentality or low self-esteem is the strength of captivity, adversity and calamity.ASSIGNMENTS:Refuse to belittle yourself and God’s purpose for your life.Reject every grasshopper mentality.See yourself the way God sees you.PRAYER: O Lord, I reject every grasshopper mentality. I receive the grace to renew my mind and see myself as You see me, Lord, in Jesus’ Name.
DAILY READING: Luke 22-24
AMAZING FACT: The Naked Mole-Rat can live in an almost zero oxygen atmosphere. Incredibly, in a zero oxygen environment, the Naked Mole-Rat can still survive for up to 20-minutes without suffering any harm at all.
PROPHETIC DECLARATION/WORD: In the Name of Jesus, every power of inferiority mentality is broken off your mind today.
Memorise : That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, – Ephesians 5:26
Read : Colossians 3:5-17 (KJV)
5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Bible in One Year : Matthew 17, Mark 9, Luke 9:28-62
MESSAGE : Some people keep returning to sin over and over, despite having asked Jesus to come into their lives. They wonder how others live above sin. The answer is sanctification. When a person is sanctified, he/she loses the taste for sin. The Bible describes it in Hebrews 1:9:
“Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.”
When a person is sanctified, sinful habits that used to excite him/her become irritating. As a result, the fellow is able to lead a life of holiness in Christ. Sanctification is the grace of God that helps man to live above sin. If you are still struggling with sin, then you need to be sanctified.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9
To be sanctified, you must first confess all your sins to God (1 John 1:9). You can also experience sanctification if you are an avid student of the word of God. John 17:17 says:
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
If you want to enjoy your Christian life; feed on the word of God. David said in Psalm 119:11:
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
The more of God’s word you study, the more sin will disgust you. If you are always studying your Bible, God’s word will begin to influence the way you see things and how you behave.
The word of God has a Spirit which gives life, and that life, being Jesus will enter into you as you study it daily. It is Jesus who makes it easy for you to live holy. Take up the challenge today and you will overcome sin, in the mighty name of Jesus
Action Point : Study at least one chapter of the Bible by yourself daily. You need the word to stay sanctified.
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 2 Timothy 2:4
READ: 2 Samuel 23:8-17
8 These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.
9 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:
10 He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.
11 And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines.
12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.
13 And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim.
14 And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
15 And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!
16 And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD.
17 And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men.
MESSAGE:
Sometimes ago in the American Army, battalion was dropped behind enemy lines. Initially, it was believed that the enemies were not aware, however the enemies eventually surrounded the battalion. Once it became clear that the battalion would be defeated, the leader of the group phoned their headquarters for support saying “We are totally surrounded and outnumbered at least 100 to 1; send the Marines” Legend has it that the phrase “send the marines” was derived from this event. At that time, only three Marines were available for the assignment and they were all sent. They worked all night and created a path for the battalion to escape. While the battalion was moving, they saw thousands of dead enemies. The three commandos had killed them in just one night.
There are ordinary Christian soldiers and there are Christian commandos. As for me, I have determined not to be an ordinary soldier for Christ, I want to be a commando. What about you?
Commandos go through the most rigorous qualification training. That is why a commando for Christ can weather any storm. He is unshakable. Job was a commando. No wonder he stood strong and even came out stronger in the face of adversity.
The true strength of boxer is measured by the opponent he/she faces. Likewise, the strength of a true Christian soldier is known by the kind of opponents he/she has brought down. If an ordinary insult is enough to bring you down, then you are not yet ready to be a member of this select group in the army of Christ. If you are still finding ‘good’ excuses to commit sin, you are obviously not yet ready for the training, talk less of becoming a commando.
If you would be used of God, you must go through the training. Just as no one can join the army without being fit, God cannot use an untrained person. If you would be a commando for God, you must go through the most rigorous training. Surrender all and make yourself available today. Stay on the winning side.
PRAYER REQUEST:
Father, I surrender all to You. Please help me to trust You even more as You train me to become a commando for You, in the mighty name of Jesus.
HYMN 2: ALL TO JESUS I SURRENDER.
All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live. o Refrain: I surrender all, I surrender all; All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow; Worldly pleasures all forsaken, Take me, Jesus, take me now.
All to Jesus I surrender, Make me, Savior, wholly Thine; Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly know that Thou art mine.
All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee; Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessing fall on me.
All to Jesus I surrender, Now I feel the sacred flame; Oh, the joy of full salvation! Glory, glory, to His Name!
Pastor kumuyi Is not NORMAL.He is one of the most powerful men on planet Earth,His life is filled with so much Supernatural endowmentsI personally describe pastor w.f kumuyi as a man who is not normal,Because he doesn’t struggle for the supernatural. WHO IS PASTOR W.F KUMUYI Pastor w.f kumuyi is the founder and General suprintendent of the Deeperlife Bible church A.k.a Deeper Christian Life ministry(D.L.C.M)Pastor W.f Kumuyi was born into a Christian family in Erin-Ijesha, Osun State, western part of Nigeria. He completed his secondary school education in 1961 at Mayflower School in Ikenne, Ogun State, from where he proceeded to the University of Ibadan and in 1967 graduated with a first-class honours degree in mathematics where he graduated as overall best graduating student in that year. He subsequently took a post-graduate course in Education at the University of Lagos.He became a born-again Christian in April 1964.On his upbringing, Pastor W.f Kumuyi was quoted to have saidHe was influenced by John Wesley, Charles Finney and Charles Spurgeon. His father was a member of the Anglican Church. According to an article in The Sun (Nigeria), Kumuyi is also said to be “a one-time member of the Anglican Church (now Anglican Communion), Celestial Church of Christ, Scripture Union (SU) movement and Apostolic Faith before breaking away to found Deeper Life.”Pastor w.f Kumuyi began teaching mathematics in 1962 at Mayflower School, his alma mater.He went on, in the early 1970s, to become a lecturer of mathematics at the University of Lagos. In 1973, while being a lecturer of mathematics at the University of Lagos, Kumuyi began a Bible study group with 15 students who had come to him for Bible training. This training became the foundation of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry. In 1975, Pastor w.f Kumuyi was expelled from the Apostolic Faith Church for preaching on the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He continued his independent ministry, which in 1982 became the Deeper Life Bible Church. As at 2005, the Christian ministry is said to have over 800,000 affiliates.Pastor w.f Kumuyi met Abiodun Olowu in September 1972. She became one of his Bible study students and a member of his fledging Christian ministry. They got married on 13 September 1980 in Lagos, and they have two children, Jeremiah and John. Abiodun Kumuyi died on 11 April 2009.On 13 October 2010, exactly 18 months after the death of his first wife, Kumuyi married Folashade Adenike Blaize in London. Folashade is the Administrator of the Deeper Life Bible Church, London.In 2013, Foreign Policy magazine listed Pastor W.f Kumuyi among the “500 most powerful people on the earth.
GIFT OF PROPHECY
Pastor Paul eneche said the first man on planet Earth I saw real word of knowledge from was pastor w.f kumuyi.AWARDSBilly Graham church came to Nigeria to give pastor kumuyi an AWARD for the gospel.Pastor kumuyi was a university DonIn 2018, Kumuyi received an honorary PhD from the University of Abuja.
LAGOS ANCIENT PYTHON AND PASTOR W.F KUMUYI
There was an ancient python in Lagos which killed pastors so the land was left untouchedThe king said who ever could kill the snake should take over the landPastor kumuyi was told about it he sent his pastors there they went there and ran backSo pastor kumuyi himself gathered prayer warriors and they stormed the land not too long the ancient python started approaching and all the pastors who came with pastor kumuyi ran awayBut pastor kumuyi stood still and was opening the Bible and quoting the scriptures as the giant snake kept approaching he was quoting the scriptures the snake got to where he was turned back and started turning, fell on the floor died and dried upThe pastors who ran away thought baba kumuyi was dead they came back to check on Pastor kumuyi only to discover the ancient python on the floor dead,and the land was handed over to the church.That is where deeperlife head quarters is now
FINANCIAL STATUS
Pastor kumuyi was one of the first pastors who ought to have own private jet in the early 90s but he declined when he was opportunedPastor kumuyi doesn’t have a BANK ACCOUNTHe is been taken care of by the church.GROWTH OF PASTORS Pastor w.f kumuyi lowest level of pastors in the church do raises dead bodies.
