The Hunger for God

The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.

Proverbs 16: 23 (KJV)

Text: Proverbs 16: 23 - 26

I want to ask us today to always think before we speak. It is important that we learn how to communicate, how to speak to one another. When there is strife and we don’t speak with one another then there will be chaos. It is important we talk to each other with decorum, with respect. The problem with a lot of us is that we carry a lot of things all the time.

Verse 24 says “kind words are easy to accept”. Kind words is a strategic key to good health. We should learn to be kind to people, to everyone we come in contact with. There are quiet a number of things that the holy spirit can do but then also there are a lot of things that we must also do.
Verse 25 says, “there is a way that seems good to us but it leads to death”. Many of the times people want their right to stand even though it may not be right. The way may seem right to you but then is it right to God? We need to learn to let go of things, let everything about self be diminish.
The wisdom of God is like foolishness to man. If God is asking us to do things then we must do it. Let us then ask that God give us the grace to tolerate people.


Verse 26 “the thought hunger keeps the worker working” As workers in the vine yard of God what are the things we are hungry for? What are the things that are driving you? Are you only hungry for the things of the flesh? Are you hungry for the things of God? Are you hungry for the things of the spirit?

God is looking for those who will put their heart in Him, those people who will hunger for those things after His heart. He is looking for you and for me. Remember His words, “seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and ALL other things will be added to you”.

Exploiting through faith, knowledge and the word

And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.  And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. Daniel 11: 31-32

We live in a kingdom system that operates with keys. Keys give you access. Two things that keys do, authority and access. It is when you have the keys that you are able to enter into a brand new world.

Jesus said to the disciples; "I have given you the key, whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven." This means that heaven responds to earth. Jesus said when the son of man returns to earth shall He find faith on earth. This means that what heaven responds to on earth is faith.

Keys are no respecter of person. They will work for anybody who engages them. Exploits are not automatic. If exploits were automatic everybody would have access to it. Every believer has a right to walk in exploit, but not every believer is walking in exploit. It is not that God has not allowed them to walk in exploits, but people have failed to use the key required to walk in exploits.

There is one important thing we need to have in order for us to do exploits. The key to exploit is knowledge. Your ignorance is the strength to your enemy. Your ignorance empowers your enemy. What we refuse to know is an area where the enemy can exploit us, an opportunity for the enemy to have power over our greatness.

Keys to open the door to exploits

1. You have to know God Daniel 11: 31-32.
2. You have to be strong
3. You must have imposing aggressive faith
4. Tap into the power of importunate and relentless prayer
5. Be lead by the Holy Spirit. 

Do you know God? Some people know the Church; some know Pastors but do not know God. Paul said “that I may know God”. When you become intimate with God, good will come to you. When you acquaint yourself with God peace will come to you. Peace is not the absence  of warfare but it is having a greater fire in you that the one on the outside; it is knowing that the fire on the outside cannot consume you no matter how much it rages. Daniel 3: 8-30 tells the story of 3 Hebrew men who showed exploit in a fiery burning furnace.

My God is a great Jehovah, He is omnipotent - all powerful.  This means God is the undisputed heavy weight champion of the world. He is the God that never loses a war. If you ever catch a glimpse of the omnipotence of God you will understand the impotence of the devil and how insignificant he is in the whole scheme of your life. If the devil had the power to kill; he would have killed you yesterday. But he couldn’t because he is impotent and powerless.

In other words your intimacy with God will intimidate the devil. This is why the devil does not want you to know God. You can only know God through his Words, through the Spirit, through the people around you.

The strong will have exploits and the weak will be exploited. Which one do you want to be? The choice is very clear, either you have exploit or be exploited. You have to be strong in the word, in faith and in prayer. You cannot pray weak, small prayers and expect strong and big answers. Jesus didn’t pray like a mouse, He prayed strong, with great conviction.

