Staying in God in the new year

Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 

 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 

2 Corinthians 5:16 - 18 KJV

Whatsoever does not reside or stay in Jesus does not have life. In life you can see some people move but they are not in motion. They strive to success but their work and business is stagnant. It is one thing to be with Jesus and another to be in Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:17. Jesus seeks those that will be in Him Rev 5:20 behold I stand at the door. It is possible to be a church goer and not be in Christ. The word says if any man (irrespective of religion and church) be in Christ he is a new creature. What will make a difference between you and your neighbor next year is whether you are in Christ or not.
Giving your life to Christ does not mean you are a great sinner. It simply means you want to have a personal relationship with God, it means you want to have a better life.

Across the world on the night of the 31st there will be a crowd in the crossover service. It is not your attendance in church that matters and it is not how long you have been born again; it is how far you have walked with Christ.

The new year should be different for us as a man who is in Christ. The new year will be a difficult one for foolish people, those are in Christ who seek wisdom and run after understanding will move with ease.

What are the benefits of staying in God?

1. Revelational wisdom from God Proverbs 1: 1-2 God expects us all to have a proverb of our own; words of wisdom we are sharing with others. 
2. We become emboldened to do great things. Proverbs 30:30; Luke 10: 19; 2 Tim 1: 7. Elijah said it will not rain and it didn’t. It takes great boldness and confidence to do this. The bible says God honoured the words of Elijah. 
3. Will make you to know the will of God for your life. 1 Sam 30:5 Heb 4: 9. It is God’s desire that we know His will for our individual life. Jesus said; “you shall know the truth and the truth that you know individually will set you free”. We need to discover the will of God for our life. 

Seek wisdom for the new year. Know when to act, how to act and things to say. The word says my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. God does not want those that will stand by the gate, He wants those that will enter into the city and capture the city.
When you are in God you can decree and declare a thing and it shall be so. Religion and a religious man can not speak in boldness, only a man in Christ can do this. This is why when God created man, He put him in a garden and not in a jungle.
In this new year stop speaking what is happening but speak what is written in the word of God.

Once you know the will of God for your life, you may not start with everybody but will end up meeting and overtaking everybody. Ecclesiastes 9:11

A man that was after God’s mind in 1 Samuel 30: 8 went back to seek God’s will concerning the next step of his life.

All I know is that Jesus Works ~ Pastor Ituah Ighodalo

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1: 14 KJV

Text: John 1: 1-14

John wrote concerning Jesus after He had resurrected from the dead and ascended into heaven. Christmas is the only season in the whole year that is celebrated all over the world, irrespective of their social status, financial standing or politics. Why? There is just something about Christmas.

For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1 Corinthians 1: 22-25 KJV. 

Paul made known to them that the only sign given is that Jesus Christ came to the world, bore our sins on the cross, died and after 3 days rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and now sits on the right hand of God the father.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.  Zechariah 9: 9 KJV
Jesus has come! The Apostles tell us that the signs have come. Jesus was born of a virgin. We preach Christ crucified.

John talks about a true relationship with God through an understanding of who God is. He begins in John 1:1 saying that In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

What was John trying to say; only 3 beings exist on this earth and they take their existence from one being. This being is God, the Almighty Himself. These 3 beings are

1. God the father
2. His son; who is His word
3. His Spirit that exists inside of Him

John said in the beginning was this word that came from inside of God; the word that God birthed.
The only way people can know who you are is when the word goes out from your mouth. Before we were created, the person we will be was created in us. These things will come to life when we speak it into being.

Your words, your activities and your actions will live after you.
The word created Himself as a man. The word put on flesh, dwelt among us and died for our sins that we may be reconnected with God the Father. God can do anything; He decided that He will create Himself and dwell among us.

In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, the word was God, the word became flesh, the word dwelt among us, the word died and rose from the dead. The word brings to us salvation and the freedom from the hold of sin.
Whether we believe He is the son of God or not; all I know is that Jesus works!!! He alone is the one who saves, gives hope, He doesn’t give up on man, where we think we can’t amount to anything Jesus ensures that we amount to a great many things.

Who is God? What is God?. ~ Pastor Ituah Ighodalo

Exodus 3:13  And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

Exodus 3:14  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (KJV)

One of the greatest challenges of life is that we do not know who God is. We think we know who God is but we somehow don’t know who God is. We don’t know because we do not spend enough time with Him; we don’t spend enough time getting to know Him. If a married couple can be together for years and still not know each other, it is easy to not know a God who we do not see.

