As The Lord Lives, I Will Move Forward, by Pastor Samuel Obafaiye

One of the messages that God sent to us in the just concluded Anniversary is that we will move forward. We equally heard that it is not just a promise from God; but a command.

In response to that command, it is my yearning, hope and prayer that for every one of us, we will truly move forward.

There are many words the Bible employ to demonstrate the certainty and unfailing occurrence of something. Some of such words are:- Verily, verily

John 5:24 –Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Matthew 18:3 – And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 26:21 – And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

 – Of a truth

Job 34:12 – Yea, of a truth God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.

– Indeed

John 8:36 – If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Genesis 17:19 – And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.

– As The Lord lives

2 Kings 2:2 – And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.

Ruth 3:13 – Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth: lie down until the morning.

Again, today’s message is a personal confession and a statement of faith that is intended to nullify any iota of doubt regarding what God has said concerning us.

The bible records those who made such personal confession and so demonstrated their faith in God:

– Elijah

1 Kings 17:1 – And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

– David

1 Samuel 17:37 – David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.

Therefore, the message of today is to enable our faith to rise and by so doing enjoy the totality of all God has in store for us as His children.

At a point in Apostle Peter’s and Andrew’s life, they were opportune to meet Jesus; they were to follow Jesus so they could move forward from catching fishes to catching men. However the pressure of life made them go backward to catching fishes to satisfy their bellies.

Luke 4:38-39 – And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. And Simon’s wife’s mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her. And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them.

– There is someone here; your belly is scaring you not to obey God’s personal instruction to you. God has me to remind you that belly for food, food for belly, but both shall be destroyed eventually, your obedience to God that shall abide forever.

Thank God for Peter and Andrew, as Jesus had another encounter with them in Luke 5:1-11.  After this second encounter, the brothers moved forward indeed as they became notable apostles.

Peter who had laboured throughout the night and caught nothing was instructed by Jesus to launch into the deep and cast his net. Peter obeyed only because it was Jesus that said so, the result of his obedience was staggering.

He caught multitude of fishes to the extent that their boat and that of their friends were too full.

The statement of faith and emphasis that Peter made was ‘at thy word, I will let down the net’. It was a decision that paid off amazingly.

God has instructed us to move forward in this year. For those who will exercise their faith to do so and make necessary steps, I hear that such people will make unimaginable progress.

May you be one of them in Jesus name.

8 Hindrances to moving forward

1 – Barriers of any kind. Real and symbolic barriers can pose as hindrance to one’s moving forward. Red Sea; Wall of Jericho; Stone at Lazarus tomb; several gates shut against Peter in prison; etc.

Every barrier to your progress is hereby destroyed in Jesus name.

2 – Doubt. The words of God are Yea and Amen. Many times we doubt His words, under such circumstance; it is difficult to move forward.

John 20:24-25 – But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

No wonder people do not relate much to the name Thomas; neither did we hear much about his progress.

If you are still doubting a promise of God for you, I have good news from the bible for you.

Jude 1:22 (ESV) “And have mercy on those who doubt”.

3 – Unbelief. God treats unbelief to His word as a greater insult to His person and His name.

Matthew 13:54-58 – And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Sadly, their community could not move forward. Sickness and diseases are hindrance to progress.

4 – Outright disobedience. Some people believe in God, they are fond of disobeying Him. Possibly because He is a Spirit that can’t be seen, or because He is slow to anger.

Numbers 14:1-11

5 – Distraction. Those that must make progress must always be focus. Whether its broader destiny, or a particular aspiration, focus is a necessity. Otherwise, what one has set out to do will not happen.

Genesis 16:1-6 – Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.

May nobody and nothing distract you from the progress God had earmarked for you.

6 – Fear. It has been described as false expression appearing real. But when fear grasps a man, it torments that life, to the extent that it will be hard to make any sort of progress.

1 Kings 19:1-4 – And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.

How this fear rubbish all the feats that Elijah did in the sight of all Israel. Putting Jezebel at a higher level of command.

May God make the spirit of fear to be afraid of you.

6 – Prayerlessness. As believers, one of our most weapons of warfare is prayer. Hindrances first happen in the spiritual realm before manifesting in the physical.  Those who cannot pray will become victim of hindrance.

