Elder at Prayer Ministry.

 Jesus went through all the towns & villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom & healing every disease & sickness. When He saw the crowds, He had COMPASSION on them, because they were HARASSED & HELPLESS like sheep without a shepherd. (Mathew 9:35-36). Jesus saw people being harassed & helpless like sheep without a shepherd. What is a shepherd? A shepherd in the church context is a pastor. He or she shepherds the flock. The pastors primary task is to CARE for the flock. If pastors were appointed to care for the flock, how come Jesus saw the flock being harassed & helpless like sheep without a shepherd? They were there doing their own thing & not God's work. We do God's work His way, according to His will & not our way. We have a similar situation in today's church. We have people who are pastors in the OFFICE & not pastors in the HEART. They are doing God's work out of duty, as some form of gainfu...

 Woe to you teachers of the law & Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices - mint, dill & cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy & faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. (Mathew 23: 23) Giving of our tithes opens the windows of Heaven. God pours blessings that we will not have any room to contain. God also rebukes the devourer so that our wealth maintains VALUE. Why is it many people give their tithes faithfully but they do not have blessings which are overflowing. The problem is in the manner in which we give them. God wants us to do justice to people, to be merciful to them & to be faithful FIRST, then we can give our tithes. If you give them in this manner, MORE than enough blessings will come your way. The devil will be rebuked, he will not touch your wealth. You will be a delightful land. Food for thought. Heaven Rules.

 Come to Me all you who are weary & burdened, & I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you & learn from Me, for I am gentle & humble in heart, & you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy & my burden is light. (Mathew 11: 28-30). God wants us to have peace & rest. He wants our yoke to be easy & our burdens light. How do we get peace & joy? We get it by focusing on Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Prince of peace. Some think that by just being members of an organizational church, they can have peace or rest. Others think that by putting on organizational church uniform that they can have peace or rest. No, it doesn't work that way. Satan has his own people there. In fact there is more of the world in most churches than the church in the world. The Bible says: Those whose desire is to live a Godly life shall suffer persecution.  People are killing others spiritually thinking that they are offering God a service...

 Make a tree good & it's fruit will be good, or make a tree bad & it's fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, & an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But i tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted & by your words you will be condemned.  (Mathew 12:33-36). Words reveal CHARACTER Words reveal what is in your HEART. God wants us to speak right. He wants us to speak words which heal, build, edify, comfort, encourage, strengthen, full of faith; words which gives grace to those who hear them. He will hold us accountable for every careless word we have spoken on the day of judgement. If you want to have an idea of the person you are deal...

 Let both grow together until.the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds & tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat & bring it into my barn. (Mathew 13: 30). This is great wisdom. In the church we have two categories of people. Firstly, we have those who are seeking God & His Righteousness daily; those who meet Him in His Word & pray daily; those who live by faith, pray His will, speak the Word & abide in His Word. Those who are true to God; those who live a life of holiness; those who seek unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; those who have pure hearts & are peacemakers. Those who proclaim the Gospel of peace, are loving & humble. Secondly, we have those who are sinning wilfully, deliberately compromising God's Word. Those who make plans to sin, test their plans for the impact, effectiveness, & proceed to sin with full knowledge that they are sinning. Those who are crucifying Jesus to the cross ...

 Lord, if its you, Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water. Come, He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat & walked on the water & came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid & beginning to sink, he cried out: Lord, save me. Immediately Jesus reached out His hand & caught him: you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. (Mathew 14:28-32). Peter did the impossible. He walked on the water on the permission of our Lord Jesus Christ. As long as he remained focused on the author & finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ, he would walk on the water. The moment he changed his focus from Christ  & looked at the winds, he began to sink. He cried to Jesus for help & Jesus immediately reached out to him. He saved him. In Christ, we can do possibility living. Nothing is impossible  with God. Nothing is difficult with Him. For as long as we put our focus on Christ, we are set for...

