Articles & Outlines

Job 14:14 “If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, Till my change come.” Generally in life, the only constant scenario is change, and this happens throughout the human lifecycle, from birth to death. Change though happens in several ways and could be responded to in different ways as well, for example after the children of Israel were delivered from slavery they were glad for the change, but when change came in the food, they complained bitterly and were ungrateful to God. In the case of Job however, notwithstanding his change from grace to grass, he vehemently resolved to trust God even in the circumstances. Is. 40:31 “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” The good new is that wherever you are at, whether your case is like that of Naaman, wealthy and influential but unwell, or like Jabez who had a poverty decreed upon his destiny or even like the Shunamite woman, wealthy, powerful yet barren or even if you are tired of your current situation, there is a chance for your change to be birthed even now. All you need is to wait on the Lord, i.e trust Him for a change in your circumstances, He is the One that determines times and season. Job was sure that he will not die a sick man because he knew that God is reliable and will not leave His own to suffer corruption, and it turned out to be just as such, if only you will want on the Lord, commit your ways and plans to Him, He shall surely make the change happen for you. Those the ever waited on Him are never ashamed nor disappointed, He will not start with you. It is time for your chats come, arise and take it.

Eph. 6:10 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” To be strong in the Lord is to have good knowledge about God and/or solid faith in Him. The admonition was first given to Joshua in Josh.1:6-8, this strength is that which flows from within and not physical, it is knowing that the Lord is Jehovah El Shaddai. Knowing this will help a fellow live the life of a victor, as Christians, it is important for us to be strong in the Lord for obvious reasons, for example, it will help to withstand every wind of doctrine because we know Him. The waves of satanic harassment will not move us, because we know that all thing works together for those who love God. The study of the lives of those that have gone ahead of us also, seeing what God did for them as a result of their being strong in Him. David though not a soldier confronted Goliath because he was strong in the Lord (1Sam.17:45), the Three Hebrew men also showed their strength in the Lord when they told the mighty king Nebuchadnezzar that they will not bow to his idol (Dan.3:17), and in Dan.6:20-21, Daniel said my God shut the mouth of lions that they could not hurt him, he being the son of the Lion of Judah. Dan.11:32b “………..but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” We must be strong in the Lord to shut the mouth of heretics, to preach the Gospel without fear or for personal gain, declare like Paul in Phil.4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Raising the dead, healing the sick, stilling storms, seeking God above all else and bringing joy to individuals and communities requires absolute strength in the Lord, it is against this backdrop that the encouragement stemmed. It is high time we took this seriously, remember, the Apostles all either denied Jesus or ran away when He was arrested and could not preach in His name, however, when they received power, they became open witnesses. Are you strong in the Lord? Now is the time to covet earnestly the most excellent gift.

Rom. 8:1 ‘Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior]. To be condemned is when express complete disapproval of our person is made by the society, it could also mean to be sentenced to a particular punishment, especially death. Rom.3:23 says because of sin all humanity have fallen out of the glory that was bestowed on them, and Rom.6:23 says the result of that sentence is spiritual death, an eternal separation from God. The calamity of this condemnation is that Satan now has control of the soul of men, encouraging and pushing them to do terrible things against the laws of God. In contemporary times, we see and hear stuffs that was unimaginable a few years ago, all the works of the flesh listed ion Gal.5:19-21 is now commonplace and is regarded as civilization rather than abomination. The society is very “woke” to the extent they have concluded that there is no absolute truth, rather truth is what a fellow believes is their truth -alternative truth, social order is so broken that even the power of nation state is being crushed underneath. The antichrist is so at work and continues to recruit people and especially youths and children as young as four year olds, and most unfortunately using elements in the Church for his destructive acts. Having said, however we have been warned about these things, the Lord thus has made a way of escape out of this terrible judgement by giving us His Son, who came to take away and deliver us all from all sins by destroying the works of Satan! John. 3:18 “Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him].” For as many who will not accept the lordship of Jesus stand condemned eternally already, but as many as come to His saving grace are not in any way condemned , the accuser of the Brethren have nothing on them because the blood of Jesus has broken the power of sin. It is very important for those who are in Christ to daily work out their salvation because if they ignore the great salvation in Christ, there shall be no escaping the penalty of sin. The good news though is that those who are in Christ have escaped every condemnation and accusation of Satan, they stand before God as justified Rom.8:33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect [when it is] God Who justifies [that is, Who puts us in right relation to Himself? Who shall come forward and accuse or impeach those whom God has chosen? Will God, Who acquits us?]

