SECURING YOUR FUTURE

SECURITY: when we talk of security we are talking of protection against something bad that might happen in the future, such as danger or attack.

What the future holds for you is great, glorious and of inestimable value all round about your life. In fact in the remaining months of this year, God has purposed to do the incredible and formidable things in your life.

For you to experience the reality of all these wonderful things that the future holds for you there are some security measures to be taken and they are as follows:

i) You must be born again. I John 5:11 says “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life and this life is in his son.” You need eternal and physical life which you can only get in Jesus. John 11:26 says “And whoever lives and believes in me will live eternally and not die.” Do you believe this? So you must believe in Jesus so that your future can be secured. Sin can truncate your future. Confess your sins, forsake them and be secured.

ii) Let God be your first consideration in everything you do. Matt.6:33 says: “But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” Let nothing take you away from Him.

iii) The Fear of the Lord. Ps.145:19 says “He fulfils the desires of those who fear him, he hears their cry and save them.” Joseph in Potiphars house because of his fear of the Lord refused to sleep with his master’s wife. He demonstrated this in every phase of his life. He maintained integrity and he earned dignity. His desires were fulfilled and he was saved.

Please bow down your head and pray this prayer with me “Lord Jesus baptize me afresh with the spirit of the fear of the Lord in my private life, public service, relationship with people, my dealings with my family and friends in Jesus name.”

iv) Keep your mouth from speaking evil, smile, don’t mock the word of God rather make positive confessions: change your world with your tongue. Bridle your tongue. Pray with me as you touch your tongue with your right hand “Lord, let my tongue be guided by your Spirit in Jesus’ name.” Zachariah in Luke chapter 1 was dumb because he used his tongue to express unbelief.

v) Be determined to please God. Daniel, the three (3) Hebrew men in Babylon made up their minds to please God and in spite of the persecution which arose, their future was secured.

vi) Giving: give your time, skill, substance, prayer, tithes, offerings, counsel, service, visitation, etc II Corin.9:6-7 says “God loves a cheerful and a bountiful giver.” Your giving especially financially lubricates your tight finances. I see God making you a financial star. Give continuously and progressively. Increase your offerings and by that you are provoking him to increase your income.

vii) Thanksgiving: this perfects your miracles and blessings. You want your blessings, miracles, breakthrough etc to be permanent in the future, then thank Him more than ever before.

viii) Prayer: pray until something glorious happens. Hezekiah secured his health and life back through prayer. Elijah prayed to bring into reality the sound of abundance of rain that he heard.

ix) Render service: serve God willingly and with gladness of heart. You are not a waste pipe; you have something to add to others. At your job side, you are a disguised pastor. Function respectively, win souls, counsel people, guide them etc. Make this important prayer with me “Lord Jesus, I receive the grace to deny myself of today’s pleasure so as to secure my future in Jesus name.”

x) Holiness: I Peter 1:15-16 says “God is holy and we too need to be holy”. Holiness brings obedience, submission and fear of the Lord.

As you will embrace these security measures, every assault against your future will be quenched and terminated in Jesus name. I prophesy by the Spirit of the Lord and in the name of Jesus Christ that your future (Immediate, Long-term and ultimate) will be secured. You will forever eat the good of the Land. We are eagerly waiting for your testimonies.

God bless you.

A/Pastor Bamikole Margaret.

TOPIC: SACRIFICE
(CONTINUATION)

1. Be a peacemaker and not a troublemaker

· Matt.5:9 says “Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God” The Prince of Peace has given you peace. Let this peace flow in all your relationships.

Some couples complain: we are not compatible; we can’t get along, we’re so different. There is a marked contrast between us. As far as God is concerned, Incompatibility is not a problem. It’s a solution. God may have put you together so that your strengths can make up for your partner’s weaknesses and his or her strengths can make up for yours. In that way, you complement each other. In other words, you should complete each other, rather than compete with each other.

· Find out the likes/dislikes of your partner. Don’t allow his or her weaknesses to introduce conflict in your relationship-for example:- your darling husband is the type who uses the water system toilet without flushing it. You have told him a 1000times to flush it but to no avail. Sisters! Don’t grumble! Don’t rebuke him! Don’t make much ado about nothing! Continue to flush the toilet and be the peacemaker in the family. II Timothy 2:22 says “...but follow... peace, with them that call on the Lord...”

When you decide to be the peacemaker and go the extra mile to keep quarrelling out of your home, you’re sowing a seed for God to do a work in that other person especially if you do it prayerfully. You can’t change people, only God can.

· I challenge you to go and negotiate peace in all your relationships today. Don’t wait for somebody else or a third party to be the peacemaker in your relationships. Take the initiative to initiate peace. You may say “but I always say I am sorry. Let him say it too. I am tired of saying I am sorry” please, don’t get tired. These three simple words “I am sorry” will bring peace in your relationship and keep you together.

