THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF THE BIG PICTURE RIGHT NOW

There is a little bit of the big picture right now

life and ministry

sharing by Pastor Dapo Adenyi

 This actually is the underlying message in Heb 11:1

Hope which is rooted in the future has substance right now.

Even though we cannot entirely see the big picture, we have evidence of it, now.

Things may seem bad, we may also feel low because the wind sometimes is very contrary, but we have clear undoubtable evidence of God’s mercy right now.

The real problem with us many times is that, we ignore the signs.

God has been speaking to us through signs and by the moving of his invisible hands, but we often ignore it.

We want nothing but the big picture right now.

The reason good people are cast down is often because of the opinion of people.

We must realize that no one can read the signs of God’s mercy in our lives like ourselves.

Our neighbours may be blind to it, but we must continue to see with the eyes of our faith.

The truth of the matter is that, God never seems to do anything major for any person or nation without somehow saying it evidently in advance.

If it is a plan to advance a person or a nation, He will naturally send a dream or visions.

We have to know of course, that no dream or vision tells everything.

They only give a hint.

God tells someone that He will take him or her from one mountain peak to the other but does not show much of the steep valleys between the mountains.

This is why the Bible says we are seeing through a glass darkly.

The same applies to a nation:

Every plan to do a nation well or reward the wickedness of a nation is often revealed beforehand.

In His mercy, God never allows the wicked to go down into hell without sending a warning in advance.

This is particularly true of those who belong to cults and secret societies.

A little bit of every big promise is fulfilled in advance.

When God showed Joseph that everyone would gather around him to thank him, Joseph found that everywhere he went, a little of it was being fulfilled in advance.

Portiphar appreciated him and was thankful until he decided to believe a lie.

It seems that some people, by their nature, cannot discern the truth.

They swallow whatever they are given.

No one can walk with God without being able to tell deceit from honesty.

Everyone who is saved knows that there is heaven.

That is because there is heaven in the heart of every believer through the joy of the Holy Ghost.

Also the Bible says that Christ is the King of all the earth.

The wise men came from the east to worship the child Jesus. That is a little bit in advance.

Pastor Owolabi was telling us how people from all nations were pouring into Israel because of the name of Christ.

That is advance payment for the word given by Isaiah that, “to Him shall the Gentiles trust”.

PICTURES FROM THE AUGUST 2012 JOSEPH COMPANY CONCERT

 

 

COME

COME.

life and ministry

sharing with Pastor Dapo Adeniyi

This is the whole summary of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus says; come and have life, come and be healed, come and be saved.

Man needs to be saved from; himself, from the consequences of his actions, from the consequences of his choices.

In Matt 11:28, Jesus says all who labour and are heavy laden should come. Until we find rest in Jesus ,life will always thrust upon us yokes too grievous to bear.

Another reason God is calling us to come today is because the days are evil. This is a time of great deceit.

The devil tries to make those who are saved think they are not. He hauls thoughts on them like stones and tries to envelope the truth with doubt.

He also tries to make those who are not saved think they are. One of the greatest tools is to give them a title in church.

Three substitutes for the life of God that the devil is promoting today are; Christian labels, Christian activity and head-knowledge of the things of God which is against the heart knowledge.

SIX  SIGNS OF THE LIFE OF GOD.

The power of God .  John 1:12 “AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM, TO THEM GAVE HE POWER TO BECOME THE SONS OF GOD”.

The joy of the Lord. This is similar to the peace of God. Peace comes like a river. When we have peace with God and the freedom to call him our Father.(read Rom 5:1)

The Love of God is also a part of the life of God. The human kind of love will always fail but this kind of love comes through the Holy Ghost.

Another aspect of the life of God is the light of God. Those who follow Christ do not walk in darkness  but are given the light of life. He gives light concerning where the nations are headed and light concerning our lives.(read Psalm 18:2)

The zeal of the Lord is another part of God’s life.  Apathy towards God’s business is a sign of death. Everyone who has God’s life has a heart for the service of God’s house and the salvation of souls.

Lastly , wisdom from God is another sign of the life of God. It comes from God above and divine insight is also in the wisdom of God.

 

 

A Fertile Ground for the Gospel

A Fertile Ground for the Gospel

Life And Ministry

Sharing with Pastor Dapo Adeniyi

 

Acts 18: 18-28

 

Corinth was a place where the gospel through Paul gained a firm foothold, after much battle.

The word that God gave Paul earlier at Corinth brought much fruit.

Only the Holy Spirit can tell where the seeds of God’s word would do well.

Certain kinds of grounds are a lot more resistant to God’s word.

Even though opposition seems to persist everywhere, the word thrives in a place if we allow God to send us there in His own timing.

The pattern of Paul’s work seems to be to break new grounds for the gospel in new places.

He breaks the fallow grounds, introduces the seed of the gospel and leaves while it springs forth in his absence.

Corinth was a success story to the extent that, Priscilla and Aquilla could leave with him to Ephesus.

Paul clears a little space for the word also in Syria but quickly moves on.

The case of Ephesus is very interesting indeed.

This is the same region where God forbade Paul from entering to preach the word in Chap. 16: 6-7.