Daniel 9:1-3 – In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

Daniel prayed, the prince of Persia was sent to hinder his prayers. Imagine if he didn’t pray.  They might continue to suffer in Babylon.

May God cut off the hands of Babylon from your moving forward.

8 – Carelessness. This is a nonchalant attitude of someone regarding their own progress. An I don’t care attitude. Such people will settle for whatever life gave them and not what they demand from life. Usually, they are losers in life.

Judges 16:4-6 – And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.

And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

I Kings 11:4-13 – King Solomon.

May you not be careless with your progress in Jesus name.

Prayers

1. Father, remove any barriers that might be hindering me from moving forward.
2. Father, let me not be a candidate of doubts of your words regarding my life.
3. Father, let me not find myself in a state of unbelief regarding your word.
4. Father, let no one or nothing be able to distract me from making progress.
5. Father, by your grace and mercy, I shall not disobey you.
6. Father, eradicate fear of any kind from me, so I can move forward.
7. Father, supernatural enable me to pray.
8. Father, help me not to be careless about my moving forward.

The sermon, As The Lord Lives, I Will Move Forward, by Pastor Samuel Obafaiye, was delivered on July 23rd, 2017.

Why God Sends Showers of Blessings, by Revd George Adegboye

One of the phrases you and I are used too often is “God bless you”, even today you have said it to someone or before the end of today you will say it. Many times when someone says “God bless you, we do not answer the way we are supposed to.

Proverbs 16:22a- “Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it…”

The reason we do not answer the way we are supposed to is because we don’t understand it. For many that use it, we use it like a “Good morning” message; like our everyday word of greeting. We are too familiar with the word that we lose the effects.

James 1:25- “But when you look into God’s perfect law that sets people free, pay attention to it. If you do what it says, you will have God’s blessing. Never just listen to his teaching and forget what you heard”

We need an understanding of the word “God bless you” so we can receive what it contains. Words we say are containers, the bible says the word of God is spirit and they are life. When someone says “God bless you “what does he/ she mean? Many times when the pastor says “God bless you”, you do not even respond anymore. I like to tell you today, the best thing any Christian can say to you is “God bless you”.

Heb. 4: 12- “God’s word[a] is alive and working. It is sharper than the sharpest sword and cuts all the way into us. It cuts deep to the place where the soul and the spirit are joined. God’s word cuts to the centre of our joints and our bones. It judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts”.

Gods’ word is powerful”.  In Numbers 6: 22-28, God specifically told Moses and Aaron to bless the children of Israel.  This is because of the importance of the word.

The word bless in Greek is the word “Makarios”- meaning happy, In Hebrew termed “Berakha”- meaning praise or gift.

There are 7 different meaning of “God bless you” from the Hebrew and Greek meaning of bless.

When someone says God bless you; they are wishing and praying God will grant you supreme happiness. The source of happiness is happenings around you. The person is therefore wishing that happenings around you will be favourable and make you happy. Psalm 40:16- “But may those who come to you be happy and rejoice. May those who love being saved by you always be able to say, “Praise the Lord!”

Note that happiness is different from joy. Joy is what God gives. Happiness is based on what is happening around you. When someone is wishing you Gods’ blessing, they are simply saying, it is my prayer that happenings around, your circumstances, events around you makes you happy.

When someone says “God bless you”; they are saying, may you experience the warmth of Gods’ good pleasure. There are 2 things you can experience from God. The heat of God’ wrath and the warmth of Gods’ good pleasure. When someone is pleased with you; something warmth come from them. Prov. 16: 7- “When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. When you understand the meaning of the words you respond differently with an understanding.

When someone says “God bless you”, they are saying; may the lord make you large. It is a beautiful thing to be enlarged by God.  They are saying may you be magnified.

Joshua 3: 7- “And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.”

When God blesses a man, he becomes larger than life.

God bless you also means, may God connect you to sources that are in exhaustible. Some of you, your business is where it is because you haven’t been connected to an inexhaustible source.   With an inexhaustible source, wherever you go there will be a need for the gift you carry. All you need is to be connected by God. The reason we have a human body is not because of the skeleton but the connection (i.e. the joints) to help the locomotive force, makes up the human body. At times all you need is to obey just one person who has the Master key.