DANGEROUS MIRACLES PERFORM BY PASTOR W.F KUMUYI THROUGH GOD
Pastor kumuyi is known for his short prayers and has not been seen laying hands on people he declares from the pullpit and there are miracle outburts in the mammoth crowdHis prayers are usually 4/5minutes then after the final AmenThere will be serious uproar in the congregation
PASTOR SUNDAY ADELAJA COMPLIMENT
Pastor Sunday adelaja said somebody having a plastic eye began to see after the prayers of pastor w.f kumuyiPastor Sunday adelaja confirmed that he got repented under the sermon of pastor w.f Kumuyi.Numerous dead Individuals have been brought back to life after the prayers of pastor kumuyiPastor kumuyi said he has seen almost all the Miracles in the Bible happen.
ON THE 2ND OF NOVEMBER 2015 PASTOR ENOCH ADEBOYE INVITED PASTOR KUMUYI TO MINISTER IN HIS HOLYGHOST CONVENTION.DUNANIS MIRACLE EXPLOSION PROGRAM
. It was a wowing moment at the Dunamis International Gospel Center Abuja. God used Pastor W F Kumuyi to do the Miracle that have never been seen in Deeper Life Church for the past 10 years of my experience in Deeper Life as said by a Man. The Theme of The Programme being COME UP HITHER Pastor WF Kumuyi derived his Message title from the theme titled COME UP HITHER AND GO UP HIGHER, after introducing the title, he divided the message into three subheadings as well:After the sermon, pastor kumuyi made an altar call and thousands of people were rushing ? to come and surrender their lives to Christ. When Daddy led them to Christ, he told the congregation that they should get ready to dance because there is going to be an explosion of MiracleDaddy kumuyi made a short prayer, after the last amen brethren come and see Miracles. The lame began to drop their crutches, the mad people began to recover, the paralyzed began to run, the deaf began to hear. In fact, we cannot fathom the depth or the extent of the miracles that happened in Dunamis but it’s greater than the ones I have been seeing in Deeper Life Church as said by an attendant.The Miracles were incredible. In fact, Pastor Paul Enenche had to come and give a hand shake to Daddy Kumuyi telling him to come back again. A woman that have not walked for the past 22 years ago, began to walk and run. She said after the prayers, she saw some beings on black attires going out from her leg and that’s when she began to walk. Oh it’s was all wonderful!Pastor Paul Enenche led the congregation into another realm of dancing to fulfill the prophecy given by Daddy Kumuyi.
LAGOS STATE INVASION
one striking feature of the Deeper Christian Life Mini-stries’ Lagos City-Wide Crusade in partnership with the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, besides the rain of miraculous feats in all the venues the train had birthed thus far, has been that despite the huge financial outlay in logistical arrange-ments the church has not collect-ed offering from the numerous participants.The month-long city-wide crusade intended to usher in a new vista of spiritual, moral, physical, material, political and economic transformation for the state and by implication the country at large, was flagged off on September 8 at the Police College, Ikeja and has since moved to different locations in the state as participants silently expressed pleasant surprise that the church was not collecting offering as most churches do.Participants loudly wondered how the church would be able to defray the enormous cost of paying for the venues, renting and moving audio-visual equipment to locations, renting electric generators, rugs, flower pots, chairs, canopies, tents and pay-ment for live television coverage as well as security of life and property. At each of the venues, A reporter noticed several mobile toilets and a brand new standby ambulance for the convenience of partici-pants.A journalist who has covered a few crusades in the past, descri-bed the development as un-Pentecostal, arguing that most denominations would have taken advantage of the huge financial outlay to collect two or more offerings to offset their expense.A spokesperson for the church who does not want his name mentioned, told a reporter that the church does not charge people to attend its crusades, insisting that rather it’s more concerned about winning souls for the kingdom of God.
HARVEST OF MIRACLES
The crusade train had been to 11 locations in the state and at each of those places there had been outstanding testimonies of miraculous happenings in the lives of the participants.
TESTIMONIES
Mrs Marvellous Archibong who was born blind, testified how she regained her sight after Pastor Kumuyi’s ministration and prayer in her state.Archibong said: “After Kumuyi’s prayer that day, I had a dream and in the dream, I saw a man in a white robe operating a lady and the man told her that the lady is me. When I woke up the following day, I started seeing.”Jumoke Adediran, resident of Ikeja, could not contain her joy when she narrated her deliveran-ce from rectal cancer. For her, it was a horrible experience she would never wish her enemy to go through. Like any other participant, Jumoke went to the crusade with great expectation because two years earlier, the devil had afflicted her with cancer of the rectum—abnormal cancerous growth in the lower part of the colon that connects the anus to the large bowel.Doctors told her to prepare for surgery but she hesitated and by the time she was ready the doctors said the situation had grown beyond their imagination, as the cancerous lump had enter-ed into her private part.They then scheduled her for colostomy, a surgical procedure of bringing one end of the large intestine out through the stom-ach to enable her pass faeces, as against the normal use of anus. This, the doctors said, would help her rest her anus. Before the advice for colostomy, they directed her to undergo both hormone therapy and radio-therapy.According to Jumoke, she fini-shed the hormone therapy and was to do radiotherapy for four weeks, “but two days into the treatment, faeces started coming out from my private parts and I was told to discontinue the radiotherapy. Now, they have scheduled me for colostomy, which is to puncture my stomach to rest my anus so that I will not be able to do my normal passing of faeces from the anus.“When my husband told me that Daddy Kumuyi was coming to Police College, Ikeja, I said I must be there. I told God that I would not like to come back home with this sickness.“As our daddy said that we should lay our hands were we had problem, I did and after the prayer, I could not see it again. Before, I could not sit down comfortably, but now I can sit down well.“Many people have gone with this ailment; but God did not allow it to claim my life. Even when I am not faithful, when I have anger, impatient and all the work of the flesh, God has been merciful unto me.“That is why when our daddy made an altar call, I said whatever the devil wants to use against me will not stand. So, I have to come out again to rededicate my life to God. I said, ‘God, I give you everything. Have your way in my life.’ I thank God that tonight I have received the power to live a righteous life, to live a holy life. So, no more going for surgical operation for any-thing. The Lord has done it and the devil has been put to shame,” she stressed.SCANDALSYou dare not scandal pastor w.f kumuyi because your judgement is InstantaneousPastor kumuyi was in his hotel room with his wife and the media organized a naked lady to set him up so while she came to his hotel door shouting for help pastor kumuyi sent his wife to open the door since it is a female his wife went.Behold as she opened the door the naked woman grabbed the wife, thinking it was pastor kumuyi and immmediately media started taking photos only to discover it was not PASTOR W.F KUMUYI but his wife.A lady came out during Testimonies session and lied that pastor kumuyi wanted to rape her in his office when she came for counsellingShe said I don’t know men of God are like this I thought since he is preaching holiness,He is differentImmmediately pastor kumuyi climbed the pullpit took a microphone and said God is the God of judgement with his calm voice in whom all secrets are beared above all He is the God of Judgement the power of God picked the girlStretched her and she died on the pullpit the second girl beside her knelt down and started begging that they were paid to come and carry such news Pastor kumuyi is hardly scandalized because the judgement is Instantaneous.Do you want to die,dare scandalize pastor w.F kumuyi.IF YOU COMMIT SIN YOU CANT CLIMP PASTOR KUMUYI PULPIT pastor was ministrying at pastor kumuyi’s pullpit as he was ministrying, he fell from the pullpit and straight ahead he was placed on disciplineHOLY COMMUNIONIt is been said that when pastor kumuyi is handling holy Communion service and you are a sinner you dare not take the holy CommunionAs it is said during holy Communion service smoke comes out of the churchSometimes people who eat unworthily faintsThere are ambulances available during the service.
