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Our Father and our God, we just want to say thank You; if we have a thousands of tongues, they are not enough to glorify You. Thank You for life, thank You for Your grace, thank You for Your truth, thank You Father for transformation, thank You for elevation. Accept our thanks in the name of Jesus.
We also want to thank You for our past, thank You for a wonderful past, thank You for a glorious present, and thank You for amazing tomorrow. Accept our thanks in the name of Jesus.
You have done what no man can do, You have proved that You are faithful, You have proven to be loving, You have proven to be the ever faithful, ever gracious, ever merciful Father. Thank You because You have been our God in the year past, thank You because You are our hope in this new year, accept our praises in the name of Jesus Christ.
We commit this new year at Your hands, take control, guide us. lead us, direct us. Without You, we can do nothing, that’s why we invite You that You come along with us in Jesus name. Let this year be our best year ever.
We pray for our mission, let Your hands be upon this mission. We pray for our father in the Lord, more strength in the name of Jesus. We pray oh God Almighty that as we start a new journey as a region, Lord Almighty God, we pray that fresh oil, increased strength, grant onto us in Jesus name; wisdom like never before, release onto us in Jesus name. Let this region be the best in the name of Jesus and let Your name be glorified.
We thank You on behalf of Your children who have been faithful in the payments of their tithes and the giving of the offerings, Lord, we pray because You are ever faithful that You continue to be faithful to them in Jesus name, You continue to prosper them, and Lord Almighty God, You continue to give them favorable testimonies in Jesus name. Come along with us in this service and take all the glory, in Jesus wonderful name we have prayed.
Let the new people shout hallelujah! If you are happy to be part of greatness, if you are happy to be part of elevation, because the elevation we are talking about is not really or exclusively personal, it’s a congregational elevation, if you are happy to be part of it, shout hallelujah!
My God will bless you, He will forever keep us in His love, we will not disappoint Him and His grace will carry us. For us, our story will be from glory to glory in the mighty name of Jesus, and everything that we need to do to keep the banner of Christ flying, I pray God will grant unto us in Jesus name.
So I welcome every one of you to this glorious service today, it is beginning of a new redeem year; God has helped us in the past and that God does not change, we trust Him for better things, we trust Him for greater things, we trust Him for richer things and we trust Him for remarkable things and He will bring those things to bear in your life, in my life, and in our lives in Jesus name.
I say welcome to the month of divine increase, and let me welcome my friends from the national headquarters, the Lord will bless you in the name of Jesus.
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[Birthday Celebration]
By the grace of God, this month has been declared as our month of divine increase; the scripture is taken from Psalm 115: 14 – 16. It is our prayers that you will experience increase in every area of your life in the name of Jesus. Increase, positive increase, positive energy, positive testimonies will continue to contest for space in your life in the name of Jesus.
And tomorrow by the grace of God, we’ll be having our prayer chain, a peculiar treasure; Exodus 19: 5. Please come with your friends and come with your enemies, it promises to be great and I can assure you that you will be blessed in Jesus name.
As usual, this is just a first course, and because our father in the Lord will come in no distance time to bless us, but while we await his arrival and we await his broadcast, we just have to give you this teaser so that at least it prepares the ground for the main course, and wherever that catches up with us, that’s where we drop the curtain as far as this is concerned.
First Thessalonians 5: 16-19, it says, rejoice ever more. 17Pray without ceasing. 18In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 19Quench not the spirit.
Once again, it is my pleasure to heartily welcome you to another Thanksgiving service, thanks be to God for sparing our lives to witness this glorious day. Last month, I think we talked about thankfulness, the secret to godliness; we shared the fact that demonstrating gratitude, showing thankfulness is a secret to the kingdom’s life.
And in the course of the exaltation, reference was made to this scripture that we just read with special reference to what Apostle Paul told the Thessalonians about what exactly the will of God represents or what exactly represents the will of God for believers. It was because of that I decided that we will emphasize on the same subject matter in order for us to learn some very useful lessons from it, and that’s why today, I title the message as Being in God’s Will.
