Increase Your Effectiveness.

“Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.” Acts 6:3

From our opening scripture, we see the apostles preparing to delegate to new leaders. Why is it important for us to delegate as leaders? Delegating to the right persons, who possess the right requirements for the business, will, in turn, increase your leadership effectiveness and productivity.

Leaders who do not delegate appropriately when it is required as a result of growth, will experience lots of stress, and they will later become ineffective as leaders. I remember reading a book where it was said that the heart of a 35 years old Pastor was tested and it was like the heart of a man who was over 70 years of age. So, if you do not want that to happen to you, learn the value of raising leaders now, so that you can delegate to them when the need  arises.

When you read the book of Numbers 11:14-15(CEV), Moses cried out to God saying, “This job is too much for me. How can I take care of all these people by myself? If this is the way you're going to treat me, just kill me now and end my miserable life!” Do you know what God said when he replied Moses? God instructed him to delegate, in Numbers 11:16-17, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.

And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.” Remember that you cannot do it alone; you need the input of others.

Prayer.
Dear Father, I thank You for I know that You love me. I thank You for I know that you have put the right people on my path, to help me at the right place and at the right time. Also help me to be a source of encouragement and support to others, in Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study, read: Exodus 18:25-26, Deuteronomy 1:9-18, Luke 10:1-21. 

Doing the Word.
As a leader, look for areas that have been a burden, and let God guide you on how and to whom you should delegate.

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Success Is Not In Numbers.

“And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.”
1 Samuel 14:6

From our opening scripture, we see Jonathan speaking to his armour bearer charging him to come with him to the garrison of the Philistine to battle with them. Why was he confident to take such a daring decision to go and battle with thousands of trained men of the Philistine army? It was because he was conscious of their union with the LORD. This is evident in his words to his armour bearer in the latter part of our opening scripture; he said, “There is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.”

Are you aware that God is with you? The Bible says in Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”  If God, who is with you, is a very present help, it means you would never lack help. Are you aware that the word helper means, 'one that is called alongside to help.' The Holy Spirit is with you to advance your progress.

Jesus talking about the Holy Spirit in John 14:16(GNB) says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, who will stay with you forever.” Today, that prayer of Jesus has been answered because we now have the Holy Spirit with us as our helper. In other words, the Holy Spirit is with us to help us fulfill our calling. So, walk with the Holy Spirit and you will surely fulfill your calling.

Prayer.
Dear Father, I thank You for giving me the opportunity to partner with You in the fulfillment of Your plans and purpose on the earth. I recognize my union with You, and the divine presence of the Holy Spirit who helps me each day in the fulfillment of Your calling for my life. Father, I ask that, by the help of Your Spirit, I will finish my assignment on earth without reproach, in Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study, read:
Joshua 23:10, Judges 15:14-16, 2 Chronicles 14:11.

Doing the Word.
Put no limits to what you can achieve in your partnership with God.

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Change By The Word.

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul:…”
Psalm 19:7

I remember, before I became born again at seventeen, I had two friends who lived very close to my house. From time to time, my friends and I would come together and decide that we were  born again. We would agree that we’d no longer attend worldly parties any more, and then we would  all go back to our houses.

By Friday, after we have ‘tried to be born again’ for a period of time, and information got to us that there was going to be a party on Saturday in one of the most popular joints at that time known as Farm kitchen, very close to the estate where we lived in Warri, we would unconsciously begin to plan to attend.

On one of such Saturdays, I left my house for the party in Farm Kitchen without informing any of those  two friends of mine who agreed together with me to be born again. On getting there, I discovered that those two friends of mine have also come to attend the party without my knowledge. When we met ourselves there, we began to say to each other, “I thought you are born again.” So, right there, we agreed again that, that will be the last party we were going to attend; but it was not the last. We continued that way until I heard the gospel, believed it and finally made Jesus the Lord of my life.

All my struggles ended since the day I accepted Christ as my Lord and personal Saviour, which today is over twenty years ago. God's Word has completely transformed my life because I gave the Word of God the required attention. You too can be transformed by the Word. All you need to do is to get born again if you are not, and then give the Word of God the rightful place in your life, and you will be conformed to the image of the Son of God.

Prayer.
 Dear Father, I thank You because Your Word is producing in me what it talks about, and daily transforming me into the image of Christ, in Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study, read:
Romans 10:1-13, 2 Corinthians 6:2, Acts 3:19.

Doing the Word.
If you are not born again, please pray the prayer of salvation.

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God Needs You.

“And I sought for a man …”
Ezekiel 22:30

When God calls you, answer the call because the destinies of many people out there are dependent on you answering your call. For instance, R.W Shambach was restored to Christ in an Oral Roberts meeting. What would have happened if Oral Roberts never answered his call? Maybe there would have been no R.W Shambach today. Now think about the numerous people around the world who have been saved and healed by the ministry of R.W Shambach. Those people may have continued in their darkness and their oppression if he was not saved.

Do you know that Jesse Duplantis got saved while watching Billy Graham on television? If Billy Graham never got on television, maybe Jesse Duplantis, who has also blessed so many with his ministry around the world, would not have been saved.

