Articles & Outlines

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

Ez. 39:8 “Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.” To every living soul, there is always a day that defines them, where the direction of life changes, when they come to a new place either by personal decision or happenstance. The day that leaves a permanent mark in their history. For example, the day of birth of individuals, is that which kickstarts the existence of the fellow; the day of marriage is another day that is unforgettable, it is the day of commencement of real adulthood, another yet unforgettable day will be the date of the birth of the first child of the new family, that it is that starts off a new meaning of life, the beginning of being responsible for another life – which is completely dependent upon yours-, the day the dynamics of your own life changes, even up to how you sleep, eat and spend your own money and leisure. There is always one day that changes a person forever. That day, regardless of how definitive it may be is however not as important as what one does going forward from then. In the case of marriage, the ceremony of the wedding day will be forgotten quickly if both parties lack the understanding that they no longer have full autonomy of how they spend their time and resources. Unless they are both willing to make the marriage work, what was meant to be a forever joy may actually turn out otherwise. The day of birth is not as important as what one does with one’s life. A definitely most important day, is the day of death, because it is the day that determines everything. The time between the day of birth and death is the time to work what will be , after one’s demise. Heb.9:27 “Every human being is appointed to die once, and then to face God’s judgment.” There is only one way to come out justified from God’s judgment room John 3:18 “So now there is no longer any condemnation for those who believe in him, but the unbeliever already lives under condemnation because they do not believe in the name of the only Son of God.” That one day is closer home than it ever was, the day when the music will stop and nothing else will matter, when what you have lived for will be the determinant of your eternal abode. Have you truly surrendered your life to Jesus and daily working out your salvation?

2Cor.4:17 “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” Many of us children of God, because of our open confession and proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ suffered or are suffering one form of affliction or the other, whereas some of these afflictions are subtle, for example being denied opportunities, restlessness in the family, being an outcast amongst friends and relatives including becoming a subject of scorn, little talk and laughter. On the other hand, some of the afflictions are as evident as can be, like open and aggressive confrontation, condemnation by the powers that be, suppression of rights and intimidation etc, these things are commonplace in our present world, we cannot however be deterred by them, more so that our Lord had already given us heads up in Rev. 2:10 “Do not yield to fear in the face of the suffering to come but be aware of this: the devil is about to have some of you thrown into prison to test your faith. For ten days you will have distress but remain faithful to the day you die, and I will give you the victor’s crown of life.” I belong to the school of thought that believes that nothing good comes easy, more so, to be a winner, one must strive for mastery, getting to the top requires a climbing, and climbing is not for the faint hearted. The plan of Satan is to scare us away from lighting up our spheres of influence, (our catchment area), he knows that if we are able to achieve that, his lies will be revealed and his kingdom will crumble, therefore he deploys all his arsenal against the Christian, including using brethren in the faith 3John 1:9-10 “I wrote a letter to the church, but Diotrephes will not listen to what we say. He always wants to be the leader. When I come, I will talk with him about what he is doing. He lies and says evil things about us, but that is not all. He refuses to welcome and help the believers who travel there. And he will not let others help them. If they do, he stops them from meeting with the church anymore.” Regardless of these oppositions, threats and intimidations however, we must not cease to shine our light so as to dispel the darkness that has engulfed the spiritual eyes of the people, nor can we afford to lose our savour as salt wherein we no longer put an end to known and perceived decadence around us. We must continue to stand for and in the Truth, having the understanding that our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!]. Stand fast, stand firm, knowing that we have not been left neither can we be left without help, the Helper is with you always, the battle is long and fierce but for as many that will stay the course, there can only be one outcome, the crown of glory awaits.

John 8:36 “So if the Son liberates you [makes you free men], then you are really and unquestionably free.” Freedom is a priceless possession and everyone seeks after it. Be it freedom from debt, sickness, oppression, intimidation, injustice and disease, each one of us will give anything to have freedom. Even more so because any form of lack of freedom is a bondage! To this end, people go to any lengths to break the yoke of bondage on their lives, in the quest to free his people from bondage MosesThe Egyptian prince), took it upon himself to kill an Egyptian officer, only to soon find himself in very big trouble. The power of man cannot get him freedom. There are freedom of various categories, for example a person may have everything he needs but be under the bondage of a disease ( 2kings 5:1), another can can be under the yoke of barrenness despite having everything ( 2 Sam. 6:23), yet another can be in the bondage of poverty to the point that they have no idea if they’ll have any more meal forever (1kings 17:12), it is possibly to be free physical yet spiritually in bondage notwithstanding societal standing ( 1Sam16:14). The freedom that any man enjoy is not a freedom if it is qualified, such freedom does not have joy in it, neither does it comes peace. The freedom many have is akin to the freedom described in Exo, 8:28 “And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.” Such conditional freedom is what the world gives, they say yes, you are free but subject to the whims and caprices, the determinate counsel of the powers that be. True and unquestionable freedom is only attainable when a life is in Christ, it is Him who has come that humanity might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. It is Him that sets free indeed, He actually revealed to us and we have come to acknowledge the truth that in the world there is strife, contention and wickedness of the highest order John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]” The only one who can give true freedom is the One who has conquered all and in control of all because all power and authority in Heaven and earth has been given to His. Luke 4:18 & 21 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised, And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Come, be committed to Jesus today and receive true and unambiguous freedom