And according to our text today, being in God’s will simply means living a daily life that is marked by constant joy (I want you to take note), continuous prayers, unyielding gratitude and an open heart to the Holy Spirit. The first verse, verse 16, specifically enjoins us to rejoice always; it says, “Rejoice ever more,” in other words, we should always be joyful.
I want somebody to express joy to his neighbor, just express joy. If you have anyone that is frowning by your side, tell that person, “Calm down, stop frowning.” The word of God through Apostle Paul says, “Rejoice ever more,” meaning that we should rejoice always.
God’s will for believers is to maintain an inner joy that does not depend on easy or happy life events. God’s will for our lives is to express that inner joy, to show that positive energy regardless of the prevailing circumstances, and this gladness comes from focusing on God’s unchanging love, salvation, eternal promises rather than the temporary trouble.
You know that same Apostle Paul as we shared last month in (I think) 2 Corinthians 4: 10 where it says our period of light momentary trouble is achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Suffice to say, even the troubles that you consider to be trouble are actually working out your glory. I pray in the mighty name of Jesus that you will walk into your glory from your current travails in the mighty name of Jesus.
And verse 17 of that scripture says pray without ceasing, which means keeping a prayerful attitude and an ongoing inner conversation with God all through the day, maintaining a connection. Prayer is about connecting with the source, prayer is about communion with our God, our Maker.
Brethren, we did not make ourselves, Someone made us, the Bible says God created us in His own image. God had an option not to have created us, so He knows us, He knows us more than we know ourselves, there is nothing around us that is not known to God, so we need to carry God along in our communion with Him connecting with Him.
Talking about praying all the time is not about talking out loud every second but about turning to God first in every moment and decision. Because when you talk about prayer, they think that oh, every prayer people must hear, I bind you, loose you; you can be inside the car and be praying and the next person sitting to you will not know that you are praying; you can be in the plane praying as communing with your God and the next person does not know what you are doing.
You can be in a restaurant, before your food comes you can be praying and the next person sitting next to you does not know you are praying. It’s not about talking loud all the time, it is about taking or carrying God along in every moment and in every decision. And verse 18, it says in all things give thanks, help me tell your neighbors, whisper to him or her, “In all things give thanks.” Why? It is because God desires for gratitude in both good and painful times because He remains in control and work for our good.
Brethren, giving thanks to God is an act of profound trust in God’s goodness even when life is hard. Apostle Paul explicitly said for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus, no wonder a songwriter some years back wrote, he said ‘when upon life’s billow you are tempted-tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done’.
Shall we rise for one minute and take that …
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When upon life’s billows you are tempted-tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost, (he said) one thing you need to do is count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. When you think of the things you don’t have and you remember you have life, then you know God has done something because while there is life there is hope.
The Bible says a living dog is better than a dead lion, so what about the living man? If a living dog is said to be better than a dead lion, then you can imagine a living man, a living man is a monument, is a phenomenon, is one that is a carrier of the seed of greatness, and when you carry the seed of greatness, you can never be aborted. I decree in the name of Jesus that you will fulfill destiny in Jesus name.
And lastly, verse 19, it says quench not the Spirit, just four words. What does it mean? It simply means don’t put out the fire, in other words, don’t stiffle or hold back the work, guidance and the power of the Holy Spirit in your life and in your community.
Staying in God’s will means listening to the Spirit and allow Him to move freely rather than blocking Him or stifling Him with pride or disobedience. In Isaiah 1: 19, it says if you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.
Very quickly, within the last few minutes, I want to share with us some of the ways that we believers quench the Spirit, and we do this often time without realizing it.
Number one, counting your troubles instead of your blessing. That song says, “Count your blessings and name them one by one,” when you do that, you walk in line with the Spirit, but when you put it in reverse order, counting your troubles instead of your blessings, you are quenching the Spirit.