Phil.2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” That the wisdom in the word of God is unsearchable is an understatement, the scripture is packed full of wisdom and paradoxes that when carefully studied and adhered to, it is impossible to fail in any endeavour. Each one of us has been equipped the ability to will and to do of the good pleasures of God, however, allowing this Divine empowerment manifest is totally in the realm of the human mind. Is. 1:19 says a fellow who willingly obeys and yields to the spirit shall have the best of everything that nature and heaven has to offer, in other words, while everything needed for the peace, progress and wellbeing of an individual has been settled in the spirit realm, the cooperation in the physical realm is what will unlock these blessing. According to Phil. 4:13, it is written I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me, meaning the ability to do all things has been given because of the help from the Lamb of God. Regardless of how insurmountable the situation may seem, I can overcome it, no matter the size of the mountain, I am able to take the headstone thereof, because I have the strength of Christ in me. 1Cor.3:21b says “For all things are yours” , that is the Word of God, all capabilities to become whoever and whatever I need to become has been infused in me even before the earth was made, however, for that to happen, I must believe it and work at it. To the one that believes, there shall be a performance of that which he believes. You have been empowered to not commit and manner of sin, however, you have the choice to make. You have been empowered to become another Elisha, but you have a choice to make. You have been equipped to become another Paul, but the commitment, hard work and self-denials has to be borne. Jesus at Gethsemane, was at such a point, the ability to will and to do being in Him already, He still had the decision to make, can I avoid drinking from this cup or allowing the Father’s will, He decided that the Father’s will be done, and today, all powers anywhere in creation are subject to Him. Beloved, you have been empowered to become that that you ever wanted to be, the only thing stopping you is YOU! Have faith in God and allow His will come to pass in your life, that decision is yours to take. Heb.10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith: But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” You have that capacity already, only activate it in faith and you will suddenly realise that what seemed impossible is actually nothing, go out now and start winning souls, spreading the good news and winning. The Lord is with you.

Is.40:31 “But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] Will gain new strength and renew their power; They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun]; They will run and not become weary, They will walk and not grow tired. To renew is to recharge, reenergise or repowered. The word presuppose that the one being renewed was once new or full, however due to usage or drain, the capacity has gone or is going down, and if renewal is not ensured, failure is inevitable. Take a laptop computer for example, it may be fully charged at the start of a day, with 4 hours straight usage, it will start flashing that the battery is running out, failure to plug it into a source of power, it will switch off and any unsaved work will most likely be lost. In the same vein, as believers, it is important that we constantly wait of God in prayer, fasting and study of the Word of God so that we may continue to be renewed and recharged, so many things drain each one of us every day. For example, people offend us, we hear things not convenient for our Spirit, the distraction and exposure on social media, family and personal pressure, all these sap us of our faith and right standing before the Lord. 1Cor.15:33 “So stop fooling yourselves! Evil companions will corrupt good morals and character.” It is quite possible to plug the laptop in electricity supply source, if we however fail to turn the power on, the laptop will still run out of power and go off. As children of God, attending church services and being a worker or even a major financier or Pastor is not the same as waiting on the Lord, waiting on God is never passive: it is binding our hearts to who God is as we wait earnestly for God’s plan to unfold in every area of our lives without fainting. Our hearts must be entwined with the Lord, being fully plugged into Him and switched on to His Word in faith. Rom.1:17 “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed in a way that awakens more faith]. As it is written and forever remains written, “The just and upright shall live by faith.” We get to renew our faith also by constantly hearing the Word of God, it has the capacity to help our faith in God grow exponentially. Rom.10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” As long as the laptop is plugged to a switched on source of power, it will continue to function optimally without a drain of its power, neither will it switch off. As long as a Christian is fully connected to the Word of God in faith and in prayers plus fasting, such will remain a terror to the kingdom of Satan and a major arrow in the hand of God to be used for great purposes. Renew your strength in Christ.