It proves that the issue was one of timing even at that period.

It could also be a question of divine priority – maybe God wanted them in Macedonia first.

The city of Ephesus was thirsty for God’s word but Paul could not wait now for personal reasons

The passage says Paul had a vow

This implies that Paul made a vow, most probably a vow of thanksgiving, before reaching the region of Syria and Ephesus.

Paul seems to live above a common pitfall of public ministry.

Ministers tend to spend much time attending to other people without working on their own relationship in a private place with God.

Paul seems not to be ignoring his own spiritual life.

We need to study for ourselves, apart from studying to teach others.

We must spend time praying to edify ourselves, apart from when we pray for others.

There are times when we have to leave God’s business in God’s hands when they prove to be too much for us to handle.

The hunger and the need in Ephesus notwithstanding, Paul dropped the work at Ephesus to continue back to Jerusalem for reasons of his own edification.

 

 

SOVEREIGN AND SUPERNATURAL ACTS OF GOD

SOVEREIGN AND SUPERNATURAL ACTS OF GOD

 

Life and Ministry

Sharing With Pastor Dapo Adeniyi

  It is very important for us as believers, to remember that God is not only our Father but a king in heaven.

 As such, He does as He pleases in the firmament of heaven.

We cannot call His acts to question.

Fortunately for us he is both good and all wise.     

 People do not query God because they feel they know better than God but rather because a spirit     of rebellion is in them. 

Very many times, the wisdom behind God’s sovereign acts become visible to us later on.

David for example never could understand why it took so long to remove King Saul from office after   God had rejected him. It must have been later on that David realized that Lord preserved Saul for his   sake.

God was using Saul to train David and reveal himself to David as the great savior. The proof of this was that Nabal the Carmelite insulted David and was a dead man in 10 days!

 I think it was Pastor E.A Adeboye who once said that it is the wisdom of God that controls the power of God. In other words, there are many things that God’s power can do but which His wisdom will not allow Him to do.

His power could save Joseph from the hands of his brothers, but his wisdom released him to go down in chains to Egypt.

His wisdom also transferred Joseph from serving in Portiphars house to the prison lest Joseph should escape back to Canaan before the word of Pharaoh called for him.

One of the many reasons the Bible is precious to us is that it is a record of the judgments of God.   

 His judgments are things He considers as right in His sight.

Some things that God will decide are right may be appalling to some people.

The sentencing of the Canaanites to mass killing under the hand of Israel has appalled some.

A commentator even said that it confirmed to him that the God of the Old Testament was not the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Unfortunately for them, none can question the King of heaven in His judgments.

They perhaps will also need to remember that it was to give the Canaanites room to mend their ways that God kept Israel in Egypt for 400 years.

We see a lot of the judgments or sovereign acts of God in the area of divine healing.

Healing is likened to rain.

God can decide to send His rain on the wicked. No one is qualified in the real sense for God rain, they are a rain of His mercy.

Those used of God in the healing ministry must also realize that they are God’s witnesses only.

He is the doer of it, not us

The baptism in the Holy Spirit that may seem to us to be commonplace is also a rain of God’s mercy.

To take glory for a sovereign act of God and to give His glory or credit to graven images are the same.

We also see God’s judgments at work when we call for His help.

Spiritual babies think their prayers are answered because of the quality of their cry to God.

The heathen for their own part think they are heard by God because of their much speaking or fasting.

The mature Christian however understands that every answer to prayer is a sovereign act of God.

God is not compelled to prove anything to us by answering our prayer.

We can always call on God and trust in His goodness.

SOVEREIGN AND SUPERNATURAL SIGNS OF GOD

LIFE AND MINISTRY
SHARING WITH PASTOR DAPO ADENIYI

 

SOVEREIGN AND SUPERNATURAL SIGNS OF GOD

God uses His sovereign and supernatural signs to speak to someone related directly to Him.

He can also use His supernatural signs to testify concerning someone dear to Him.

He uses signs to confirm a ministry in addition to using it to help someone in need.

Sovereign and supernatural signs of God are understood today in the church as “signs and wonders”.

They can be as real as someone writing in a chalkboard.

They can also be as simple as someone planting a sign post by the road side.

They can be used by God for direction.

They can be used for correction.

They can also be a mark of divine approval or open heaven.

God can set forth one or many landmarks.

That can be a major or distinct revelation that tells of a distant future.

A landmark from God can take the form of divine assurance to someone who will go through a tempest. God will use the landmark to say to him or her that the tempest will not consume him or her.

Sovereign and supernatural signs of God are often rare and far between.

That means they don’t happen every day.

Abraham and Moses did not see angels and heavenly beings every day.

We have been created and placed in this season in the natural world.

God uses His voice as well as natural signs to speak to us in our current natural context.

The Psalmist in Psalm 19: 1-3 says,

“The heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament showeth His handiwork, day unto day uttering speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.

“There is no speech nor language in which their voice is not heard”.

Other occasions when God works through sovereign and supernatural signs are as follows:

To deliver someone he really loves.

Also someone who is His potential vessel.

PICTURES FROM JOSEPH COMPANY AUGUST 2012 CONCERT