Php 3:10: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.

Despite Paul knew Jesus, he still said he wanted to know him. This knowing is about knowing that special power that could raise a man from the dead. If you haven't encountered that power, you really haven't known him yet. Knowing him means also knowing the power that raised him from the dead and also experiencing the blessing of his sufferings on the cross.

Praying, using 1Samuel 30:6 as a reference and Prayer:

Time for Warfare

Let us reflect the blessings of God in our lives for the outgoing month.

What better way to do that than to hear from David. A man who knew how to give thanks and praise to God on every occasion

Let’s read from Psalm 103.

David begins by saying in Psa 103:1-2: "Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless

It’s a reminder for all of us to also take time reflect on the past months.

The blessings, provisions, protection, mercies, and kindness of God.

How would you THANK the Lord for his kindness to you and your household in the month of March?

Many did not survive. So many evils yet God is faithful to us and our household.

As we come to the end of the month of March today, think on:

God has been faithful to you, your home, your health, family, children, parents, everything.

Take time to appreciate him for all this.

Let’s look at how David did it.

Psa 103:3-5:  Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness

-       Forgiveness: Who forgiveth all thineiniquities;

-       Health: Who healeth all thy diseases; 

-       Death: Who redeemeth thy life from destruction;

-       Blessing: Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 

-       Provisions: Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Sing a song of thanksgiving and praise from your heart to God this morning.

What we call the Psalm of David is actually a song, a poem, a rendition, etc.

You also hear “the song of Solomon.”

You also sing a song to him today.

Write something down and say, Lord, I thank you for watching over my and my home…

Pro 15:1: A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. 

Pro 26:4  Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.

Jas 1:19: Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 

What this means is that God will manifest himself to you in the situation your present yourself to him.

So, if you present yourself as poor, or weary, strong, dying, or happy, he will present himself just like that. i.e. you will see him that way.
Paul says in 2Cor 13:11: "Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you."

God is called several names in the Bible, God of comfort, God of joy, God of peace, God of mercies, God of vengeance, God of glory, God of grace, and so on. He is also God of vengeance, God of war, etc. He is the God of your situation. If you come to God with comfort, peace, joy, he will be the God of comfort, peace, joy, and so on to you. If you come to him as the God of solution, that is what he will be to you. If you approach him as a fearful God that can kill and destroy, he will appear to you and deal with you as such.

Paul says if you "farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace," God will manifest himself exactly like the God of those things to you. It is important to know how we approach God because that is what he will present himself to us.
Some people approach God with complaint and murmuring. God hates murmuring. He was ready to eradicate Israel for murmuring against Moses. He in fact destroyed and crushed Israel for murmuring and that was why we are warned not murmur in 1Cor 10:10: "Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer."

Let us learn to approach God with the right mindset even if we are passing through a terrible situation. Life and death are in our tongue, and our mind is so powerful it reflects and mirror God to us in the way we present our situation to him. That is why the Bible says "let the weak say I am strong and let the poor say I am rich".

Hannah kept praying for several years for a child but her prayer was full of complaints of how others were treating her and how desperate she needed a child to show to people she was not a barren. She got nothing until she changed her prayer to praying the solution rather than pray the problem. Let us learn to say more about what we want than what we are passing through. Even though we see it as the reality, our minds interprets it as murmuring and lack of faith, and without faith, we cannot get anything  from God. Talk more about the solutions, not the problem. Confess. Believe. Have a positive mindset. All these will strengthen your faith to receive from God.

Don't mourn over your situation, rather talk to it. Jesus told his disciples, "if you shall say to this mountain..." We are called to call things that are not as if they are, and they will be, that is faith. Stop dressing your situation, start to address it. Call it the name you want them to be and that is what they will be.

Read More: The God of Your Situation

Psa 143:11: Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.

Quickening may sound like an old King James word and may obscure the true meaning, the power of the word and prayer of David. But when we break it down, it will begin to dawn on us that it is the prayer we need ourselves.

Here is an exposition of what the word mean and how to pray it with application not only to our life, but our body, health, and home.

We need God’s power to keep standing and keep moving even when we feel like giving up.

In 1Kings 19:1-4: Prophet Elijah just performed a mighty miracle by engaging the prophet of Baal in a contest and defeated them. But despite the great achievement, he feared for his life when Jezebel, the prophetess of Baal threatened to kill him. He became so weary, tired and frustrated that he retreated into the wilderness and abandoned his servant. The Bible records that, "...when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers."

You may also be weary, tired, and feel like giving up just like Elijah. Or may be there's a Jezebel threatening, frustrating, making your life a living hell. Your Jezebel could be system, debt, financial issue, health, family, spiritual or something more personal, all you need is to do what Elijah did that restored him.

Text: Mat 12:35: A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 

We can know the type of person you are by the quality of words you speak. i.e. the type of words that come out of your mouth is a window to know what is in your heart.

During provocation, what words are you most likely to respond with?

