GIVE VALUE TO WHAT YOU DO: MAGNIFY YOUR OFFICE!
Pastor
Chris
For I
speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify
mine office (Romans 11:13). Did you know there's no such job as a low job? It's
the person behind a job that gives it authority, and in turn brings glory into
it. Back in the Bible, the Jews believed they were the chosen of God, and the
rest of the world was unclean. Even the Lord Jesus came in as a Jew and picked
Jewish apostles to be with Him. When He went to heaven, He sent them out as
ministers, first to the Jews, then later to the Gentiles. In Acts 10:1-45, God
sent the Apostle Peter to the house of a Gentile, Cornelius the Roman
centurion. He preached the gospel to him and his family and the Holy Ghost came
on them. When the other apostles heard, they rebuked him sharply and forbade
him from fellowshipping with the Gentiles (Acts 11:1-3). God however raised
another apostle by the name of Paul to preach to the gentiles. Paul magnified
his office and gave value to his God-given assignment even when no one else
thought much of what he was doing. He said, "I'm an apostle to the
gentiles and I magnify my office" (Roman 11:13). He recognized those to
whom he was sent and he decided to respect and promote his office. He gave
value to what he did. Don't ever look down on what you do. God can use that
seemingly little thing you do to touch your nation and the whole world.
Remember, Jesus fed over five thousand people with a little boy's lunch. He can
do the same with your job. Make up your mind to become the best of you; work on
the potentials within your spirit. There's something inside you, a hidden
treasure that's unique to your personality. The most important thing is to find
your place in life and be the best of you. Therefore, magnify your office; give
value to what you do.
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Pastor
Chris
God is
able to make it up to you by giving you everything you need and more so that
there will not only be enough for your own needs but plenty left over to give
joyfully to others (2 Corinthians 9:8 TLB). One day at home, I watched on the
television as a certain businessman and philanthropist announced that he was
donating billions of dollars to the United Nations to support their work around
the world. I was moved at how one man could take such a step in the midst of a
world where others are crying for aid from the U.N. You must understand that
the world will always be full of these two kinds of people “those who are
helping others, and those who are waiting to be helped. You have to make up
your mind which group you will belong to. God’s dream for you is to become so
influential and powerful that you would become a source of help to several
others. He doesn’t want you to be the one complaining about the harsh economic
situation, or why the government hasn’t done something; His dream for you is to
make you so successful that you cannot be ignored. Maybe you’re reading this
and wondering, ‘Pastor Chris, I really want to make a difference but I have so
little presently. ‘How do I begin? Jesus said, ‘He that is faithful in that
which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is
unjust also in much’ (Luke 16:10). In other words, if you can take a step at
the level you are now and reach out to help the person next to you, God can
trust you to do it on a global scale. The moment you start helping somebody
else, the angels of God will recognize you, and they will immediately start
channeling finances to you because you are a man or woman who is willing to
make a difference in the lives of others.
THE SEED-WATERING RAIN
PASTOR
CHRIS
‘Now he
that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and
multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness’ (2
Corinthians 9:10). There is a lot of teaching on prosperity in the Church of
Jesus Christ today. We say when you give to God, He will give back to you. It
doesn’t really end there. How can you just put the money in there and then wait
to get it multiplied back to you? Doesn’t that sound like gambling? ‘Give it
and it will come back to you multiplied’ is not the complete truth; it’s
half-truth. Prosperity is the product of the Holy Ghost! You see, many of God’s
people give their offerings and sow their seeds but when you ask them about
their experience, they say, ‘I gave and it didn’t come back’ In this case there
is a problem somewhere and the problem is neither with God nor the principle.
The principle has been working ever before you came, so the problem is with
you! A seed will not grow on it’s own; there are elements that facilitate its
development. The same thing applies when you sow your seeds to God. Until the
rain falls nothing will happen to your seed. The Bible says, ‘Ask ye of the
Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds,
and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field’ (Zechariah
10:1). He’s talking about the Holy Ghost. Therefore, when you give or when you
sow your seed you must be expectant. Just as every farmer sows with
expectations of a great harvest so also must you raise your expectation for
every seed you sow. Secondly, if your harvest is ever going to come to you, it’s
going to be as a result of the rain that waters your seed. ‘What rain?’ you
ask. The rain of the Spirit. Your prayer is what makes that rain to fall. After
you’ve sown your seeds, spend time praying in the Holy Ghost. That’s how to
water your ground. Don’t just gamble your seed away. Pray in the Holy Ghost and
believe in the harvest of your seed. Water your heart, which is the ground of
faith. When you do that, you will have a harvest, and God will ‘...open you the
windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room
enough to receive it’ (Malachi 3:10), just as He has promised.