BISHOP OYEDEPO SPOKE OF A MAD INDIVIDUAL WHICH HE PRAYED FOR BUT SHE DIDNT RECEIVE HER HEALING BUT COMPLAINED SHE SAW PASTOR KUMUYI AND QUICKLY BISHOP OYEDEPO UNDERSTOOD THE MESSAGE OF THE SPIRIT
And bishop oyedepo pen down a letter and sent her to pastor w.f kumuyi over her problem after a short prayer from pastor kumuyi insanity dissappeared.Pastor kumuyi pened down and said this is your daughter she has been healed.
BIBLE STUDY ALTER
Pastor kumuyi is one of the men of God that closes stadiums down just with Bible studyThere is no stadiums that he goes that is not filledThere are times he doesn’t hold miracle service he just does Bible study and explosion of Miracles stadium filled up.Pastor kumuyi has a unique Grace when it comes to Bible study which other pastors learn from
SALVATION MESSAGE
Pastor kumuyi has been preaching salvation message from JOHN3:16 FOR MORE THAN 30YEARS Crowd keep running to church at different centres just to Hear John 3:16 and Holiness Message and they are not tired,Thousands troop in numbers.
CHURCH TRADITIONS
Pastor kumuyi church doesn’t allow trousers and ear rings still he pulls one of the largest crowd in the world.
BENIN INVASION
Pastor kumuyi was ministrying at benin crusade and Miracles were taking place at UBTH CENTERDEAF AND DUMB SCHOOLwhile pastor kumuyi was ministrying in a program the power of God struck people in the deaf and dumb class and they began to hear and talk.AN AGENTAn agent was on a mission so the agent saw a huge fire coming out from the earth some agents where sent to check what was the cause they went and didn’t come back and the agent went to enquire of the devil himself and the devil told him don’t go there oohIt is kumuyi that is prayingDon’t start talking like pastor kumuyi until you have done twice of what he has donePastor kumuyi is not normal that man is highly endowned with the supernatural.
SHOCKING FACT
Pastor kumuyi is close to his 80s but still he Doesn’t allow anyone to carry his Bible for Him.PASTOR W.F KUMUYI IS A SYMBOL OF HUMILITY
484 years ago on October 6, Reformer William Tyndale, at the age of 42, was executed by being burned alive at the stake. His crime? He had translated the Bible into English and the “common people” were reading it.
William Tyndale was the Captain of the Army of Reformers, and was their spiritual leader. Tyndale holds the distinction of being the first man to ever print the New Testament in the English language. He was a true scholar and a genius, so fluent in eight languages that it was said one would think any one of them to be his native tongue.
Pope Clement VII was the main one persecuting Tyndale about translating the bible into English and had him imprisoned a year and a half before Tyndale was actually killed but Clement died in 1534 and didn’t get to see Tyndale executed. Pope Paul III was in power when Tyndale was burned at the stake.
Catholics are taught that the early vernacular Bibles were untrustworthy, and riddled with errors and that this is why they were suppressed. The fact is that they were too close to the truth for the Roman Church to tolerate.
So what had Tyndale done in his translation that was so heretical? Tyndale had translated the Greek word for ‘elder’ as ‘elder’ instead of ‘priest’, he had translated the Greek word for ‘congregation’ as ‘congregation’ instead of ‘church’, the Greek word for ‘repentance’ as ‘repentance’ instead of ‘penance’ etc. Why were such differences important to the church? The Roman Church has priests, not elders. A congregation implies a locally autonomous group of believers guided by the Holy Spirit and not a hierarchical unified church subject to a Pope. The Roman Church is built on penance and indulgences to the priest and Church, not repentance to, and forgiveness from God. (See Martin Luther’s 95 Theses on Indulgences, the debate that sparked the Reformation). In trying to faithfully render the Greek into English, Tyndale’s translation exposed the errors of the church to the people, which quickly brought the wrath of the Catholic church down on him.
It was common practice, and Roman Catholic teaching, for “heretics” to be turned over to secular authorities for execution. This was nothing more than a transparent and quite unsuccessful attempt to keep the blood off the hands of the Church. As a result, King Henry VIII got blamed for it.
A clergyman hopelessly entrenched in Roman Catholic dogma once taunted William Tyndale with the statement, “We are better to be without God’s laws than the Pope’s”. Tyndale was infuriated by such Roman Catholic heresies, and he replied, “I defy the Pope and all his laws. If God spare my life ere many years, I will cause the boy that drives the plow to know more of the scriptures than you!”
His final words as he stood on the pyre were, “Lord! Open the king of England’s eyes”. The Lord answered that prayer; within 4 years of Tyndale’s death the king of England, in defiance of the papacy, ordered that 4 english translations of the Bible be published and made available to the people. This resulted in the furthering of the protestant movement.
All 4 translations were based on Tyndale’s work. Today there is a Bible publishing company named after William Tyndale, Tyndale Publishing House and the Tyndale Bible. Much of the King James Bible was a result of Tyndale’s work.
Only one complete copy of this first edition is known to exist, and the British Museum paid $2 million for it in 1948!
To ALL of the reformers we owe a debt we can never hope to pay.
One of the best kept secrets from Church critics is the extent of generousity of Dr David Oyedepo and the Living Faith Church Worldwide over which he presides as Bishop. The news about all that was done by him for poor people during the COVID-19 pandemic is out in the open with tangible proof but largely ignored by those who would rather insult him. It is humorous that instead of showing off his numerous deeds to the poor African and humanity at large, he prefers not to flaunt it. As Bishop Oyedepo clocks 66 on Sunday 27th September, Daniel Breakforth reveals just one of these many stories that secured a prayer from Nigeria’s Former Dictator and Strongman, late General Sani Abacha.
On 24 December 1989, Charles Taylor, a Liberian who had escaped from an American Prison fearing extradition to Liberia, crossed over into the Liberian border and led with others together and separately, a rebellion against Sergeant Samuel Doe, the Liberian Head of State. The First Liberian War had commenced and over the next 7 years, about 250,000 people were killed. Early in the crisis, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) established the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) largely made up of Nigerian troops as well as troops from other West African Nations. Samuel Doe, captured at the ECOMOG Headquarters was tortured to death in September 1990 and the war took another dimension with different belligerents fighting for the soul of Liberia. By March 1991 also, the Sierra-Leonean crisis began and over the next 11 years left over 500,000 dead. Worse still, the Rwandan Genocide, a mass slaughter of Tutsi, Twa and moderate Hutu in Rwanda took place between 7th April and 15th July 1994 in which about a million people were murdered.
That same 1989, a 6 year old church which has now become the largest Pentecostal church located in Barnawa, Kaduna in the northern part of Nigeria, Living Faith Church had just moved headquarters to a group of disused brothels at Iyana Ipaja. The Pastor and Leader, David Oyedepo who had on some occasions visited his church members and military friends at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna took some interest in the events in these nations. The 12th June 1993 elections led to the stepping aside of Nigeria’s Military President and eventual resignation of the Interim National Government’s Chief Ernest Shonekan and take over of General Sani Abacha. From September to December 1993, the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) was established and by July 1995, her mandate was renewed.
At this point, Oyedepo who had been monitoring the crisis in these nations and reading stories of the sufferings of war victims going on in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Rwanda was overtaken with compassion. He decided to do something about it. Bishop Oyedepo believes that African challenges can be solved by Africans alone while wars are a manifestation of satanic oppression. The Mandate he received was to liberate the World from all oppression of the devil, through the priority of preaching of the Word of Faith.
This was however not the first time the Living Faith Church was going to be engaged in acts of generousity. As far back as 9th April 1984 when Ten Naira (N10) was the total offering on Sunday service, a member who had challenges was given the whole amount. The Church had therefore always been involved in matters of welfare but crystallized it into an official organ in 1992 by introducing the Education Bursary as well as the Creativity Promotion Forum in Kaduna, apart from other empowerment schemes. Up till today, a chunk of the Church budget is dedicated towards welfare but that is not the point here. The Church subsequently created the Relief Promotion Agency to embark on humanitarian services to provide food, clothing and shelter for victims of natural disasters and civil unrest.
