Pursuit of Happiness and Life Issues

  "Pastor, what is the difference between making declarations and praying?" Yesterday I briefly talked about 3 ways to apply God's word to your life, which are Actions in obedience, Declarations of faith, and Prayer. But from your question, I'm sensing that section was too brief to be understood. So, let me take the explanation a little further: 1. Actions in obedience Most scriptures would often leave you with a responsibility. And until your part is played, God is not committed. For instance, Malachi says we should bring all our tithe into God's house and God would open the windows of heaven and pour down a blessing. God's part is to pour down a blessing, while yours is to bring the tithe. It doesn't require any declaration or prayer. And that means it would be foolishness to be declaring that your tithe is paid or praying that God will pay your tithe when you've withheld the tithe. Isaiah 12:3 says, "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out o...

  "Pastor, why is everything around my life slow?" I may not be able to give an exact answer to that, but let me show you 2 keys that will add speed to your life. Ready? 1. The Word of God Hebrews 4: 12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. One of the things I've come to understand about the scriptures is that as much as it should be read and understood based on its context, every single verse, every single sentence, every single clause, and every single phrase has potential energy. This means that the Holy Spirit can light up just any part of scriptures to bring light to a situation. I've read Hebrews 4:12 many times but it just occurred to me that God's word is "quick". That's right, it can deal with slow motion in your life. If you feel your business isn'...

Simple... Proverbs 23:23 gives a perfect answer. It says, "Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding". So yes, buy the truth, buy wisdom, buy instruction, buy understanding. Don't wait for someone to spoon feed you with everything your destiny needs to succeed, make daily efforts to search the scriptures for yourself. Unfortunately, many Christians are Sunday-Service believers, all they know about Jesus is what their pastor taught on Sundays. If all you know are things your pastor taught you, then you haven't started your Christian walk. I Sometimes get irritated when I hear Christians say, "My pastor said... My pastor said...", especially when what their pastor said is in the Bible. Why couldn't they just quote the Bible? Your pastor's teaching should start you off, not put you off. If your pastor's teaching doesn't create an hunger within you to engage in a personal search, then you might need to look f...

  "Pastor, my husband pretended to be a good man just for me to marry him. But since we married, he's been a completely different person. What do I do?" That's a lot to take in, but hey, pretence has a limit, you must have noticed something odd before you tied the knot with him. Now you came to a pastor for help, but did you seek a pastor's counsel before you married him? Many young ladies jump into marriage emotionally, and that's why changes in marriage seem sudden and surprising to them. Courtship was designed for determining compatibility. But the greatest mistake couples have made is that they think that courtship is between 2 people, which means the man and the woman. But no, courtship is like a court session, it's between more than 2 people; the judge, the counselor, the jury, the witnesses, the public and press. While God stands as Judge to give the final verdict, the counselors would be your pastor or marriage counselor, they'd ask critical qu...

  "Pastor, I mistakenly sold my birthright. What do I do to recover it? Simple, do what Esau did. Our perception of Esau over the years hasn't really been helpful to the body of Christ. There's really no difference between what Esau did and what many Christians do daily. Each time a Christian committed fornication, he sold his birthright. That's right, that lie you told just to cover your shame was an unconscious trade of your birthright. You cheated someone just yesterday because of your greed, and while you're thinking that you now have all the gain to yourself, you lost your birthright. Salvation gives us a new birth experience with a new right, but each time we sin, we unknowingly sell our birthright. Like Jacob, Satan wants to have a right to what should be your right, and just as Esau traded his birthright with pottage, Christians trade their birthright daily by the pleasures of sin. The last time I checked, the wages of sin has not changed, it's still de...

"Pastor, I've been praying to God to visit and remember me for years now, but it seems like God has forgotten me" Hold that thought right there! . I'm pretty sure that God visited you and it's certainly impossible for Him to forget you. However, if He hasn't done anything for you, it's probably because your faith wasn't connected to anything He was supposed to do when He visits. Some Christians are very religious when they pray. You'd hear things like, "Father, visit me in my finances", "Oh Lord, visit me in my health", "Jesus, remember me today". And I can't but wonder what Jesus is supposed to do when He eventually visits their finances. Some people believe that the presence of God automatically resolves challenges. As much as I'd love that to be true, God never acts without the faith of man. One would think that those soldiers would automatically rise at the valley of dry bones, but no, Prophet Ezekiel still...

  I was teaching in a conference on Saturday and suddenly got very emotional by one of my lines of taught. "God's agenda is to see every believer become a copy of what the scripture says". 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. The explanation to that scripture isn't different from how a photocopier works. If you're familiar with a Photocopying Machine, you'd have observed that you can't make a copy of a document without placing the face of the document directly on the glass. Then the plain paper would pick up the information in the glass which would eventually change the plain paper into the same image as the original that was copied. This means that as a believer, you can be so transformed that men would look at your life and literally understand all the Bible verses they've been reading. Your life ...

  Let me show you how to overcome the competition in your business... Simple... Just love God back... God's love for you got you this far, now you'd need to love Him back if you need to get results that are exclusive to you. Believe me, it's not everybody that is feeling the competition, some people are just basking in prepared blessings. 1 Corinthians 2:9 made this clear ,"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him". So truly, the competition may be high, but God has a reserve for those that love him. And the amazing thing is, this reserve cannot be accessed by your eyes, your hears, or your mind, only love for God can access it. Your competitors may have won all the clients they can see, hear or think, and it may be looking like there are no more customers to patronize you, don't be deceived, God has a reserve. There are unrevealed prospects all...