Shout! The walls of Jericho are Coming down (Pastor Goodheart O. Ekwueme) 31-08-2014

SUNDAY SERVICE
★ MY SERMON NOTES
@ HOUSE ON THE ROCK, (City of Refuge)
Airport Road, Abuja - Nigeria
31st August, 2014

 

* Psalm 22:28-29

 

* God uses the vehicle of His Word to bring about transformation in the lives of Men

 

SERMON
* Speaker: Pastor Goodheart O. Ekwueme
* Topic: Shout! The walls of Jericho are Coming down
* Text: Joshua 6:1-16, 20

 

* NOTE: The book of Joshua is a transitory book - it anchors the Pentateuch (five books of Moses) and the Prophets

 

* Joshua Himself was a transitory leader, charged with the responsibility to take the nation of Israel to the promised land

 

* Regardless of what happens, God always leaves a remnant for himself

 

* The remnant are always in the 'minority' but they are the ones who walk in, and live prophesy

 

* Today, the Church is experiencing a major transition into what God expects of it

 

* Note the 4 Stages Of Metamorphosis of the Caterpillar
 → The beauty of the butterfly speaks of glory, but it had to undergo a gradual process of transformation

 

★ Psalm 85:11 →"Truth sprouts up from the ground, while righteousness looks down from the sky."

 

* This is a season of Spiritual Sensitivity

- You cannot afford to be careless with your walk with God

 

* It is better for a person to be prepared waiting for an opportunity, than to be faced with an opportunity you are not prepared for

 

* The only difference between the 5 wise virgins and the 5 foolish virgins is preparation
→ Matthew 25:1-13

 

* When preparation meets opportunity, success is inevitable

 

* Preparation is critical to success

 

* The victory of lsreal was possible because they saw the land of Jericho through the eyes of the Lord and they were prepared to inherit it by faith

 

* Never look at your challenges through the eyes of your giants. This will only get you intimidated & discouraged
→ Numbers 13:25-33
→ Deuteronomy 1:28

 

★ Joshua 5:12 →"The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land. Since the Israelis no longer received manna, they ate crops from the land of Canaan that year."

 

* "The manna ceased": Manna Represents what God does all by Himself. They began to eat of the fruit of their labour

 

* You don't eat corn by praying or fasting only

 

* There are things in which God expects your input through:
(a) Participation
(b) Obedience
(c) Wisdom
(d) Hardwork
(e) Involvement
(f) Brutal faith

 

* Note: When God multiplied bread, He gave the disciples to share: He wanted them to be "involved" in the process
 →Matthew 14:15-21

 

* There are results that are gotten only through your own involvement and effort in obedience to God's words

 

* Joshua 1:1-1 ("Moses my Servant is dead")

- The methods of Moses could not bring Joshua into the promised land
- He needed a new strategy

 

* Note: Money is the lowest rank of wealth.
- there are things that Money cannot buy

 

* You must be willing to change.
- Those who are not willing to change or metamophosize, die is the "wilderness"

 

* The enemy knows that if you ever succeed to pull down your 1st major enemy (Jericho), the rest is history
- Satan will do all he can in order to discourage you from reaching your goal

 

* The enemy has done what he did because he is afraid of God's hand over your life

 

* What you are going through is a tip-off (an indication) of what God has deposited in you

 

*Warfare is good because victory is guaranteed at the end

 

* Christ & I are a winning Couple!

 

★ Joshua 6:2 →"The LORD told Joshua, “Look! I have given Jericho over to your control, along with its kings and valiant soldiers."

 

* God challenged/required Joshua to "see" What He had done

 

* God is not 'about' to give you; He has 'already' given you Victory.

 

* What you "see" is what you enter into

 

* "Jericho" is something that requires you to stick closely to divine instructions if you are to achieve victory

 

* NOTE: The people of Israel did not hear God directly, but they believed Joshua His servant

 

* God's instructions would always come to pass

 

* You must be willing to obey seemingly foolish instructions by faith

 

* The presence of God must take a centrality in all that you do

 

* You must have a hunger for God's presence

 

* What keeps you alive and victorious is hearing & heeding God's voice

 

* When you hear God, the world will hear you

 

* Joshua 6:10 →"Joshua issued orders to the army: “You are not to shout or even let your voice be heard. Don’t utter a word until I tell you to shout. Then shout!”