 Jesus called His disciples to Him & said:  I have compassion for these people; they have already been with Me three days & have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way. (Mathew 15:32). The God of the Bible is our Creator.  He is the Most High God. He is a compassionate God. We see His compassionate work in the life & ministry of Jesus Christ. In this text we note that  He had been with the people for three days & felt compassion for them. He felt what they were feeling & decided to give them something to eat. He would not let them go while being hungry. This is a great lesson to which if we master it, we will impact on the communities for Jesus. Jesus showed them God's love. He put a small on their faces. He demonstrated what true Christianity is; what Bible based faith is. It works through love. Love looks for someone to help. Faith without works of God's mercy is dead. Jesus' character which He sh...

 Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself, take up his cross & follow me. (Mathew 16:24). Christianity starts with an attitude of self denial. Self denial means to remove yourself from the driving seat of your life & let Christ to control you. If you get this right from the beginning, you will not struggle to live a true Christian life. You will not struggle to humble yourself before both God & men. You will not struggle to do the will of God. Most Christians struggle to be true to God because they did not start their Christian life with self denial. Mathew 16:24 is where Christian life starts. If you miss it, you will live a compromised Christian life. You will have pride, being unloving, unforgiving, jealousy, etc. After denying self, you will proceed to the next stage, that of taking up your cross. On the cross there is opposition, pain, suffering, mockings, beatings, being called out names, people gossiping about you, people seeking to destroy your reputati...

 O unbelieving & perverse generation, Jesus replied: How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me. Jesus rebuked the demon, & it came out of the boy, & he was healed from that moment. The disciples came to Jesus in private & asked: Why couldn't we drive it out? He replied: Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth: if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain: Move from here to there & it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. (Mathew 17:17-20). The disciples were unable to drive out this demon & they asked Jesus why. He pointed to their lack of faith. It is our faith in God that moves mountains. We do not make the usual intercession prayers when dealing with a demon. We just rebuke the demon in faith. This is a situation where you drive out the demon with a word & authority. But you need to have faith & do it faith. Not all situations require us to make ...

 Truly I say to you, unless you change & become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of God. (Mathew 18:3).  The verse above is talking about a changed life. Christianity is about a changed life. What is Christianity? It is a relationship with God through His holy Son, Jesus Christ. Christianity is not a religion, though we have created Christian religion in the church today. Christianity is not an organization, it is an organism, a living thing. Our God is alive. Jesus is alive. God raised Him from the dead. He is seated with the Father on the throne of God's grace. The bones of all the founding fathers of religion are still in their graves, but the tomb of Jesus Christ is empty. The founding fathers of religion died & never rose up. Religion, because it is a mixture of God's laws & man made rules, does not make anyone righteous. It makes the people RELIGIOUS. Only Jesus Christ makes us righteous.How do we become righteous? We need to accept Jesu...

 With man this is impossible, but not with God. All things are possible with God. (Mathew 19:26). When we surrender totally to God & submit totally to His Word, the Holy Spirit will enable us to do POSSIBILITY living. When this happens, all forms of limitations are removed. Nothing will be difficult with us as God will empower us for the mission.  He will give us His gifts, anointing, energy, faith, power, wisdom & revelation. The Holy Spirit will give us direction & guidance. With God in control of our lives we are enabled to make the impossible possible; to  break or cancel the curses bestowed on us & other brethren; to tear apart the works of the enemy; paralyze the operations of the devil & render his demons useless & powerless through faith & praising God. Our praise will bring panic & confusion in the devil's camp. That confusion will cause our enemies to  destroy each other, leaving us untouched. We will only watch & see the...

 Jesus replied: I tell you the truth, if you have faith & do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain: Go, throw yourself into the sea, & it will be done. 22). If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. (Mathew 21:21-22).  Both verses are talking about faith. They are bringing out two aspects: 1. SPEAKING the Word of God in faith, & 2. PRAYING His will in faith. What is faith? It's all about believing God & His Word in total. You take God at His Word. You do not know how it will happen, but you are fully convinced, fully persuaded that God will fulfil His promises. You believe that God is able to do what He said in His Word that He would do. Faith is always toward God or in Jesus Christ. How does faith come? It comes by hearing the Word of God or the message of Christ. To hear in this context also means to act upon the Word. Faith without works or action is dead. Faith connects us ...

 Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart & with all your soul & with all your mind. This is the first & greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law & the prophets hang on these two commandments   (Mathew 22:36-40).  Jesus says that if we truly love God & our neighbor, we will naturally keep the commandments.  This is looking at the Word of God positively & applying it to our lives. Rather  than worrying about all we should not do, we should concentrate on all we can do to show our love for God & others. Love is the MISSING ingredient in the church worldwide.  The Bible says this about love: - Do everything in love. (1Corinthians 16:14). - If you love Me, you will obey what I command. (John 14:15). - Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God ...

 For false Christ's & false prophets will appear & perform great signs & miracles, to deceive even the elect - if that were possible. (Mathew 23:24-25). Jesus warnings about false prophets, false teachers, still hold true. Upon close examination  it becomes clear that many nice-sounding messages don't agree with God's  message in the Bible.  Only a solid foundation in God's Word can equip us to perceive the errors & distortions in false teaching. In times of persecution & severe hardships, even strong believers will find it difficult to be loyal. To keep from being deceived by false messages, we must understand that Jesus' return will be unmistakable. (Mathew 13:26); no one will doubt that it is He. If you have to be told that the Messiah has come, then He hasn't. Christ's coming will be obvious to everyone. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. What will be the IMM...

 Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. (Mathew 25:46). There are two places where people can go to when they die. These are Hades & Paradise initially, followed by Hell & Heaven after the final judgement. The Bible says: The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in them, & Hades gave up the dead that were in them, & each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death & Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the Book of life, he was thrown in the lake of fire. (see Revelation 20:12b -15). Those in Paradise will make it to Heaven. Heaven is a place where we will live eternally with God. There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (see Revelation 21:4). Presently, when we die, we are SEPARATED just...

 With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out & struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Put your sword back in its place, Jesus said to him:  for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.(Mathew 26:51-52). The man who cut off the servant's ear was Peter. (see John 18:10). Peter was trying to prevent what he saw as defeat. He didn't realize that Jesus had to die in order for us to gain victory over our situations & circumstances. He had to die in order for  sin in our our lives to be removed & for the second death to lose its sting upon us. But Jesus demonstrated perfect commitment  to His Father's will. His Kingdom would not be advanced with swords, but with faith & obedience. Peter was fighting a wrong battle. The war Jesus was fighting was against sin & death. It wasn't a physical war but a spiritual war. Peter did not understand this. Some Christians today are  fighting battles in the natur...

 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice: Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachathani? - which means: My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me? (Mathew 27:46). By saying these words, Jesus was quoting the first line of Psalm 22 - a deep expression of the anguish He felt when He took on the sins of the world, which caused Him to be separated from His Father. This was what Jesus dreaded as He prayed to God in the garden to take the cup from Him. (Mathew 26:39). The physical agony was horrible, but even worse was the period of spiritual separation from God. Jesus suffered His double death so that we would never have to experience eternal separation from God. Christ's death was accompanied by at least four miraculous events: darkness, the tearing into two of the curtain in the temple; an earthquake, & dead people rising from their tombs. (see Mathew 27:52-53). Jesus death, therefore, could not have gone unnoticed. Everyone knew something significant had happened. 1. Jesus went throu...

 Then Jesus came to them & said: All authority in Heaven & on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go & make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, & of the Son, & of the Holy Spirit, & teaching them to obey everything  I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.  (Mathew 28:18-20). God gave Jesus authority over Heaven & earth. On the basis of that authority, Jesus commanded His disciples to make more disciples  as they preached, baptized & taught. With the same authority, Jesus still commands us to tell others the Good News & make disciples for the Kingdom. We are to go - whether it is next door or to another country - & make disciples.  It is not an option, but a command to all who call Jesus Lord. We are not all evangelists in the formal sense, but we have received gifts that we can use to help fulfil the Great Commission. As we obey, we have comfort i...

