The Privilege of Service

Thursday 28 January
READ: 1 Tim 1:12
MORE LESSON: Num. 16: 9

It is necessary to know that serving God is an opportunity. It should not be taken for granted. It is a person without understanding that thinks he is doing God a favour by making himself available to serve in His vineyard.

The highest purpose of man is to give God pleasure (Rev 4: 11). The greatest achievement a man can have is to bear fruits for the Master. So when you are called upon to serve in the house of God, do it with a sense of reverence and gratitude. It is a great privilege. This is the same mind with which you should bring your offerings and gifts to the Lord. As it is written in His Word, If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof: Psa 50:12. It is not because God is in need that He asks for offerings and tithes from man; it is because He wants to increase you. It is a great honour and privilege to be called upon by the Creator of Heaven and earth to give to Him.

When a man looks at his past and abilities, he will realise that it is sheer grace that enables you to stand before God, let alone work for Him. This is the understanding Apostle Paul had that made him say, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the 
ministry: I Tim 1: 12. This is the attitude with which I do the privileged assignments He has given me as well. I am very grateful today that I am a pastor. I used to be a rascal, but today I am a radical for Jesus. Many people have done great things, but my greatness is in knowing Jesus. I do not count serving God as a sacrifice but as a privilege; no matter what I have to forgo or undergo to fulfil the ministry, it doesn't matter. I know that it is a rare privilege to be a servant in the vineyard of God. It is a great honour to be appointed a mouthpiece for the Almighty.

In the same way, you may or may not be in full time ministry but whatever you are doing for God, know that it is a great privilege and so do it with full reverence and gratitude to Him. Don't let people have to coax or coerce you before you give all to serving in the Church of God. Don't see giving to God as a burden. It is because God has given you the privilege of being alive that you can serve. Also it is because He has given you the body, health, resources and all you need that you can serve Him. So see it as a privilege and reciprocate by giving your all.

Prayer/Action
* Thank You Lord for the privilege You have given me to serve in Your house.
* Lord, don't let me be idle in the Kingdom business, in Jesus’ name.
* I shall not be slothful in business but be fervent in the spirit serving the Lord, in Jesus’ name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Repeat the anointing and declare your body and destiny a no parking zone for sickness and affliction in 2016 in the name of Jesus.

The Place of His Altar

Wednesday 27 January
READ: Deut. 12:5-7
MORE LESSON: Gen 33: 20

There is the mystery of place and location concerning how God answers prayers. We know that God is everywhere and can hear prayers anywhere but there are specific places where the Lord has chosen to put His name. It is wisdom to come physically to the place that the Lord has chosen and call upon Him there. Some people believe that they don't need to come to church; they believe that God is present in their bedroom as well and they can do all the fellowship they want with God alone in there. But in scriptures, you hear men say, 'The God of so and so, the God who encountered me at so and so, the God of Bethel . . .' It is absolutely scriptural that God puts His name on some people and places and when you connect with such people and places, you get things easily and cheaply from God. When you have not got to the place God has chosen to do His work you will struggle in other places. The Bible makes it clear, But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: Deut 12: 5.

I know of a couple who had been praying for a baby, then one day they got a revelation. The man then took his wife and they came to the altar in church; they rolled on the altar and prayed, and the Lord answered them. There are a thousand and one cases like that; it is not because of the man of God but because God is always pleased to choose the place of His altar. When the Lord chooses a place, that place becomes the altar of the Lord: the access point to Heaven. Do yourself good to go to where God has chosen. People don't come to the altar to pray to the pastor; they pray to the God that he serves.

And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes and and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: v 6. It is to the place where the Lord has chosen that you are to bring your offerings. Bring your offerings and your tithes to the altar. Many people in church run into crisis because they do not understand the power of the altar. There is a blessing that God has put in His altar for you, And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee: v 7.

Prayer/Action
* I repent of all complacency in coming to church, in Jesus’ name.
* Lord, grant me joy each time I approach Your house, in Jesus’ name.
* Lord, bless me as I go to Your house today, in Jesus’ name.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Anoint yourself again and prophesy “ The days, weeks and months of 2016 shall be for my advancement in every way in the name of Jesus

Your Right of Way

Tuesday 26 January
READ: John 11: 9 - 10
MORE LESSON: John12: 35 - 46

You have the right of way in destiny. I want you to know that you can walk comfortably and get to where you are going in life without missing your way. However the secret to walking right in destiny is captured in the word 'light'. In the natural, everyone knows the anguish that is associated with trying to grope your way through darkness. If the power source fails and a house is in thick darkness, anyone who tries to walk in such an environment hits against obstacles, falls or even gets injured. These are the difficulties associated with walking in darkness. A man walking in the light, however, walks with ease and gets to where he is going on time.