 

* There is a place for silence and stillness in the battle of faith

 

* Shouting is an expression of faith

 

* Shouting is usually connected to praise

 

* Praise will silence your enemy

 

* NOTE: (Joshua 6:15-16)
- The shout was not because the walls have come down. It was an expression of faith in what God was about to do for them

 

* Learn to praise God in advance for the fulfilment of His promises in your life

 

* The shout was to cause the wall of Jericho to come down

 

* With each level of obedience on the part of Joshua and the army of Israel, there was a deployment of angels to assist them

 

* It was their obedience to divine instructions that caused the walls to come down

 

* Through praise, you place the battles (of your life) into the hands of God

Why Prayers are not Answered (Evangelist Tobias) 20-08-2014

MY SERMON NOTES

* This Sermon was delivered by a Freelance Preacher in a Commercial Bus en-route Owerri to Enugu, Nigeria. (and YES, I took notes in the bus!)

* Preacher: Evangelist Tobias (Peace Park Owerri)

* Topic: Why Prayers are not Answered

* Date: 28th August, 2014

→ Prayer is the avenue of converting God's promises to reality
* Matthew 7:7 - "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
* John 14:14 - "You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
- Any prayer made outside the name of Jesus will not be answered. Such a prayer is incomplete

1. Sin
- Sin is a destroyer
* Isaiah 59:1-2 - "Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear."

- Sin puts God off
- If you really want God to intervene in your case, you must avoid and hate sin
- Anything that is wrong in God's sight is sin

2. Unbelief (Lack of faith)
* Hebrews 11:1 - "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."

* Hebrews 11:6 - "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

* Mark 11:24 - "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
 
- Unbelief and doubt affects your prayer
- we please God through faith

* Daniel 3 (the 3 young Jewish men trusted God even in the face of danger)
- Faith provokes God to action
- Don't allow the enemy to have the final say
- When your faith is alive, you don't have to struggle in prayers

3. Un-forgiveness
- Until you live in the realm of forgiveness you are not yet a mature Christian
* 3 people you must forgive
(a) God (some people blame God for the unfavourable circumstances they had experienced in life)
(b) Yourself
(c) Others

* Bitterness is a tool used by the devil to frustrate your life
 
* Matthew 18:21 - "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times? Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times"

* In other words, you don't have any reason to retaliate until you are wronged 490 times by the same person!

* It is not biblical to pray for your enemies to die

* Mark 11:25 - "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

* Mathew 6:9-13 → Jesus taught his disciples to forgive

4. Matrimonial disputes
* Genesis 1: 24
- God places premium On matrimonial unity
* Ephesians 5:22-25
- The devil uses disharmony among couples to hinder their prayers
* 1st Peter 3:7 - "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers."
- Many men don't know how to give honour unto their wives

5. Praying without the word of God
- Everything you need is already in God's word
- You have a duty to research and find out the Scriptures that is in line wits your desire
* 2nd Tim 2:15 - "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."  
* Put God in remembrance as you pray.  
* Isaiah 43:26 - "Put me in remembrance; let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right."

6. Praying according to the will of God
- When you do not pray in accordance with God's will, You will not receive any answer
*1 John 5:14 "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."

7. Not praying in the Holy Ghost
* Jude 1:20 - "But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,"  

A Sacrificial Giver (Rev. John Chrysanthus Bala) 17-08-2014

SUNDAY SERVICE

★ MY SERMON NOTES

@ Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN)

Area 1, Garki - Abuja, Nigeria

17th August, 2014 (My Birthday!)

* Rev. John Chrysanthus Bala

* Topic: A Sacrificial Giver

* Mark 12:41-44

* The woman in This passage was disadvantaged by her situation in life: She was a widow and she was poor

* Jesus took notice of every person's giving in the Temple

* Jesus looks at our hearts & He observes the principle we act upon when giving (whether cheerfully or grudgingly)

* Sacrificial giving is the kind of giving that shows you love God

* When you love someone, no gift (for the loved one) is too much; You would always want to go the extra mile

* Sacrificial giving is a giving that honours God, and it is commiserate with your income

* God always recognizes sacrificial giving & rewards it

* God gave us His son, what can we give Him? What do you have that you think is too much to be given to God?

* Some greedy people hide themselves behind the common expression: "widows' mite" so that they do not give sacrificially

* The value of your offering to God depends on what is left after you have made that offering

* NOTE: There is no where in the Bible where we are commanded to give as this poor widow; but your giving must be such that honours God

* When you trust God in the area of sacrificial giving, He will "embarrass" you with His blessings