The General Sani Abacha led Provisional Military Council (PRC) and Nigerian Military Government through ECOMOG was leading efforts in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Though same could not be done in Rwanda, Nigeria nevertheless decided to send relief to all 3 African countries. The Government through the Nigerian Ministry of Defence led these efforts. Several shiploads were sent to these countries. Commodore Peter Ebhaleme, a Top Brass Officer in the Nigerian Navy and member of the Living Faith Church who happened to be a member of the Church and Director of Operations at the Naval Headquarters was coordinating the Navy role in the ECOMOG efforts. Being close to the leadership of the Living Faith Church and knowing the interest of Bishop Oyedepo, he acted as go between and link between the 2 organizations. Whenever the Government was to make a delivery to any of the countries, he would inform Bishop Oyedepo. Bishop Oyedepo would consequently mobilize the Church. So much supplies were gathered that sometimes there was no space for worship. Within a short time, supplies of relief were made to Rwanda, Liberia and Sierra Leone in no small measure. Notably, anytime the Ministry of Defence was sending a shipload of supplies on behalf of Nigeria, Living Faith Church would send twice the volume of what the Government of Nigeria was sending. Consequently, a partnership was established between the Nigerian Government and the Church as regards welfare to the needy.
Charity Begins at Home: The Advent into KOMA
In January 1998, a documentary done by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) went viral. It was that of more than 55,000 people living and moving about naked on the Koma Hills in Jada Local Government, Adamawa State of North Eastern Nigeria. The news eventually got to Bishop Oyedepo. He was filled with compassion and decided to do something about it as usual. The announcement was made in Church. I was earning N3000 monthly then and did not think I could afford giving money. Bishop Oyedepo had taught us to give only what we have and not what we do not have. 2 Corinthians 9:7…A message you never hear from his false accusers who always bandy the rhetoric of collecting offering from poor members. (sic) I remember giving my best and only pair of suit which had just been gifted to me by my Dad after he got a new job in an oil servicing company. (my parents had both been jobless for some years) I also added the Aiwa Walkman he got me from Dubai and gave it at the end of that January. This story will be shared another day.
Going forward, the Church members gave generously to the Koma People. The Koma People are mainly subsistence farmers who feed mainly on food crops such as rice, maize and millet which are grown in commercial scale. To this end, the Church raised millions of naira in cash while trailer loads of food and cloths were contributed. However, there was a major problem. There were no roads to Koma hills and because of the terrain, trailers could not go up the Hills to deliver the supplies. In essence, there were no vehicles to convey these supplies. The supplies were thus stuck in Adamawa. Peter Ebhaleme who was now a Rear Admiral and Navy Secretary thought of a solution. Some 2 years earlier, General Abacha had ordered the purchase of TATA Trucks through Umaru Dikko, a former powerful Nigerian Minister of the ‘UK Kidnap Fame’. The Trucks were under the custody of the Nigerian Navy for distribution to the Armed Forces as well as the Nigeria Police once the directive was given. Admiral Ebhaleme did the unthinkable. He loaned 15 of the Trucks to take to Koma to make the delivery before they were allocated as part of the partnership that had been going on with Living Faith Church but he did it by committing a grave error. To avoid the possibility of being denied his request, he refused to inform his boss and the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Mike Akhigbe. The whole delivery operation took 4 days from Lagos to Koma and back with Admiral Ebhaleme getting up the Koma Hills to witness the movement before flying back to Lagos.
Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately, the NTA news crew in the newly created Adamawa State met the team making the delivery to Koma. Inquisitive on seeing a group comprising soldiers and pastors with trucks tagged ‘Ministry of Defence’ and banners with the inscription ‘Living Faith Church’ asked to know the relationship between the Church and the Ministry of Defence. The team not knowing how the vehicles had come about referred NTA to the Ministry of Defence. At that time, the Minister of Defence was the Nigerian Head of State himself, General Sani Abacha. The NTA Team reported this in the News same day at 4pm, Mrs Ebhaleme saw the news and asked her husband if he got permission. His response was that he did a fast one to help the Koma People.
Admiral Akhigbe Provoked Same night, as the news was on, the CNS who had previously complained about Ebhaleme’s fanaticism called Rear Admiral Ebhaleme and asked him if he was watching the news. He responded in the affirmative. Who permitted the release of the vehicles to Yola, the CNS asked. “I did” Ebhaleme responded. “On whose authority” Admiral Akhigbe asked again. After a quick pause, Ebhaleme answered “The Holy Spirit”. The CNS boiled over. “Holy what? What Nonsense!? What holy rubbish? How dare you? God punish your father, mother and Holy Spirit.” Akhigbe soon reported the matter to Admiral Aikhomu, the former CNS and Vice President under General Babangida who was a close friend and boss to Ebhaleme especially while Ebhaleme was the Director of the Naval Intelligence. Admiral Aikhomu pleaded on behalf of the Navy Secretary knowing the gravity of the offence, a case of misappropriation and misapplication of government property with penalty as dismissal from service.
Akhigbe however added a caveat that since he did not send Ehaleme, he would not defend him before General Abacha. He consequently gave Admiral Ebhaleme the option of a quiet resignation before the Head of State got to know about it. Ebhaleme requested to go and think about it and went into prayers. He believed that his action was not for self-aggrandisement as he had not taken the vehicles to his village in Edo but to Yola. Finally, he decided to serve the punishment instead of resigning. At that time, General Diya and a few others were already in the Jos Prisons and were around this time sentenced to death by firing squad in April 1998. Admiral Akhigbe consequently raised a team to investigate while Ebhaleme was sent on compulsory leave. The Navy Secretary then used the opportunity to spend more time at the Winners’ Chapel in Raji Oba, Iyana Ipaja, always dancing excitedly and praising God despite the circumstances. His Orderly could not understand this and went to inform Bishop Oyedepo that his boss had just lost his job. Bishop Oyedepo sent for the Admiral after service and the following ensued:
Bishop: What am I hearing?
Admiral: I am on leave.
Bishop: How long is your leave?
Sensing no escape, Admiral Ebhaleme opened up to Bishop Oyedepo.
Bishop: “He abused your parents and the Holy Spirit? Give me your hand: You said the Holy Spirit told you? I join my faith with yours and I decree that if anything adverse comes from this matter, God did not call me… Go and tell your Boss what I have said”.
Few weeks later, Admiral Peter Ebhaleme was asked to return to work pending the report of the investigation. Some 3 months later in May 1998 however, during a top security meeting with the Chiefs of Army, Naval and Air Force Staff, a phone call came to Admiral Ebhaleme. It was Bishop Oyedepo asking him to come as soon as possible. Once Ebhaleme got the opportunity, he went straight to Iyana Ipaja to meet the Bishop. On arrival, Bishop Oyedepo presented a letter to Admiral Ebhaleme. It had arrived earlier from the Presidential Villa, Abuja and what was more, it had been signed by General Abacha himself.
The letter read thus:
“Dear Bishop,
It has come to the knowledge of the Federal Government what you and your able Lieutenants have done for the people of Koma Hills…If all religious organisations can do the same thing, Nigeria would be a place worth living for inter-religious relationship. On behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I wish to thank you and your able Lieutenants for a job well done, May Allah bless you.
Signed:
Sani Abacha,
General, Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The Admiral read the letter about 3 times and began to jump and dance in excitement. Eventually, he began to weep profusely, shedding tears of joy.
What had happened was that the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) had heard what Winners’ Chapel had done at Koma by providing supplies and digging boreholes. UNICEF decided to take over from the Church and needed the permission of the Federal Government to do so. Consequently, they sent a request to the Head of State. It should be noted that Nigeria had become a pariah nation at that time with all sorts of sanctions placed on the Country by major western nations and that added lots of significance to the UNICEF request made to Abacha.
