Category Archives: GENERAL

GENERAL

The Importance of Kingdom Friends

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Friends are pointers to your destination. If the friends you are surrounded with are those with no clear destination in life, it is best you change them, else  you will become like them.

Friendship has a lot of influence on one’s destiny. A Destiny unfulfilled is as a result of an association unchecked.

Godly friendships are pointers to a profitable future. Any association that doesn’t have the kingdom as its focus has nothing to offer.

“Every violent thug is despised by the Lord, but every tender lover finds friendship with God, and will hear his intimate secrets” – Proverbs 3:32.

The aforementioned text shows what friendship is all about in God. Abraham was a friend of God and because of his faithfulness and loyalty to the friendship, God never hid anything from him.

The first friend that a man must have should be God. Only God can reveal to you, certain secrets needed for your success in life.

Moses was a friend of God and because of his loyalty to the Friendship, God released some of the deepest covenant secrets, some of which are still relevant in this generation.

Anyone who despises God’s kind of friendship is regarded as a thug.

A thug is a person who no regards for things that are important. A thug is an aggressive person who does not cherish the blessings that God has given to him.

In the body today, there are several ‘thug’ Christians. They live lawlessly, without a consciousness of their relationship with God.

Let us look back at our scripture,

“But a tender lover finds”,

The word “finds” is a very important word in the abovementioned text.

It connotes a strong longing and desire for God. It means to relentlessly seek after the things of God. A tender lover desires intimate friendship with God. Such a believer would cheerfully walk in obedience to the laws and principles of God’s kingdom.

If you desire the friendship of God, you must be ready to walk in God’s instructions. Loyalty in your friendship with God will cause the favor of God to surround you.

“Sweet friendships refresh the soul and awaken our hearts with joy, for good friends are like the anointing oil that yields the fragrant incense of God’s presence.” – Proverbs 27:9.

Along with our friendship with God, we must be careful in the friendships and associations we maintain in our personal space.

The kind of friends you have here on Earth will determine the kind of relationship you will have with God. Any association that will not remind you of the principles and laws of the kingdom is not meant to exist in your personal life.

In the path of destiny, God gives you the power to choose your friend that can either make your destiny or mar your destiny. 

The kind of friendship you belong to determines what kind of secrets God can give to you. Kingdom Friendship creates an atmosphere of God’s presence around you.

Kingdom Associations create godly atmosphere in your life.

“He appointed the Twelve, whom he named apostles. He wanted them to be continually at his side as his friends, and so that he could send them out to preach 15 and have authority to heal the sick and to cast out demons.” – Mark 3:14-15 (TPT).

Jesus did not just want them to become his disciples; He wanted to impart them with spiritual values that will enable them to stand out in whatever they do.

Kingdom friendship produces kingdom values.

“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.” – Daniel 3:16-17.

Kingdom friends are resolute in Kingdom principles and laws.

The three Hebrew boys in the highlighted text, collectively refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s graven image.

Your close associations go a long way in affecting your life decisions.

Kingdom friendship keeps you strong in times of trials and tribulations, kingdom friendship are important.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to yield to the King’s command, because what he was telling them to do, was against the tenets of God’s covenant.

When you have such friends as the three Hebrew boys, they will guide you. They will help you find alignment to God. 

Kingdom friendship helps you to view things with the lens of the Kingdom.

Prayer and fasting becomes a norm; Mental and Spiritual transformation takes place when one is surrounded by Kingdom friends.

Because Jesus was friends with the Apostles, they were able to align easily with kingdom. 

When you have godly friends, the burdens of the kingdom become light and the yoke becomes easy to bear.

Kingdom friends help shape our views and perspectives to become aligned with the kingdom.

Who are your friends?

This sermon was written by GreenHills Emmanuel.

GENERAL

Upgrading your Perspective

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Image Source: blog.kevineikenberry.com


What if everything works out for your good?

What if all goes as you planned?

What if your hopes and dreams come true?

What if it all turns out great?