F U RT H E R S T
U DY : P ROV E R B S 11:25; I S A I A H 55:10
BE INSPIRED BY YOUR DREAM OF SUCCESS
Pastor
Chris
“...God...richly
{and} ceaselessly provides us with everything for [our] enjoyment" (1
Timothy 6:17 AMP). This scripture underscores the fact that it’s God’s idea and
will that you enjoy every blessing of life. The realization of this truth
should birth a new dream of success in you; your life should be full of
success, progress and prosperity. That knowledge
should inspire in you a passion for success because now, you know that nothing
is too good for you and nothing is beyond your reach. In life, there are two
kinds of people; those who are inspired by their fear of failure and those
who’re inspired by their dream of success. For example, in a class of several
students studying the same course, you’ll discover that their motivations for
being studious differ. Some study so they don’t fail; they’re afraid of
failing. On the other hand, there are those
who study because they want to win the prize; they’re excited about making an
‘A.’ You see, the two groups of students are studious, however, one is inspired
by the fear of failure whereas the other is inspired by the dream of success.
There’s another group of people who’re haunted by their past instead of being
challenged by their future. Always, they’re whining, grumbling and sorrowing
about their past! They’re wondering what to do about their past instead of
looking at the future and being challenged by another opportunity to stand
strong. You find these three groups even among Christians. So, it’s up to you
to choose where you want to be. You’re either inspired by your fear of failure
or you’re inspired by your dream of success. God wants you to be excited about
the dream of walking in His greater blessings.
Being
inspired by the fear of failure will keep you at the same level for a long
time; but when you’re inspired by the dream of success, you’ll always dare to
press on!
Therefore,
if you desire to walk in the fullness of God’s greater blessings, you’ve got to
set your gaze on the Word and not on your past. You can’t find God in the past
as He is the great “I AM.” Don’t be bound by your past or motivated by fear of
failure; rather, be inspired by the passion for success, through the Word.
F U RT
H E R S T U DY : P H I L I P PIANS 2:13; 3 J O H N 1:2
YOU’RE WHAT THE WORD SAYS
Pastor
Anita
"Likewise
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God
through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:11).
The word “reckon” as used above originates from the Greek word “logizomai” which is actually an accounting term. It means to take inventory or stock of something such that there’re no assumptions. In Accounting, you deal with specific figures and data, not assumptions.
When the Word urges you to “reckon yourself to be dead to sin, but alive unto God,” it means you should “account yourself” to be ungoverned or undominated by sin. You must take whatever God says about you as absolute truth. His Word says you’re dead to sin, therefore refuse to let sin dominate you: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14).
Romans 8:37 says you’re more than a conqueror, therefore reckon yourself as such and begin to live as a victor, and not a victim. This is how to relate with the Word; you reckon (account) it to be absolute reality.
However, for you to account yourself to be what the Word says, you must first know it. You must study the Word and keep getting it into your spirit; take it as the truth to live by, for it is. Reckon yourself to be exactly what the Word says.
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
Pastor
Chris Oyakhilome
‘Then
came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, why could not we cast him out? And
Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you nothing
shall be impossible unto you’ (Matthew 17:19-20). When it comes to dealing with
God, nothing is ever too late. This is something you must let soak deep into
your mentality. Jesus said, ‘Nothing shall be impossible unto you’ That’s a
profound sovereign declaration of Deity; an absolute statement of truth! So, if
you’re there wondering, ‘Why couldn’t I get the money? Why couldn’t I get the
job? Why couldn’t I get that promotion for which I prayed and fasted’ Jesus
gives you the answer: it’s because of your unbelief! Someone may say, ‘We
prayed that my uncle wouldn’t die; we even got a prophecy from God that he
wouldn’t die but he still died. Oh God, why! Stop asking why! The man died
because of your unbelief, period! Check out the Lord Jesus: they sent a message
to Him saying, ‘Master, he whom thou lovest is sick’ (John 11:3) and He simply
replied, ‘I’ll be there’ But He waited too long and the man died! He died so
much that they buried him! Imagine what the situation would have been that day
for Mary and Martha. They must have been confused because Jesus had never lied
to anybody. He had said their brother’s sickness wasn’t unto death (John 11:3),
but he died. ‘How could He have said He was coming and He didn’t show up? Now
He said the man would not die and he died’, they must have questioned. But
guess what? Four days after the man had been dead and buried, there came Jesus,
and He did something most remarkable. He stood outside the entrance of that cave
and called Lazarus like He would call any living person. He didn’t say anything
about death. He didn’t say, ‘Arise from the dead! He didn’t rebuke death; He
just said, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ And the guy that had been dead four days hopped
out of the grave, still bound with grave-clothes. There you are, you’ve been
praying about something you didn’t want to happen and it happened, and then you’re
wondering, ‘Dear God, why? It’s not too late! You can still do something about
it; anything is possible. You’ve got to come to that point in your life where
you believe the Words of Jesus that anything is possible.
