Walk Away and The Way of Obedience

 

1. WALK AWAY

The decisions we make today create our tomorrow. We are the architects of our own fate condition because we are free moral agents; we can choose to walk away from wrong opportunities. You can either yield yourself to God or the devil. All of us who have fallen made a decision. All of us who have not fallen faced similar temptations but made a different decision.

Matthew 6:25-33 - “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

God knows our needs and will provide for them, although He may not provide all we want because human wants are unlimited. We do not know how to satisfy the needs of our life but He does. Therefore, when we approach God, we should humble ourselves in our requests, realising that He is God and I am not, He is a Father and I am but a child, He is the Shepherd and I a straying a sheep. What we want may not be what God wants for us at that particular time or what we need. We should therefore not interpret God’s silence as rejection; even when He seems silent, He is still saying something.

Therefore, when you are next faced with a decision or a temptation, ask yourself what the consequences of that decision or falling to that temptation will be.

Don’t be tempted to choose temporary pleasure over permanent gain.

PRAYER: In the moment of decision, ask God to give you the inner grace to choose as Christ would have chosen, in Jesus’ name.

 2. THE WAY OF OBEDIENCE

Obeying God at first seems hard until we come to see that all He asks is for our good and makes life full and free. Why is it hard at first? It is hard at first because it involves making a u-turn. I mean a turning point against our usual way, against the popular will of our friends, relations and peer groups who want you back in their fold. If you must resist them, you must be ready to face persecution and attack from them. But relax – He will not leave you without victory. The way of obedience is the way of blessings; the way of obedience is the way of a bright future.

For you to reach that future, the question you need to ask yourself is – do you have a vision? If you don’t have a vision, others would become your role model - you would be looking to others for direction instead of looking to the Holy Spirit who is our Guide.

Because of that, you would strive to receive the approval of people and be ready to compromise your faith and disobey God’s instructions to please the crowd. However, if you have a vision, you would not look to others for direction; you would wait on God. Your vision has to do with where you are going. If you don’t have a vision, you can never be focused in a direction and therefore, never fully obey God’s instructions. When you know where you are going, whatever happens to you midway cannot change your focus or push you into disobedience to God’s Word.

PRAYER: Ask God to give you an obedient heart, in Jesus’ name!

By Prophet TB Joshua

THE DEVIL’S CHATROOM---- Secrets Of Cyberspace Crime! : Part 2

 continued from part 1

Largely enticed at the prospects of getting rich overnight rather than the desire to help, those involved would be stripped to the last penny. They would be connected to a fake bank where they would soon begin to lose money through remittances in an attempt to have the said funds transferred. Unknown to the victim, it would be the same fraudster, Benson, and a friend, playing the role of bank manager and his associate.

In some instances, he played the role of a beautiful girl looking for a man to marry online. He had hundreds of nude pictures from pornographic sites. These pictures he used in fooling men. In no time, he would begin proposing to travel to the potential victim’s country. Here is when the scam would really get going, as he would be asking for money to help with air tickets and other itineraries.

In yet another strategy, he had sophisticated illegal software which he secretly installed on public computers in cyber cafes. Back home, he would be able to follow every transaction by every person using the bugged computer. Such information he would use to dupe people through impersonation.

He had many people on his hit list and, unlike many of his colleagues in the trade, he netted the biggest catches. He even internationalised his network, with people representing him in other countries, particularly Europe.

He had become a master par excellence in his trade, to the extent that he duped people from across the globe of huge sums of money, which he deposited in various bank accounts holding tens of thousands of US Dollars.

Unknown to Benson, it was the evil spirits connected to the family idols that had possessed him and aided his nefarious gimmicks.

No Free Lunch With The Devil Satan gives with one hand and snatches back with the other. It did not matter how much money he made, he squandered it on beer and women – patronising bars and strippers. He started throwing the money around, as if it were scrap paper.

As he caused others to suffer, the demon also caused him to suffer. At one point, he was arrested while collecting $5,000 USD at a money transfer agency. Sometimes, he spent months in prison and would lose all of his ill-gained money in trying to get out.

The risky and evil life he led, defrauding people, resulted in a life fueled by fear and playing hide and seek with the police wherever he went. He returned to Nigeria and strange things started to happen under the influence of the crafty Idigun.

If he bought a car, he would ride it for a few weeks and it would develop mechanical problems. The more money he made, the more the problems. When he tried to invest in land, he lost everything. He would spend huge sums of money to purchase land and, from nowhere, another person would come with documents, claiming ownership of the land. He started building a house but clashes over the property led him to abandon the project after investing a large amount.

He also had been at the receiving end of evil attacks, dreaming of the two family idols, Idigun and Olokun, fighting over him. Idigun would have two heads, a human and a dog’s, while Olokun appeared with human male and female heads.

continued here

THE DEVIL’S CHATROOM: Secrets Of Cyberspace Crime! : Part 3

continued from part 2

Free At Last! He realised then that he was in deep trouble and the downward spiral his life had taken pointed to a bitter end. He knew he would be completely destroyed without divine intervention. He decided then to come to The SCOAN, accompanied by his younger sisters.

