Faith Is… I
‘Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see’ Heb.11:1.
Faith is being confident even when I am yet to possess the promise. ‘Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see’ Heb.11:1 [NIV]. If God’s promise to you is of a future partner for instance, faith is being confident that you are going to be married. So it is going to affect how you carry yourself. Carrying yourself with the air of self-pity is definitely not faith. Faith is carrying yourself with confidence knowing that God will bless the man that eventually marries you [who receives this package]. That is Read the rest of this entry
By Faith!
‘By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight’ Heb.11:33-34
Everything we do as believers is by faith. Laying on of hands, giving, even fellowship with God are all by faith [Heb.11:5]. Take water baptism for example. It is by faith we obey Jesus and get baptized by immersion. Baptism cannot make logical sense. Yet everyone that has been baptized by faith has a testimony of life change. The life change you experience does not happen as a result of the baptismal classes rather it occurs as a result of your faith in Jesus expressed through the act of baptism. During one of my visits to my sister, I Read the rest of this entry
The Pleasing Factor
‘Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him’ Heb.10:38
God is a rewarder. God said to Israel ‘I have not told you to seek Me in vain’. There are certain things you should expect in seasons of great sacrifice and as you step out in faith. You should expect a miracle because God is a rewarder. So everyone that comes to God must first and foremost believe that He is – that God exists. As you approach God when He beckons on you to step out into the water, you must believe that God is. As God challenges you to sow a seed, you must believe that God is. Not just that He is but that He is a rewarder Read the rest of this entry
Pleasing God!
‘But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him’ Heb.11:6 [NKJV].
‘Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged!’ Deut.1:21. God knows that if you look at the land or you assess what is required to possess the land through your own eyes, two things can happen. You could either be afraid or you could be discouraged. Yet God is saying ‘don’t be afraid!’ You need to say this to yourself everyday especially in the season of sacrifice!
Expect God To Multiply
‘Jesus took the five loaves and two fish… and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples… and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish’ Mark 6:41&43
The final thing we have to do to prepare for a miracle is expect God to multiply it. We must expect God to multiply our sacrificial seed – we must expect a miracle. So when you give what you are giving, expect a two-fold miracle. Firstly, expect a miracle for us as a church based on your lunch box – on your seed. Secondly, expect a miracle for yourself, for the land that you are believing God for. Like we said previously, land for you could represent fruitfulness, business, health, or education. Expect multiplication in the area you desire Read the rest of this entry
God Speaks Through Stories
‘Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables’ Matt.13:34
The benchmark for sacrifice is not the value of the money you have given. Rather it is what you have to give up in order to give that amount of money. At the beginning of the year 2012 I struggled with paying my first fruit. Well this might surprise some of you because I occupy the office of a pastor. But the truth is that pastors too struggle with giving especially when they have bills that are high. Well a lady walked into my office, gave me her first fruit, and told me the sacrifice she went through to give that money. And I knew that God Read the rest of this entry
Equal Sacrifice; Not Equal Giving
‘Both men and women came, all whose hearts were willing. They brought to the Lord their offerings of gold—brooches, earrings, rings from their fingers, and necklaces. They presented gold objects of every kind as a special offering to the Lord’ Ex.35:22.
For some a financial sacrifice would mean ten thousand naira. For some other it would mean ten million naira. And for some still it would mean a hundred million naira. In my opinion, the people who usually miss it the most are the people whose sacrifice is ten thousand naira because they usually believe they do not have enough to give. When the Lord drops things in my heart that I do not understand, I ruminate over it in His presence. Equal sacrifice but not equal giving was one of such themes I had to ruminate on before Read the rest of this entry
Sacrificial Seed
‘Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions’ Mark 12:42-43.
The third thing you have to do to prepare for a miracle is give God your sacrificial seed. The owners of the donkey could have said ‘who is the Lord that I should obey Him’. The widow of Zarephath could have asked the same question after all it was her own food. ‘Who is the Lord, is He the one that provided it? If He is God why did He have to make us suffer?’ And the little boy could in his childish attitude say ‘who is Jesus that I should give him my lunch box?’
Un-communicated Demands II
‘For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: there will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!’ 1Kings 17:14.
The story is told of a church that was raising funds for their land. They had a member who was on welfare and so they did not want to ask her for anything. Yet the pastor understood that it is God’s work so he decided to approach her for a contribution. After all, if all she gave was a dollar God will bless her for it. When he asked the woman, she said she had been waiting to see if anyone would ask her to sow. So she told the pastor to wait and she went home and brought shares of IBM worth up to nine million dollars. She said she has Read the rest of this entry
Un-communicated Demands I
‘Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you’ 1Kings 17:9
Sometimes God does what I choose to call un-communicated demands of heaven. Take note because in your walk with God you will encounter this. There are certain things that heaven is demanding for from you now that heaven has not even communicated to you. In other words, you are totally unaware of these things. In my walk with God, I keep checking for the things that God requires of me and I have not even discerned that God requires them of me? In 1 Kings 17:1-16, God said to Elijah the brook Cherith has dried up, leave Read the rest of this entry