God bless you also mean that the footprints of God and finger prints of God be transparent in your life. A man of God  I used to  know,  doesn’t pray too much  he just says  “ Be blessed” .  He believes in that phrase is everything and all you need.  I pray for you today “God bless you”, that your life be a reflection of Gods’ glory. In some peoples life is the finger prints of the devil such as unemployment, trouble, barrenness, brokenness, and lack of progress.

John 10: 10- “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly”.

The fingerprint of God is evident and should be evident in every Child of God. He says in Isaiah 60:1 “arise and shine for your light has come and the glory of God is risen upon you”.  When people look at you, they should know you are serving a living God –

Psalm 5: 12- “For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield”.

When some says God bless you, they are saying may you be empowered to prosper. For many years, we have been told prosperity means money but blessing in the Hebrew word means YOLO – to enjoy life. God wants us to be empowered in order to enjoy life. To be free from problems and be able to handle challenges. Most of us need to be empowered; we need help with our jobs, our career, our finances, our relationships and homes.

Psalm 108:12- “Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless”.  Everyone needs help one way or another.

“……A man once got home and lifted up his wife unto God, the wife asked why, he said Pastor says when we get home we should lift our problems unto God…”.

Finally, when someone says God bless you, they are saying may you fortunate. It means may you not be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I know what it means to be fortunate. Remember the 9 /11 incident of the world trade centre; I flew that same aircraft to New York 2 days before. When you hear about people dying under certain conditions but it could have been you, you know you are fortunate.

Psalm 37:33- “The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged”.

Psalm 91:16 – “With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”.

Mark 11:23- “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith”.

Today I say “God bless you “.

Now that you know what it means to be blessed? Why do you think God wants to bless you?

So that he can show you his love, goodness and concerns for us, there is a song we used to sing. “I have seen the Lords ‘goodness is mercies and compassion….”. He wants to show us He is a good God. Some people when something bad happens, they think God has left them or doesn’t love them anymore.  Isa. 49: 14-16- “But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.”

Note: Psalm 45: 9, Psalm 199:16

God intends to bless us because of the state of the world – 2 Timothy 3:1- “….that in the last day’s perilous times shall come…” Since I became a Christian I have never known what is happening in Egypt, this is because God shows himself. In the midst of drought that is when we need the rain.  Massive droplets cannot keep you during draught. You need showers of blessings. The economy of the world will never improve, there was a time £1 = $2 as at yesterday £1=$1.2.  Don’t be afraid of  famine, remember  what happened  to Isaac  in the midst of  famine  Genesis 27 .. “And the Lord blessed Isaac…”

Also, He blesses to make you recover from your wasted years. When you look at your background, you have suffered a lot. You know what you have gone through. God will and wants to compensate you. Some of you have been in this country and you have been doing one job or the other that does not equate to your degree because of your immigration status, some of you have been waiting for years to have kids.  God says He will bless you; He will restore your wasted years.

God intends to bless you so that your life will get the attention of people.  Showers of blessing   bring about thunderous noise. It makes sounds. Nobody noticed Joseph until he was blessed by God.

Finally, God blesses so we could end up the way He wants. . Today I pray for you “God bless you”

So anytime someone says God bless you answer with an understanding and receive the blessing.

God Bless You.

The sermon, Why God Sends Showers of Blessings, by Revd George Adegboye, Founder of RHEMA Chapel Worldwide, was delivered on July 16th, 2017 on the occasion of the 11th Annual Conference.

What is glory?

Glory can be said to be fame and admiration that you gain by doing something impressive.

The glory of Solomon was rose till it got to Africa. So that Queen Sheba of Ethiopia planned a visit to Jerusalem.

In 2 Chro. 9:1-9, the bible says after Queen Sheba had heard Solomon spoke, saw how ordered his administration was, got answers to all her questions and saw all Solomon had built, there was no more spirit in her!

She gave Solomon lots and lots of presents and went back home spreading Solomon glory everywhere.

I pray for someone here, may your fame rise higher.

May your admiration from people increase.

May God grant you the power to do something more impressive in life in Jesus name.

May people stand in awe of your presence.

May the glory of God upon your life attract gold, silver, precious stones and expensive spices in Jesus name.

May special dignitaries come looking for you from far and near.

Glory can be said to be a state of high honour.

In Gen. 26: 12-14, the bible tells us that Isaac had been a man of honour before, but after the famine that hit Gerar, Isaac became a man of high and great honour. A whole nation became envious of him and the king of that nation professed that one man’s household was greater than his kingdom.