What if everything works in your favor?

A lot of people have adopt a negative perspective of life.

All they see is the cloudy and gloomy side of life.

If you are among this category of people, you must decide today, to change. Wipe your mind’s mirror of all the stains which is hindering your eyes from beholding the light of divine hope God is trying to show to you.

Whatsoever you get from life depends greatly on how you choose to see it. And what you see not only depends on what you look at, but also on where you look from.

The time has come for one to stop blaming one’s government for one’s financial hardship.

The Bible tells us that though we are in this world, we are not of this world.

This means, that though we are in the government of our respective countries, we belong and are dependent on a higher government; the government of heaven.

This is supposed to be the standpoint of a believer when addressing the affairs of this world. Though there are circumstances we cannot avoid or change immediately, yet, we can always change our perspective.

Our perspectives can be changed to seeing a challenge, to seeing a phase life which will surely pass.

It was Chris Pine that said,

“The only thing you sometimes have control over is your perspective. You don’t have control over your situation. But you have a choice about how you view it.”

The Bible says, “As a man thinks, so he is” (Prov 23:7).

Your perspective will either become your prison, or your passport to greatness.

Begin to think positively. God gave us a powerful gift which is our imagination.

Begin to imagine beautiful things about yourself and as you imagine, desire, pray and believe they it will become your reality (Mark 11 vs 24).

That is how it works! The more you imagine these good things, the more your desire for them grows stronger. And burning desire is the trigger of fervent prayer.

Begin to confess positive things rather than negative things. The Bible is filled with positive confessions. Devote an hour daily to reading, Meditating on and declaring the promises of God to you.

Let them be your Perspective.

Start each day by confessing God’s promises consciously with faith in your heart.

Confess them at your place of work or during your lunch break. Confess them at night before going to bed and watch how your life will change for good.

Think positively and speak positively.

Let your heart be illuminated by your continuous gaze at the light of God’s promises.

Let your face be illuminated, by your smile of hope, and confidence, that no matter what you are going through, you are coming out strong.

Written by Tolu-Taiwo Victor

GENERAL

Be Patient with Maturity

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Sometimes it takes time and spiritual growth to learn how to put God’s love to work for you. We don’t grow up spiritually overnight.

You can’t put an adult head on a baby’s body, and sometimes it takes time to mature in love.

My brother Dub was a good example of that. It took him time to mature in love because of his upbringing. Dub was always big for his age. By the time he was six¬teen, he was 6 foot 4 inches tall.

But Dub grew up with a chip on his shoulder because he’d been orphaned and kicked from pillar to post. He wouldn’t take anything from anyone.

In fact, when he was a seventeen-year-old boy, I saw him whip four grown men.

But then Dub got saved. And, really, if you’d known where he’d come from, you would have known that something miraculous happened to him to change his nature.

But even though there was a dramatic change on the inside, sometimes he still had a hard time keeping his flesh under. He had to learn to mature in love, and really, he came a long way from his younger days.

But one time, for example, Dub was out in California, and he went into a little coffee shop. He was sitting at the counter, and he ordered something to eat.

When the waitress brought it to him, he bowed his head to pray before he ate. After he prayed, the fellow sitting next to Dub asked him where he was from. Dub said that he was from Oklahoma.

Then the man asked, “Do you know Oral Roberts?”
Dub said, “Well, I don’t know him personally, but I’ve shaken his hand.”

Well,” the fellow replied, “He’s a so-and-so,” and he called him a name.

Then the fellow asked, “Do you know Kenneth Copeland?”

“Yes,” Dub said. “I know him personally.”

“Well,” the fellow replied, “he’s another so-and-so.”

Then the fellow said, “Do you know Kenneth Hagin?”
Dub replied, “Yes, I do.”

The fellow said, “He’s another so-and-so.”

When the fellow said that, Dub knocked him off the counter stool. Then he picked him up and carried him outside.

The owner of the restaurant called the police, and when they got there, Dub was holding the fellow up against the building praying for him.

