MYSTERY MAN

Philosophers, Metaphysicians, Moslems, and many others even in christian faith have divergent opinions about who Jesus really is. Even in His days on earth, the Pharisees, Sadducees and even His own disciples argued about who He was. Even in Israel, many still don't know Him. People compare Him with Moses, Mohammed and Budha. But He isn't like any of them. Paul wrote the following words, "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." 1 Timothy 3:16. Jesus was and still is God! And may I say, that only the Holy Spirit can reveal this to man. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1. Knowing Jesus is the key to a victorious Christian life. We are not dealing with just a good man who decided to die for us, neither are we dealing with one of the angels or a messenger of God: Jesus was God manifested in the flesh for the purpose of reconciling us back to Himself; Jesus was God with us! They that know their God shall be strong and do exploits. Jesus is Lord! Follow @PastorChinae

THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS

There are so many good things to have, to do and even to live for. Also, there are many better and great things. As believers and as pilgrims here on earth, there are three very important things we must do if we must succeed: we must continue in faith, in love and in holiness (1 Timothy 2:15). FAITH: Hebrews 10:38 says, "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." If there's anything Jesus worries about, it is that we continue in faith. He said, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" We must continue in faith if we must see Jesus and be rewarded for all we have done. LOVE: Continuing in faith without love amounts to nothing; it is a waste of time. There are many great believers who did not make it because they did not have genuine love for others. Galatians 5:6 says, "For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love." It is by love that we show ourselves to be true disciples of Christ. O that God will cause us to have true love for one another and for all men in general! The kind of love that will make us forgive instantly and be willing to help. HOLINESS: Jesus made us holy, but continuing in holiness is our responsibility. We must keep ourselves pure. "Without holiness no man shall see God." Hebrews 12:14. Please, people of God, let us be like Lot and Noah in a world where iniquity greatly abounds. His grace is sufficient for us. Follow @PastorChinae

WARRING A GOOD WARFARE

Life is one big battleground. Almost everyday there are issues to deal with: financial, marital, health, emotional and relationship issues. There are things to deal with at work, at home, in school and everywhere else. Sometimes, the battles concern us, and at other times, we're fighting for others. Every christian is a warrior. And may I tell you, that our number one adversary is Satan himself. And then we also have to deal with his cohorts, his children and unpleasant situations that seek to test and cripple our faith. But we are not weaklings! Nothing makes us quit. We are more than conquerors! Hallelujah! As with any battle, those with superior weapons have a better chance of winning. God has equipped us with all that we need to win. One weapon we have is prophecy. Let me explain briefly: Paul said to Timothy: "This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare." 1 Timothy 1:18. When Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus won by using the word. When there are issues to deal with, REMEMBER the prophecies that God has given you, STRENGTHEN your faith and resolve by them, and then UTTER those words, saying, "It is written!" "He said!" God will honour every word He said and Satan will flee! That's how to fight a good fight; that's how to win! Follow @PastorChinae

IN SEARCH OF FAITHFUL MEN

People, and sadly christians too, make fun of the fact that churches are springing up everywhere. The harvest is plenty! And guess what? God is still looking for more and more labourers He can send! Sinners are dying in their sins, and even believers are becoming lukewarm; isn't this enough reason? Did I hear someone say that not all new churches are opening for the right reasons? Of course. There have always been hirelings. But here's what Paul said, "What does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice." Philippians 1:18. But God seeks faithful men for the ministry. Faithfulness is the most important requirement for the ministry. And may I say that faithfulness is not all about attending all church services, it has to do with being consistent, being reliable and trustworthy. The ministry is not for those who will look back after putting their hands to the plough! Men who cannot make sacrifices and suffer for the faith cannot be trusted. Period. That's what faithfulness is about. Ability to persist. Stewards are required to be faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2). Paul said, "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." 1 Timothy 4:12. More than ever before, as the Second Coming of Christ approaches, God is in search of faithful men. Are you? Follow @PastorChinae

Ubakala Night Of Joy 2011

Since 2010, I have organized crusades in Ubakala, a town in Umuahia-South Local Government Area of Abia State, in Nigeria. At such meetings, we preach the gospel for the salvation of souls, and share food and educational materials to widows and students of both primary and secondary schools. Below are pictures of the crusade held last year:

The power of the Holy Spirit was present at the meeting. Souls were saved and delivered. Widows came from distant villages to be blessed. It was indeed a night to remember. This is the beginning of greater works! Hallelujah!!! Follow @PastorChinae

Bishop David And Pastor Faith Oyedepo Celebrate 30th Wedding Anniversary

The founder of Living Faith Church also known as Winners Chapel and his virtuous wife, Bishop David and Pastor Faith Oyedepo celebrated 30years of a fruitful marriage (since August 25, 1982). Wishing them many more fruitful and blessed years together.