Imposing and aggressive faith is the type that won’t take no for an answer. Mark 5: 21-25. The crowd followed Jesus and they got nothing. Jarius got Jesus to follow Him to his house and He got a miracle. Jarius imposed on Jesus and this ensured that the Lord followed him home to heal his daughter. While going to Jarius house another miracle happened, the woman with the issue of blood stopped Jesus. That day in the midst of a crowd it is recorded that only 2 people got their miracle. The one that made Jesus follow him to his home and the other that stopped Jesus with her faith. Can your faith stop Jesus to perfect your miracle? Or will your prayers impose God to follow you to that place where you need Him most?

Are you ready to have exploit today? Jesus will not follow you all the way to your house if you have fear or unbelief. He will only come if you have the word, live in His Spirit and have the faith to back it up. To have exploit you need the spiritual virtues to back it up.

Serving in Honesty

And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him. But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 1 Samuel 16: 6-7

Know God and serve Him with an honest heart. If we know God and serve Him honestly He will respond to us. God responds to us based on how our heart is. God searched the heart of Eliab but rejected him as King over Israel. If God is not answering your prayers, search your heart. Search the way your heart is moving and the purpose you are asking what you are asking.

When we do things for the wrong reasons our ministry will fail, even if the things we do seemingly are the right things. When God rejected Saul it took another 13 years of him on the throne even though God had already left him. David was waiting in the wings. God is faithful to us all but he expects our faithfulness in return.

When we try to do things outside of God we lose touch of ourselves. We complain and react in anger always. Most of the problem is us. We are busy blaming others for the happenings in our life. This is not right.

Serve God well. It doesn’t matter whether things go according to how you want it to or like it. You can’t stay somewhere you are not happy and continue to grumble. Let us begin to change our mindset. Where ever we are it shouldn’t be about what we can get but more on what we can give.
The Lord will help and encourage us all. He will give us the wisdom to the right thing at the right time that will attract favour and success in all areas of our life.

Remember this - we serve in a conditional world. It is a world of action and reaction, you must first do before you get the reward.

Exploits through knowledge

And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?  

Acts 19: 15 (KJV)

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 (KJV)

There is only one battle happening in the world, in the spiritual realm and that is the battle over the souls of men. Today we will close our teachings on exploits. We should not be ignorant of what is happening around us. We should not focus on only the physical but more on the spiritual.

You too can do exploits. We just want to rehearse and find out about doing exploits. One of the challenges of Christianity today is that a lot of leaders no longer do exploits. Some even believe that exploits and miracles ended with the new testament apostles. God can and still  heals blind eyes, make the lame walk, change situations suddenly and otherwise; He can make and use you to do mighty things. The bible says those who know their God, He can use them to make and do exploits.

What are things we must do so that we can do exploits

1. Know your God and serve him with a perfect heart. God looks and responds to us based on what is in our heart and thoughts. Acts 19: 13-16 talks about the sons of Sceva and the man possessed with evil spirit. David said in 1 Samuel 17. I come against you in the name of the Lord of host. 
2. Believe and trust this God. A lot of us do not do exploits because we really do not believe. We do not think that God can do what He says He will do. So when we ray, we do so without expectation. 2 Chronicles 20:20 encourages us to believe. Mark 9:23. If you believe in God, He will act according to your believe
3. Keep yourself in total consecration, holiness and obedience to God and His words. The bible tells us that Samson stopped doing exploits when he started a relationship with Delilah. Joshua 3:5; Hebrew 12:14. There are too much sins in the world and the church has become an entertainment area. 
4. Be bold and courageous. If you are going to do exploits you have to be bold and courageous. Joshua 1: 5-8. There is not enough courage in the world and that is why people get away with a lot of evil. Our religious leaders prefer to receive adulation from the world because of what they can get. Today people have no courage, do not speak the truth and so find it difficult to do exploits. 
5. You must be a person of prayer and fasting. You need to commit yourself to study the word of God because the word helps you pray. Fasting strengthens you, keeps you clean and set aside. Jesus said some of the problems cannot be overcome except by prayer and fasting. One day the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him to teach them how to pray. Matthew 21: 22; John 14: 13. 