This is why we do the things we do. Someone may be wondering and ask, “Why are you on television? Someone's life depends on it for their salvation. So, as people get saved, all those who partnered with us will also be a part of the reward for all the souls that will be saved. More so, they will be a part of the reward of that individual that got saved because they made it possible for him to be saved.

So, you can see from the illustrations above that your obedience to God's instructions and His call upon your life have a far reaching effect in the lives and destinies of others.

Prayer.
Dear Father, I thank You for the privilege of being called and used by You to be a blessing and to alter the destinies of many people out there for You. I ask that many more should be saved and transformed through my life and my involvement and partnership in the gospel, in Jesus' Name. Amen. 

For further study, read:
Isaiah 59:16, Acts 8:26-40, Acts 13:1-3.

Doing the Word.
I encourage you to continue in obedience in whatever God has called you to do. Such faithfulness will change the world.

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Right Living.

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.”
Psalm 119:9

Our opening scripture lets us know that if you want to live a pure life, you have to live your life according to the Word of God. Guide your life according to the Word of God.

Psalm 119:11 says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” So, if you are struggling with sin, your deliverance and freedom is in the Word of God. All you need to do is to lay up the Word of God in your heart.

The Word of God will create in you a holy appetite. In other words, when your heart is filled with the Word of God, it will create in you new and right desires. The Word of God can restore you back to a life of purity and godliness.

If you have such challenges, especially with living a morally upright life as a Christian, know that the stronghold that causes you to keep on repeating that fault is in your mind. Therefore, for you to be able to change the pictures in your mind, I will encourage you to buy the videos of Christian messages and, instead of watching movies while you are at home, watch those messages. 

Also, get a device you can use in listening to audio messages, such as an mp3 player, which you can put in your ears while you work during the day. This will help you to store the Word of God in your heart, and renew your mind to begin to think in line with the Word of God, which will create new desires for you to live godly in Christ Jesus.      

Prayer.
Dear Father, I thank You for the sanctifying influence of Your Word in my spirit, soul and body. They are preserved blameless till the day of Jesus Christ, in Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study, read:
John 17:19, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, Jude 1:24.

Doing the Word.
Renew your mind: Put the Word before your eyes and listen to the Word consistently.

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Be An Answer To Prayer.

“In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Judges 17:6.

Leadership is always the problem and leadership is always the solution. Why? It is because everything rises and falls on leadership.

From our opening scripture, we see that because of the absence of a King in Israel, the people did whatever was right in their eyes. In other words, because there was no clear leader over the people, they lacked guidance.

Leaders determine the direction of the group. So, when God wants to change a nation, He sends a leader. Why does He do that? It is because every call is an answer to prayer. In Judges 3:15, the Bible says, “But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer” So, God raised up a deliverer for His people because they cried up to Him in prayer.

It is one thing to have an answer to prayer; it is a greater thing to be an answer to prayer. There are women praying for their husbands to be saved. There are husbands praying for their wives and children to be saved. You can be an answer to their prayer by rising up to take up the responsibility of soul winning. Also, partnering with us as we reach out to our world with the gospel is a way of participating in the responsibility of soul winning.

This is because when that man, woman, boy, girl whom someone has been praying for their salvation gets saved through any of the means through which we are reaching out to our world with the gospel, God has, at that point, made you an answer to prayer because you were a part of it. It is a greater testimony. Therefore, be an answer to prayer.

Prayer.
Dear Father, I thank You for saving me and giving me the ministry of reconciliation so that I can be an answer to prayer. I believe that the gospel is Your saving power. Therefore, I ask that, as I reach out to my world with the gospel today, their hearts are receptive to the message, and the blindness in their hearts is taken away in Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study, read:
2 Corinthians 5:17-20, Acts 26:17-18, Colossians 4:2-4.

Doing the Word.
Reach out to someone around you with the gospel today.

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Cultivate The Right Heart.

“…Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”                                   1 Samuel 15:22

Character is not revealed when there is a demand for your obedience. True character is revealed when obedience is a choice. For example, if I should give you an instruction, you would likely obey because I am a Pastor. But if someone you are not familiar with gives you the same instruction, you have a choice to obey or not. Obedience at that point becomes a choice, and that is where you reveal the quality of your character.

Cultivate a heart of obedience and true reverence for God. That is when you are going to be able to see the same kind of miracles that Jesus did being perpetuated in your own life. When Jesus walked this earth as a man, He was able to see such miracles and manifestations of the supernatural because, His complete satisfaction and passion was to obey the Father, and to do the will of the Father even when it was inconvenient.

Jesus said in John 4:34(WNT), “"My food," said Jesus, "is to be obedient to Him who sent me, and fully to accomplish His work.” Jesus said again in John 6:38(CEV), “I didn't come from heaven to do what I want! I came to do what the Father wants me to do. He sent me,”

Prayer.
Dear Father, I thank you for you are at work in me, both to will and to do of your good pleasure, in Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study, read:
John 5:30, Psalm 40:7-8, Philippians 2:7-8.

Doing the Word.
Let doing the will of God be your obsession.

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