THE TWO SIDES OF GOD

God is very good! He's good but He's also severe, or stern, if you wish. You determine the side of God that you'll see by your attitude and actions. I have seen a little of both sides.

Romans 11:22 says, "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off."

Paul did not mince words when he said we'll be cut off if we don't continue in the goodness of God. In other words, if we don't continue in Him, if we start to take the goodness of God for granted, if we abuse grace and become disobedient we risk being cut off.

God is so good and that's all He ever wants to be to us! He said to Abraham, Walk before me and be thou perfect. Jesus said, Abide in me. The choice is yours.Follow @PastorChinae

MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS

Some people in church are busybodies; they mind every other person's business except theirs. They talk about the sister who prophesies, they talk about the bible study teacher, they talk about the choristers, but they are doing nothing at all whether within the walls of the church or outside it!

The kingdom of God is like an office; every one of us has his or her own job functions. And like the boss, God expects each and every one of us to do his work well. Apostle Paul wrote:

"Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly." Romans 12:4-8.

Find out what you were gifted to do and do it well. Your relevance in the Body of Christ is determined by how well you use your gift. Your functions might be similar to another's, in that case, you should complement that person.

BE UNCOMMON

1 Kings 1:1-3 says, "When King David was very old, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him. So his attendants said to him, 'Let us look for a young virgin to serve the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm.' Then they searched throughout Israel for a beautiful young woman and found Abishag, a Shunammite, and brought her to the king."

It's obvious that there were so many ladies in Israel at that time. Like it is said, "There are so many fishes in the river." But it's noteworthy that so many were not qualified to be taken to the king. Abishag was found after a search was done throughout Israel. She was uncommon.

If you are like every other person, you won't get selected for the most important tasks. Special positions, tasks and places are reserved for people who have made themselves fit for them. Be uncommon.

Add value to yourself. As a christian, keep yourself from impurity. In a world like ours, choose to be outstanding. Take steps to improve yourself every day. Pay the price today. Don't shortchange yourself. Don't follow the multitude. Refuse to be average. Stand tall. Be a light. Be among the most beautiful ones.

Cheers.

Follow @PastorChinae

PROSPERING BY OBEDIENCE

• I have read many books about how to be rich since I was a teenager (Rich Dad, Poor Dad; Retire Young, Retire Rich; The Richest Man In Babylon; The Instant Millionaire; 365 Ways To Become A Millionaire; Cashflow Quadrant; Think Like A Billionaire; The Perfect Business; et cetera). They are nice books and I enjoy reading them; but I'm yet to come across a simpler way of prospering than that which the Scripture prescribes. Listen, if all you read is the Bible, it's okay!
  
  All you need to do to prosper is to obey God. If you do what God says to do, you will prosper. Guaranteed! Read the Scriptures below:
  

  
  "And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:" 1 Kings 2:3
  
  "Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do." Deuteronomy 29:9
  
  "Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the Lord thy God. Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel:" 1 Chronicles 22:12-13, and
  
  "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest." Joshua 1:7
  
  You want to prosper? Obey God. Period.

BE THE BEST

Martin Luther King Jr. said, "If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well."

One of my principles is this: "Any thing worth doing is worth doing well." And I say to myself and to any one who cares to listen, "If I cannot do it well, I'd rather not do it." Be the best. Or, let's say, Do the best! There's a difference between, "Do your best" and "Do the best". Your best may not be good enough; do the very best job in town! Yes, let no one do it better than you!

If you are very good, location will not be your problem. Even if you are in the forest, the king will require your service! When King Solomon built, 1 Kings 7:13-14 says he sent for a man named Huram. The Scriptures say that he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill in working with all kinds of bronze work. Hear me, money locates the man who does the best job!

Christianity is also a call to excellence. When we excel and do excellent things God is glorified. Today, I urge you to be the best in whatever you do. If you paint, please be the best painter; if you drive, be the best driver. Be the best!

Follow @PastorChinae

REPAIR YOUR ALTAR

• Altars were a vital part of worship in the Old Testatment. It was usually built to offer sacrifices and offerings to the Lord. For this purpose, let's define the altar as a contact point between God and man. When God appeared to Manoah, the angel ascended in the flame of the sacrifice.
  