Philippians 4: 8, it says, finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.
Number two that we do to quench the Spirit is worrying every day about something. Brethren, thanksgiving helps us actually to enjoy life and the people that are around us.
In 1st Peter 5:8, it says be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. It is for you to align, you align with God. 1st Peter 5: 7, it says casting your care upon him; for He careth for you, so instead of worrying every day about something, all you need to do is to cast your care upon Him.
Number three, feeling sorry for yourself and having (what I call) a pity party or having pity parties. Many of us are specialist, ‘you don’t understand what I’ve gone through’, even when you try to correct, when you try to counsel, when you try to encourage, the man is stiff fixated, ‘if only you know my story, if only you know how much I have suffered’. The Bible says weeping endureth for a night but joy cometh in the morning.
People like that have this ‘woe is me’ as their permanent mindset, but I want to encourage us today, base your life on God’s promises and never on your current circumstances. Romans 8:31, it says what shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? If God be for you, who can be against you?
Number four is trying to compare and compete with others. One of the major problems of believers is comparison, and let me tell you, there are no two people that is the same.
Even identical twins, in terms of character, in terms of charisma, in terms of the way they – you find out that they are not just the same. You hardly see the two of them reading the same course, one may read medicine, the other one may decide to study law; one may decide to do law, another one may decide to go for agric economics.
Comparison is a dangerous thing, and comparison fuels envy because it brings strives and competition, is a power twist of hell. I want to beg us today, refuse to let them take root in your life.
In Galatians 6: 4 & 5, it says, but let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5For every man shall bear his own burden. You will carry your load, I will carry my load, to glory in the mighty name of Jesus.
Be concerned about yourself, focus on yourself, some of the people you celebrate (is good to celebrate), you don’t even know how they come about their whatever. Yoruba will say isale oro o legbin; some do all kinds of things and you know the society, we know how to venerate these things, but they use social charity and others to do the laundering, they cover it, that does not mean that we should not celebrate people, but don’t let that be your source of worries, don’t let that be a problem unto you, every man shall bear his own burden.
Number five, another way we quench the Spirit is by insisting upon our rights and your will. I beg you today, seek God’s ways first and His promises to prophesy. Matthew 6:33, it says, seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness: and all these things will be added unto you.
Don’t insist on your rights, don’t insist on your way. In fact, the Bible says the way that seemeth right unto man, the way is a way of destruction. A lot of times, many of us are on the same spot because we are not ready to take instruction; you are fasting, that is good, you are praying, that is fantastic, but are you ready to take correction? Are you ready to change your ways? It says quench not the spirit.
And number six, complaining about things you can’t change. Brethren, you may not be able to change some things, but you can always change your attitude and confession of faith to a positive one.
I will not die, I will live to declare the glory of God, I will make it. That song says I know I can make it, I know I can stand, (it says) no matter what will come my way, my life is in His hand. When your life is in God’s hand, then you are safe and secured, nothing can pull you out of His hand. So when you consciously choose to stay and thankful, I can assure you, you will never be disappointed.
According to Romans 5: 1 – 5, it says, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience. 4And patience, experience; and experience, hope. 5And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Anything short of that is like telling the Holy Spirit, “Get away,” therefore, if you realize that you’ll be quenching God’s Spirit through ungratefulness, because what will make you to go to pity party is ungratefulness, inability to count your blessing, take a moment to acknowledge it today, ask God for help to overcome negativity and He will flood your heart and your mind with supernatural peace, power, and provision.
Shall we bow down our heads and talk to God, pray to God. Father, help me to embrace Your word, give me the grace to thank You always, to appreciate You always. Help me Lord not to quench the Spirit, let Your precious continually abide with me. Restore my hope, restore my joy, take me from one level of greatness to the other and perfect Yourself and Your fear in me now and forever in the name of Jesus.
May God hear and answer our prayers in Jesus name. God bless you.
