Articles & Outlines

2Tim.4:10 for Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Opportunity is the chance time when a particular situation makes it possible to do or achieve something. It a really not a case of being prepared or ready for the occasion. In a lot of instances also , opportunities presents itself as a challenge rather than a thing of chance. It is commonly said that “opportunity once lost can never be regained”. There are many bible characters who missed their opportunities in life because they could not see the opportunities embedded in the challenge that confronted them, as it was in the days of these folks, so it is today, many children of God continues to fall short of their Divinely arranged heights because they could only see a giant that cannot be defeated rather than one who is a stepping stone to greater height. Till date God is still throwing opportunities in the way of people, unfortunately, many are spurning it, for various reasons. “Preparation precedes manifestation”, every experience you have had in life is a preparatory pool of skills that will stand you in good stead if you will deploy for the benefit of others rather than you crying over such “treatment”. When opportunities comes, hardly do they present as such! In 1Sam.17 when Jesse sent David to the camp of Israel to check on his brothers , little did they both know that it was the beginning of the change of his life story, the important this though was David’s spontaneous response to Goliath’s threat. For you to take advantage of opportunities as they come your way, you cannot afford to dilly dally, spontaneity is the key. Also important is being selfless, the greedy and self-conscious cannot take maximum advantage of opportunities when it is presented, Nehemiah did not consider what he will miss out on while on the mission to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, neither did he receive the regular payment for the office, he rather asked for God’s blessings. In the case of Esther (Est. 4), being mindful of the consequences of her action, she went to the king uninvited, a service to humanity. It appeared as her death, but it tended to life for the people of God. Another important factor is desiring to do everything to the glory of God, it is only then that opportunities will not slip by one, when Solomon prayed for wisdom, it was not to the end that he may be the greatest but that the glory of God may be revealed in the lives of His people, little did he know he was setting himself up for unsurpassable comprehensive blessings. When opportunity comes calling, it scarcely presents itself as such, it will catch you by surprise, and if you are not willing nor ready to offer yourself for the required service, you will miss it. 2Cor.12:15, Paul said “……… I will spend and be spent for you……” that is the mindset of a man who is ready to maximise opportunities, bear in mind also, that opportunity means blessings and breakthrough is on the horizon (Gal.6:7).

WHAT TYPE OF LAND? Heb.6:7-8(ERV) “Some people are like land that gets plenty of rain and produces a good crop for those who farm it. That kind of land has God’s blessing. But other people are like land that grows only thorns and weeds. It is worthless and in danger of being cursed by God. It will be destroyed by fire.” From the above bible text, it is clear that there are two types of soils, the one that receives rain from heaven and bring forth good and beneficial fruits, while the other, brings forth only tares and weeds despite receiving the same heavenly blessings. The narrative is not so much about the different types of land, but the lives of people and particularly that of professed Christians. After having been born again, Holy Spirit baptised and hearing the word of God, many children of God makes one wonder if these blessings are not a waste of time because they remain in the old nature revelling in the deeds of the flesh against which Apostle Paul admonished in Col. 3:5-9 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: for which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: in the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds. The life that still indulge in these have denied the faith having not put off the deeds of the old man, clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withers, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. On the other hand, there are others who received the same grace and became profitable in the hands of the Lord, they have consigned themselves to Col.3:15-17, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Their lives brings God pleasure, being fruitful vines and honourable. Beloved, the question is, which side of the divide are you? Today is a good day to make amends should you identify that one is needed after a sincere and objective review of your standing with the Lord. May you receive help to take the right decision and do the right thing IJN. Maranatha!!

“And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.” Luke 1:20 When an individual gives their life to Jesus, they acquire the title of a Believer. Now, with that title comes a lot of responsibilities, chief of which is to take the Word of God at face value regardless of how reasonable or not it seem. Luke 1:45 “And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Believing the Word of God is the path to blessedness, whereas non believing leads to Divine reprimand. It is not enough to be called a believer, rather it is mandatory to believe every Word that proceeds from the Lord. And there are many Words that were clearly proclaimed to us, but which after a while of waiting and confessing them without immediate manifestation, are thrown into the garbage bin of life. The implication of such attitude is that prayers are not answered and destiny missed, just because the fellow cannot wait. A clear indication of unbelief is to demand a sign that the Word of God will come to pass. Ps.119:89 “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” The Word of God is the final authority over any situation, therefore, whatever is the circumstances one finds themselves in, there is a Word from God that had settled it even before the situation arose, all you need is believe the Word, even though it may tarry, it will surely come to pass. Quit doubting the Word of God, do not be another Zachariah that would only believe if he saw a sign, but, be like Mary, who believed God, therefore there was a performance of that which you will believe.God is still very much in following through on every Word He says, only believe. The title of a Believer is nothing if you do not believe God at all times