 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but He would not let the demons speak because they knew who He was. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house & went off to a solitary place, where He prayed. (Mark 1:34-35). Why didn't Jesus want the demons to reveal who He was? 1. His time was not yet up. Jesus wanted to reveal His identity as the Messiah according to His timetable, not according to satan's timetable. 2. By commanding the demons to remain silent, Jesus proved His authority & power over them. 3.Jesus wanted people to believe He was the Messiah because of what He said & did, not because of the demons' words. Satan wanted people to follow Jesus around for what they could get out of Him, not because He was the Son of God who could truly set them free from sin's guilty & power. Jesus took time to pray. Finding time to pray is not easy, but prayer is the vital link between u...

 As He walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. Follow me, Jesus told him, & Levi got up & followed Him. While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors & sinners were eating with Him & His disciples, for they were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Him eating with the sinners & tax collectors, they asked His disciples: Why does He eat with sinners & tax collectors ? On hearing this, Jesus said to them: It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. (Mark 2:14-17). The day that Levi met Jesus, he held a meeting at his house to introduce others to Jesus. Levi didn't waste any time  starting to witness. Some people feel that new believers should wait for maturity or training before they begin to tell others about Christ. But like Levi, new believers can share their faith right away with whatever k...

 In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house & carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. (Mark 3:27). The Pharisees & teachers of the law could not deny the reality of Jesus' miracles & supernatural power. They refused to believe that His power was from God, however, then they would have had to accept Him as the Messiah. Their pride & stubbornness would not let them do that. So in an attempt to destroy Jesus' popularity among the people, the teachers of the law accused Him of having power from satan. Jesus reply showed that their arguments didn't make sense. (see Mark 3:22-27). Although God permits satan to work in our world, God is still in control. Jesus, because He is God, has power over satan. Not only that, He has given us authority to trample upon scorpions & serpents, & to overcome all the power of the enemy. (see Luke 10:19). He has put satan under our feet. We walk in DOMINION. He has...

 A furious squall came up, & the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him & said to Him: Teacher, don't you care if we drown? He got up, rebuked the wind & said to the waves: Quiet! Be still! Then the wind died down & it was completely calm. He said to His disciples: Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? They were terrified & asked each other: Who is this? Even the wind & the waves obey Him! (Mark 4:37-41). The disciples were seasoned fishermen who had spent their lives fishing on this huge lake, but during this squall they panicked. They panicked because the storm threatened to destroy them all, & Jesus seemed unaware & unconcerned. Theirs was a physical storm,  but the storms come in other forms. Think about the storms in your life - the situations that cause you great anxiety.  Whatever your difficulty, you have two options: You can worry ...

 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. Your daughter is dead, they said. Why bother the teacher anymore? Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler: Don't be afraid; just believe. (Mark 5:35-36). Jairus's crisis made him feel confused, afraid, & without hope. Jesus's words to Jairus in the midst of crisis speak to us as well: Fear not, only believe. In Jesus' mind, there was both hope & promise. The next time you feel hopeless & afraid, look at your problem from Jesus' point of view. He is the answer to all our problems. He is the source of all hope & promise. He is the author & finisher of our faith. There is no problem that He cannot solve. Nothing is difficult with Him. He is full of faith, power, wisdom & revelation. When men came to tell the synagogue ruler about her daughter's death, He heard the message & told them: Don't be afraid; just believe. His mind w...

 But when they saw Him walking on the lake, they thought He was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw Him & were terrified. Immediately He spoke to them & said: Take courage. It is I. Dont be afraid. Then He climbed into the boat with them, & the wind died down. They were completely  amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. (Mark 6:49-52). The disciples were surprised to see Jesus walking on the water. They were afraid, but Jesus' presence calmed their fears. We all experience fear in some way. Do we try to deal with it ourselves, or do we let Jesus deal with it? In times of fear & uncertainty, it is calming to know that Christ is always with us. To recognize Christ is the antidote of fear. 1. We can overcome fear by living by faith. Where there is faith, fear cannot be present. Where there is fear, faith will not be there; unbelief, doubt  will be present. 2. We can overcome fear by being filled with the Ho...

