26TH JUNE, 2016

PASTOR’S CORNER

BECOMING THE HOUSE OF PRAYER:

THE HOUSE OF PRAYER, THE HOUSE OF TREASURES

REFERENCES: I CORINTHIANS 3: 9, II CORINTHIANS 4:6-7, EZRA 7:21-23

 

When you become the house of prayer, your life is refined and the treasures of heaven, which had stayed hidden in you, will emerge.

 

I Cor 3: 9

For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

 

Brethren, you are God’s field. God has sown so much in your life- seeds of wisdom, fire, power, excellence- and He has put in the necessary work to make them grow. He plants these seeds so that He can feed His loved ones with them. This means that men should see the nature, power, wisdom... of God in you.

 

Now, only the owner of the land is permitted to sow seed in his field. Therefore, weeds or tares of any kind must not be tolerated but uprooted.

 

You are also God’s building and just as the house of God in the time of Solomon, you must always carry His fire.

When men seek the nature, presence, ability of God, they should seek you out because you are His building and His possessions reside in you.

 

II Cor 4: 6-7

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

 

So you see: there are treasures in you. However, they are not to be found at the surface; they are buried deep, waiting for you to dig them up through serious prayer and study of the Word. This truth is not hidden from the devil either, which is why he attacks-to cover or take away these treasures.

 

Ezra 7: 21-23

 

Brethren, it is time to understand your true worth, and the true worth of your fellow brethren in Christ.

 

When you become the house of prayer, even your enemies will be stirred up to work in your favour. Pilate’s wife rose up lobby for Christ because she suffered much at night because of Him. In the same way, God will stir up men to bless and help you, because to do otherwise will be tragic for them.

 

You must also understand that no one is permitted to use or trade with your glory. Enemies might steal treasures dedicated to God, but they lack the wherewithal to use them. That is why the Dagon’s priests suffered greatly for taking the ark of God; and when Belshazzar, as king of Babylon, dared to drink from the golden vessels dedicated to the House of God, he paid with his life and kingdom.

 

So, rest assured; you can get back whatever treasure has been stolen from you.

And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily, unto an hundred talents of silver, and to an hundred measures of wheat, and to an hundred baths of wine, and to an hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

 

The king’s decree was to the keeper of treasures beyond the river.

Brethren, there are household, witchcraft and marine treasurers, whose role is to keep the treasures of men from them.

 

Concerning the treasures, the king decreed that all that Ezra demands must be released to him, without limit and speedily too. The only criteria is that everything God has prescribed- allotted- to him must be given to him.

It does not matter what was stolen from you or how; if you are ready to make a demand today, it shall be released back to you. They may keep that of others, but all that God has given to His house, that is you, must be returned!

 

This is why a prayer-less life is evidence of satanic manipulation. It is a sign that the enemy is working hard to stop that Christian from demanding for his treasures. Some even walk in holiness but have not desire to get all their treasures.

 

The king’s decision was not out of the kindness of his heart, but out of the need for self preservation. He made this decree because he knew that disobedience would earn him the wrath of God- that his life and that of his sons were at stake.

 

Brethren, the time has come for you to live as the field and house of God, to carry His treasures of fire, power, wisdom and more. Arise now as a house of prayer and demand for a restoration of all that evil treasurers have taken from you.

 

PRAYER POINTS

In the name of Jesus

• My Father, I rededicate my life to you.

• My life (soul, spirit, mind and body), receive the refining fire of God.

• Any seed of the devil in my life, I destroy by fire.

• Every wicked hand covering the treasures in me; I damage you by fire.

• My treasures, I call you out of darkness by fire.

19TH JUNE, 2016

PASTOR’S CORNER

BECOMING THE HOUSE OF PRAYER

THE ENEMY OF THE HOUSE OF PRAYER (B)

REFERENCES: I TIMOTHY 6: 12-14, HEBREWS 6: 17-18, REVELATION 5:9-10

 

I Tim 6: 12-14

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ

 

Timothy, Paul’s spiritual son, was already a Christian and already had eternal life. However, Paul is telling him to fight so that he can lay hold of the fullness of eternal life to which he had been called. Not only that, as he had declared himself sold out to Christ before men, it was needful that he fight to uphold that profession.