The police officer said, “What’s the matter?”

Dub said, “This man said my brother was a so-and-so. By saying that, he was calling my mother a dirty name too. No one talks that way about my family!”

The policeman said to the fellow, “Did you do that?”

The man said, “Yes.”

The policeman said, “Why, you ought to have better sense!” Then he asked Dub, “Who is your brother?”
Dub said, “Kenneth Hagin.” The police officer said, “Oh! I’ve read his books and listened to his tapes.”

Then he turned to the other fel¬low and said, “What’s the matter with you!”

The fellow said, “Well, I guess maybe I did do wrong.”

My brother Dub told the fellow, “If you want help, here’s my card. Come and see me.”

The man came to see Dub the next day and got saved!

Now I don’t advocate getting people saved that way, but I just told you that to show you that sometimes it can take time to learn to keep the flesh under and to mature in love.

But Dub came a long way from his younger years. It took him a while, but he grew in love. The Lord had worked Dub over on the inside and made him a new creature, but then Dub had to learn what to do with the outward natural man.

It took him some time to learn to put on Christ on the outward man (Rom. 13:14) and to mature in the God-kind of love.

But it’s no use laughing at Dub, because the Lord is still teaching some of us how to bring the outward man subject too!

___________________
Kenneth E. Hagin

GENERAL, videos, WORSHIP

Daily Worship: Break Every Chain, African Rendition.

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Music is one of the ways in which we declare the mighty power of God. When we sing of His Power, we get the manifestation of His Power.

And when His Power manifests, chains are broken, mountains are levelled and destinies are released.

Olamiji Rasheed, an uprising singer from the Western part of Nigeria, delivers this beautiful rendition of Tasha Cobbs’ ‘Break every Chain’.

GENERAL

Do not give up

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I was in my room one afternoon doing the bottle flip. I was not so good at it at that time, so it was kind of hard for me but I kept on doing it. Sometimes it would almost stand then fall and at other times, it would fall completely. 

After several failed attempts at getting the bottle to stand, I decided I had had enough of the failures. I wanted to quit. But a voice within encouraged me to try it out, one last time. I yielded to that voice, and it worked this time.

Many of us have found ourselves entangled in a particular sin or addiction. We might have been trying to get out of it. But it seems as if the more we try, the stronger the entanglement becomes. We keep making vows and at the same time keep breaking them and each time we break them, we cry asking God for help and liberation. We feel enslaved, hopeless and helpless. We want to give up already thinking we can’t be free from it, thinking it’s our fate and we must take it as it is. But I want to encourage you; don’t give up now!! 

Now is not the time to give up. Now is the time to increase your efforts.  Do not let the devil win this fight for you are more than conquerors through him who loved you (Romans 8:37)

God hears your cries, he sees those secret tears and he is ever ready to save you for his hands are not too short that he cannot save neither is his ear deaf that he can’t hear for he said, I will hear their cries and I will save them. 

God sees your sincerity, He knows you are truly tired of falling over and over again. So He’s saying, “Hang on in there, I’m coming and soon the fall will be completely over”. 
Don’t give up! Remember, when there’s life, there’s hope. 

We are not perfect but we are on a journey towards perfection. On this journey, when you fall, do not drift away from God. Pick yourself up, dust off the pain and move closer to him than ever before. Do not let the feeling of guilt and condemnation overcome you and blind your eyes from seeing God’s great love for you. No sin, No mistakes and No fall can ever take his Love away from us. 


Keep crying and running back to him than after every mistakes and soon, the light will shine down on you and your stance in Christ will be so firm. Firmer than you can ever imagine. 
Remember God said, “The Egyptians you see today, you shall see them no more”. Likewise, the problem and struggles you see today, you will see them no more. 

Written by Tolu-Taiwo Victor

GENERAL

Why you must be determined!

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Determination is defined as firmness of purpose. Determination is the ability to be persistent, resolute, certain, steadfast to your decision and choices.

