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Jesus’ response to his disciples here was akin to saying, “who told you your faith needs an increase? If you truly have faith it does not need an increase because it was never decreased other than by religion and ignorance.”

So, instead of giving a formula for increasing faith, the Lord summarily ‘decreased’ their faith by saying “If you have faith”. The Lord was teaching a very powerful principle here. He was saying there is no correlation between the size of your faith and what it can accomplish. A faith as small as a mustard seed can pull up a mulberry tree by its roots and plant it in the sea.
When you feel your faith is little, remember the operation of the mustard seed. It does not thrive based on its size, rather it understands that what matters is its nature.

Faith is the principle by which substance is given to hope. This is how we substantiate our hope and as such certain developments spring forth within our environment and they prove the fact that what is not seen have been brought forth by faith.

The man of faith or the man who is in faith is the one who has gone ahead to substantiate the hope that is set before him, thereby giving evidence to what is not yet seen.

The truth of the matter is when the substance of the hope is understood and lived out, then there is a corresponding bringing forth of evidence of what is not seen.

For instance, the wind (air in motion) is not seen, but there is a strong evidence of the existence of the wind as seen on the trees; it is the evidence of things not seen.

It is by living out this that the elders obtained a good report.

In other words, the elders discovered something within the word of God and interpreted the same within their spirits and pragmatically they came up with what I term the empirical validation of the word of God.

Technically, faith is about substance and evidence.
The man of faith has mastered the ability to substantiate the hope that is set before him in a way to give evidence to things not seen or which do not appear.

He has been able to locate the hope within the unseen things (the grace of God, the provision of God and the finished works of Christ, Lordship of Jesus and the present ministry of the Holy Spirit). So my hope, when it becomes faith must give evidence to the unseen realities.

Faith ClassicsMy hope when it has become faith must make it obvious that God has already provided by grace what I seek by faith.
Faith Classics

At this meeting you will receive new insights and revelations into the life of Abraham and what his walk of faith means for today’s believer.

See you there!

Pastor Dele Osunmakinde

The problem God has with His children is the fact that many are not faithful ? this is the essence of taking another look at Abraham.
Abraham was faithful and God attested to this fact. When it comes to pursuing after God and seeking righteousness, Abraham is the icon, a man whose life is held up as an example of righteousness and faith.
Abraham was 75years old at the time he was called, he was ?made? already and his life was formed. He was called to go to a land he?d be shown ? no definite location. Like every other human being, he had his fears and feelings. But Abraham departed, the word of God only being his only conviction. The secret of this raw faith is to obey God exactly and immediately.

Abraham shows us the life of an overcomer. Every new beginning is always on a note of faith. If there would be a new year, there must first be a new you.

Consulting or seeking for counsel might have derailed Abraham from God?s instruction ? there was no antecedent to such in his days. Note that some of the steps God would ask you to take in 2015 are very personal. One of the things the faith message does is to tamper with your plans and at times render you plan-less.

One of the ways to stay faithful is to condemn the world (Heb 11:7). Condemning the world means you refuse to accept the their standard; you refuse to accept their definition of success, definition of failure, definition of who?s making progress and definition of who?s not making progress. At times we just allow what the world is saying to cage us in ? issues of marriage, prosperity, career, etc. Condemning the world is when you refuse to join others in stealing at your work place and continue to take ?Okada? to work while others are driving cars they stole to buy. It is just a question of time, God will never forsake the righteous and will never justify the wicked (Psalm 73). It is when you condemn the world that you become an heir of the righteousness of faith.

God said ?Follow my pathway and I will make you a nation?. All that God is doing whenever he asks you to take difficult steps is to bring out the faith in you because you are a faith being, a seed of Abraham.
Faith becoming Faithfulness: When the land of promise becomes foreign, stay there. The fact that you are stepping out in faith does not mean everything will be alright. When it is tough and rough, may God give you that staying power to dwell there. Dwelling there is part of the process. The first time Abraham got out of the land (against God?s instruction he went to Egypt because of famine) he ran into trouble.
To overcome means to come over ? those things will come at you but there is the grace in you to walk over them.

In 2015 as you start out in faith, God is so faithful that wherever he would not give you a building, he will give you a tent (Abraham). Wherever you don?t have a permanent structure, God will give you a temporary structure to take care of you, so be wise and discerning in life to recognize and appreciate the tent God is bringing your way. Don?t despise the tent. Abraham lived in tents but he was looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. Don?t join the bandwagon of people who put their hands in iniquity just to get a building instead of enduring and surviving in the tents. The tent is significant.
Your tent phase in life will provide accommodation for some people; your tent story will encourage some people. Compromises will be showing up, alternatives will be around you, there will be dimensions that look faster, but a walk of faith takes time. Abraham waited! There is a waiting of faith.
If you jump out of the tent and circumvent process, you will miss God. Peer pressure can make you take some cities even when you know within yourself that you are acting against God?s will. Even though there were opportunities to return, Abraham never returned.