Jer.51:20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms. In the days of yore, a major weapon of warfare was the battle axe, we also know that axe is usually used to break hard items, such as wood, bones of animals. The axe has many use, it can be used as useful implement around the house, or as a weapon of defence and indeed as that of offence. Our memory verse lends credence to the fact that our God is involved in warfare , therefore it is correct to say that the life of the Christian(Children of God) is a life of battles against the enemies of God as His battle axe with the mandate to break in pieces nations that are opposed to the rulership of God, and also to such kingdoms that exalts itself against the knowledge of Him. You His battle axe. For an axe to be effective it must submit itself to the One who handles it (Is.10:15), for you to be useful in the hand of God, you must be willing to do His bidding, additionally, the axe must be sharp (Eccl. 10:10), meaning as children of God and His battle axe , we must be holy and always ready for His use, particularly when we consider that the battles with the kingdom of Satan is one that comes in waves, never ending and always changing format. Ps. 11:3 What can the righteous accomplish when truth’s pillars are destroyed and law and order collapse?” Unrighteousness in our lives will render us unprofitable in the plan of God to deploy us as His battle axe, as a matter of fact it makes us a thing of scorn and derision before Him, Eccl 10:1 says As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honour. Although God desires for or us to be His battle axe, however, no one goes to battles with unprepared and not fit for purpose army (Jud.7:1-3), it takes more than being a Christian to be an effective battle axe, it takes consecration, commitment, readiness and a life of holiness. Since He does not want any to be a casualty in the battle front, as many that are not ready to watch and pray in preparedness for the waves of satanic onslaught against the kingdom of God may be easily expended, therefore God will not count on them, those are the ones Apostle Paul described in 2Tim.3:5 They may pretend to have a respect for God, but in reality they want nothing to do with God’s power. Stay away from people like these! Your job as God’s battle axe is to stand against and destroy every part of the kingdom that runs contrary to that of God, and ensure the establishment of His kingdom on earth, that is why you are alive and have been blessed with every blessings in Heavenly places….. Are you living as His battle axe, can He use you to break in pieces the opposing nations and destroy such kingdoms? God needs you to be ready for deployment, I pray when you are called upon you will not disappoint Him. Maranatha

Gen.12:1-3 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” As the saying, “there is no free coffee……” to every right, there is a responsibility attached, as a matter of fact, it will be irresponsible to give a fellow rights without being accountable for anything. It is commonly said that it is only a parent that have no good plans for their children that will not hold them to anything while they enjoy all privileges. Our Father is a responsible father, Who though have made provisions for our wellbeing, yet will not hand it to us on a platter without us “paying” for it. We have seen a lot of examples of where children are raised with an entitlement mentality, where they get whatever they want and whenever without any need to give a value, it is therefore not surprising that such individual will not attach any importance to anything, the story of the prodigal son is one example, it was because he had no value for hard work having not earned the estate he was given that made him to waste all of it in riotous spending. In our text God told Abram, I will bless you, make your name great and bless the whole earth through you…. Fantastic promises, however, it came with preconditions, leave everyone, everywhere and everything you have ever known, to a place I will take you, He must uproot himself before he will enter into the blessings. It does not become a right until he had done as God instructed. The reason it seem that God does not answer the prayers of many is because, we want to eat our cakes and have it, we want all the rights as enumerated in the scriptures but are unwilling to do the responsibilities, it does not work like that with our Father. The major responsibility He gave us and the blessings thereto can be found in Matt.6:33 (AMPC) “But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.” As you seek the Lord with all your heart and might, He begins to show Himself true in your life, the you enter into the inheritance covenant that He has with all who are in Christ. The rights are there for the taking, however, you must satisfy the condition….. That is your responsibility