Determination is an important value that a man must possess when he is in a pursuit of a great thing. Determination is the fuel of any passion and purpose. If there is no determination there will be no need to purse things of greater value.

Determination is the root of greatness, nobody is truly great, if he is not determined to think outside the box. Only determined people can change the their world. Life is tough by default. Fate pleases no man; fate gives no allowance for smugness. Only the determined becomes great; only the determined can take the pen of fate and write their own destiny, and fulfill that destiny as it written.

Determination requires understanding the sacrifice and the pains of a preferable future and deciding to go through the obstacles and with the mindset of coming out great. Determination is seeing your future and doing whatever it takes in right way to get that future.

Determination is making choices and decisions that will make your future accessible. Determination is a mental and a spiritual choice, it is what makes us stand out, it what makes our future or our target become more attainable.

Daniel 1:8
But Daniel determined that he would not defile himself by eating the king’s food or drinking his wine, so he asked the head of the palace staff to exempt him from the royal diet. (MSG)

The text above tells us about the story of one of the most successful Christian politicians in Bible history, Daniel. Daniel was taken captive into the land of Babylon. His parents were killed during an Babylon’s invasion of the Jewish country.

By divine providence, Daniel was selected with other Jews to be trained in the arts and science of the Babylonians, and to be fed with the King’s delicacies in order to have improvements in their mental well-being. This seemed attractive. Daniel would have probably accepted the King’s food but for the fact that it was prepared in a manner that was considered ‘defiled’ by Jewish culture.

When he observed this, we are told in scriptures, that he determined within himself not to accept the King’s food. He determined in heart not to defile himself with the king’s dainties.

His determination made God to favor him above the other Jews.

What decision have you determined to take?

It is wrong to live your life in laxity, without specific decisions and choices. It is wrong to make your choices to be dependent on the circumstances surrounding you, rather than the inner choice you have made.

Determination is that which is needed in tough times like these. Due to the pandemic, political chaos and economic hardship, one is tempted to become apathetic towards the future. One is tempted to lose hope about one’s dreams. Fate seems bleak; the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be imperceptible.

Now is the time, to determine in your heart, that no matter what happens, you are not going to give up on your dreams. You will become the person that God has destined you to be! Like Daniel, no matter how potent the temptation to defile yourself in this corrupt world might seem to be, stick your decision to stay pure.

You are not the first who has been in this kind of situation. Joseph was sold from his father’s house to Potiphar’s house. When it seemed as if he had gained stability in Potiphar’s house, he was lied against and sent into the Egyptian dungeon. The dungeon is usually a dark place. There is no illumination there. It is filled with dirt and the stench from the prisoners’ faeces.

This was the kind of condition Joseph found himself in. In the prison, one does not eat proper food. Joseph was locked up in the prison, the same way a lot of us have been locked up in our homes. But Joseph’s lockdown was what God was going to use to take him into the palace.

This is the reason you must be determined this season. Though it may not be visible, yet, be rest assured that God is doing a mighty thing in your life. He is making all things to work out for your good.

GreenHills Emmanuel

   Types of determination

Organic determination: This type of determination is an inborn determination in every man to fulfill his purpose on earth, this kind of determination is what pushes people to do the unthinkable and makes them  reach the height where men has not reached, it was such determination that led many scientist or men who brought innovations to the world, this kind of determination is in every man. This kind of determination must be trained and nutured and be brought to good use.

Inorganic determination: This is a kind of determination that is infused into us as maybe a speaking or we heard a word of motivation words or purposeful words spoken to us in order to help us realize our potential. Such determination helps us to set our daily goals and targets.

GENERAL, Spirituality

The Great Blessing of Christian Gatherings

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One of the greatest blessings we have as Christ’s Church, is Fellowship with one another. Other than the coming of The Holy Spirit, there has been no greater blessing which God has bestowed upon us than the opportunity to have fellowship with one another.

Unfortunately, due to its regularity, going to church has become a mere habit for many believers.

