Let somebody in the house shout grace this morning! I pray that the grace of God will continue to flow freely in our lives, not for compromise but for our sustainance in the mighty name of Jesus.
[Music]
Our Father and our God, once again we want to say thank You; for Your goodness we say thank You, for the great grace that cleanse us, that washes away our sin, we want to say thank You, for sparing our lives to witness the fifth month and of course here today standing in Your presence before the congregation of Your people, Lord we give You praise, accept our thanks in the name of Jesus.
Thank You for all that You have done in the past, the truth of the matter is that we cannot list them all because You have done so much for us, but this morning, Father Almighty God, summarily Lord we say glory be to Your name in the name of Jesus.
We invite You into our midst this morning, have Your way in Jesus name; glorify Your name in Jesus name; let Your grace carry us in Jesus name. Father, by the same grace, propel us in Jesus name. Father, that which only grace can do in terms of restoration, in terms of relocation, in terms of repositioning, in terms of blessing, in terms of favor, Father, we ask that Your grace will bring them to pass in our lives in Jesus name.
Speak to us today, bless us like never before, and at the end of everything, take all the glory. Thank You for everything, We pray that this month will be exceptionally remarkable in every area, we pray that miracle, signs and wonders will flow like never before and at the end of everything Your name alone will be glorified. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever, in Jesus wonderful name we have prayed.
Good morning church, welcome to this glorious service in Jesus name. And happy new month to every one of us, help me shake hands with at least five people and say welcome to the month of grace, that grace will carry you, grace will propel you, that by reason of His grace you will not crash this month and beyond in the name of Jesus, and you will give testimony to all that grace is all about in Jesus mighty name. God bless you.
We bless God for another opportunity to be in His presence, as you all are aware, today we are here to do one thing, we are here to give thanks and we give thanks by praising the Almighty God, the giver of life. And I trust God that as we from the bottom of our heart give Him praise today, He will preserve us, He will carry us and He will ensure that we do not dwell in a dry land in the name of Jesus. God bless you.
[Birthday celebration]
The Lord will bless you and keep you in His love forever in the name of Jesus. Is our month of divine grace because the month of May being the fifth month and of course you know five represents grace, so it goes without struggle, without anything that is our month of grace, and I pray for every one of you that grace will be your partner, grace will speak for you, it will be your carrier, it will be your pilot, it will be your sustainer, it will be your anchor in the name of Jesus.
And by the grace of God, tomorrow we have our Prayer Chain by 6:30 as usual; the theme for tomorrow is that You Will Not Be Forsaken, tell someone you will not be forsaken, and that is what the scripture says. Our text is taken from the book of Psalm 37: 25, we look forward to seeing every one of you. The Lord will bless you in Jesus name.
Today as you all know is always a very loaded day, we’ll be having what I call first course before we hook up to the national to hear from our father in the Lord, but we need to do this very quickly so that we can prepare your appetite for the great word to come. And I pray that the word will meet with faith in our heart and by reason of this word today, God will stir up the spirit of thanksgiving in our heart in Jesus name.
Like I said, it’s a day of celebration, we have come to celebrate the goodness of God. In Psalm 100: 1 – 5, it says, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. 2Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that has made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thanksful unto him, and bless his name. 5For the Lord is good; (that’s where we take our text from topic for today); His mercies is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations”. A songwriter says God is good, He has done me well, oh my soul, rise up and praise the Lord.
Like I said before, today we have come to celebrate the goodness of God, we have come to throw waters ahead so that we can walk on a wet land like the elders will say. I have no doubt in my mind that this new month will be exceptional, it will be remarkable for you, for your children, for everyone that is connected to you in every area, and I believe that is what God will do. You will walk over your enemies, you will walk in your high places, you will encounter unusual grace and favor that will take you to the place of your destiny and that is exactly what God has in the offering for us and I trust God that by His grace we will not miss it in Jesus name.
So like I said, I’ll be talking to us very briefly this morning on the topic “God is Good”. To say God is good simply means that God is what I call a final standard of moral judgment and excellence, how do I mean? Simply means that God is kind, God is just, benevolent and reliable in character and of course in action.
It also means that God is trustworthy, gracious and acts for the benefits of others unlike man even in the most challenging times, and this truth is rooted in His nature rather than changing circumstances. Our God is rock solid and not a fair weather like man, you know people say ‘he’s a fair weather friend’, there are people who are fair weather friend, they know you when things are okay, the moment things go awry they turn their back, but God is rock solid, He’s a shelter in the time of storm.
