Good News of Great Joy

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As we come together on the first Sunday of the month of December, and we are preparing for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, I feel compelled by the Spirit of God to lead our thought on the message of the angels to the shepherds: “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:9-11). 

Do you remember how you jumped shouted and danced around when you received an alert from your Bank credited by your Employer who owed you eleven months salary? This time it comes with promotion and incentives you never expected. You just couldn’t wait to get home, to find that friend or loved one, and blurt out the good news? You burst through the door, a big grin on your face, and you said: “guess what!” I declare this day; you shall receive great news of joy for your family to celebrate in Jesus name. Joy erupted in heaven and the overflow engulfed the earth so powerfully that the shepherd in the filled was terrified. Bu the angels said, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people…” 

It is no more a news that life in Lagos and Nigeria at large is not just easy. The country is in full blown recession and cost of living is attaining unimaginable height. a bag of rice during same period last year was just ₦7,000 but today its ₦22,000 while minimum wage of workers remain ₦18,000. Industries are laying off workers while some are relocating to nearby countries due to difficulty in doing business. There is security challenges everywhere and church attendance dwindling. There are the struggles, difficulties, pains, untimely death, etc. Sometimes we even feel the pain more severely during the Christmas season. Expectations are dashed while frustration and depression set in. I have a message of hope from the throne of grace you, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2: 14. The favor of the Lord which passes the political favoritism rests on you for hope and breakthrough in Jesus name.

Sometimes we fail to differentiate between happiness and joy. Happiness results from situations when we get our salary, or get a bonus, or when we are out with friends, or when we go on holiday. We feel happy when we can enjoy good food or drinks. But feelings of happiness come and go.  And sometimes happiness turns to disappointment especially when the source of happiness exhaust like the wine in Cana of Galilee during wedding. This is not so with joy which is far deeper than happiness. It does not depend upon the circumstances or the situation. Stop depending on mundane things for happiness and turn to the person who is able to fill you with joy. Psalm 43:4; Psalm 16:11; Psalm 98:4; Isaiah 35:10; John 15:11; Acts 13:52; Galatians 5:22

PRAYER POINTS

Lord I thank you for releasing your Son Jesus Christ to the World especially me

I thank you Lord for divine favour received through Jesus Christ

I renounce every burden of sin and Satan that is hindering my joy in Jesus name

O Lord; arise and break all yokes of sadness in my life in Jesus name

I surrender my worries and burdens to you Lord. Lift up my head for greater testimonies in Jesus name

Every agent of sad news turn away from me in Jesus name

Lord; visit me with unprecedented breakthrough in Jesus name

Abundant Grace Mission International: DILIGENCE: KEY TO GREATNESS

Abundant Grace Mission International: DILIGENCE: KEY TO GREATNESS: G. S. Adeyemo TEXTS: - Jeremiah 31:16 “Thus says the LORD, "Restrain your voice from weeping And your eyes from tears; For your...

DILIGENCE: KEY TO GREATNESS

G. S. Adeyemo

TEXTS: - Jeremiah 31:16 “Thus says the LORD, "Restrain your voice from weeping And your eyes from tears; For your work will be rewarded," declares the LORD, "And they will return from the land of the enemy.” 

Proverbs 10:4 “Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.” 

 Definition 

Diligence and hard work are words we use interchangeably. They are associated with assiduity, persistence, determination and consistence. However, I will like to stick to the former.  Diligence means that we are continually working toward our goals, making use of what resources and opportunities are available. We are vigilant to avoid errors and to stay focused on the task at hand. Our diligence provides a basis for people trusting us with jobs that are tricky or complicated and also important to them. Miguel De Cervantes says, “Diligence is the mother of good fortune, and idleness, its opposite, never brought a man to the goal of any of his best wishes.” 

Observations 

God rewards diligence. Whatever you do, never shrink or lag. It may be inconvenient at a start but God is watching and will never overlook every drop of your sweat. The word of God says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5.  Those great men and women of the Bible are rewarded for their diligence search and service for God. Though we are saved by faith yet we are challenged to be diligent in service. 1 Kings 11: 28; 2 Chronicles 24:13; Ezra 5:8; 2 Corinthians 8:11; 1 Timothy 5: 17; Proverbs 10: 4; 2 Thessalonians 3: 10

Rewards of Diligence

A diligent hand rules others Proverbs 12: 24

Harvest of Riches Proverbs 10: 4

Diligence brings favour Proverbs 11: 27

Application

How to be Diligent 

1. Remove distractions.   Stay focused and do not be distracted by your phone, internet, television, friends and anything that will not contribute to your goals. 

2. Keep yourself organized. Keep your diary or calendar of activities closer to you. You are advised to have to-do-lists. Learn to plan well and stick to your action plans except when it is stringently necessary to alter it.    

3. Put first thing first. Prioritize your activities in order of importance. The word of God talks about precept upon precept and line upon line. I am sure you have heard of putting the horse before the cart and not the other way round. 

4. Maximize your time. This is one thing we cannot recreate or expand. Both the rich and the poor have the same numbers of hours per day. Use your time efficiently. Do not spend too much time on what cannot add value to your status. Chatting without gaining is self destroying. 

Conclusion

Activities do not bring productivity but intensity and assiduity will earn you favour. Diligence does not remove faith but activate it. Without diligence you cannot study the word of God effectively. Prayers will be lifeless without diligence. Therefore take heed to Divine instructions from the Bible that says, “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders. Be diligent in these matters and absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. Pay close attention to your life and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for by so doing you will save both yourself and those who hear you.…” 1 Timothy 4: 14-16. 