Epilogue
To cut this long story short, the next day, Admiral Ebhaleme took the letter to work and presented it to the CNS. Admiral Mike Ahigbe first glanced at the letter; not sure of what he was seeing, he put on his glasses and adjusted himself in his chair and read again. He was confused, looked at Ebhaleme and said “Peter, I am tired of you, Leave my office, just go away”. That was the end of the matter while General Abacha died the next month.
Finally, I could have been rated among the poor church members when I GAVE to the Koma Project. Today, I am no longer in that category; infact for the records, I have given out 2 cars including a brand new one and sponsored a few people who are not my children through secondary school and even Covenant University.
Givers Never Lack and Lackers Never Give! Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in Heaven” (Matthew 5:16) That confirmeth the Word of His Servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers… (Isaiah 44:26).
Every time people disobey God, they widen their distance from God; and distance from God equals disaster in life.
SCRIPTURE: And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. 2 Corinthians 10:6
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: When your obedience is complete, nothing is permitted to disobey you.
It has been established that the devil fights God’s purpose for your life using some enemies of destiny.
Now, one enemy of destiny is the lifestyle of disobedience. It was disobedience that aborted the destiny of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:24). Every time people agree to disobey God, they have also agreed to abort their destiny.
Now, let me give you three key thoughts on disobedience.
Disobedience to God equals disconnection from destiny.
The glorious destiny of Adam and Eve was aborted because of their disobedience to God (Genesis 3:24). To disobey God is to be disconnected from destiny.
Disobedience to God equals distance from God.
Adam and Eve were driven from the Presence of God at the frequency of disobedience (Genesis 3:24). Every time people disobey God, they widen their distance from God; and distance from God equals disaster in life.
Rebellion to God provokes rebellion from the earth.
Adam rebelled against God and the earth also rebelled against him (Genesis 3:17-18). Everything rebels against the person who rebels against God. When your obedience is complete, nothing is permitted to disobey you (2 Corinthians 10:6). But when your obedience is not complete, everything is permitted to rebel against you.
Beloved, my counsel is, make up your mind to live a lifestyle of obedience.
Remember this: When your obedience is complete, nothing is permitted to disobey you.
ASSIGNMENTS:
Ask God to deliver you from the lifestyle of disobedience.
Make the choice to obey God always.
PRAYER: Thank You Lord for showing me the lifestyle of disobedience as an enemy of destiny. I receive the grace for total and complete obedience, Lord, in Jesus’ Name.
FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: DEADLY ENEMIES OF DESTINY (PART 1).
QUOTE: The extent of contribution you can make in your generation, the extent to which you can speak and be heard, the extent to which you can command and be obeyed is hooked up to your character. Culled from “WHO ARE YOU?” by Dr Paul Enenche.
AMAZING FACT: The horned lizard is able to shoot blood from its own eyes, up to a distance of 3 feet away. The rather bizarre and disgusting act is a defensive mechanism to confuse predators.
PROPHETIC DECLARATION/WORD: Receive the grace to walk in obedience to God in this season in Jesus’ Name.
In the early years of my Christian walk as a youth,1. Fridays night were ment for vigils in the Church2. Youth convention was purely for prayers, fasting, Bible study, and edifying activities3. As a single when you are going to visit an opposite sex you don’t dare go alone4. When your Pastor scolds you, you bow your head in tears for being a source of concern to him5. We don’t purchase any clothe we can’t wear to church6. During youth programmes we engage in activities like draw your sword, Bible quizzes7. Every Saturday was for Evangelism 8. We were mobile Bibles as we could quote tens of scriptures by heart9.We don’t dare leave our houses for church without a Bible10. We arrive church hours before service to prepare the church11. Virginity was dignity to us and not lack of opportunity12. It wasn’t difficult to identify us from unbelievers even as classroom students because you see God’s glory on us13. We were not ashamed to publicly declare our Christian faith14. We go out for morning cry as early as 5:00AM daily15. We always preached in every bus we took 16. There was this deep hunger in us to attend programmes in church17. Even without an official ordination we were called Pastors and Evangelists18. We usually go to pray for the sick in hospitals for healing19. We dared to pray for the dead to come back to life20. Having a daily devotional was important to us21. We challenged ourselves to spend more time in the things of the kingdom22. We looked forward to our yearly camp meeting for an encounter with God23. During worship sessions we received accurate words of knowledge from the Lord24. We were used as models to correct unbelievers25. We were a source of Joy and honour to our parents and church26. Our conscience were very active and alive to admit when our ways were not right with God…27. And this is the reason why many of us then are now Pastors and YOUTHS of nowadays found it difficult to challenge our achievement because they are not ready to pay the price!Do I have witnesses out there!!!WHAT WENT WRONG AND WHERE DID WE MISS IT?Can there still be revival again?.
It has been confirmed that when conscience is dead, life is doomed both in this world and in the world to come.
SCRIPTURE: Now the spirit speaketh expressly that in the later times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of the devil, speaking lies in hypocrisy having their conscience seered with a hot iron. 1 Timothy 4:1-2.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: When the conscience is dead, life is doomed both in this world and in the world to come.
Earlier, in our previous study, we saw the necessity of living with a clear conscience. The state of our conscience is very critical to our relationship with God. Our conscience affects our eternal destination.
A living conscience facilitates a healthy spiritual life.
Today, we want to look at what constitutes a dead conscience.
It has been confirmed that when conscience is dead, life is doomed both in this world and in the world to come.
1 Timothy 4:1-2 says, Now the spirit speaketh expressly that in the later times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of the devil, speaking lies in hypocrisy having their conscience seered with a hot iron.
When people tell lies and don’t seem to feel anything; when they steal and don’t feel anything; when they commit immorality and don’t feel anything; when they cheat and don’t feel anything; when they kill and still don’t feel anything; their conscience is already dead. They are not safe.
Now, conscience can die in the following ways:
Repeated acts of rebellion.
When you do the wrong thing repeatedly and your conscience pricks you for a while but you refuse to repent, you will be left alone. A time comes when the sinful action will begin to appear normal. That is the realm where some hardened criminals live their lives.
Un-confessed sins
Conscience can become dead with un-confessed sins. This is a situation where the person is doing the wrong thing but does not see any reason to say “sorry” to God or to man.
Excusing or justifying wrong deeds.
Your conscience can die when you excuse or justify wrong deeds. When a person is busy excusing, explaining or justifying a wrong deed, the conscience can come to a point where it becomes unresponsive and dead.
Beloved, it is very important to take heed to this so you don’t run your race on earth in vain. What shows that you are preparing for eternity is living with a clear conscience that is void of offence.
Remember this: When the conscience is dead, life is doomed both in this world and in the world to come.
ASSIGNMENTS:
Refuse to live in rebellion to God.
Don’t live with un-confessed sins.
Refuse to excuse or justify a wrong deed.
Maintain a broken spirit and a contrite heart.
PRAYER: O Lord, I receive the grace to keep my conscience alive always. Deliver me from the tragedy of dead conscience, Lord, in Jesus’ Name.
FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: LIVING WITH ETERNITY IN VIEW
QUOTE: Never sleep over a defiled conscience. Never! Culled from “WHO ARE YOU?” by Dr Paul Enenche.
DAILY READING: Ezekiel 13-15
AMAZING FACT: A person uses 17 muscles when they smile, and 43 when they frown.
PROPHETIC DECLARATION/WORD: Victory over transgression be your portion in this season in Jesus’ Name.
You were created to give pleasure to God with your life, so you don’t live just to please yourself. You don’t live to please society, and you don’t live to please the devil; you live to please God, your Maker.
SCRIPTURE: Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:11.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: You cannot live with God in eternity if you cannot live for Him on earth.
Yesterday, we saw that one of the things that constitute our readiness and preparedness for eternity with God in heaven is being born again.
Today, we shall look at yet another thing that constitutes readiness and preparedness for eternity with God in heaven.
It is living to please God with your life
You were created to give pleasure to God with your life, so you don’t live just to please yourself. You don’t live to please society, and you don’t live to please the devil; you live to please God, your Maker.