 

Reminding him that Christ testified of Himself as a king before Pontius Pilate, he charges him again to keep the commandment- of fighting, becoming a house of prayer in order to lay hold of all that pertains to eternal life. However, as he does this, his life must be without spots; immorality, un-forgiveness, malice or sin of any kind. This is because praying with spots will open him up to rebuke and make a waste of his prayers.

 

Heb 6: 17-18

Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us

 

Whatever God has said about your destiny is assuredly the truth and it is imperative that you fight to lay hold of it all.

 

That said, it is important to note that the pace of a running man is determined by what is chasing him. A man would run fast if he was being chased with a cutlass, but would run faster if the pursuer had a gun.

Paul was a man on the run and he fled to God for refuge. Likewise, many Christians have fled to God- for refuge, defence, power, protection, from the oppressive hold of evil powers, patterns and judgements of their household.

 

In order to fully understand the import of your salvation, let us consider the scripture below.

 

Rev 5:9-10

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

 

Christ came to the market of your household and purchased you, out of your family, tribe and nation, and gave you to God. Now, He brought you to God for a reason: to make you

1. a king, full of authority, and

2. a priest, to send the offering of prayer up to God.

 

That is why the spirit of adoption cries ‘Abba, Father!’ in you.

 

When you walk in the reality of this truth, you will have zero tolerance for any ranting of household devils against you, because you know you are greater than them all; after all, as a king from above, you are above all.

 

Heb 6: 17-18

So, like Paul, you have fled to the Kingdom.  There, you must also realise that something has been set before you; all you have to do is discover it, and lay hold of it.

Isa 64:4

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him

 

Brethren, no man can claim to know the truth about your glory and destiny! No personality, principality or power has seen, heard or perceived all that God has set before you.

 

The question then is: can you pray to grab a hold of all He has set before you?

 

vs 7

...and there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee...

 

It is not enough to pray; you must stir up yourself. You must constantly keep yourself passionate in the place of prayer, and to do that, you must make someone else’s problem your burden of prayer. That way, you do not get complacent and can continue to take hold of God and all He has set before you. You must not allow the enemies quench the hunger for God and destiny in you.

 

Brethren, there is a glory set before you. When you pray, without spot and free from rebuke, you can lay hold of it all.

 

PRAYER POINTS

In the name of Jesus

• Blood of Jesus, wash away every spot in my life.

• I conquer every spot in my life by the Blood of Jesus.

• My soul, I charge you; lay hold of the Higher power of God now.

• My soul, receive the fire set before you.

• Every attack of the wicked that takes me out of divine agenda; I damage your power by fire.

• Every hold of darkness over my life; I damage your power by fire.

• Every power making my life unstable in God’s presence; I destroy your power.

• I lay hold of all that is set before me in God.

12TH JUNE, 2016

PASTOR’S CORNER

BECOMING THE HOUSE OF PRAYER

THE HOUSE OF PRAYER IS A DIVINE MESSAGE

REFERENCES: II KINGS 4: 1-7, HAGGAI 2: 6-9 , PHILIPPIANS 4: 6-7

 

Every Christian is called to be a divine message, and as such, the Christian journey is about fulfilling that calling. When your life is evidence of the power of God, when those who walk with you experience God through you, then drawing souls to the Kingdom would be easy.

 

II Kgs 4: 1-7

 

Brethren, Nigeria is going through a period of financial crisis; The United States of America went through it as well. The good news is that the key to understanding and overcoming this crisis is the Word of God.

 

In the days of Abraham and Isaac, there was famine in the land. In fact, God allowed it! Yet, in the midst of it, these men prospered so much so that, in the time of Isaac, the king of the land became fearful of him. (Gen 26)

 

God will always allow a time of famine in a household or a nation, so that He can prove His greatness through the lives of His people. Like the patriarchs before, this is the time for you to become a divine message to your household and generation.