On that phenomenal day, the Man of God, Prophet T.B. Joshua offered a prayer of rescue. It was such a powerful prayer that after others sat down at the end of the session, Benson remained in fervent prayer.

He prayed that his case would not escape the anointing of God and the moment came. As Wise Man Christopher stretched his hand in his direction, the once calm man snappily dressed in suit, contorted and suddenly changed into a wild and angry being. Light had caught up with the dark creatures illegally residing in him. It was now just a matter of time before the demons were cast out.

The dirty spirit in him, unable to withstand the power of the Holy Spirit, ruptured and spoke: "I am the Idigun in the family. His father dedicated him to me. I gave him the spirit of stealing on the Internet and made him a professional. He collects money from foreigners – Canada, Europe, Pakistan, India and all over the world.”

The demons confessed all the evil they had caused him and the destruction they had perpetrated in his life. According to the idol, some of Benson’s victims had committed suicide.

“He is the instrument I am using to make people suffer,” said the idol. Benson was delivered, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. He returned the following week, looking splendid and immaculately dressed. With him were his family members. He thanked God for his deliverance, but not without a warning to those abusing the Internet: “Those in my former state, you have nothing to gain; all you get is trouble. Surrender yourself to Jesus. Only Jesus Christ can set you free.”

This deliverance is a dramatic exposure of the ugly claws behind numerous frauds that reduce rich people into paupers, while turning notorious criminals into instant millionaires of dirty money that eventually ruin them. Today, free and saved, he lives a happy life away from Internet fraud, womanising and drugs. He has given his life to Christ and warns that evil begets evil and everything that starts dubiously, ends dubiously.

This article comes from the first issue of Read Us, the official magazine of The SCOAN! 

Jerry Bridges :Faith and The Power of God Part 2

Please endeavour to read the prelude to this text which is available through  Jerry Bridges :Faith and The Power of God Part 1.

Having finished reading the first part of this text by Jerry Bridges, this is the second and final part of it.

The importance of faith is further emphasized in Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ question: “Why could we not cast it out?” (Matt. 17:19). He said it was because of their little faith. We are not told in what way their faith was deficient. We do know that Jesus had previously given them authority over demons to cast them out (Matt. 10:1–8), so why was their faith so weak at this time? Perhaps it was because the demon did not respond immediately to their command, and so they began to doubt the power of Jesus. Or perhaps they presumed that because they had been successful before, they would be at that time. So we see that faith not only involves a firm reliance on Jesus’ power and ability, but also a complete renunciation of any confidence in our own.

Last month we looked briefly at the subject of God’s providence. In Matthew 17 we see an example of it in action, in connection with a mundane event — the paying of the temple tax. Jesus, as the Son of God, was under no obligation to pay the tax. Yet in order to give no offense, He sent Peter to catch a fish in whose mouth was the required shekel. This brief account raises some questions: How did the shekel get into the mouth of the fish? How did Peter just “happen” to catch that fish and not another one nearby? It is possible that Jesus performed a miracle and created the coin out of nothing in the mouth of the fish.

It is more likely, however, that it was a work of providence. Someone “accidentally” dropped a shekel into the sea. A particular fish grabbed it, and it stuck in its mouth. The fish swam to the exact spot where Peter cast his net and the fish was caught. None of these events was miraculous; yet all of them were necessary to accomplish Jesus’ purpose, and Jesus was in control of each one of them. God’s power is as much at work in His providence as in His miracles. So as we struggle with our own faith, or lack of it, in the difficult situations of life, let us believe that God is able, whether through miracles or providence, to care for us.

Do you believe in Christ?
Do your friends believe in Him?
How well do you know Him?

Please spread the message of the gospel.

Jerry Bridges :Faith and The Power of God Part 1

                  

The healing of the demon possessed boy (Matt. 17:14–20) at first glance seems to be only one more in a series of miraculous healings recorded by Matthew. What makes this one unique is Jesus’ emphasis on the role of faith. It is true that faith is prominent in the miracles recorded in chapter 9, but in chapter 17 it is the lack of faith that is emphasized by Jesus.

That God is not dependent on human faith for accomplishing His work is clear from the accounts of other miracles recorded by Matthew. The transfiguration of Jesus immediately prior to the healing of the boy is a prime example. It was a spectacular miracle; yet no human faith was involved. This is also true in the feeding of the five thousand (Matt. 14:13–21) and the four thousand (15:32–38). So the first thing we need to learn about faith and the power of God is that He is not dependent on our faith to do His work. God will not be hostage to our lack of faith.

