War against Worry I

Text: Matt.6:25-32 

More Lessons: Phil.4:6-7

What you spend your thoughts and minds upon determines what dominates your life. Your thinking determines your experience, your mind is the control panel of your life because according to Pro. 23:7, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.... So there is unquestionably incredible power in the kind of thoughts that you allow in your mind because it determines the direction of your will and ultimately the course of your actions.

Man is naturally programmed to worry about his needs and wants. The wants and needs of man are unending so that the more you have, the more you want to have. The things of this world cannot satisfy and this is why man is unsatiable. And as the needs, wants and desires continue to grow, the worry and anxiety for them also develop roots in man's heart leaving the soul drained and parched from the unsatisfied yearnings.

This force of unending worry becomes the god of man because he is motivated by his worries and not by God's Word. Behavioural scientist and psychologist Abraham Maslow who, after studying the motivations of human behavior (actions) concluded that all human behaviour is driven by the same basic "hierarchy of needs" such as food, drink, clothes, housing, protection, security etc.

Jesus is speaking emphatically in our text about these worries of mankind and how to overcome them. The key word in the passage is …take no thought…. The original Aramaic rendering of that phrase means “to think with anxious distracting solicitude over a matter”. Therefore, it will be a total misunderstanding of the context of the instruction of Jesus to say that we are not to be prudent, careful or even thoughtful in the matters of life and wellbeing. The point is that you must never let your desire distract you from the focus of the Christian life which is the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

God promised that if you re-arrange your priorities to align with God's Kingdom, all the things that people worry about will be yours on a platter of gold because God is able to provide for your needs. You can win the war against worry and anxiety if you will cast all your cares upon the Lord daily. Re-arrange your  priorities today, put God first and watch Him bless you beyond boundaries.

Prayer/Action

* Pray against the spirit of anxiety and worry plaguing your life and receive delieverance.

* Receive the spirit of boldness and courage for fruitful living, in Jesus’ name.

Personalise 1Peter 5:7 and recite it everyday for the next 15 days.

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Don't Give Up on God IV

Text: Psa.30:1-12 

More Lessons: Jer.31:31-34

In our Christian race, there are several instances that by our behaviour, we make God really angry. Sometimes it is so bad you almost conclude that God can never listen to you again. Whenever you feel God is so angry with you for your misbehaviour, remember David' s testimony in Psalm30:5, For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life…, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. I want you to know that if you don't give up, joy will be the end of your pain. In this scripture the Bible says God's anger does not endure forever.

So, even if your affliction or pain came as a result of your sin and God is not happy with you, know this that His anger does not endure forever! So your pain cannot endure forever if you can choose to endure. Anytime the people of God choose to endure pain, the pain doesn't last. I am so excited about verse 5 of our first passage, For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night.... No matter the depth of your weeping, I am excited to tell you that it will endure for a night. It simply means that even your pain is tired and is only enduring. The pain is not even sure of continuing, the Bible says “it may”. So, it is not even all the time that pain has enough strength to stay on. The more strength you attain in the place of faith by refusing to give up, the weaker the satanic forces become in pursuing you. The moment you embrace this truth, in the days of your weakness, God will strengthen you to keep going.

There is this proverb in my place that if a masquerade is pursuing, you don't stop running. Don't even get tired or give up for whatever reason because the way you are running and getting tired the masquerade is also going to get tired. It doesn't matter the intensity and the strength of your affliction, you can win over your affliction. The Bible says it cannot stay forever. Be encouraged never to give up on God because your pain cannot be forever. The Bible says that weeping, which is the consequence of pain and the manifestation of sorrow, may endure only for a night. I want you to accept that all the time you have been under one pain or trouble or affliction is just for a night. Arise in celebration because joy comes in the morning. I see joy coming; I see a new day coming for you. I see a new morning coming your way. If that morning must meet you then you must stay connected to God.

Prayer/Action

* Thank God that no matter the pain, your joy must come in the morning.

* Ask for God's grace to stay connected with Him in your period of pain.

*Pray to focus on the joy that comes in the morning than the pain that endures for a night.