We must come back to the bible of old, to the Christianity of old. To a Christianity that is righteous and bold in the name of the God that we serve. As a christian we must be ready to do exploits and show that we serve a God who is able to do everything and anything. The 3 Hebrew men stood before King Nebuchadnezzar and told him boldly that they would not bow down to the image he put up.

We must be ready to serve God and be prepared to obey Him. We must be ready to give up everything because the bible says we will surely have the reward. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all other things will be added to you.

Do you have tension about tomorrow? Are you afraid of the direction your life is taking? Do you want to do exploits in your life? Come to Jesus now and let Him hold you as you rededicate your life to Him who can do exploits through you. 

Exploit through God! ~ Pastor Tayo Fagbenro Pt. 2

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. Daniel 1:8 &15

Daniel and his companions had certain characters. Heroic and deep faith, performing daring feats. To do exploit for God.

The 10 D’s to doing exploit

1. Dare to be different/distinct Romans 12: 2-3 Be not conformed to this world. Draw the line and be defined in what you do.
2. Be decisive. Be sure of your purpose and calling Daniel 1:10 Daniel decided in his heart not to damage himself
3. Do not defile God; don’t defile yourself  in what you do and where you go. Walk in line to not mar the name of the Lord your God. 
4. Discipline. You cannot do exploit without be disciplined - living consistently in a controlled pattern of behavior. But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 1 Corinthians 9:27 (KJV)
5. Be a person of determination. You cannot do much for God and God cannot do much for you if you are not determined in the things to do. 
6. Be discerning. 1 Chronicles 12:32  And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment. You must be able to discern that which is unique to you and to your purpose for life. You must have the capacity to judge what is right or wrong and do what is right.
7. Be devoted to God and to your calling in life. God is looking for people who are devoted to Him, to their calling, the purpose of God. You must be devoted to your corporate responsibility. 
8. Be a disciple of Jesus Christ. A committed learner and student of the work of God. 2 Timothy 2: 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (KJV)
9. Be willing to deny yourself in order to follow Jesus. You must deny yourself which are pleasurable to you but is against the will of God. 
10. Dreams. Pursue the dreams of God. Dreams are revelation and a promise of achieving purpose

As the children of the king we must not act like ordinary people. We must decide to deny ourselves of those things that are pleasurable to the world but not to God. We can’t eat like the world eats, we cannot live like the world lives, we cannot think like the world thinks. The book of Daniel teaches us how act how to influence and how to influence your environment in a reckless and godless culture.

There are 3 thing that God has shaped in our life

1. Servant leadership
2. Compassion
3. Nation building

The 3 above must be our dream as individuals and as citizens of the Kingdom of God. Wake up and say God what is on your heart. Do not do it because of your want, like, desires and selfish wishes of your heart. When you are hearing something from God constantly about your purpose then you must set aside everything and walk in that light. When you are delivered you can do exploits.

Without the spirit of God you cannot do exploits. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.  Luke 1: 35 KJV. Mary was an agent of exploit when the Holy Ghost came upon her. The Spirit of God came upon Saul and he prophesied, upon Samson and he killed a bear.

You must seek God for insight. Be lead by the will of God. When you go to where God sends you He will keep you, provide for you, and protect you in everywhere He has sent you to.


You want to do exploits for God, want God to do exploits through you? You must ask God where He has called you, what He has called you for and I assure you, you will stand out. The “I” in exploits is declaring your identity. It means you are marked by Christ Jesus. 

Exploit through God! ~ Pastor Tayo Fagbenro Pt. 1

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. Daniel 1:8 &15

God does not live in days, months or years; He lives in moments. The word exploit means a heroic achievement. An extraordinary thing that is done by ordinary people.  Each church has its unique features. No two churches are alike and it is very dangerous thing for churches to compare themselves with another. You must know the unique features that makes you who and what you are. It is not about how much connection you have. It has to do with the purpose that God has for your life. You must keep in mind and write down the plans, purpose, vision and all round reasons why you are you.