 He replied: Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men. (Mark 7:6-7). Hypocrisy is pretending to be something you are not & have no intention of being TRUE to God. Jesus called the Pharisees hypocrites because they worshipped God for the wrong reasons. Their worship was not motivated by LOVE, but by a desire to attain profit, to appear holy, & to increase their status. We become hypocrites when we: 1. Pay more attention to reputation than to CHARACTER; 2.carefully follow certain religious practices while allowing our hearts to remain distant from God. God wants us to worship Him in spirit & in truth. He wants us to have lives which inspire others to get saved & to be true to God. Many people in the church today have reverted to HYPOCRISY status. Witnessing Jesus Christ is foreign to them. They...

 But what about you? He asked. Who do you say I am? Peter answered: You are the Christ. Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about Him. (Mark 8:29-30). Jesus asked the disciples who other people thought He was. It is not enough to know what others say about Jesus: you must know, understand, & accept for yourself that He is the Messiah. You must move from curiosity to commitment, from admiration to adoration. Jesus is the Messiah. He came with grace & truth. He is the Bright Morning Star, the root & offspring of David, our Rock, our refuge, our fortress, the strong tower, the beginning & ending of all things, the One who was, who is & who is to come, wonderful counselor, the horn of our salvation. He is the Prince of peace & the mediator between God & man. No one comes to the Father except through Jesus Christ. The first time He came to earth, He dealt with SIN. This He did it successfully.   This time He is going to deal with the SINNER. He is ...

 After Jesus had gone indoors, His disciples asked Him privately: Why couldn't we drive it out? He replied: This kind can come out only by prayer & fasting. (Mark 9:28-29). The disciples would often face difficult situations that could only be resolved through prayer. Prayer is key that unlocks faith in our lives. Effective prayer needs both an attitude - complete dependence - & an action - asking. Prayer demonstrates our reliance on God as we humbly invite Him to fill us with His faith & power. There is no substitute for prayer, especially in circumstances that seem impossible. In such cases you need to add fasting & do prayer & fasting. Some oppressive spirits will only come out or release their hold on your life by prayer & fasting. Let me correct a wrong belief that many pastors have got. They believe that by going to the ministry training institutions that they won't be oppressed anymore. This is false. Do you think that if you are taught about the ...

 And whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, to give His life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:44-45). James & John wanted the highest positions in Jesus' Kingdom. But Jesus told them that true greatness comes in SERVING others. Peter, one of the disciples who heard this message expands the thought in 1 Peter 5:2-3: It reads: Be shepherds of God's flock under your care, serving as overseers - not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for MONEY, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being EXAMPLES to the flock. Most businesses, organizations & institutions measure greatness by high personal achievement. In Christ's Kingdom, however, SERVICE is the way to to get ahead. However, do not do service without God. Be a believer, be filled with the Holy Spirit & allow Him to lead you. Wait until He empowers you for the mission. T...

 Have faith in God, Jesus answered. I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain: Go, throw yourself into the sea, & does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for you. (Mark 11:22-23). The kind of prayer that moves mountains, that changes our circumstances, that shifts our focus, etc,  is the prayer for FRUITFULNESS of God's Kingdom. God will answer your prayers but not as a result of your positive mental attitude. Other conditions must be met: 1. You must be a believer. 2. You must not hold a grudge against another person. 3. You must not pray with selfish motives; 4. Your request must be for the good of God's Kingdom. 5. You must live in peace with all men. You must be a peacemaker. 6. Place much reliance in the Word of God. The Word of God is our spiritual food. It is our spiritual weapon. It is the manual for daily living as Christians. Be a DOER of the Word of God. To pray effectively, you need FAITH in God. Faith...

 Haven't you read this Scripture: The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. (Mark 12:10). Jesus referred to Himself  as the stone rejected by the builders. Although he would be rejected by most of the Jewish leaders, He would become the cornerstone of a new building, the Church. The cornerstone was used as a base to make sure that the other stones were straight & level. Likewise, Jesus' life & teaching would be the church's foundation.  He is our foundation as the His church worldwide.  He is the head of the church. So, Jesus is both the foundation & the head of the church. He is the author & finisher of our faith, the Alpha & the Omega, the beginning & ending of all things, the first & the last, the prince of peace, the root & offspring of David, the Bright Morning Star. He is our Saviour. He is the Healer, the Deliverer. He is Wonderful, Counselor, etc. He is the same yesterday, today & forevermore. He is the Me...