In Philippians 1:21, Paul the apostle said, For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Concerning Jesus Christ, God says, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17
This is also corroborated by Matthew 17:5 which says, While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Live to please God with your life.
Beloved, endeavour to answer the following questions objectively: Who is your life giving pleasure to, God, yourself or the devil? What you do with money, who is it giving pleasure to? Can God say that He is pleased with your life based on the way you are living? Can God say He is happy with you? Someone is happy with the way you dress or appear, who is that person, God or the devil?
Now, why is it necessary to live to please God? Revelations 4:11 says, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
You are to exist to please God because you were created for His pleasure. So, you cannot say, “I can dress the way I please. I will live the way I want”. No! You don’t have the license to live the way you want.
If God created you for His pleasure and you don’t live in this world for His pleasure, how will you end in eternity? You cannot live with God in eternity if you don’t live for Him on the earth.
So, live to please God with your life, not the devil, society or yourself.
Remember this: You cannot live with God in eternity if you cannot live for Him on the earth.
ASSIGNMENTS:
Refuse to live for yourself, the devil, or society.
Make up your mind to live only for God.
PRAYER: O Lord, from today, I refuse to live for myself, the devil or society. I receive the grace to live for You only, Lord, in Jesus’ Name.
FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: LIVING WITH ETERNITY IN VIEW
QUOTE: And if there is anyone that is trusting God for success and breakthrough on earth, a major key to that is to be determined to give God pleasure. Culled from “WHO ARE YOU?” by Dr Paul Enenche.
DAILY READING: Ezekiel 7-9
AMAZING FACT: The chemical compound in the body which causes feelings of ecstasy (phenylethylamine) is also contained in chocolate.
PROPHETIC DECLARATION/WORD: Receive the grace to please God with your life this day in Jesus’ Name.
As a Christian, it is crucial to live with a conscience that is tender and alive. That is living with a conscience that makes you to know when you have done something wrong.
SCRIPTURE: And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence towards God, and towards men. Acts 24:16
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: A living conscience equals a healthy spiritual life.
In our previous studies, we saw two things that constitute readiness and preparedness for eternity with God in heaven. We saw that being born again and living to please God are necessary requirements for eternity with God in heaven.
Today, we shall look at another requirement for guaranteed eternity with God in heaven.
It is living with a clear conscience that is void of offence before God and man.
As a Christian, it is crucial to live with a conscience that is tender and alive. That is living with a conscience that makes you to know when you have done something wrong. It is a conscience that has the ability and maturity to say “sorry” to both God and man when you have done the wrong thing.
Acts 24:16 says, And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence towards God, and towards men.
Do you know that even unbelievers who don’t know God have conscience that can either accuse them or excuse them? Romans 2:14-15 says, For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;).
So, peoples’ conscience either accuses or excuses them, even though they are not born again or go to church.
There is nobody who kills a person and does not know that he has done a wrong thing. Nobody needs to go to church to know that stealing is wrong.
When you conspire against someone, there is a conscience to hold you accountable. This conscience becomes more active and lively when you become a Christian.
1 Timothy 1:19 says, Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:
That is to say, when you throw your faith and conscience away, you make a shipwreck of your destiny. When you walk contrary to your conscience you make a shipwreck of your destiny.
It was Rev. Samuel Wesley who told his son, John Wesley, “The inward witness, the conscience, that is the greatest sign of Christianity”. Let me put it this way: A living conscience equals a healthy spiritual life.
Beloved, ensure that your conscience is alive and tender always.
Remember this: A living conscience equals a healthy spiritual life.
ASSIGNMENTS:
Ensure that your conscience is alive and active always.
Don’t do anything that will kill your conscience.
Repent promptly when your conscience accuses you.
PRAYER: O Lord, I ask that You give me a lively, active and tender conscience. Help me not to engage in anything that will desensitize or kill my conscience, Lord in Jesus’ Name.
FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING, GET THIS MESSAGE: LIVING WITH ETERNITY IN VIEW
QUOTE: Anything that attacks your conscience, attacks your preservation. Anything that reduces your confidence in God (which sin will do), also reduces your security from God. Culled from “15 KINGDOM STRATEGIES FOR SURVIVAL” by Dr Paul Enenche.
DAILY READING: Ezekiel 10-12
AMAZING FACT: The human heart pumps blood at such pressure that it would be able to raise blood up to the fourth floor of a building.
PROPHETIC DECLARATION/WORD: Grace to maintain a pure, clear and lively conscience be released on you in Jesus’ Name.
And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.(Genesis 2:20)
Whatever God has not given you, there will be no tenable excuse to God for either having or using it. You better be careful of how you gather! All you need to have in life should be what God has given you. Mind you, there is nothing you really need in life that God won’t give you. If you haven’t had it, it may be that the time you really need it is not yet ripe. All things being equal, when the time is ripe, your needs would be provided by God. We have been told to believe God according to Philippians 4:19 which says, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Do you need anything, please don’t be too desperate to get it. Desperation has always been one of the ways that devil uses to manipulate people to claim what God is not freely giving them. Don’t be too desperate in life! If David was too desperate about becoming a king, he would have killed Saul at the slightest opportunity he had, but mind you, his time to become a king had not ripe and so he wasn’t desperate about becoming a king. There are times that desperation can make you appear before your time and when that happens, you will be held responsible for whatever calamity you expose yourself to. Hear me! To every exposure that God orchestrates, there is a level of equivalent armour. God won’t expose you to any breakthrough without first equiping you equivalently. There are different arrows that are designed for every level of glory and if God has neither trained nor equip you enough to handle such fiery darts, He won’t allow you to manifest. Only desperation can allow you break God’s protocol of timely manifestation. Therefore, don’t be too desperate in life! Be patient with God and with life. Don’t let the devil motivate you. He is a professional motivational speaker! He often uses the word of God to motivate anyone against his or her time. Don’t allow any motivational devil push you against time. Devil may tell you to be desperate like Jacob! He may even go as far as quoting for you a desperate language that Jacob made in Genesis 32:26 “And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” Yes, it is good to hold on to God, but that is different from being desperate. You see, every act of desperation always end up in a deficiency like what is written in Genesis 32:25 “And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.” Desperation can damage you before that which you are anticipating even comes. You must discern your appropriate time before becoming too desperate about anything. Now, why am I saying all these? It is to cause you to understand the intent of what is written in Genesis 2:20 which says, “And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.”
You see, God’s time is the best. If you settle this in your mind, you will have rest. You must understand that, with God, your time cannot pass. You must believe that God have you in mind as long as you are in His presence doing whatever He bids you. If you are busy for God, most especially in His presence, desperation will not be what would get anything that you need from God for you. Without being desperate, God will give you your need when He is through. Now, see Adam as an example; he was busy giving names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field, but mind you, for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. You know why? With God, everything is turn by turn! It was not yet the turn of Adam’s help-meet. And as you know, God always give the best at the last. That is the principle He followed in Matthew 20:8-12 “So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, BEGINNING FROM THE LAST UNTO THE FIRST. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the good man of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.” You see how favour brought the last to the front! Don’t be too in a hurry when God has not answered you, it may be that God wants to favour you. Thank God Adam didn’t relapse in his duty of giving names to all animals even when God had not given him his own partner. He would have been trapped in the danger of desperation if he had done that. Hear me! It is not that Adam didn’t know that there was not a help meet for him among those animals that God was creating two by two, yet, he was still patient. He saw that he was the only one that God had not created a partner for. He knew that there had not been a female gender created for him, yet, he maintained his rest, believing God’s time is the best. And when God finished with the animals, lo and behold, his time came. May you not leave in desperation before your time comes! Now, do you care to know where I want to point your attention to that made me go roundel? It is that, God knows that none of those animals He created was meant for Adam and even Adam knew. And since Adam knew that those animals were not created for him, he did not also expect God to give any of them to him as his partner. Hear me! God has never given any animal to man as partner, therefore, He says this in Leviticus 18:23 “Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.” Hear me! Confusion is a manifestation of abomination. Anyone you see committing bestiality is in a confused state. Everything is in confusion about such a fellow! Whatever God is not giving you would end you up in a state of defilement and abomination. Beginning from Adam, God has not given any man an animal as sex partner and He will never give anyone. Therefore, anyone who takes what God has not given him for use has committed abomination. Bestiality is an abomination that defiles, simply because God has not given animals to man to lie with. If anyone does it, such a fellow would end up in a state of confusion; he will be defiled and be tagged abominable. God bless you.