Today we can talk about many key aspects of God’s goodness, there are many but of course time will not permit us to go through, we’ll just take a few;
Firstly, goodness is part of God’s essence and not just a behavior. When you talk about goodness, is part of God’s essence and not just a behavior; God cannot act contrary to His loving righteous nature, suffice to say that goodness is God’s fundamental character. When you talk about God’s fundamental character, you talk about His goodness.
Secondly, talking about God’s goodness is the fact that God is constantly dependable. Which means God is steadfast, reliable, and trustworthy regardless of the situations or circumstances, there is no shadow of turning with Him according to James 1: 17 which of course describes God as immutable, consistent and unchanging, unlike shaven shadow cast by the sun, God has no variation or fickleness.
The Bible says every good and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. God has no varation, He has no fickleness in His character, in His goodness, and of course in His love. He is reliable, and the scripture describes Him as the Father of lights whose compassion never fails; He is the rock and the Bible says He daily loads us with His benefits.
Number three is the fact that God does good by bringing benefits to humanity, providing for us all and acting with compassion, and this is what we call beneficient action. He brings good to all men, He said, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,” according to Romans 9:15, which means God bestows mercy, compassion, and forgiveness freely to His divine will rather than based on human efforts, merit or desire, and that is why we must continually give thanks to Him.
You can imagine what would have happened if God were to be man, you can imagine if God were to be man, many of us would have been killed; if God were to be man, salvation would have been off the shelf; if God were to be man, the gate of mercy would have been locked shut. When men were in the affairs of the world, it was an eye for an eye, but the grace of God came and changed the narrative.
God’s goodness extends to everyone without exception, no discrimination, everyone is the same and equal as far as God is concerned. In Matthew 5:45, it says He sends rain on the unjust and the just, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.”
He extends what I call common grace such as sunshine, rain, to all regardless of their moral character or spiritual standing. God is not a sanctimonious One unlike men, even in the spiritual parlance, you see some men who believe they are superior to the other, you see pastors who believe that is in charge, he’s over and above others, then you ask yourself, what gives them that impression when the Bible even says that it is heaven that will decide or determine who is great or who is not great.
It is not by reason of fame, it is not by reason of how big your ministry is, is by work. So as far as God is concerned, God does not discriminate based on your moral character or standing, otherwise sinners would have been condemned long before now, there would have been no opportunity for salvation, and this speaks to the fact that our God is impartial, and He’s encouraging all of us today to also toil the same line because that was the instruction. He said that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh sun to shine; God wants us to love, don’t love those who love you alone, love your enemies; don’t show mercy onto those who have showed you kindness, show mercy unto all.
That’s why I don’t pray enemy should fall down and die, because if enemy falls down and die, life will be boring, there will be nobody to keep you on your toes. You know one of the things that accelerate progress is the fact that there are enemies around, so you work extra hard and God blesses your effort.
Number four of God’s goodness is the fact that He is the ultimate standard. In other words, God’s goodness means He is the perfect definition of right and righteousness, and no one fits into this description, no one else other than God. Whatever He does is by definition good, even if we don’t accept it.
The Bible says, when Paul was talking to the Corinthians, he says for we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away with. Brethren, God is only One who knows it all, and the same Apostle Paul was talking to Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 13: 9-10, also posited in Romans 8:28 that we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.
I pray in the mighty name of Jesus that you will fulfill the same purpose for which God has called you in Jesus name.
Number five, one of His goodness is that God feeds us, He carries us and He has our back. Brethren, God feeds you, in Hebrews 4: 15, it says, “For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;” there is nothing you are doing, there is nothing you are going through, there is no challenge(s) that you are grappling with that God has not experienced.
That scripture says look, believers do have a high priest, God, who can sympathize with our weaknesses, He was tempted in all points just as humans are, yet He remained above board. I pray in the mighty name of Jesus that God will give us the grace to be above board in the name of Jesus.
Brethren, our Lord Jesus understands human infirmities and enables believers approach God through confidently. He carries us like I said and of course He has our back; in Deuteronomy 33: 26-29, it says there is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. This scripture highlights God’s unique power to help His people and I pray that help will come through for someone under the influence of my voice today in Jesus name.
The word Jeshurun is a poetic and affectionate name for Israel in the Hebrew language, meaning upright one. God is described as riding the heavens for help, acting as a secure refuge and providing everlasting arms to secure safety; He’s a unique helper and I pray that today God will help you. He’s our eternal refuge and Sovereign protector, and I want to tell you that he who God blesses is blessed, he who God protects is protected. And I pray that from today, God will protect you in Jesus name.