When I look back the last 10 years, I realize that some of the fears and anxieties I could have done without. A lo of our fears comes because we did not take some time to understand God.
Inside of the evil that surrounds us there is a good and greatness that will come out of this. That is why the bible says, “When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.” Job 22: 29 KJV. 

It is impossible for men to have a clear understanding of what you have gone through but be rest  assured that God understands it all and out of the pain and evil He will bring about something good. God will also put the evil to shame and bring out the beauty of life if we allow Him.
I want to encourage you today, don’t take permanent decisions on temporary situations. We will always be faced with a lot of life challenges. However, in all that we go through we must remember the greatest commandment that admonishes us to “love our neighbor as ourselves”.
The bible says Jesus Christ learnt humility from the things that He suffered. Our suffering leads us to have compassion for the people we come in contact with.

God was saying to Moses that He has come to rescue His children out of the enslavement of Egypt. Moses asked whom should he say sent him to them. God’s reply “tell them I AM”.
If you understand God you will not

• Have sleepless nights
• Go through moments of pain
• Give up on other people
• Shed tears for the loss they have in their life

Who is this God? He is someone you seek for, look for, find. A lot of pay attention to everything material in life but not on God. We are faced with challenges because we do not seek God.  Isaiah 55: 6. David says to his son “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3: 5-7 KJV. God always comes through for His people.

Seek the Lord and serve Him

1. With a clear mind
2. With a clean heart

God loves you and I know this for a fact.
Again, I ask, “who is this God?

1. God is a spirit John 4: 24 Isaiah 11:2 This means we cannot see Him with the physical eyes. 
2. God is everywhere and He is God all by Himself. Everything has their life derived from God. God is just that thing that lives.  
3. God is the uncreated creator that puts a bit of Himself in all that we see (both the animate and inanimate). Man has the fullness of the spirit of God but everything that we see has a bit of the spirit of God in them. 

Have faith in God! If you have faith in God you will say unto the mountain be moved and it will be moved. If we believe it so shall it be but when you doubt you have said to the mountain to stop moving and it will stop. Why? This is so because the spirit of God in us will speak to the spirit of God in the mountain and it will hear based on your belief and move in obedience.

God is introduced to man ~Pastor Mensah Otabil

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.……. Genesis 1: 1

When you encounter God in the bible from the book of Genesis there are very significant things we encounter. The book of Genesis is God’s self-introduction to man. In the beginning is the first introduction God gave of himself. This is a very great concept because God was before the beginning started. The beginning was not the start of God but God Himself created the beginning. God self-introduction to us is one who works and one who does things; this is the way God wants us to see Him, as one who works.

Then the bible tells us that God created the heavens and the earth and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Isn’t it wonderful that God starts with darkness? It goes to show that God can be in a place and there will be darkness.

And the spirit of God was moving upon the waters and darkness upon the face of the waters. So, we have two things.

1. The spirit of God is moving
2. Nothing is working

This shows that God can move and there can still be chaos. But God said let there be light and there was light. We don’t need just the movement of the spirit we need the light that comes through the instruction of God’s word. God said after He moved. If He moves and there is no saying and there is no light, darkness will be upon the face of our nation, family and lives.

We must not only seek for the movement of the spirit of God but we must also seek for God to speak so there would be light.
And God saw the light that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the first day. That is the first time that time is recorded in the future.

If we look at God’s sequence of time it is the evening and the morning. We say morning and evening when counting time, but God says the evening and the morning. This means we do not start with light; we start with darkness and then out of the darkness God brings out the light.

So, when God is working with you in this system, there is always going to be the preceding or the starting of darkness and there will be the manifestation of light. So, when you are in the darkness in God’s economy you are not outside of His will you are at the beginning of His process because He is about to take you from the darkness into the light.

The evening and the morning were the first day. I want you to hold that thought in your head because everything reflects this principle; that in God’s set time for His people there is going to be the darkness before there will be the light. In God’s set time for you, when you are in the darkness you should be hopeful because light is going to come.  Weeping may endure for the night but joy comes in the morning! You are not lost when you are in the darkness you are actually in preparation for the light because in God’s system of time there is always darkness before light.

Are you His people?

For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. Jeremiah 30: 3 KJV

Text: - Jeremiah 30: 12-20

In verse 12 the word says the Lord speaks to His people. He says your wounds are incurable; this is not a curse. From January till now your wounds and sores have not had the healing that you seek.
God goes further to say in verse 16 that starting from this day, all those who have devoured you will be devoured and all your enemies will be removed. He has spoken it and He will bring it to pass.

God says His blessings will bring down honour upon you, do not mind what you have gone through from the beginning of 2019 to this day. What He is saying is this- that which you have missed from the beginning of this year till now because we have not seen ourselves as His people or have not being behaving as one of His people; He will bring that honour into our life if we are His people.