The second thing we need to learn, however, is that God often requires our faith in the carrying out of His purposes. We see this in the healing of the demon possessed boy. Mark, in his account, brings this out sharply in Jesus’ conversation with the boy’s father. The father, in great distress, said to Jesus: “But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us” (Mark 9:22). He had already experienced the failure of the disciples, so he was not sure if Jesus could help. His faith at this point may be described as no more than an uncertain hope that Jesus could do what the disciples could not do.

Jesus responded to the father: “If you can! All things are possible for one who believes” (v. 23). Biblical faith may be described in different ways depending on the situation. The description of faith in Hebrews 11:1 as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” was appropriate for the Jewish recipients of the letter, who were facing severe opposition and needed to be encouraged as to the certainty of their hope in Christ.

For the father of the boy, faith would mean believing that Jesus could heal his son. We are often like the father. We may face what seems to be an intractable situation, and because we have prayed a long time without an answer, we begin to doubt that God can answer our prayer. But we must believe that with God nothing is impossible.

Sarah, the wife of Abraham, doubted that God could give them a son in their advanced age, to which God replied, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:14). Centuries later, the prophet Jeremiah wavered in his faith when God told him to buy a field in the face of the Chaldeans’ invasion (Jer. 32:6-26). Again God’s response was: “Is anything too hard for me?” (v. 27). To have faith in God, even in the face of unanswered prayer or a seemingly impossible situation, means we continue to believe that He can do what seems impossible to us.

conclusion part 2

TB JOSHUA :RISE ABOVE YOUR SITUATION

His Church in Lagos Nigeria

SHARE this post and SPREAD this message if you REFUSE to allow your family background to dictate your DREAMS in life! When you are connected to your destiny, NOTHING and NO-ONE can stop you – don’t give up!

Read this amazing short but encouraging story of Prophet TB Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations on how he rose above his situation to become what God originally planned for him.

TB Joshua: “I found myself in a family background that irritated me. My natural circumstance of birth was poverty. I come from a very humble background. Poverty loomed large in the family. The little education I had was through self effort. I know many people with a similar circumstance of birth who did otherwise. They allowed their circumstance to influence their will. Their dreams crashed on the rocks of disappointment, failure and setback.”

“Today, many people blame their situation on family background. Some would say, “I am poor because everyone in my family is poor.” If you make excuses for being poor, your poverty cannot be excused. Remember, you are responsible for what you give your attention to; so it is unnecessary to blame your situation on anyone. Today, it is common for people to blame their failure on their family background, whereas they attribute their success to their personal effort. If you attribute your success to your personal effort, you should also accept the blame for your failure. When we make excuses for our wrongdoing, such misdeeds would not be excused.

“I recognised early enough that victory obtained through Christ was a time past victory. I mean, it is victory assured. Rather than despair and blame my situation on family background, I began to be proud of my situation in order to feel Christ’s victory over me. I became content with my situation, knowing that my situation is redeemable through Christ and that the redemption was a time-past one. I mean, redemption assured. Then I began to take God at His Word in order to have His way.

“Nobody is too good or too bad to qualify for His grace. Remember, it was possible for me to sit somewhere and begin to make excuses for my situation. I never did. Whatever I am today is a product of that conviction that victory through Christ is victory indeed. The rest is history!”

TB Joshua


If someone could rise from grass to grace, from this dire situation, then everyone can.
That includes you, yes you!!! Rise up from whatever the devil is using to tell you that you can't make it.
Rise over your situation and be the one telling this kind of story someday.
Your situation shouldn't define what you become, but your faith should decide what your situation becomes.

God has given you all that you need to rise to the top, it is left for you to claim it. Just have faith and believe in His word.

HAVE FAITH IN GOD

 A message by Senior Prophet TB Joshua of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Lagos Nigeria.
In this teaching, he talks about our faith in God and how we should strive to maintain it in all situations.

It is surprising to see what faith people have in wrong things. Some people have faith in their own physical ability as was the case with Goliath when he faced the small shepherd boy, David. Others have faith in their worldly possessions like the rich young man in Matthew 19 who could not separate himself from his riches.

There are also those who have faith in the power and might of the sword like the Egyptian army when they pursued the Israelites at the Red Sea.

Look at Jesus’ answer in Mark 11: 22 – 23 “’Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. ‘Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.’”

This means God is the Source of our faith. God is the Giver of faith. As Christians, we have faith and we increase in faith through Him because

He is the Source of our faith. As faith people, faith is something we have by our very nature.
 God has given us the measure of faith, the Spirit of faith and the Word of faith we would require to live for Him.

Therefore, if you discover that your faith is not enough, you can ask God to add to your faith. We are not asked to look inward to see how much faith we have but we are asked to look to God and take from Him the faith we need to live for Him here and now. It is easy to increase your faith through Him and to have faith through Him because He has a nature that makes it easy for men to trust in Him. Upon our own strength we cannot rely, we simply have to trust Someone greater, smarter and wiser than ourselves – Jesus Christ.