Prayer: Oh God my Father, may I never be too desperate to get whatever is not in your mind for me, in Jesus name.
I received an email from someone who is struggling with some decisions that have not worked out the way they expected. The details don’t matter except to say that the person took what seemed to be a step of faith and the result has been a great big mess.
“What did I do wrong?”
That’s a natural question to ask when life rewards your courage with nothing but trouble. The truth is, it’s entirely possible that this person did nothing wrong. Or maybe they did, but their current troubles are not proof that they were wrong in the first place.
That’s a hard truth to accept, especially when you’re the one in the middle of the mess, after you’ve done what you thought was the will of God. There are a lot of things that might be said at this point, but perhaps this one needs to be mentioned first.
Join the club.
What club is that? The International Fellowship of Faith-Walkers Who Feel Like Failures. The bad new is, we’re all a member of that club at one time or another. The good news is the membership includes every major Bible hero. Peter is a charter member. And so is David. And Gideon. And Noah. And Sarah. And Job. And Jacob.
The list goes on and on. Hebrews 11 offers us a long list of men and women who obeyed God even when things didn’t always work out they way they expected. The names written there are like a biblical hall of fame: Abel . . . Enoch . . . Noah . . . Abraham . . . Sarah . . . Jacob . . . Joseph . . . Moses . . . Joshua . . . David. Different people, different stories, widely separated in time and space. Stories that span thousands of years. Stories that encompass murder, natural catastrophe, family treachery, physical weakness, failed dreams, missed opportunities, sibling rivalry, and military conquest. The men and women whose stories are told in this particular chapter differ in every way but one. What they did, they did by faith.
All of them had moments when they must have wondered, “What did I do wrong?” Yet God considered each of them worthy of mention in this great chapter. Our focus in this message is on the man we often call “Father Abraham.” In the Bible he stands as the preeminent example of a man who lived by faith. Hebrews 11:8-10 tells how he obeyed God’s call at great personal sacrifice. It tells us what he did; more importantly, it tells us why he did it. And it clearly shows us that obeying God doesn’t always work out the way we think it will.
Let’s begin with some brief facts about Abraham. When we meet him in the Bible, he is living 4,000 years ago in a far-off place called Ur of the Chaldees – on the banks of the Euphrates River, not far from the mouth of the Persian Gulf. No doubt he and his wife Sarah worshiped the moon-god Sin. He is a prosperous, middle-aged man, successful by any human standard. Life has been good to Abraham and Sarah. Certainly they have no reason to complain.
It is at precisely this moment that God speaks to him – clearly, definitely, unmistakably. What God says will change his life – and ultimately alter the course of world history.
So what does it mean to live by faith in an uncertain world?
Truth #1: Living by faith means accepting God’s call without knowing where it will lead.
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). There is only one way to describe Ur of the Chaldees. It was a world-class city. Archaeologists tell us that in Abraham’s day perhaps 250,000 people lived there. It was a center of mathematics, astronomy, commerce and philosophy. People from outlying areas moved to Ur because they wanted to be part of that great city.
No doubt many of Abraham’s friends thought he was crazy. Why would anyone want to leave Ur? Obeying God’s call meant giving up his friends, his career, his traditions, his home, his position, his influence, and his country. More than that, it meant risking his health and his future on a vague promise from an unseen God to lead him to “a land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1).
When Abraham left Ur, he burned his bridges behind him. For him there could be no turning back. Once he left the walls of Ur, he was on his own, following God’s call into the unknown.
You say, “He gave all that up?” “Yes.” “That’s kind of strange, isn’t it?” “Is it?”
Please don’t miss the point. When God calls, there are no guarantees about tomorrow. Abraham truly didn’t know where he was going, didn’t know how he would get there, didn’t know how long it would take, and didn’t even know for sure how he would know he was there when he got there. All he knew was that God had called him. Period. Everything else was up in the air.
You want a long life? So do I. You want to rise in your profession? So do I. You want lots of friends? So do I. You want to grow old and die with your family around you? So do I.
There’s nothing wrong with those desires. All of us feel that way. But living by faith means no guarantees and no certainty about the future.
I was once approached by a Christian ministry asking if I would consider a particular position in their organization. I met the people, liked them very much, and was very impressed by what they were doing. As I investigated further, I found that they take very good care of the people who work for them. I liked everything I learned about the people and their ministry. But when the moment came, I decided to say no. This isn’t how I put it to them, but it’s how I said it to myself.
I couldn’t hear the bells ringing.
You either understand that or you don’t. If you don’t, there isn’t much I can say that will be helpful. And if you do, there isn’t any explanation that is needed. But I will add this much. All of us come to moments in life when we say yes or no to certain opportunities simply because it’s the right thing to do at the time. Sometimes we take a job because we need to pay bills and take care of our family. It’s hard to get more basic than that. And young people take jobs in various places as they are building their careers. I just read an article that suggests that the average worker in the US may have as many as 10 jobs by the time he is 40 and will make 3-5 career changes by the time he retires. People make moves and change jobs and relocate and start over again for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes you are forced to make decisions for reasons beyond your control. In these tough economic times, people scramble to take whatever jobs they can find. But there are moments in life when you have a choice, a decision, and you can stay where you are or you can do something different. I don’t know of any failsafe way to know in advance how things will work out.
Abraham heard the bells ringing (not literally – that’s a symbol for a sense of God’s calling), and so he left Ur of the Chaldees. If you truly want to do God’s will, sometimes you will find yourself exactly where Abraham was – setting out on a new journey that doesn’t seem to make sense from the world’s point of view. How would he ever explain his decision to leave the comfort of Ur for the uncertainty of a long trek across the desert? The only certainty he had was that God had called him and he must obey. The rest was shrouded in mystery. That fact makes his obedience all the more impressive. The NIV version of Hebrews 11:8 says he “obeyed and went.” There was no greater miracle in his life than that. Everything else that happened flowed from this basic decision. God called; he obeyed. That truth was the secret of his life. He stepped out in faith even though there were no guarantees about his own personal future.
Let me put it another way. Living by faith means stepping out for God and leaving the results to him. It’s no guarantee of long life and good success. You may have those blessings. But you may not.
The life of faith means, “I am going to be the man or woman God wants me to be, no matter where it leads. I don’t know the future, but I’m trusting him to work out the details. In the meantime, I step out by faith and follow where he leads me.”
That brings us to the second great truth about living by faith.
Truth #2: Living by faith means waiting on God to keep his promises.
“By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.” (Hebrews 11:9). There is within all of us a natural desire to settle down. The older I get, the less I like to move. I value coming home to the same place and the same faces every day. Several years ago we moved from Oak Park, Illinois to Tupelo, Mississippi. As we were packing, our home was filled with boxes waiting to be loaded on the moving truck. It was unsettling to look at bare walls that only a few days before were covered with familiar pictures. Suddenly that home looked less like a home and more like a building where we used to live in some distant past. Now run the clock forward 18 months. When we came back to Oak Park for a visit, we drove past our old home on Wesley Avenue. I had a strange sensation, as if I remembered living there in the distant past. It looked the same but it didn’t feel like home to me at all.
There is a certain rootlessness about our life at this point that is instructive. Now that our boys are in their twenties, they are going in all directions at once. Four years ago our oldest son left to teach English in China. He came back and another son went to China. That son came back and another son left for China. Josh met Leah, they got married and went to China for a year. Mark met Vanessa when they served on the same team in China. After they came back to the States, they got married. When Josh and Leah returned to the States two weeks ago, it was the first time in four years that we haven’t had a son in China. Two years ago our family was together for a total of three days. Last year I think we were all together for about five days. This year we will all be together for three or four days. That’s the way life is – and will be for the foreseeable future. It has hit me that home is a matter of the heart, a moving target, not so much a place as being with the people you love the most. Wherever they are – in the U.S. or in China or anywhere else – is home in the truest sense.