Psalm 38: 11 says your friends, neighbours run away from you because of your wounds. Why did God bring this upon you? This is due to the sin in our lives and the fact that we know well but refuse to do good.
Let us go to His who is merciful, ask of Him for mercy upon you and yours.

You need to sow what you expect to receive from God. If you are expecting love from God then show love to everyone around you. If you do not want God to abandon you, then do not abandon the people that need you. If you do not want wickedness to take over your life then do not be wicked unto anyone (it doesn’t matter who the person is).

Concerning our physical, financial, spiritual health we will not enter into the new year with ill health. The Lord Himself says He will make you well again. He has said that He will heal your ill health.

In verse 19, God says the people who live in the presence of God always irrespective of where they are physically will shout for joy. They will increase in number, there shall be an increase in your house.

Even as your soul prospers and be in health. Pastor Ituah Ighodalo

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 1:2 KJV

Today is our family Sunday and typically on family Sunday we take family issues. Today we want to focus on health; we will be looking at male health.
Your soul must prosper for you to prosper and be in good health. We are talking about the prostate health. Does prostate really matter? Is it important or not? What is the connection between the prostate and sexual health?

The most serious problem about prostate is ignorance about its existence, function and importance.
The right kind of diet, exercise, sleep is necessary so that the body can be properly managed to the end of its days. May we not make unnecessary mistakes concerning our health.

No matter what we go through in life, know this for a fact that “God loves you!” Sometimes we go through hard times, these hard times are not to do us evil but to do you good in the very end.
As you go about your daily activities be assured that whatever it is you encounter that God allows to happen it is not to do you harm but to give you success at the end.

Two; I wish. God has very good wishes for you. The only problem is that God will not interfere with your personal wishes and desires. God has given us free will therefore he will not interrupt or interfere, He will advise, guide and come to our aid when we allow Him to do so.

God does interfere in the actions and choices of man; when David desired to take Bathsheba for himself God did not interrupt, when Sarah tempted Abraham to take Hagai as wife God did not interfere.

From time to time we may be doing the right thing but the devil will force himself in, God will not interrupt. He will wait to see how we react to what the devil is doing to see if we will accept the evil and succumb to it. If we chose God and ask for His help He will come to our aid and ensure that we overcome. At the end He will give us an eternity that the devil cannot destroy.

What we need most in life is the right mind and understanding to the things happening in our life. If we have knowledge and we apply wisdom we will not go wrong in life.

People don’t want to learn, acquire knowledge, investigate and sometimes people reject revelation.
Our heath and prosperity is a factor of the choices we make. Deuteronomy 30:15  See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;  The problem with man is a problem of lack of information, knowledge and understanding and clarity of purpose.

The desires of God for man is that man should prosper and be in good health. This is why I believe the story of the life of Methuselah, Enoch, Adam who lived for many years in good health. They obeyed the laws of God concerning good physical and spiritual good health.

We are not to be ignorant of the wishes and command of God to obey and live by them from this day forward. Know it today That God desires that we are healthy. Do not be ignorant of your health, maintain good health. One thing is for your body to prosper but one thing that is important is that your soul should also prosper.

What choice will you make?

Life is about sacrifice. 

Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. Mark 10: 29-30 KJV

What Jesus is saying that there will/may come a time we have to chose between family, money, business, your life and the God who created you and gave you all those things in the first place. When this opportunity of choice comes please chose God.

There are so many people who have laid down their life for their country because of the love and believe they have for it. The same way there will come a time to chose between God and those things we love most. If we truly want to be great, sell all that you have, give it to the poor and follow Jesus. You will be surprised some people will not make heaven simply because they were not ready to give it all.

The man that will make heaven is the one that has the right heart towards God and the things of God. Find a way to tell the truth all the time according to your heart and the spirit of God that works in you.

You must also give something out of that which God has given you. To overcome the fear of lack we need to learn to give from that which we have. Giving in itself is a form of sacrifice. It is making a choice between what is beneficial to us and what is beneficial to others.

The wrong kind of thinking

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 

2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

There are two things that affect a man; things that are inside of the man (internal revelation) and things that are outside of the man (external aggression). So, what are those things that are outside the man that can affect the man? I am talking about spiritual things.

A lot of times some people tend to think that it some witch or evil that is a result of their misfortune but most cases it is as a result of the decisions that we have taken. Someone who marries a person who is openly abusive cannot blame the problem of abuse on evil forces. It is a result of their own decision.