Note: The Church is both a group of individuals as well as an institution. Spiritually, it is the Union of the Elect. Also, physically, it is an institution or location dedicated to the worship of the Lord.

We have Christians who go to the Church gathering on Sunday, for carnal purposes. Some go to play to the gallery. Some go to search for a suitable spouse among the congregation. Some go to flaunt their wealth. But the wise go, to encounter God.

Even as we go to our respective places of worship, let us ask ourselves whether we are really going there to meet with Christ, or we are going there to meet with God.

Psalms 27:4: ‘One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.’


We may not be privileged to live in the Lord’s House all the days of our lives, yet, the weekly Sabbath day in which we converge should be held in high esteem and sacred reverence.

We must go to the Temple, not for the two primary reasons highlighted above.

1. To Behold The Lord’s Beauty.

There are beautiful bounties found in the Lord. The Lord’s Beauty is His Glory, His Holiness. The Lord’s Beauty is also the Manifestation of His power. His Beauty is seen in the miracles He works. His Beauty is seen in the great blessing of His Presence which He causes to rest in our churches. The Gospel is the Lord’s Beauty.

To behold the Lord’s Beauty, we must in joyful ardor, listen to His counsel as it proceeds from the lips of the pastors.

We must go with the expectation in our hearts, that we are going to encounter the Lord in a new dimension in His Presence.

2. To Enquire in His Temple

His Temple is also a place of enquiry. In the Church, we are away from the noise and distractions of the world.

We obtain inner tranquility, because we are with people who are in one accord with us.

It is in this solemn moment of tranquility, that we can seek and receive direction from God. But in order to make enquiry of the Lord, we must be careful not to get distracted by the outer features of the Church.

We must be careful not to allow Admiration of the people around us, to distract us from communing with the One who lives in us.

We must be jovial, yet, sensitive in the church. Jovial with everyone around us. And sensitive to the words of the One in us. Only when we do this, shall we be able to profit of the privilege of assembling together on the Sabbath.

GENERAL

A Parable to The Nation

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Jesus told the story of a father who had 2 sons. He said to one, go work in my vineyard. That one said “I will not”, but later he went and did the work.

The man had said the same to the other “Go work in my vineyard”; and that one had replied “Yes Sir, I will”, but he did not go.

Jesus then asked those whom He was talking to “Which do you think was the better son?”, and they answered rightly – forget what each son said, the one who did the father’s will – was the better one.

Jesus then told those to whom he was talking; those who ruled and who had the people’s ear – congress and the media, or the pharisees and the sadducees, that the prophets of the Lord, or John; came and showed the way of righteousness and those regarded as sinners – prostitutes and tax collectors believed him and stood with the church, but they after they had heard, still refused to believe and carried on with their ways.

He then told another parable and ended it by referring to a stone which the builders rejected, which had become the chief of the corner.

This is a parable to a nation where those don’t say what you want to hear but do what is right are rejected over those who say what you want to hear but do what is left.

We hope someone is listening. It is well.

Ebele UzoPeters

GENERAL

The Elasticity of The Human Brain

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I ran an experimental workout yesterday on Brain ELASTICITY. I took a reading adventure that took me more than ten hours.

Though my goal was not to spend time studying, but to observe the widening of my brain horizon.

It was quite tough reading for that duration. I was checking for the limit of my brain’s elasticity in the place of study.

I found out that the human brain has no ELASTIC LIMIT when it comes to being fed with information. It cannot get overfull.

It can be stretched and stressed, but each time you go beyond a certain threshold of stretching, your brain masters it and conditions itself to survive under such mode of stress and strain.

Those who study for long hours can attest to this.

The brain can be conditioned to embark on a work, apart from studying for lengthy hours without experiencing any BREAKDOWN, hence the complexity of the human brain.

Don’t get it twisted. No human is blessed with a special breed of brain to be exceptional. Never!

We all have more or less the same brain potential, but not many folks have crossed the stress threshold of their brain. They would rather sleep than stress the brain.