Lk. 22:45 “The religious leaders seized Jesus and led him away, but Peter followed from a safe distance. They brought him to the home of the high priest, where people were already gathered out in the courtyard.” A true member of a group will proudly wear the badge of the group, football fans are a very good example of followers. I used to work with a fellow who was an Arsenal football fan, and at the time the Club was not particularly doing well, but this individual despite his not so fantastic salary, was a season ticket holder, Des, would travel all over Europe supporting hie beloved football club. I recall a season that they had a match against a Club in the East of Europe and he could not afford to go by air, he took a few holidays so he could travel by coach, the entire trip took 4 days! The most serious discussion I ever saw him had was discussing Arsenal football – That is a follower. He was always proud of his Club and even when they lost a match, he believes the next match will be better. When it got to a time when the Season ticket became too much for him, he joined up with a friend to buy one, and they alternated the use of the ticket to attend home matches of Arsenal. A true fan does not follow from afar, rather, they follow closely. As a follower, Peter was very close to Jesus, however, although he professed to love Him, he nonetheless was a far off follower, a look at the times Jesus needed “help”, Peter was not there, the first at the garden of Getsemane when He wanted him, James and John to pray along with Him and when He was arrested. To be a far off follower, is an indication of lack of commitment and sacrifice. It is easy for a far off follower to turn back from following. The far away follower is prone to distraction and falling away as was Gehazi and Demas. The farther away a fellow is from light the deeper he goes into darkness, in the same way, the farther off a Christian is from Jesus, the easier will it be for the kingdom of darkness to overwhelm him. Samson lived a reckless life, he gradually pulled himself away from God by clearly being disobedient to his birth covenant, he ended up selling himself cheaply to the very enemy he was born to take out, he lost everything because of his distance from God. In Is.1:18-19 the Lord says the route to having the best of God is in willingness and coming, but that must start from coming to Him and being in extra close proximity, it by doing so that we can correctly be a reflection of Him. How close you to Jesus will determine will determine how far you go in every area of life. The closer you are to the Lord, the easier the spirit of God will light on you. Are you close to Him?

Ps.20:7-8 “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, But we will remember and trust in the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen, But we have risen and stood upright.” Confidence is a noun that mean the feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something, It is therefore a branch of faith. There are a lot of this that gives an individual confidence, such as position, wealth, beauty, educational achievements and family background etc, and rightly so, because it takes hard work to be successful, and anyone should be proud of their achievements, however to place faith or absolute confidence will be to upgrade these to the position of a god in your life. It is certain that beauty is fleeting, knowledge shall vanish, wealth grows wings a fly away, no power of man can deliver him in the day of death, despite his great position, King Nebuchadnezzar lived as an animal for many years. Phil.3:4 & 8 “Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,” Paul was a man who understood that placing confidence in anything or anyone else than in the Lord Jesus Christ is a clear manifestation of ignorance, and a panacea for sorrow, pain, pain and disappointment. I have seen people, when they are faced with test and trials, running helter skelter for the help of men leaving God out of the equation notwithstanding that the scriptures made it clear that the help of man is vain. They lack understanding that the one that put the test to them is the Devil, yet they go seeking solution and help from his agents, will he cause a division to his own kingdom (Matt.12:25-26)? Brethren, why not put total faith in the Father of lights Jam.1:17 says “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens], in whom there is no variation [no rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [for He is perfect and never changes].” He is the only One that can keep you from falling and failing, His gifts to you are without repentance, every other source will dry up, He alone is El Shaddai. Before telling anyone about that challenge you are facing, instead of crying and losing hope, tell it to Him, totally rely on Him, and He will make all things beautiful for you.

Nah.7:5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. Other than overconfidence, the major reason Samson became a slave to the Philistines was his inability to keep his own secret (Jud.16:17), at the end he died prematurely. Having friends is good and may even be the difference between poverty and wealth, be that as it may however, there is a limit to how much trust to be reposed in a fellow. There are stories of how friends deliberately led their friends astray with ungodly advice even to the point of death (2Sam.13). No man is worth trusting, because at his best he’s still a man, there are still good people out there even today, however, why would anyone put their trust in mere mortals. One minute he is there and the next minute he’s no more? The fact someone is your spouse does not mean that will not disappoint you, children have sold out their parents because of money, trusted friends have savagely backstabbed their friends for their own benefit. Siblings have been known to work against each other’s interest, Joseph’s brothers sold him to slavery. Reposing confidence in man, is a call for disappointment and trouble. Jesus is the only true friend and confidant that cannot disappoint nor fail, His love towards all is freely and unencumbered by personal interest or self aggrandisement. John 15:12 “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” Whatever your confidence is in outside of Jesus is a path to unmitigated disappointment, it will always end unpalatably. Pour out your heart to Him alone and rest assured that He will keep your secrets and give you peace, rest on Him and be sure to have the last laugh.