In Genesis chapter 13, it is written that Abraham moved to a new land with his nephew Lot. The Bible unequivocally states that the land was small to contain both of them so Lot’s herdsmen began to get into strife with Abraham’s herdsmen. Abraham knew that if that conflict continued, it will inevitably affect his relationship with Lot, as well and disrupt the peace in their family. To avoid strife and bring peace, Abraham willingly allowed Lot to choose the best piece of land.

Sometimes, no matter how much it hurts, you may have to let the other person do it his or her way just to avoid unnecessary conflict. Because Abraham rejected strife and embraced peace, God honoured him by prospering his work. If you’ll purpose in your mind to maintain peace, the God of peace will bless you with abundance.

Avoid strife in all your relationships because it opens the door to diverse problems. Give up your right to be right and you will be blessed. To bring in peace, you have to sacrifice for peace like Abraham. You have to sow peace.

2. Have a forgiving spirit.

Matt.6:14 says “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” Even though God has given us a condition that we should forgive others then, He’ll equally forgive us, some of us are bearing grudges with people. In (Rom.12:18) it is written: “if it be possible as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men” i.e., go to that person and make things right while you still have the opportunity.

- Sacrifice or swallow your pride and apologise even if it wasn’t your fault

- Sacrifice your pride on the altar of peace

3. Encouraging people always

Paul sacrificed his time to write letters of encouragement to Timothy. Instead of being critical about people and focusing on their bad habits, encourage them;

- Show them genuine concern and see beyond their actions; see the potential on their inside and always do good to them. Every where Jesus went, He did good. Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus Christ of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him”

Song: Every where he went, he was doing good.

Everywhere He went, He was doing good Almighty healer; He healed the leper when the cripples saw Him, they started walking everywhere He went-Jesus was doing good.

During Pastor E.A. Adeboye’s visit to Cameroon, he said Cameroon will be won to Jesus through signs and wonders. If you’re not doing good to people, God will not be able to work signs and wonders in their lives. Jesus was constantly moved with compassion for people. His diverse healings testify of His goodness.

· Everybody you encourage can automatically become your Timothy because he will never forget that encouragement.

5. Be a radical sower/ giver and not a receiver

Always sow in your relationships be it spiritually, physically or material things, the Word of God, gifts e.g. Dorcas. Acts 9:36-39

6. Evangelism

We need to evangelise not with our words but with our actions. Don’t tell people: Jesus loves you! Show them love. Sacrifice your time, money and all you can offer. In that way, you will be showing them Jesus and telling them Jesus loves them. Matt.5:35-36. Jesus said “for I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in. V36 naked and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came unto me.

7. Be full of complements

The husband in Proverbs 31 is a classical example of someone who is full of complements. Grab the opportunity to sow a complement in the lives of the people you meet and interact with. In the parable of the Ten talents (Matt.25:14-30) the master said: well done, good and faithful servant. Husbands, sow compliments in the lives of your wives: when she prepares a delicious meal, tell her:

Husbands, complement your wives

· The lunch was delicious.

As she is going out, tell her:

· The perfume you are wearing smells good

· Your hair do is fantastic.

As she hugs you, tell her:

· Your touch is magnetic.

As she charts with you, tell her:

· Your words always move me

Darl, Your look is so powerful

· No matter the faults

· No matter the wrongs

· No matter the Heartaches

· No matter the Poverty

· No matter the Sickness

· No matter the Failures

· No matter the demonic oppressions and repressions and depressions, complements will change the situation. It shall be well with you

Conclusion: David had the option of getting something free to offer to the Lord but he said I will not offer to my God something that cost me nothing. For every sacrifice, there is a cost attached to it, but such cost is an investment that brings great and exceedingly great reward.

Be determined to pay the sacrifice to better the life of others and the almighty God will ensure that your own life is refreshed and changed for the better;

May the Prince and King of Peace permanently reign in your life and domain forever. Amen.

Shalom,

Deaconess Doreen Tanyi T

TOPIC: SACRIFICE

TEXT/ BIBLE READING: I CORINTHIANS 13:1-8

The word sacrifice means to give up something that is valuable to you in order to help another person. In the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament (O.T.) the priest made sacrifices for one person, a family and an entire nation just to maintain the people in their relationship with God. Today, God has made His children kings and priests through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. This sacrifice of Jesus is called the sacrifice of love.

David made lots of sacrifices for his nation – He killed Goliath and saved his nation from destruction. His personal relationship with Jonathan was a sacrificial one. When David had problems with Saul and ran into a cave, people looked for him and made him their king. It was not only the anointing on him but the sacrifice he made for the people that made them to look for him and make him their leader. The anointing you carry is for sacrifice. It’s not to dominate, it’s not to lord it over.

Leadership is for sacrifice. If you are in the sanitation department where you sweep and clean the church; you’re still a leader, everybody is a leader in a way. You’re first of all a leader to yourself and then a leader to the people. If David could not lead himself, he wouldn’t kill Goliath. He made lots of sacrifice.