When we understand the power and dynamics of words, we will begin to use it for a good purpose.

Pro_18:21  Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

What does this mean? All deaths!!! All lifes!!! Begins with words!!!

All deaths and lifes begins with Words from your own mouth.

What you say about yourself matter more than what others speak or say about you.

Jesus asked his disciple: What do people say about me? Who do people think I am? He then asked them, “What do YOU say about me? YOU matter more than them.

What you say about yourself matter more than what others speak or say about you.

In Genesis, God said, “let there be…”

It was what God said that transformed the situation not what the situation present.

Before he said “let there be…” what happened?

How was the earth?

Gen 1:2: And the earth was:

- without

- and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

But God said in Gen 1:3, “Let there be light: and there was light”

Let there be and there was.

Have you ever said something like that when you are in the same situation?

To many of us, Gen 1vs describes our lives is without

There is nothing that happened to you, or you are passing through that God never passed through. His whole creations was in darkness, void and was formless

And he was God How can you be God when things are in disarray!

But he responded with “Let there be and there was…”

The difference is the approach and what you say about your situation.

While God said, let there be light, you are saying something else.

Some people are saying, they are dying… I’m in trouble…. Will I ever make it…. This is bad!

Your subconscious mind does not understand what you mean and what you don’t mean.

All he is looking for is what you are saying…

Pro_6:2 says Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

Another translation says, you are trapped by your own words, and caught by your own words, 

What you say are so powerful. It’s a creation.

Understand that.

Every word you say is a creation.

You are a creator. Imagine that for a second!

Again life and death is in your tongue!

Except and until you change your approach to the issue and your situation, it will not change.

Changing your approach begins with changing your perception and mindset about the situation.

May be you are telling me it’s because I don’t know your situation…

That’s right… I don’t…. but whatever situation you are at right now, this is what the Bible says…

1Cor 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Can your situation change?

Well. God asked a man of God the same questions:

Eze 37:1-3: The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. 

Can you answer that question in your life?

What is the source code of your mountain?...

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38).

Some people think that giving means losing something, but as Christians, we know that giving is actually a window to receive. Giving itself is one of the greatest blessings we can receive.

Just like any other laws of God, the way to be great is to be small, the way to be a leader is to be a servant. The way to live is to die, the way to receive is to give.

Who Should You Give to?

-       First to God. Give thanks, praises, worship, adoration, offering to your God. He deserves it. “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his

-       Give to the household of Faith. Paul says, “As we have therefore opportunity,let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Gal6:10).

-       Give to your spouse, children, family members, loved ones, friends, colleagues, neighbors, co-workers, even yourself. Pro3:27 says, “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.”

-       Give to those in need; widows, orphans, the poor, etc. Pro 19:17 says, “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.” “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (Jas 1:27). 

What Can You Give?

Give thanks to God as if you are giving him something physical.

Be intentional with it.

Give money, encouragement, appreciation, and so on.

Give your time, presence, ears, etc.

Be sincere with it.

Be a candle. One candle can light a thousand candles without losing its own light or shine.

The Blessing of Giving

Aside from the fact that giving gives us a deep sense of satisfaction and contentment, it is also a way God uses to bless us. Act20:35 says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Remember, whatever you give will come back to you in “good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over.” Paul says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal 6:7). 

Also, don’t forget that “with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again”

So, give bountifully, so you’d give bountifully. If you give sparingly, you will receive bountifully (2Cor 9:6).

The Law of Sowing and Reaping

One thing is sure, when you give, you will always receive, it is a law! That is why you should give every time you have the opportunity to

You may find it a bit difficult to sow at the beginning, but the joy is when the harvest comes. Yield to the wisdom of Ecclesiastes that says, “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good” (Ecc 11:6). 

This is what the book of Proverbs has to say, “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.  The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself” (Pro 11:24-25).

It is the planting season, it is time to give, for the harvest is coming.

Prepare for a bountiful harvest – be generous!

Start giving today!

Prepare for the Harvest.

Psa 100:4: "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name."

What is the significance of Gate and Court?

Gates are a barrier to check/control entry.

It can be for good or for bad.

Some people pass through the gate of hell and destruction, others pass through the gates to their blessing.

Whatever gate you are passing through now, God has promised you victory.

Psa 107:16: "For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder."

So, praise God for the victory he gave you in whatever gate that you are in.

The Psalmist says enter his courts with Praise.

Court is a place of judgement.

Court can be a place of victory or damnation.

What has brought you to the court of heaven to bring you damnation?

It could be shame, joblessness, lack, failure, difficulty, challenge, confusion, etc

Don’t panic!

Why?

God is the judge.

And you have a lawyer… Jesus. He is your advocate – He defends us in the court of heaven to give us victory

1Jn 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Whatever gate that is before you or the court that you are in, give thanks to God because He has given you victory through Jesus.

Therefore, praise your way through the gates and courts as you go into the weekend.