Mark 5: 7- 15 speaks of a mad man. The problem of the man is a result of demons from inside him that he either allowed knowingly or unknowingly which began to affect his mind.

A lot of things we see is often times as a result of the things we decide to do of our own free will.
There are people we see every day that are not in their right mind. They may seem alright, speak right and do those things in the right way. But deep down the decisions they make are not right either s a result of external aggression or internal revelation.

We tend to retire too early when it seems like we are at a place of comfort. We shut down and begin to take things for granted due to the little success we think we have.

There are a lot of us that go around with a negative mind; which limits us. This negative mind is
A fearful mind (God has not given us a spirit of fear) 2 Timothy 1: 7. People with a fearful mind is usually indecisive, they are limited and refuse to move forward because of fear.

 When fear comes on your door send faith to it and you will find that there is nobody there.  ~ Mrs. Hawckett

Hateful mind limits your progress in life. Hate is a waste of emotion and it is an emotion that you should channel to something more productive. A mind that hates will always be in bondage to those people they hate.

A worldly mind/ a canal mind/reprobate mind. It has covetousness, envy, back biters, proud, haters of God, disobedience to parents, without understanding. Romans 1: 26-32. For this people their mind is in reverse.

The “I live for today” mind. An example is the prodigal son in the bible who live for today and do not think of tomorrow or of others. The biggest investment in the world is the investment in other people and not the money you spend on yourself.

What have you made of your life? People have passed through the exact place you are passing through now. Do your best for the people you come in contact with daily.

We must live a right-minded life. Talk to God today and ask Jesus to give you a right mind.

What is the greatest challenge people have?

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. Hosea 4: 6 KJV

What is the greatest challenge that people have and they want God to solve? You as a person what is your greatest challenge? For some people their challenge(s) are those things others may take for granted or things that may seem simple to us all. These challenges can be any of the following but not limited to them.

1. Mental challenge
2. Financial challenge
3. The right network
4. Lack of equity, fairness and rule of law in the land
5. Insecurity and fear
6. Feeding 
7. Lack of hope
8. Lack of leadership in the home and the nation 
9. Lack of love and will

Is there a solution to these challenges that we are faced with on a daily on continuous basis? Is there a solution to lack of leadership and corruption in the nation? Is there a solution to a lack of equity and fairness? Fist of all are the problems solvable and if they are what are the solutions?

• Enforcing laws and punishing evil that are perpetrated by the institution 
• Accountability 
• Responsibility to oneself and the community
• Leading through the Holy Spirit

All of the above are problems that we see from our human perspectives. The problem we have as a people and as a nation is not knowing what God is saying concerning our situation. Hosea 4: 6 says “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”. The one and most important thing we lack is knowledge.

There is a way out to every challenge we are faced with today. We are to be like the sons of Issachar (1 Chronicles 12: 32) who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.
Ask God today to fill you with His knowledge; that He should speak to you and show you what you should do for yourself and for your family. Speak to Him with respect to the particular situation that is a problem in your life.

Power of the mind pt 3

And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. Mark 5:15 KJV

This is why some people can be optimistic, realistic, positive because somehow that is how our minds have been wired. 

Let us look at a few kinds of mind that brings the right kind of result

1. The right mind. Mark 5:15. There is a right mind and a wrong mind towards life. It is the wrong mind that makes man bitter, jealous, aggressive, wicked, unfairly competitive. Except you have the right mind you cannot have the right kind of success. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!” Luke 15: 17 KJV. 
2. A clear mind that truly sees things as they are and not as we think they should be. A lot of people have wavy, blurred and shaky mind; as long as we have this kind of mind, we will not be able to succeed in life. 
3. A positive mind is needed if we are going to succeed in life; a mind that is optimistic. Philippians 4: 8. We must be optimistic about life because our conscious mind and work with the subconscious mind to bring about the success that we seek. 
4. A limitless mind. If we are going to do great things, we must have a limitless mind, a mind of faith. A mind that thinks that “with God all things are possible”. 2 Kings 4: 6-7 as far as the Widow thought there were more vessels the oil kept flowing but when the son said no more vessels and the widow accepted this in her mind the oil stopped flowing. 
5. A hardworking mind. The bible says, whatsoever our mind finds to do we are to do it with all our might. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest. Ecclesiastes 9:10 KJV
6. A leader’s mind. A lot of us have a self-depreciating mind, we do not think we can stand up to be who we are. So many times, we act as servants when we are supposed to be leaders. 
7. A mind of Christ. Corinthians 2:16. David defeated Goliath. We must begin to see ourselves as Christ sees us. Christ says all things are possible to them that believe, He said to ask and we shall receive.