The rootlessness I spoke about can leave you with a vague sense of uneasiness, of trying to figure out where you belong. Multiply that feeling by a factor of 100 and spread it out over fifty years and you approximate Abraham’s situation as he came to the Promised Land. Our text tells us that he lived in tents. I know lots of people who like to camp on vacation, but I don’t know anyone who voluntarily lives in a tent as a permanent residence. Tents speak of impermanence, of the possibility of moving on at any moment, of the fact that you live on land you do not personally own.
That’s Abraham. He didn’t own anything in the Promised Land. God had promised to give him the land; yet he lived like a stranger in a foreign country. If you don’t own the land, you can’t build a permanent dwelling there.
In many ways this is even more remarkable than leaving Ur in the first place. As long as he was traveling across the desert, he could dream about the future. But when he got to Canaan, all illusions disappeared. Think of what he didn’t find:
No “Welcome, Abraham” sign.
No discount coupons from the merchants.
No housewarming party.
No visit from the Welcome Wagon.
No mayor with the key to the city.
No band playing “Happy Days Are Here Again.”
No ticker-tape parade.
Nobody expected him. Nobody cared that he had come. Nobody gave him anything.
God had promised him the land . . . but he had to scratch out an existence in tents. Hundreds of years would pass before the promise was completely fulfilled. Abraham never saw it happen. Neither did Isaac or Jacob.
Was Abraham in the will of God? Yes. Was he right to leave Ur? Yes. Was he doing what God wanted him to do? Yes. Why, then, was he living in tents? Because God’s timetable is not the same as ours. He’s not in a big hurry like we are. God works across the generations to accomplish his purposes; we’re worried about which dress or shirt to buy for the big party this weekend. There is a big difference in those two perspectives.
A third principle at work in Abraham’s life is the ultimate key to the life of faith.
Truth #3: Living by faith means never taking your eyes off heaven.
“For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:10). As I have mediated on this verse, it hit me that there is a certain amount of disappointment built into the life of faith. Sometimes we think, “If I follow God’s call, everything will work out and I’ll be happy all the time.” As Dr. Phil likes to say, let me know how that works out for you. By saying that Abraham was “looking forward” to a city, it really means that he never found what he was looking for in this life. This world comes with a huge helping of frustration built into the core of everything. Just recently I read about a certain baseball manager who led his team to a World Series championship. It was a happy moment, the apex of his career, the proof that he had finally arrived, that he was a success and the best in the world at that moment. The next morning as he went outside to pick up the paper, he thought to himself, “Is that all there is?” The answer is yes, that’s all there is. It’s the same way with everything we do and everything we accomplish.
We live, we die, we buy a house, we sell a house, someone moves in where we once lived. We take a job, we leave a job, someone else takes the job we used to have. And if we are fortunate enough to have a corner office with an incredible view, we should remember that someone else had it before us and someone else will have it after us. If this moment is golden for you, enjoy it but don’t grasp it too tightly because it won’t last forever.
That’s one part of the life of faith. We never reach full satisfaction in this life. “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?” said Robert Browning. And that brings us to the second part of verse 10. Abraham looked for a city with foundations—that is, for a “city,” not a lonely spot in the desert. He wanted to live in a place filled with other people. He also looked for a city with “foundations,” a place with security and permanence that could not be found in a tent. That meant he was looking for a city designed and built by God. Why? Because all earthly cities eventually crumble to dust.
Not long ago I visited the ruins of the ancient city of Jericho. When most people think of Jericho, they think of the city whose walls came tumbling down in the days of Joshua. But that’s only one Jericho. Archaeologists have discovered layers of Jericho, one after another, the city having been built, destroyed, and rebuilt across the centuries. The same is true of Jerusalem. When you visit Old Jerusalem, you aren’t exactly “walking where Jesus walked.” You are actually walking thirty to seventy-five feet above where Jesus walked. According to one source, Jerusalem has been destroyed and rebuilt at least forty-seven times in the last 3,500 years.
That’s the way it is with all earthly cities. Nothing built by man lasts forever. No wonder Abraham was looking for a city built and designed by God.Revelation 21 describes that city as “the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (v. 2). In his vision John saw a city of breathtaking beauty, shining with the glory of God, “its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal” (v. 11). Christians have always looked to the New Jerusalem as the final abode for the people of God, the place where we will spend eternity together in the presence of the Lord. But note this. Heaven is a city. It’s a real place filled with real people. That’s the city Abraham was looking for when he left Ur of the Chaldees.
Following God’s will doesn’t guarantee worldly success. He had his heart set on heaven, and that explains why he could:
Leave the beautiful city of Ur.
Walk away from his career.
Leave his friends far behind.
Live in tents until the end of his life.
Start all over again in a new land.
Die without seeing all that God had promised.
Abraham knew he was going to heaven, and that changed his whole perspective on life. He knew not just that he was going to die, but that after death he was going to enter a city God had designed and made.
Let me add one final thought from this passage. If you had been a consultant watching Abraham’s life, you would probably say that he committed career suicide when he left Ur of the Chaldees. It didn’t make sense at the time, and frankly, the rest of his life was never a “success” in worldly terms. Hebrews 11:10 says that Abraham was motivated by a vision of something the people around him simply couldn’t grasp. He was looking forward to something they couldn’t see at all. Following God will sometimes lead you to make decisions that those around you simply will not understand. When that happens, all you can do is to explain things as best you can, and then set off to obey God’s call, leaving the results in his hands.
“Died at Twenty-five, Buried at Seventy-five”
Let me ask a personal question: How long do you expect to live? To put it more pointedly, how many more years do you think you have left before someone holds your funeral service? Ten years? Twenty years? Thirty years? Forty years? Fifty years? Sixty years? How much of that time are you sure of? The last question is easy. You’re not sure about any of it. The truth is, you could die tomorrow – or today – from any of a thousand causes. No one knows how long he or she will live or precisely when they will die. There are no guarantees for any of us.
It’s not how long you live that matters, but what you do with the years you are given. Too many people die at age twenty-five but aren’t buried until they are seventy-five. They waste their best years in trivial pursuits, all the while missing out on the excitement of living by faith.
Here is the whole message in one sentence. Following God’s will doesn’t guarantee worldly success. The operative word is worldly. God has one view of success; the world has another. Joshua 1:8 reminds us that those who meditate on God’s Word will be “prosperous and successful.” Psalm 1 contrasts the fool who looks to the wicked for advice with the godly who builds his life on the Word of God. The latter will be like “a tree planted by streams of waters” (v. 3a). God rewards such a man in this way: “In all that he does, he prospers” (v. 3b). But let’s not confuse that with the false notion that doing God’s will leads to a trouble-free life. Abraham lived in tents all his life. He died without receiving all that God had promised to him. In many ways you could say that by leaving Ur, he forfeited any chance at worldly greatness. Never again would he know the stability and settled prosperity that he had in Ur. From the day he left until the day he died, Abraham was a sojourner, a tent-dweller, a man living on land he did not own.
If it’s safety you want and a guarantee of earthly success, then you’ll have to look somewhere else. But if you are willing to follow Jesus, I can promise you that you’ll never be disappointed in him and your life will not be boring.
If you ever decide to make God’s will the great priority of your life, you will discover that it is indeed an incredible journey. Like Abraham of old, your search for God’s will will lead you out of your comfort zone into the exciting arena of living by faith. Along the way, you will discover that you can indeed survive without absolute certainty about what tomorrow will bring. You may even learn to enjoy living on the edge between faith and absolute disaster. In any case, knowing God’s will will cease to be an academic exercise, like doing your homework before going to bed at night. Instead, it will become the most exciting adventure you’ve ever known as you set out into the unknown to follow God wherever he leads you