Jesus said, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him: John 11:9-10. The reason many people walk in daily struggles and difficulties is because they walk in darkness. If you must find your way through life, you must walk in the light. When there is the reign of darkness in a life, there is confusion, anguish, terror, struggle and woes. When you have light, then you have the right of way. Jesus said in John 8: 12, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not 
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The first thing that brings light into the life of a man is salvation. When you invite Jesus into your life, He comes in and brings the Light that He is into your life. Light is the master over darkness; when Jesus comes into your life, confusion and woes fly away.

After getting born again, and the darkness of sin has been removed, you still need the Word of God to bring more light into your life. Ignorance is darkness and the Word of God is light. The Word is a lamp to your feet, and a light to your path (Psa. 119:105). It is the knowledge of God's Word that gives light. This is the reason the Bible says, The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple: Psa. 119:130. When your life is governed by the Word of God, you walk in precision and accuracy; hitting your targets and making headway in life. You are also able to walk in speed and ease and therefore are satisfied early in life. You have the right of way in destiny and that right is in the light of God's Word. Today, I prophesy, let there be more light in your life. No matter how much of God's Word you know, you need more of Him.

Prayer/Action
* Father, let every obstacle on my way today be broken into pieces, in Jesus’ mighty name.
* Father, nothing will be too big or so small to stop my right of way this year, in the name of Jesus.
* Whatever hinders men in life will not find me, in the name of Jesus.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Anoint yourself with oil and declare “no day in 2016 shall be remembered for sorrow or loss in the name of Jesus.

Walking without Sinking 2

Monday 25 January
READ: Matt.14:22-32
MORE LESSON: Jer. 1: 12

Anytime you stand in faith looking at Jesus as the Word, the Blood, or the Life, there is nothing that can make you sink in life. Faith in God turns water to rock and wherever you stand becomes solid rock. In every circumstance that surrounds me, I see life behind the cross. For as long as you set your eyes on the Cross of Jesus, nothing can sink you. Before any evil can get to you, it must first win over the cross. Standing on the cross is an authority that governs the universe, a strength that has never experienced failure. Choose to see the cross first before seeing anything.

When I first started ministry, people used to come to me with many sad stories of what was happening to them. I used to become sober and downcast along with them and feel sorry for them. But then I started discovering that the people have not come to see me but who I represent. So when people come now with situations that could make anyone cry, I start making joke out of bad matters. When they come crying over a bad case, I begin to laugh and crack joke with them. Then I share God’s Word and I pray with them before I ask them to go. Some think that it is because I do not understand what they are going through. But no, it is because I choose not to see what the devil is doing but what God can do. I choose not to see the storm but Jesus miraculously walking on the water.

A woman came to me crying over her medical report of a cancer diagnosis. I collected the report and said, 'Father thank You because You are bigger than all this nonsense report. I replace the bad report with a good report'. Then I gave her back the paper and told her go see her doctor for a re-check. She looked at me and asked, 'Is that all?' Then she went and reported to the person who brought her that the Bishop didn't lay hands on her head. The fellow replied, 'Did he say anything to you?' She said that he only spoke a few words of prayer and told me to go and see the doctor again. Then the fellow said, ‘Go and do what he told you’. The Lord healed the woman supernaturally.

What she didn't know is that when I spoke to her, I wasn't seeing the cancer anymore; I was seeing her situation changed by the Miracle Worker. She forgot about the cross and remembered cancer as she came. But I decided to focus on the cross and help her put her attention away from cancer to the Great Physician. I don't care what you are going through; as long as you remove your focus from the situation and put it on the finished work of Christ on the Cross, you will experience miracles. You will walk on waters and not sink, in Jesus’ name.

Prayer/Action
* Father, I choose to believe Your report over the report of satan, in Jesus’ name.
* Today, I set my face like a flint, I shall not lose focus on the promises of God in my life.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
The sound of joy and the gathering of celebration shall not be missing in my new year in the mighty name of Jesus.