Remain blessed in Jesus name.

www.abundantgracemin.com

BRING BACK OUR GIRLS

"The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; 4 that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."  Titus 2:3-5 

The topic the Lord opened my eyes to share with you is “Bring Back Our Girls. “ On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 female students were kidnapped from the Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. “Since then hopes were raised on various occasions that the 219 remaining girls might be released. Newspaper reports suggested that Boko Haram was hoping to use the girls as a negotiating pawn in exchange for some of their commanders in jail.”  Various Organizations, Groups, eminent personalities and world leaders have been clamouring for the release and return of these kidnapped teenagers. Among those at the vanguard of campaigns for the return of these girls is a group well known as Bring Back Our Girls led by former Education Minister, Obiageli Ezekwesili. Among their demands is “That the 219 Chibok schoolgirls abducted on April 14, 2014 be rescued by the government.” 

 Today, most of our teenage girls are snatched from us by various forces leading them out of the reach of parents and the Church. They are lost in the social vices posing serious dangers to the future of these precious home builders. Just as the man of God Charles Mims says, “We are a nation at war! Not a war of bullets and missiles, not a war of tanks and planes, but a real war nonetheless. It is a war that is fought out in the lives of our most precious commodity, our very children. It is a war that is insidious in nature, devious in implementation, and disastrous in its results.” 

The Bible is so explicit about the life of our children girls in particular. In the Epistles of Paul to Titus, we read “The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; 4 that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” Titus 2: 3-5. 

Every parent must battle to bring back our girls from the enemies of their souls that are bent on destroying their glory and using them as agents of sorrow for the family. 

Let us teach them the Word of God, Let us give them home training. Allow them to associate with godly children rather than sons of ‘Boko Haram’ otherwise known as sons of Balial in the Bible.  We need to rescue those who are already morally and spiritually kidnapped. Civilization is no excuse for moral decadence. There are still godly girls with moral chastity. Children brought up by parents with integrity. As we celebrate these young girls in the Baptist Family, let us continue to pray for them, their directors and the Baptist family at large. I really commend the Girls Auxiliary Director of our great Association, the Good News Baptist Association and their Counselor here in Christ Baptist Church Alimosho Lagos. You have done wonderfully well on these girls. Those who are yet to give their lives to Christ and the Word of God will surely be rescued and brought back in Jesus name.

PRAYER POINTS

• Thank you Lord for blessing us with these beautiful and precious girls 
• Every seed of corruption planted in them is uprooted in Jesus
• Lord break every covenant made with demons in their lives in Jesus
• I send the fire of the Holy Spirit upon ancestral curses that is against your glory in Jesus name
• You are delivered from every power that holds down your destiny in Jesus name
• I prophesy long life with peace and success on you in Jesus name
• I declare your future free from glory regret and torment in Jesus name.

Reverend G. S. Adeyemo
www.abundantgracemin.com
REFERENCE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chibok_schoolgirls_kidnapping
http://www.bringbackourgirls.ng/

Faithfulness: - Key to Fruitfulness

                                                       http://www.abundantgracemin.com/

“Little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in a little thing is a big thing.” This wise saying is true to every area of life. It is a divine principle for fruitfulness and unprecedented breakthroughs. God respects a faithful man whatever condition you find yourself, He is ready to defend you to the end. God was proud of Job in the presence of Satan; “Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." We are considering two areas of faithfulness that leads to fruitfulness. 

1. Being Faithful To God And His Word 

The Lord expects anyone who is waiting for blessings to be faithful to Him and His words. He says, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16; Deut. 7: 9; 1 Kings 2:3-4 

We need to be faithful to God’s word also. We are to know it by heart so that we will not go out of God’s will, Psalms 119:11; John 15:7; Isaiah 26:3.

God doesn’t make a distinction between men in the great rewards that are yet to be made.  God doesn’t make a distinction between men—that this man is a ten-talent man or a five-talent man or a two-talent man—and being faithful in that, why he is given, in God’s sight, a greater reward than a man of a lesser talent who also is faithful in his degree.  But God commends them all alike.  For the great and one principle upon which God judges us is not according to our gifts, but according to our faithfulness in what God entrusts us with. 2 Corinthians 8:12. The important thing in the sight of God is not what you have but how you use what you have:  to be faithful, to be true, to be honest, to be dedicated, and to give to God the highest best of what God has given to you.

2. Being Faithful To the Church Authority

The Church is a Christian’s spiritual family where every member belongs to the others. Church relationship is built on covenant sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ. Such faithfulness is reflected in the way we obey the leaders. Don’t judge, seek take revenge from them or harm them, Hebrews 13:7; 1 Corinthians 4:1-21; 1 Samuel 24:1-6; Psalm 105:15. Be sincere and respect them for your own good and blessings. Always support them in ministry, as they labor for the Kingdom of God, in tears and in sweat, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1 Timothy 5:17-18. Remember Ananias and Sapphira Acts 5:1-11. Be faithful and do well to all those around you no matter who they are or what they did to you. If you desire to be faithful to God you must be ready to create right relationship with God and love everyone, even your enemies. It’s call being faithful!

Do your best to keep your promises. God evaluates your faithfulness based on how well you keep to the promises you made. Proverbs 20:25 says, “It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later consider your vow.”  The Bible is saying that faithfulness is a matter of if you say it, you do it. You keep your promises.  

 The Benefits of Faithfulness

Faithfulness to God and the family of God is rewarding. The rewards include:-

Deliverance Gen. 41: 14 

Promotion Gen. 41: 38-43

Fruitfulness Rom 4:20-21 

Peace of mind Isaiah 3: 10

Conclusion

Beloved in the Lord, it is good to pray, give and work. Above all, faithfulness is the key to your fruitfulness. Be faithful and you will be blessed in Jesus name