Hos.4:17 Ephraim is joined to idols, So let him alone [to suffer the consequences]. For every decision we make in life there will be consequences to be borne. Ephraim was the second child of Joseph who received the blessings of the first born of his grandfather , thus setting the younger above the older (Gen.48:17-20), soon enough, Ephraim became ten times the size of Manasseh (Duet.33:17). God so loved him that He blessed him so much and even when he started misbehaving God sent His representatives to him to warn him, however, Ephraim will not heed the warnings, therefore when God has had enough of him, He left him to his decision to be joined to idols, which ultimately led to his becoming desolate after God handed off him. The story of Ephraim is quite similar to what obtains in Christendom today, for no reason whatsoever, God chose to bring many to the fold (Eccl.9:11), with a view to give them all round prosperity and an escape from the destruction that is to come, with only the task of making disciples of the world. Instead of taking the salvation seriously , many of the folks started living riotously and without regard for the mandate, supposing that the grace they received is for them to pursue their self-interest, thereby elevating their comfort and peace over and beyond the reason for their call ab initio. These joined themselves to the god of this world, supposing that their effort and agility is the reason for the little breakthrough they now enjoy, they forget that the life of a man does not consist of the abundance of his riches than that his name be written in the book of life. Duet. 28:1 “Now it shall be, if you diligently listen to and obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all of His commandments which I am commanding you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. The failure of Ephraim to adhere to this simply instruction became his albatross, he fell from grace to grass, Brethren, the Lord is saying the same thing to you today, will you hearken to Him? Matt.6:33 “So above all, constantly seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness, then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly.” Whoever you are joined to is he who you be like and controls your mind, suffice however to say; the things of the world have no eternal value, only spiritual things lasts both in the now and hereafter. Who are joined to? The idol of money, fame, influence and worldly powers? All these are clouds without rain , a mere shadow without substance. One with God is a majority! Time to set your priorities aright, and put God and His will at the front burner of your life, thereby assuring yourself of a life of bliss always, joining to idols on the other hand will bring temporary happiness that will fizzle away when the issues of life arise. Align yourself with Him who has eternal life

Phil. 4:11 I’m not telling you this because I’m in need, for I have learned to be satisfied in any circumstance” John F Kennedy, the 35th American President once said “Success has many fathers , but failure is an orphan”, a very powerful, yet true statement, we all want to be successful in whatever area of human endeavour we find ourselves. Without a doubt, success is good and also refreshing, my discovery however revealed that there is no generally acceptable definition of the word “Success”. For example, writing and passing an examination can be tagged success, while on the other hand someone who failed that same examination may go on in life to own the company where the other fellow gets employment later in life. For a child of eight month to walk is a success, the same cannot be said for a child who is Two years old. Success for one person may be to take Israel out of Egypt, running away from the enemy, while for another it may be confronting Goliath. While it was a success for Elijah to call fire down from Heaven to roast his would be arresters, for Elisha, it was actually arresting his arresters, therefore, it would seem that success is a subjective topic. Paul said, for him, success is being joyful in whatever situation, whether in much or in lack. Vernon Howard defined success when he said, “You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need”. A simple yet very apt definition of the word, for I observed that what drives many people is their want not need, therefore even when after achieving success they still keep pushing for more. In simple Economics terms, true success is the point of intersection of Need and Want on the diagram/grid. True success is contentment, a man who is not contented with what he has, regardless that he has the whole world, he will still be chasing things. It is why there are people the world called successful yet they are found in underhand dealings, for MPs caught claiming spoof claims, Presidents charged with stealing state resources, CEOs involved in fraudulent activities etc. 1Tim. 6:6 “Godliness with contentment is great gain”, having all of one’s necessities is having enough, the lack of contentment is the root cause of many wicked devises and sinful activities. Success is what you define for yourself and not what the world define for you, cease from comparing yourself with others( 2Cor.10:12). When a person is not contented they trouble their own very souls and that of their households (Jos. 7:1-26). In defining success, be mindful, you do not owe anybody except the Lord an explanation. It is impossible to please God when you have an erroneous definition of success