  In Elijah's time, the Israelites forsook God for Baal and other gods; threw down the altars and killed the prophets of God. They backslid. But when it was time to restore them back to God, the first thing Elijah did was to repair the altar.
  

  
  Many of us in the faith have lost our spiritual connection to God (even though we might still be attending church!). We have accepted strange doctrines and now endorse abominable practices. We no longer do those things we used to do when we first believed; in other words, we have left our first love. Some of us no longer pray and study the word as we used to, we are no longer involved in evangelism, we've lost our passion for the house of God and other christian meetings, we no longer give or care for others as we once did and we are even now living in sin.
  
  If you're in such condition, it's time to repair your altar. Revelations 2:5 says, "Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place." I pray that God grants us the grace to finish strong. Amen.

ARE YOU IN THE NUMBER?

We used to sing, "Are you in the number, saved by grace?" Revelations 7:9 says, "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands."

John could not number the crowd, but God knows how many will be there on that day. But what matters most is if you and I will be among that great crowd.

So which people did John see? They were those who had "washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Ephesians 5:27 says Jesus is coming for "a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing".

People of God, we must remain focused and fully conscious of what matters most while we are here - to remain holy, for without holiness, no eye shall see God (Hebrews 12:14). Here's one thing that we must always do: to keep ourselves from being polluted by the world (James 1:27b).

Follow @PastorChinae

MEN OF LIKE PASSIONS

• Your mentors, heroes, those you admire, want to be like and probably do something similar or greater than what they've done are all men like you! The only difference is the time and the efforts they've put into becoming who they are now and into achieving what they have achieved.
  
  Take Elijah as an example, he's one of the greatest prophets of all time - even though he died thousands of years ago, many people still want to bring down fire from Heaven like he did and probably withhold the rain. He was very anointed. But James 5:17a says, "Elijah was as human as we are." The Amplified Bible says, "Elijah was a human being with a nature such as we have [with feelings, affections, and a constitution like ours]." But what made him outstanding was the way he prayed: the Scripture says he prayed earnestly. 1 Kings 18:42-44 shows us how Elijah prayed.
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  How many of us pray earnestly? Yet we want to do exploits like he did. The issue is not that he was more anointed, the question is; "What have you done with your little anointing?" It might interest you to know that there are many highly anointed men and women doing nothing significant for God.
  
  So brothers and sisters, rise to the occasion! You were meant to play a significant role in this generation! You are destined to do exploits; you are destined to manifest and to be a world-changer! Be determined to go the extra mile; dare to do the impossible; pray earnestly; study more; be more passionate and always stay connected to the Lord. Remember this: you can achieve it, if you work hard at it.

THE UNPOPULAR VOICE

2 Timothy 4:3 says, "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."

"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." 2 Timothy 3:16

 In these last days, many would opt for messages and preachers that will not rebuke and correct them. The unrenewed mind prefers messages that don't challenge its lifestyle. Many people will continue to flock to services where they won't be rebuked for the sins they committed on Friday and Saturday nights. And in a bid to get more and more members, many preachers will sweep the truth under the carpet.

The king of Israel had four hundred prophets who told him pleasing words, but there was one, Micaiah, whom he hated because he always told him the truth (1 Kings 22). Micaiah was an unpopular voice, but he was the true prophet.

LITTLE IS MUCH

We were taught that human wants are insatiable. What it means is that we are incapable of being satisfied or appeased. I think that's dangerous! A man that has insatiable desires can go to any length to get what he wants. But Jesus teaches us to be content.

King Ahab had vineyards and many other choice assets, but he wasn't satisfied: he wanted Naboth's vineyard. Naboth refused to sell or exchange his vineyard because it was his inheritance, and instead of letting go, Ahab's greed got the better of him and he became displeased. To cut the story short, Naboth was set up and murdered so that Ahab could have his vineyeard.

It's not bad to want things or positions or persons, but if not having it affects your attitude and your faith, you're on the wrong path. Also, you can tell that greed has gotten the better of you if you are willing to cheat, blackmail, abuse and change towards other people just to have what you want.

Listen, "we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it." There is nothing worth losing sleep over! If you truly know God, you would agree! He gives His beloved sleep. He can get anything for you; He can take you to the place of your dreams; and He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can ever ask or think. With God, little is much! Don't forget, Jesus fed a multitude with just five loaves and two fish! "Godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6.