I once introduced a concept which I called “Brain Potential Power” (BPT). I posited that the brain can actually be stressed under certain conditions but if it can get ACCUSTOMED to such stress, it will ‘marry’ the stress as its natural disposition or abilities.

Say for instance, you can only study for thirty minutes and whenever you try to go beyond that, you get brain pain.

You can actually get rid of that pain by enduring it and going beyond those thirty minute.

When this is done steadily, your brain gets schooled to familiarize itself with the NEW development of scaling above mere thirty minutes to probably an hour, such that you can at anytime study beyond thirty minutes without any noticeable pain.

Christian Uchechukwu

GENERAL

The Power of Planning

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Planning gives value to purpose. Purpose is dead without planning. Every business needs a business plan. Every purpose needs a destiny plan.

Therefore, planning empowers us to deliver better results. You don’t grow big to manage well, you manage well to grow big. Most businesses today are victim of lack of plan or poor planning.

You need planning to maximize all your endeavors. It is good management that brings good results. Everything that grows must be well manage.

Praying without planning is praying without knowing. Praying alone will make you a burden to God, but praying and planning makes co-labourer with God. Planning is the master key to accomplishment. Planning is the cheapest way to avoid wastage.

Shallow men think of luck, but great men think of cause and effect.

Planning is outlining actions one has to take in a quest to fulfill a dream. Planning is a step by step method of accomplishing a set goal.

It is your intellectual capacity that determines the quality of your plan. You need insight to your purpose in order to prevent poor planning.

Dreams are bound to be aborted if there is no planning. Wishing to great and not planning to be great will lead you to the woods.

Lack of planning is the result of many failure in the lives of so many people. Planning is understanding the steps you can take delibrately in order to achieve a target.

Plans are in phases, greatness is in sizes; the way you plan will determine the size of your greatness. Planning makes all your dealings in life to be detailed.

Tips for Proper Planning


Here are some tips one must take note of, in proper planning;

1. Thinking and reasoning are the raw materials for sound planning.

2. Every planner must be a great thinker.

3. Life is practical not mystical. Life needs a practical approach to in order to make most of it on earth.

4. You need to engage your own model to create your own future.

5. If you are not committed to mental work, you will end up doing menial work. Thinking affect the quality of your planning and output.

6. Spirituality is not against reasoning, it enhances the quality of your reasoning capacity.

7. Anything you are planning must require strategic planning as the base line.

GENERAL, NEWS

“Pushing for the impeachment of a president who has left office will further divide the nation” Franklin Graham

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President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Franklin Graham, has called on US President Joe Biden to ‘stand up to’ Democrats’ impeachment attempt against former president Donald Trump.

The Evangelist who has always been a vociferous supporter of Donald Trump and the Republican party, made this call in a statement released at his Facebook Page.

In his statement, Franklin Graham appreciated Joe Biden for his speech promoting peace at the Inauguration, and also called for unity and cooperation between The Democrats and The Republicans.

“I hope President Biden will stand up to those on Capitol Hill who want to impeach Donald Trump and tell them to put this behind us. If he wants to unite this country, this would be a huge step forward…” he stated.

Graham also called on Americans to pray fervently for the newly inaugurated leadership.

Meanwhile, Americans are still divided in their opinions about Trump, his impeachment and Graham’s continuous support of him.

Crystal Butler, a top follower of Evangelist Graham, responding to his statement said, ‘The biggest reason for the impeachment is to keep Trump from ever holding office. If you think this man acts like a Christian, you need to get down on your knees and pray some more’

While Dinah Ennis commented, ‘He is already undoing some of the good things Trump did. He is not interested in uniting or he would have keep these great things in place and move forward. He is more interested in going against Trump than doing good for the people. Not a good start…’

The whole world is watching, to see how the Biden/Harris Administration will turn out to be. Only time will tell whether the fears of the Evangelicals were right; or whether they were mere political sentiments.