Eccl.3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. T “The end justifies the means” is a popular saying that hold true even to date. The journey of life is full of twists and turns, it is by no means a strait jacket. Just like the human fingers that are different in size and shape, yet useful for different purposes, so the life journey of all people, that Mr. A started out early does not mean he will be better than Mr. B who started late. The fact that Mrs. K married and started making babies immediately does not suggest that her latter days will be better than Ms. D who at thirty three is still waiting for her own spouse; the story of Hannah and Peninah shows us that the race is really not for the swift, as there was no mention of any of the children of Peninah, yet even heaven bore witness about Samuel – the “late comer” first child of Hannah. Job. 5:8-9 But as for me, I would seek God, And to God I would commit my cause— Who does great things, and unsearchable, Marvelous things without number. No man can receive anything without being given from above, the fact that you are suffering a delay in any area of life does not mean that God has forgotten or denied you, if anything, it is so that you can draw closer to Him the more in faithfulness and perfection(Gen.17:1). God reserves the right to do with your life as He wills, as the potter does with the lump of clay. Eccl. 8:17 then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labours to discover it, yet he will not find it; moreover, though a wise man attempts to know it, he will not be able to find it. The ways of our God is past finding out, otherwise how does one explain the story of the life of Solomon, a product of illegitimate relationship, yet so highly blessed by God? Beloved, rather than look at things not working in your life, why not focus on Him whose ways are past finding out, firm up your relationship with the Maker of all things with whom there is no variableness neither of shadow of turning. Everyone that waited on God got their requests granted and they go the best (Isaac, Samuel, Joseph, John the Baptist ). Rom. 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! Do not try to work out how the delay will come to an end, only hold on to Him who has no impossibilities, you mind is too miniscule to understand the depth of His wisdom. Those who called Sarah barren came to rejoice and laugh with her at the fullness of time, if you will only trust, believe and obey, your day of laughter is just around the corner. That delay is not a denial but a reason to get the best and have the last laugh…..Shalom

2Kings 6:1 The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. Change is only constant thing in life, in fact the lack of change is an indication of death, everything in life changes, whether it the season, weather, stature and even trees, that is the design of God, and that God changes not is one of His unique characteristics. There is no alternative to change! The sons of the prophet decided that their meeting place was too small for them, therefore they wanted to build something better and bigger. The story underlines the fact that change must of necessity be initiated by the beneficiaries. The advantages of change management is a lot, for example change allows a breath of fresh air into the lives of the people, it is curious to note that these set of sons of prophet had been comfortable in the same small space when Elijah was with them, but immediately Elisha come to them they desired a bigger space: why? They suddenly understood that with God, the amount of room you allow Him He will fill. As wonderful as change is people resists it in every sphere of human endeavour, not because they don’t like the idea of it, but more for the fact that they are afraid of what will be the cost to themselves, others resists it because they are already comfortable in the tiny space, one then wonders, why will anyone want to be a big fish in a little pond, when they can be a big fish in the big ocean? Also, change is resisted because some cannot just think outside the box, having been fixated so much on the small space than see the massive opportunities available in expanding. Individuals embrace change because they are no more comfortable with the status quo, or because they suddenly realised that opportunities abound round about them and their tapping into it will be beneficial to them going forward, that was the mindset of the sons of prophet that came to Elisha. Beloved, this message is not about those sons of prophet, but you. Why do you still squeeze yourself in the little space when you can be in a big place for God. Why are you content with being a receiver that a giver, why do you feel satisfied only attending Churches to warm the benches rather than rolling up your sleeves and being busy for God, why are you pleased with others giving you handouts, when you can be the biggest giver. Why are you not seeking to change the narrative, Job even though had lost everything was definite about his coming change(Job 14:14). Whatever your level in life today, never be satisfied, seek out a change for the better and bigger still, because you surely can occupy more space for God. Of all changes though, is to get better for the Lord and in His assignment for your life, that you are healing the sick now, is an indication that you can raise the dead, that you win a soul today means you can will a whole city to Christ. Change starts when you are not satisfied with the level you are operating at, there is more to you than you are presently. It is time to spread your wings, the whole universe is yours to navigate, get away from cramping yourself in, stop listening to the Devil’s whispering that you cannot amount to anything better . Is.60:1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you”

Matt.6:14 If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. The heaviest load a person can carry is the weight of unforgiveness. It is so because no individual can bear the burden of their errors committed against God, Ps.130:3 “If you kept a record of our sins, who could escape being condemned?” The weight of sun is so much that no natural man can bear the consequences according to Rom.6:23. In the spiritual sense, not forgiving those that err against you is a clear disregard of Divine instruction and therefore will create a gulf between man and God signifying a spiritual death/ disconnect, and giving access to Satan to torment such fellow. In the physical realm, unforgiveness destroys relationships, joy and internal personal peace, that could lead to severe health challenges. When a man lives in unforgiveness, the consequences is that such individual will have to pay the wages of their sins. Understandable that you may feel hurt, used or even abused, however, if you are a child of God, you have to let go, not for the benefit of the offender, but for your own good. It is in forgiving other’s their sins that God will not bring up the issue of your own sins and therefore will hear you when you call on Him. Eph.4:26 “When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last until the sun goes down.” In summary, forgive, forget and let it go, for your own sanity and wellbeing, Christ has supplied the power for you to do all things. Shalom