 

However, you must understand that whatever a man cannot handle will definitely handle him...

 

Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

 

This prophet in this story died in poverty, possibly because he was overwhelmed by his financial situation. He died, not because there was famine around him, but because he did not know how to handle it.

And Elisha said unto her, what shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.

 

The woman’s response to Elisha was a reflection of her husband’s judgement. She did not see the pot of oil as ‘any thing’ because her husband had not seen it as such either.

 

Let me take this moment to charge men: you are the determiner of the outcomes in your homes. Your commitment and dedication to a home that is constantly on fire for God will determine....

 

When God decided to reconcile with man, He realised that it would only happen when the divine principle in Genesis- that a man shall live his parents and cleave to his wife- was applied. That is why Christ came, leaving His Father and cleaving to His bride-the Church. There could have been neither cleaving nor reconciliation if Christ had failed in His responsibility.

 

Unfortunately, the men of today abdicate their responsibilities to their wives, and therein lay the problem of the Church.  

 

Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.

 

The first part of Elisha’s instruction to the widow was simply ‘go borrow as much as you can’.

In like manner, today, many Christians borrow money from various financial institutions to fund their businesses. But sadly, like the widow, they fail to heed the instruction to the end.

 

They borrow and, straightaway, invest the money into their businesses, without shutting out distractions and pouring in the place of prayer. And they wonder why they suffer loss in business!

 

So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured.

 

The widow did borrow; she did shut the door on herself and her sons. However, she faltered when she decided to enlist her sons as her partner.

 

Many men and women also fail in this area: making their children their ‘pouring partners’ and mistaking family altars for ‘pouring altars’. Women even blame the tempering of God’s fire in their lives, on their role as mothers.

 

Brethren, you must understand that the time to pour is to be observed without distractions, even from your children.

 

And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.

 

The inclusion of the boy by the mother would have grave repercussions.

Consider this: if you were given a blank cheque, to fill in any amount you wanted, would you entrust the responsibility to your immature, inexperienced and clueless child?

 

And the oil stayed

 

The oil did not stop because there were no more vessels. No! It stopped because of the confession of the son. If the widow had been in charge of bringing in the vessels, having witnessed the miraculous and unending flow of the oil, she would have gone out to borrow more vessels. She could even have sold some of the oil and bought more containers!

 

Unfortunately, this woman gave the responsibility to a boy who was not present when the instructions were given to her. He could not have fully comprehended the full impact of his words, both on his family’s financial future and on his destiny.

Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.

 

Woman, it is time to change things on your knees. Hiding behind your children is a dangerous venture as you limit their destinies by your carelessness.

 

Consider Elisha’s response. Whatever she generates after debt payment was to be their means of livelihood. This means that the widow’s bad judgement and the child’s confession limited the amount of income they could have generated and lived on!

 

Hag 2:6-9

 

For thus saith thee LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of the nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

 

The time has come for Christians to work as solution providers in their environment. Do not seek a problem- free life or environment. Rather, be the divine message in your challenging world.

 

God is saying to Israel,’ I am about to move, and in moving, I will shake the whole world’.

The wise ones in the Israel of God will take the hint and hold on to Jesus, making them unmoveable.

 

At this time, the desire of nations will come to you because they will see that, while they are being shaken, you stand unmoveable. Brethren, when marriages, businesses, careers are being shaken, that is the sign that God has called you to be His firm, divine message.

 

The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

 

Three things are promised here:

 

• When they come to you, they will come bearing gold and silver, as they seek to know the secret of your calm in the midst of the storm.

• The glory of your life shall be greater than before, and

• God will give you peace.

 

However, you must realise that greater glory will be preceded by greater shaking. Just as the kingdom precedes the power and the power comes before the glory, you cannot display a higher level of the power of God until your revelation of His kingdom increases; likewise, there can be no greater glory until your power level surpasses your previous level.

 

Phil 4:6-7

 

Be careful for nothing but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 

The peace God promises can only be accessed through prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving.