In Jesus name, may your honour rise higher.

May nations take notice of you.

May God make you greater than a kingdom.

Glory can be said to be a brilliant radiant beauty. The bible tells us that Jacob loved Joseph so that he made him a coat of many colours. Joseph enjoyed special honours from his father.

However, when his brothers came to Egypt to buy corn, Joseph was standing in front of them and they couldn’t recognised him, because he was clothed in garments of brilliant radiant beauty.

To someone here, may your coat of many colours be upgraded to garment of brilliance, garment of radiance, and garment of beauty.

May your glory and honour rise to the level at which those who had none you before will not recognise you again.

The Hebrew word for glory is ‘kabod’, which means ‘heavy or weighty’. So that glory can readily mean the weightiness of God’s presence.

In 2 Chro. 5:11-14, at the dedication of Solomon Temple, the glory of God filled the Temple to the extent that the priest could not move around!

May the glory of God be heavy upon your destiny.

In Greek, the word glory is translated from the work ‘doxa’, which means ‘good reputation or an appearance that commands respect and honour’.

May God grant your appearance to command respect and honour.

May you never beg for honour from men.

May even your photograph in whichever form begins to receive respect and honour in Jesus name.

In Latin, glory comes from the word ‘gloria’, which means ‘fame, renown’.

In Luke 4:14, the bible says after Jesus passed his temptations, he returned in the power of the Holy Spirit, and His fame spread throughout the region.

There is someone listening to me, in this region and beyond, your fame shall spread. God shall make you a man or a woman of great renown.

Glory essentially emanate from God. It is one of His special attributes (Zech. 2:8; Ps. 24:10; Heb. 1:1-3). However, because God made man in His image and likeness, the glory of God does rub on man (Psalm 85:5).

Even though, God is a Spirit and cannot be seen, His presence, power and goodness can be seen through His manifested glory. Both in the Old and New Testament, God had manifested His glory in many ways, e.g. Pillar of fire and cloven tongues of fire.

So that it is possible to see God’s glory.

In Exodus 33:18, Moses asked God to show him His glory. God did.

In Isaiah 40:5, God told Prophet Isaiah that He will reveal His glory to all flesh. It will happen.

May God reveal His glory to you.

May God reveal His glory through you.

The glory of God upon a man can be very visible.

Genesis 45:13 – And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.

May the glory of God upon your life be very vivid.

May you enjoy indisputable and unquestionable glory.

As God’s children, God wants our glory to shine for two reasons:

1. So that Mankind will see and glorify God.

Matthew 5:16 – Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

2. So that the fear of God can come upon the earth.

Psalms 67:7 – God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

What must I do to enjoy a rising glory?

1. Acknowledge the present glory of God upon your life and be grateful for it.

Numbers 14:22-23 – Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:

2. Inquire from God and seize every opportunity that can make your glory rise.

I Sam. 17:22-58. – The king was there, Goliath had boasted for 40 days, no one could face him, reward was waiting, no better opportunity in life than this for David.

3. Don’t dwell on the glories of the past. Thank God for them and expect more.

Isaiah 43:18-19 – Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

Philippians 3:13-14 – Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

There are more glorious years ahead of you.

Many a times you hear people say, “Those good old days”.

The old days may be good, but your present day shall be better.

Better days lie ahead of you in Jesus name.

4. Command the spirit of Uzziah that might be affecting the rising of your glory to ‘die’.

Isaiah 6:1 – In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

– It could be a calendar reference point or spiritual reference point.

– Other prophets had testified of seeing The Lord, but not Isaiah.

– This was in chapter 6, from chapter 1-6, he was prophesying without seeing God.

– But from chapter 7, he kept saying “the Lord said to me”.

Every Uzziah disturbing your rising glory, receive their death sentencing right now in Jesus name.

Prayers

1. Almighty Father, let every opposition to my rising glory be destroyed.

2. Genesis 31:1 – And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory. – Almighty Father, let no man be able to swap my glory.

3. Almighty Father, take pride and boast of Your glory upon my life.

4. Almighty Father, let Your glory upon my life be eternal and not temporal.

The sermon, Your Glory Will Rise Higher, by Pastor Samuel Obafaiye, was delivered on July 2, 2017