The number 10 happens 10 times in the bible. It is used to describe completion. There are certain features that God has designed for you this year. The second part is the number 6 which signifies testimony. There are physical and testimonial dimension to the year. For parents who are here and you have a child. When the child gets to the age of 10 research shows that the life is already formed.
In Genesis 1, the phrase ‘God said” occurs 10 times. God gave 10 commandments and this means 10 is a number for covenant.

To do exploit it is doing exploit through God, in God and for God. The exploit we are talking about is the heroic achievement of service for God. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you belong to, you must do exploit for God. When the time is over, God will ask us what we did with what He has given us, the purpose He has created us to complete.

In life we have those who are lamenting in the church, outside the church and everywhere around you. Check numbers 13, God is always angry with the people who lament, complain and murmur. But we must not be like them. We have to live a life that is focused on God. The knowledge that we talk about in Daniel 11:32 is no ordinary one. It is a Revelation knowledge that gives us a true understanding of God.

Doing exploits for God. Exploit talks about doing notable achievement. In the book of Acts after the disciples received power from God they witnessed and they did exploits for God and reached 3,000 people. A witness speaks of hat he or she knows and has experienced of God. Your life must be a testament of goodness, marvelous things and great things that God has done in your life.

You want to do exploits for God, want God to do exploits through you? You must ask God where He has called you, what He has called you for and I assure you, you will stand out. The “I” in exploits is declaring your identity. It means you are marked by Christ Jesus.

Exploit to do the extraordinary

And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.  1 Chronicles 28: 9 KJV

Text: 1 Chronicles 28: 9 - 11

Those who know their God, who are familiar with their God, those who understand their God shall do great things and they shall be strong. The reason why David was able to kill Goliath was because he knew the God he served. Goliath was big and a giant but David knew that he was an uncircumcised Philistine and David saw a small and important weakness which he leveraged on. There is no problem in life that has no agreement with God.

You need to know who you are and what you are in Christ Jesus. This certainty will move you forward in life and move you to success. Anybody coming against the covenant of God will be faced with problem.

You need to understand that anybody that did an exploit was an ordinary man. A man of flesh and blood. The bible speaking about Elijah said he was a man of like passion. Saying he was a man like you and I, a simple man but yet the man prayed that rain must not fall and it didn't rain and when he prayed that it should rain, it did. Ordinary men who know their God shall do extraordinary things.

I was listening to Myles Munroe this morning and he said ‘it takes discipline to excel in life’. He said people that have done great things is because they have been disciplined in one area in their life. They focus on one thing and become great in it.

There are things that we need if we as ordinary men must do the extraordinary

1. Vision, a clear vision
2. Focus on your vision Jesus said to Martha one thing you lack and that thing Mary your sister has done
3. Place a value on yourself. You have to become valuable at what we want to become in life. We must live based on the value that God has placed on our life. If you have value people will run after you. 

Everybody keeps saying the country is hard, no the country is not hard; we are the ones who are not thinking. In the midst of the hardness some people are making so much money because they are focused. Myles Munroe said he decided to focus on his ability to talk and this created a value that made a way for him.

Initially people may not see your value, remain focused because bit by bit you will be noticed. When you become noticed your focus will be rewarded. We must see value quickly.

How do you do exploits?

1. Know your God and serve Him 1 Chronicles 28:9
2. You must be courageous Joshua 1:6
3. Have power and moral understanding
4. Trust God with all your heart. Proverbs 3:5 (you have to believe that if you fall God will catch you, if you jump God will catch you. 
5. Keep yourself in total consecration and obedience Joshua 3:5 Deuteronomy 28:1
6. Have faith in God and take steps of faith. If you have faith you will say onto this mountain move and it will. Take a step of faith and let’s see what God will do in your life. When you move God will move. 

You cannot lie on the bed of Delilah and expect to rise up with power the next day just like Samson. Read the word for yourself and apply it to your life. Do not depend solely on the words that come out of the pulpit. We need to take Christ and Christianity much more seriously. We need to take our life and eternity more seriously.