Luke 2:43-44 When the feast days were over, they went home. The boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Joseph and Mary travelled for a whole day. They thought that Jesus was with them in the group. Then they began to look for him among their family and friends. Is Jesus still in the boat with you? Many people who claim to be children of God have today left Jesus behind, indeed many do not even have Him around them at all, supposing that attending church services, paying tithe and giving fat offering is what qualifies them as Christians. A few believes that Jesus is only good to name and show off when in church or amongst the brethren, but needs to be left out of their official or circular lives! The parents of Jesus left the Saviour of the world behind, because they were engrossed with other “important” matters much the same like Martha, who was encumbered with many mundane things, today many Christians are doing the same, more concerned about church activities than strengthening their relationship with Jesus. Others are not proud upfront to show or speak about the One in Whom they live, move and have their being (Acts 17:28). “They thought He was in the group”, the same way many church attendees assume that Jesus is in their lives, have you checked that Jesus is in your life today? Col. 3:17 (TPT) “Let every activity of your lives and every word that comes from your lips be drenched with the beauty of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. And bring your constant praise to God the Father because of what Christ has done for you!” As a Christian, Jesus must be our Banner, a frontlet on our foreheads, such that when people see or relate with us, they should see Christ in us like those of Antioch saw Him in the lives of the Brethren (Acts 11:26), being otherwise, is an indication that He has been left behind, it is not until like Peter we deny Him openly. Just in case you realise that you have left Him behind and away from the centre of your life, you can turn your life around like John Mark, who initially left Jesus behind (Acts 15:38), but later became profitable for ministry (2Tim.4:11). Leaving Jesus behind never ends well for anyone. Let you daily declaration be Phil. 1:21(ICB) “To me the only important thing about living is Christ. And even death would be profit for me.”

Rom. 2:24 For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written. An ambassador is an accredited diplomat sent by a state as its permanent representative in a foreign country. The job of an ambassador largely in part includes giving off a good image of his country and therefore will go to any length to defend and protect the image of it. As Christians, we are Christ’s/ Heaven’s ambassador, saddled with the responsibility of portraying the Kingdom in positive light to the world to see. Jesus likened every Christian to both salt and light, suggesting that we are change agents. Light terminates all form of darkness, it is therefore our responsibility to shine light on the deceptive narratives of the devil and to deliver unbelievers from his shackles leading them to the truth thereby (John 8:32); and as salt, it behoves us to end every form of societal decadence by leading a life worthy of emulation. Our lives must point people to the saving grace in Christ even as we represent Him in conduct, carriage, mannerisms and etiquette. In Act 1:8, He charged us to be His witness, that is the job of an ambassador, a representative, portraying his master in positive light. We are to bring Him glory, a situation where His love is sought by all and sundry, having heard about Him through us, and particularly having observed our conduct (Acts 11:26). It is however disconcerting that many present time Christians cause the name of God to be blasphemed among the people by their negative ambassadorial conduct, for example, indulging in acts that is at variance with what Christ preached and taught, e.g being known for always being angry and without empathy, always spewing profanities, whereas Jesus is the Prince of peace. Indulging in sexual immoralities, untrustworthy, lack of integrity and/ or without character thereby denting the image of God and His Kingdom in the mind of unbelievers, how do we hope that those outside the fold of Christ will be won over to the saving grace that is in the Kingdom of Christ? Many in the church today who profess to be born again, are fraudulent, deceptive and outright liars, they put on the toga of Christianity but they actually represent Satan (John 8:44). “You are not a Jew if it’s only superficial—for it’s more than the surgical cut of a knife that makes you Jewish. But you are Jewish because of the inward act of spiritual circumcision—a radical change that lays bare your heart. It’s not by the principle of the written code, but by power of the Holy Spirit. For then your praise will not come from people, but from God himself!” (Romans 2:28-29) Your declaration that you’re a Christian is of no consequence if your life causes God’s name to be evil spoken of , or if your lifestyle stops sinners from coming to repentance. Check yourself, are you a worthy ambassador/representative of Christ ?