· Love is sacrifice; which could be expressed through your money, time, material things, wealth, your services, etc. Paul says you’ve not loved to the extent of shedding your blood. Only Jesus Christ did that on the cross for everybody. Because he made this unique sacrifice once and for all for us, we need to sacrifice in our relationships with God and with man.

HOW DO WE SACRIFICE IN OUR RELATIONSHIPS?

1. Love people despite their faults. We must accept or admit the fact that every person has shortcomings. We all have weaknesses: Moses’ weakness was anger, Samson and Solomon- the love of strange women, David-lust, Gideon-fear, Isaiah-unclean lips.

· It will be unrealistic for us to expect people to be faultless or perfect overnight. In all our relationships: with God, with our brethren, our spouses, children, family members, friends and others within our society, love is the dominant and controlling factor not you; but love. In Apostle Paul’s timeless masterpiece of love in I Corinthians 13; love makes allowances for the weaknesses of people i.e. it covers a multitude of faults. If you can face your faults and those of your friends with transparency, you’ll stop demanding perfection out of them at all times.

· Love is medicine in any relationship. Prov.17:22 says “A merry heart does good like a medicine.” It does many things:

i) It covers a fault: let me share this testimony with you “one of my sisters visited me yesterday. She said her husband’s boss stripped him of his duty post. She was unhappy and murmured. Somehow the husband’s boss was informed of her behaviour. The man called her husband and said, “I’ve been told your wife complained because I took the duty post from you.” Her husband gazed at his boss and said “leave my wife alone. She’s very quiet. She does not socialise with her colleagues” this husband covered his wife’s fault in the public. I Corinthians 13:5 say that love “…keeps no record of evil” some of us claim we love our spouses, parents, friends, relatives but we don’t. Why? We keep records of wrongs. Some of us even have record books of wrongs. Even when people apologise for their wrong doings, we recall past events: 5 months ago or last year, you hurt me, now; you’ve hurt me again.

- Please if you have such a negative record book, destroy it. It doesn’t pay to stir up dirt from the past.

- I’m now addressing housewives and women in general who usually bring pain from the past and this causes strife in the present. Some women usually say “But I’m the one who is right!” Agreed. What do you- want?

- Do you want to be right or do you want to have peace in your home?

- Do you want to have your way or do you want to have a healthy relationship?

- It’s unfortunate, we can’t have both.

- It’s important not to keep score of offences/wrongs in all our relationships especially with God and in marriage i.e. don’t keep records of wrongs with your pastor and your brethren in Christ.

I Corinthians 13:8 says “love never fails”. Humanly speaking, love may sometimes appear to fail but it always emerges victorious at the end. For love to fail, God has to fail. Because my God never fails, God cannot fail. Love cannot and never fails because God is love. Jesus Christ didn’t focus on the weaknesses of people: His disciple Peter had many rough edges:

· He was carnal;

· He was hot tempered (wanted to cut off somebody’s ear);

· He denied his master Jesus three times before a teenage girl;

· He spoke before he thought;

· He was optimistic about Jesus being a leader on earth.

· He definitely saw himself as the spokesman of an earthly president. But when the Holy Ghost came upon him, He broke him down and he became spiritual.

- Remember Jesus Christ did not criticize Peter. He gave him a new name Cephas which means ‘a rock’. Are you ready to sacrifice to preach the good news of Jesus to people?

If you were blessed, please tune in for the continuation in the next edition

God bless you, we love you

Shalom,

Deaconess Doreen Tanyi T

I AM CREATED FOR THE PALACE

Beloved, you have been created and saved for royalty. As you enter into the last three months of this year, please, walk in the consciousness of this. (I Peter 2:9-10)

David was a child of destiny created for the palace. The reason being that at an early age, he developed a heart and desire for God his spiritual Shepherd and that was the primary reason why he was chosen as a king. As you will develop a heart and desire for God in this season, you will be sought after. (I Sam.16:11-13). You will attract the attention of heaven.

Pray with me “It doesn’t matter what the matter is, I will matter when it matters most in Jesus name.”

Joseph is another person that was created for the palace. His beginning/starting point was little but his latter life and days was greater than his starting point, the reason being that he feared the Lord. He received a 24 hours miracle. Fear God in a deeper way and these last three months of the year will be greater for you all round about life than the first –nine months in the name of Jesus. (Genesis chapter 39 to chapter 41).

Daniel in Babylon purposed to please God in his heart and he was lifted. You need to be determined that you will please God always even in a strange land and you will be raised.

Pray with me, Lord Jesus, the grace to do the right thing to move from where I am and get to where I ought to be, Lord, release on me.

Speak this word of faith to yourself seven times and mentioning your name that: you will get to the palace

Esther was meant for the palace and as she rightly positioned herself to the leadership of the Holy Spirit through Mordecai, she got there.

Position yourself rightly and you will get to the palace. See you on top.

God bless you and enter fully into a new lease of life that God is giving you.

Shalom,

A/Pastor Bamikole Margaret