 

This peace is one that no level of understanding can attain to. Exalted degrees, acquired from the most prestigious institutions of higher learning, will be useless before this promise of God. Other nations will be confounded by the mystery of your calmness, when everything else is being shaken.

 

Sadly, the Church today has ignored the first two requirements and has instead glorified thanksgiving. And so, we see Christians who will gladly spend hours at praise events, but cannot abide in the place of prayer and offer up supplications to God.

 

It is time for the Church of God to pray like Hannah did in Shiloh, so much so that, even when Eli mistook her for a drunk, she kept on praying. It is time to pray with a desperation and fervency that will bring down the power of God, and herald the coming of His glory and His peace.

 

The shaking has begun.

Hold on to Jesus.

Be unmoveable.

Be the message.

 

PRAYER POINTS

In the name of Jesus

• Raw fire of God, take over my life.

• Every wicked power shaking my life; I destroy your power by fire.

5TH JUNE, 2016

PASTOR’S CORNER

BECOMING THE HOUSE OF PRAYER

THE MAKING OF THE HOUSE OF PRAYER (B)

REFERENCES: ISAIAH 45: 13, HEBREWS 3: 4-6, I PETER 2:5, MATTHEW 5:14, JEREMIAH 12: 7- 8

 

Isa 45:13

I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts. Thus saith the LORD, the labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none, there is no God.

 

This is the assignment of this ministry: to build people by teaching them the Word, and deliver them by prayer.

 

Heb 3:4-6

For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. and Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; but Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

 

You are the house of God, and He has raised a pastor to build you. The effectiveness of your life, as God’s building, is therefore determined by quality of materials which the builder (your pastor) receives from God.

 

As the house of God, you need to be angry with any devil sharing your body and calling it his house!

 

How then do we build this house?

 

I Pet 2:5

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, and holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

 

Two men pray; one gets results, the other does not. The difference between the two men is this: for the sacrifice you offer to God to become acceptable, you must first become a spiritual house.

 

Every man must first be built (by living stones) as a spiritual house of God before he can stand as a holy priest. It is only then that he can offer up spiritual sacrifices to God that will be accepted, and generate results.

 

Now, if there is a holy priesthood, then it stands to reason that there is an unholy priesthood; if there is a spiritual house, then there is a carnal house. The question is: which are you?

 

You also need to question the material you are built with by your pastor, because the materials-living stones- with which a holy house is built can only be sourced by the revelation of the Word of God. This cannot be sourced by human knowledge or technological knowhow. Rather, there are sourced only by those who do business in the deep.

 

Matt 5:14

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

 

The vision of God and this ministry is to build you on a hill with living stones. When you are built by the Word of God, you cannot be hid by any principality, power or ancestral pattern, because you are above them all.

 

Jer 12: 7- 8

 

I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.

 

Brethren, understand this grave reality. The conspiracy of the devil against your life, and against the Church of God, is for one reason: to send God out of His house, so that he can take over. The appetite for sin, apathy towards the presence of God, His Word and the exercise of prayer; all these are strategies of darkness to make God leave you.

Observe the words God uses to describe His people; ‘My house, My heritage, the dearly beloved of My Soul...’ This is the lamentation of a God over a people whom He loves dearly. Alas, the devil has succeeded in leading them into error, thus casting God out of their lives.

 

Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore I have hated it.

 

When you wilfully disobey the commandment of God, rebel against His rebuke, become a source of offence in His house and frustrate His divine plan, it means you have become wild, so much so that you roar against Him, and He is forced to leave.

 

Crying against God, you cast Him out of His house, and invite the devil in.

 

Brethren, it is time to restore God to His deserved place in your life, by casting out every devil that has occupied His house until now.

 

PRAYER POINTS

In the name of Jesus

• Holy Ghost, I call you into my life and destiny; take over.

• My Father, I give you back my body forever.

• My life, I give you back to God, your maker.

• Fire of God, possess me mightily.

• Anything contrary in my life, roaring against the power of God; I damage your power and cast you out by fire now.

• You wicked hands over my life; I destroy you by fire.