* Decide never to give up on God over that pain till it expires.

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Don't Give Up on God III

Text: Lk.18:1-8

 More Lessons: Gen.32:24-26

Prayer is a solid communion with God through which we give adoration, confession of sin, thanksgiving and supplication. When we put requests before God, it is a wonderful thing to tarry and never give up until we get the answers from Him. We are looking at the example of the woman who tarried in the place of prayer and eventually got an answer.

In our first passage Jesus Himself was teaching about a parable that encourages us to keep praying, And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint v 1. Jesus knew that situations will come our way that will discourage us, that will give us an impression that God is not answering or will never answer us. Jesus knew that there could be hindrances to prayer that could make us feel as if we are not getting what we are looking for, so we look for another way to get what we want. Jesus is mindful of our weaknesses and that is why He teaches us never to give up.

Peradventure you are discouraged and downcast about a matter primarily because you have worked at it several times but it didn't work, don't give up. If you did not see the physical manifestation of your answered prayer while you are praying, is it when you stop praying that you expect the answer? It could be that you have tried praying about it, given all that you know to give, cried, fasted and the answer still didn't come. That's not strange to Heaven, thus Jesus said, …men ought always to pray and not to faint v1, which means it is known to Heaven that men can faint. So when it happens to you it is not a reason why Heaven will not answer you, you only need to stay on. Refuse to faint, it is possible to be discouraged but you must rise beyond the discouragement.

 I trust God will avenge for you today. He will rise up and speak on your behalf. He will answer for you where you cannot enter. The Bible says that this woman came begging the judge, pleading, avenge me of my enemy…and he would not for a while vs 3-4 which means your setbacks are for a while, they won't last forever. Barrenness, lack of job and failure are for a while and none will ever be forever. Refuse to heed the silent or loud voice of Satan that your matter before God is closed or that God will not answer you. Don't give up on God. He will do it.

Prayer/ Action

* Pray for more strength to tarry in the place of prayer.

* Ask God to avenge you of your enemies.

* Promise God that you will never give up until He answers you.

* More than ever before, begin to see the challenges of life as temporary.

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Don't Give Up on God II

Text: Mk. 2:3-4 

More Lessons: Matt.7:7-11

Man is naturally selfish and therefore thinks more about what will bring him comfort before considering others. In this passage, people brought a paralysed man to a service, it took four men to help the paralysed man to come to where Jesus was. When they were coming, people saw the sick man they brought but could not give them space to go in and see Jesus.

All the people gathered there were just concerned about themselves that none of them thought about allowing the man to go in. That they could stand, unlike the paralysed man on the bed, was enough reason to have compassion on him. Unfortunately, compassion is not part of the human nature; that is why a witch has no respect for your condition before she strikes you. She doesn't care how much your parents laboured to keep you in school but she waits till you have graduated and then she begins to feel that you shouldn't have graduated when her own child has not even gone to the university, so she thinks of striking you down.

The natural man is never compassionate to another man who is in a more desperate position. It is only in God that there is mercy and compassion. Man naturally will not give you help; if they help you at all, they are waiting at the other side to remind you how they helped the other time and there must be a return for what help they rendered to you. The people didn't give this man space but the people who brought the man didn't give up, I guess the man himself didn't give up. If you don't give up on God, no matter what wickedness you have seen men do to you, no matter the pain you have been through, no matter what is paralysed about you; God will visit you and end that pain.

The paralysed man was brought to Jesus for solution and when he came, he saw solution in front of him, few meters away but he couldn't enter. Men disallowed him, men hindered him and I want to let you know also that no matter how many things have hindered you in life, if you can stay focused on God, there will be a way out.

When the friends of the paralysed man could not find a way, rather than return home defeated in anger, they devised another means just to get to Jesus. May the Holy Spirit show you the way to reach Jesus by divine speed and get your long awaited attention from God.

Prayer/Action

* Pray that in times that you are incapacitated, God will raise helpers for you.

* Ask God for added grace not to give up until your miracle manifests to the physical.

* Pray against any man-made barrier standing between you and God.

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