2015 is the year of the faithful ? how faithful are you?

In 2015:
? Pray more and be an intercessor
? Study the word of God more and confess it the more
? Be deliberate in your walking in love (avoid strife)
? Be faithful in your giving

Boy meets Girl. Boy tells Girl he likes her. Girl says she likes him too.

They fall in love and live happily ever after.

Movies and Novels have told us that this is the sequence of events leading to happily ever after. Experience has shown us it is not always so.

Join us at TBC, Lekki this Sunday as we discuss the realities of love left out by authors and script writers. Time: 9.00am. Venue: TBC Center, Union Bank Building, Ojomu Royal Complex, New Rd, Lekki.

2Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Having said that, it is equally important for us to know how to proceed in this regard,
The first thing is that we need to engage a new and creative thinking about Christian political responsibilities. During most of the last 2000 years, Christian thinking about politics took shape in contexts that have either disappeared or are no longer predominant.
With few exceptions, open societies with representative and constitutionally limited governments are new to the world: less than 100 years old in most places where some form of democracy is now practiced.
No longer relevant for us are the arguments developed during the western middle ages to justify the then Church’s superior authority over governments.
Ideologies inspired by the longing for liberation from foreign colonialists or military conquerors are also inadequate to fashion the Christian framework we need to define just governments.

BIBLICAL FRAMEWORK

Acts of Apostles chapter 1 is the basis of our electoral discuss, the first time election was conducted in the New Testament. I will do a verse by verse analysis from the 14th verse to develop an electoral framework for believers;

1. OUR FIRST POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT IS TO CONTINUE IN PRAYERS
They all continued with one accord in prayer/supplication… ACTS 1:14
It?s amazing how many of us believers take engage politically in prayers and supplications, most of us have neglected our primary assignment at this crucial moment of our national life. However, it is not too late to takeout time in supplication and prayer as this is the beginning of our involvement with the elections

2. ENGAGING THE FRAMEWORK OF THE WORD
In verse 16 peter created brought forth a biblical framework for what was about to happen…
We all know in the original text Judas was not mentioned but peter by the Holy Spirit knew the scripture was in reference to Judas…we need to be guided by the word and the spirit… just like Peter did what scripture have you found of late communicated to you by the Holy Spirit concerning the 2015 polls?. The witness of the Spirit as seen in the Word is very important for us.

3 WHAT ARE THE ISSUES AT STAKE?
Based on what we see in the word and the witness of the Spirit we receive we must engage our minds in incisive thinking, decisive judgment and realistic appraisal of issues at stake. We must understand what is happening?we must be guided by the truth to know exactly what we are voting for or against.
At Peter?s time issues at stake were issues bordering on BRIBERY, CORRUPTION AND BETRAYAL. Surprisingly the issues are more or less the same everywhere in the world today
Everyone knew the whole essence of that vote was to replace Judas…a betrayer (unprincipled) who was involved in a bribery/corruption scandal…as believers we must be objective in what we vote for.
We must always vote against bribery and corruption. We must vote against proceeds of infamy, all men who have purchased fields with the reward of iniquity.

4 OFFICE OR PERSON?
We must understand the truth that the office is more important than the person.

5. ATTRIBUTES TO WATCH OUT FOR
Vote consistency…?men who have accompanied us all the time?
Vote for integrity, longevity and experience and antecedent.(ACTS 1:21 AND22)

6. AFTER ALL SAID AND DONE THEY PRAYED AGAIN!
No matter our convictions and persuasions we must still pray again, we must humble our hearts in prayer!
Act 1:24- And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knows the hearts of all men, show which of these two you hast chosen…
This praying is critical as it has to do with the heart and not opinion polls and propaganda. Only God knows the heart of politicians. We must acknowledge there are certain things we don?t know. We must absolutely trust God here and not lean on our understanding. We must acknowledge him as he directs our path.

1Samuel 16:7- 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.

7. WE MUST RESPECT THE RIGHT OF EVERYONE TO CHOOSE
In verse 26 they voted privately, none was coerced or harassed. Peter did not tell them who to vote for. Everyone was allowed to cast his lot. In the final analysis it was a personal call. ONE MAN ONE VOTE. Not even the ?first pope? attempted to influence anyone’s vote! YET THEY WERE STILL IN ONE ACCORD BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE ELECTIONS! We as believers must not fight one another over choices in an election must be in one accord always regardless of political choices and persuasions

8. GET YOUR PERMANENT VOTERS CARD, VOTE AND PROTECT YOUR VOTE.
Don?t just talk; make sure you are ready to vote. Make sure you have your voters card (your lot).
In the story we are considering they knew the result that it fell on Matthias…so no one could change the result. After voting, protect your vote by hanging around for it to be counted.
No matter the result announced in the final analysis do not participate in any post electoral violence. Remember our destiny as believers is not in the hand of any politician neither is in any political calculation. We just do our best and trust God for the rest.

GOD IS FAITHFUL, IN GOD WE TRUST!

GOD BLESS NIGERIA!