Very quickly because of our time, what should be our response to a few of these God’s goodness that have been enumerated?
Number one, we must acknowledge God’s continued goodness during suffering and uncertainty. Our thanksgiving should not only be when there are visible signs of wonders, of miracle in our lives, that we are alive alone is a huge blessing on its own. This is because there is a general saying that where there is life there is hope, and in Job 14: 7, it says for there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. So brethren, let’s keep hope alive, it doesn’t matter what you are going through, your story is not going to end there.
After a chapter comes another chapter, after a night comes the dawn of a new day, God will change your story for good in the name of Jesus Christ. Keep hope alive, don’t throw hope into the lagoon, it might not be okay today but tomorrow will be all right, the Bible says weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. I pray in the mighty name of Jesus that for you and your family, is a new dawn in Jesus name.
Number two, in daily blessings, we must recognize God’s hands in small blessings like health. I call them small because that is sometime the way we refer to them; you wake up, you can carry your leg and you can carry your hand, we say it’s a small blessing; for joy, there are people who don’t even know what joy is all about, but you have joy, you have daily provisions, you may say but you don’t have enough, but at least you have something.
For those of you who were in camp on Friday, you would have heard some testimonies, cancer and all the rest healed, a particular testimony that struck me was the testimony of a man that testified about the fact that his body was scratching him, if you have ever experienced body scratch before, you know how discomforting it can be, body will be scratching you, the next person sitting to you does not even know you have a problem but you know you have a problem.
He said it started in the body, later it went to the leg, later it came to the head, you will now be scratching, you can imagine in a public place you are scratching your head, but here you are everybody – I can’t even see anybody scratching anything and we call it small miracle. I pray in the mighty name of Jesus that may you never suffer body itches in Jesus name, may you never suffer any problem in the name of Jesus.
Even headache, people say headache is small, there’s no small headache, if you get some good headache, you can’t lift up your head, or you have cold. During the COVID period, I was praying, God let me not have cold because I’m very prone to it, once I get exposed to dust or too much cold, because by the time you start sneezing, they think you are a COVID victim. Nobody will want to sit down, even up till now, if somebody begins to sneeze where you are seated now, later if there is still a vacant seat you’ll want to change, you’ll want to pretend as if you want to go to the restroom, meanwhile, you are using style to change.
You know there is a way we do some of these things, we say we want to be polite, you don’t want to rub it in, you just say ah, you know it’s like an elder that is trying to run from an upcoming cow. You see when a loose cow is coming, an elderly person will not run, a young person will run and everybody will know that this fellow is running from the cow, but an elder wouldn’t want to embarrass himself, the next thing you just see is that you see the man talking to an imaginary person, he changes direction just to avoid the cow. I pray in the name of Jesus, sickness will not find habitation in your body.
You have money to eat and you can eat, it’s not everybody that have food that can eat, there are billionaires that have food but they can’t eat. I know a man, I’m on the altar and I know I’m on air, as far back as early 90s, he takes a pill per day and that pill costs as at that time #6,000, I don’t know how much that pill will be going for and he has to take one per day. Your own pill is pounded yam, rice and all the rest and yet you are not grateful to God, let somebody shout hallelujah!
What should be our response? Worship and gratitude, it is very important for us to express thanks for God’s mercy and unfailing love. Psalm 100:5 tells us that His mercy is everlasting, the question is that where will we have been but for His mercy and love? Love actually was the driving force behind redemption. In John 15:13, it says, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man laid down his life for his friends; and in John 3: 16, it says, “For God so loved the world.”
And lastly on how to respond is applying the phrase ‘God is good’ all the time. When you apply this phrase, it helps to affirm faith in God, and it helps us to also affirm faith that God is present and active. It is what I call a confidence affirmation of God’s goodness and graciousness, which means that He treats us better than we deserve.
The Bible says for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, He treats us better than we deserve. It is my prayer that we will not take God’s grace for granted in Jesus name.
In conclusion, therefore I implore everyone here today, celebrate the goodness of God in your life like the songwriter says say God is good, I think it was late Ron Kenoly.
Shall we rise on our feet [music]. The only challenge this morning, to praising God, to appreciating God is if you have not given your life to Christ, that could be the only challenge, but I can assure you other than that, God will accept your worship expressly, your praise and worship will open the gate of heaven unto you today.
So very quickly before we join,
[Altar call]
Mercy will speak for you and for the rest of your life, grace will carry you, it is well with you all. God will accept your worship today and the God of goodness will not cease to be good to you in Jesus mighty name.
