Some people think they have God all figured out. They think they know all that there is to know about Him and how He does His things.After a lot of encounters with God, a lot of sufferings for His work and even episodes of being stoned and left for death while preaching the gospel, Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:10: “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death”.

When you go for a service, how much you get from it can be limited by your expectations. If you expect that the Pastor will mention your own particular case and he doesn’t, that is not proof that God has not answered your prayer. God can decide to work loudly or quietly; all He requires from you is faith, not an analysis of how He will work. He expects us to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

There was a testimony of a lady who was born with so many abnormalities – including one lung instead of two, and her heart being on the right side of her chest instead of the left. As such, she struggled with her health from the day she was born. Finally, somebody recommended a hospital in Dubai, but she decided to go to the Holy Ghost Service first nothing special appeared to happen in relation to her case during the service. Afterwards, she went on to Dubai as she had planned. When she got there, the doctors examined her and had to ask what she actually came in for, because they could not see anything wrong with her. She thought the people there didn’t know what they were saying so she went to another Hospital in Dubai. They also examined her and said there was nothing wrong with her. The Doctors could not believe that she was the same person they had read her case note from Nigeria because they could see her heart on the left and she had two lungs, not one. If she had assumed that, because I had not mentioned her case at that Holy Ghost Service, then God was not interested in her, she might have missed her miracle.

Don’t try to box God in so you don´t lose your miracle.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

If you understand the way God works, you would have discovered that He usually does things differently from time to time. Even when He does the same thing twice, He could use a new method to do it. For example, in 2 Kings 5:1-14, He asked Naaman to go and wash in river Jordan and after he obeyed, his leprosy was cured. In Matthew 8:1-3, when He was going to heal another leper, He touched him and he was cured. In Luke 17:11-19, Jesus cleansed ten lepers, by simply saying “Go and check yourselves with the Priest”.

If you think you know how God will do something and you focus your faith and attention in that direction alone, your miracle may pass you by. That is why you have to go to Him without preconceived ideas. His ways are far higher than your ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). I don’t know how He is going to solve your own problem before the end of this year, but I know that He may not do it exactly as you have imagined it. Just listen to Him and let Him guide you.

God may not do that thing you are asking Him for instantly as you expect. He may choose to do it gradually. He may also not do it gradually and decide to do it instantly. All you need to be assured of is that He will do it and whichever method He chooses to apply will be the best method to get it done.

Don’t try to box God in. Don’t assume that He will give you your miracle the same way He gave it to that fellow who testified in your Church. Don’t imagine the entire process in your head and then lose your miracle when things don’t go as imagined, like Naaman almost lost his. If you know the process to getting the miracle, why disturb God anyway?

If you know that you cannot do it yourself, leave the One who can do it to determine how it should be done.

Don’t box God in. I pray he will surprise you pleasantly, even before this year ends, In Jesus’ name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Has God made a promise to you and its fulfilment is still outstanding? I want you to know that God is never late and He can still do what He promised within the remaining few days of the year. As long as you are very sure that God made that promise to you and you have been doing your own part in getting that thing He promised, I can assure you that He will do it before the end of this year as He promised. Don’t give up hope.

The importance of a statement is determined by who is making the statement. Imagine that a sick person admitted in a hospital is told by a cleaner that he or she would be discharged on a particular date. The patient will be correct to doubt the statement because the cleaner does not have the authority and knowledge needed to discharge him or her. However, if the doctor comes, observes the patient and says “You will be going home today”, then the patient can begin to rejoice. The One who gave you promises at the beginning of the year is He, who is called the Truth according to John 14:6. Numbers 23:19 says: “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”

This God is called the Most High and the Almighty so there is nothing He cannot do.

He has shown up at the last minute for many people before. Since He has done it before, He will do it again for you, in Jesus’ name. As long as you are sure that He promised you and you also know that you haven’t done anything to make Him change His mind. Please keep your faith alive because James 1:6 says if you doubt in your heart, then you will not receive what you ask for.

If however, you have not been faithful to God or you have not been playing your part for the fulfilment of His promises to you, come before him today and confess your errors. Forsake them and ask Him to forgive you. God is merciful and if he sees your sincerity, He will in no wise cast you away (John 6:37).
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

When I became a Christian, I was determined not to be an ordinary one. I wanted to be a Christian with power to do the impossible. I soon discovered that to get power from God, you need to be totally sold out to Him. When you study Paul the Apostle who was so powerful that his handkerchiefs and aprons were healing the sick, you will see that when he beheld Christ on his way to Damascus as he hit the ground, he said, “What do you want me to do Lord?” (Acts 9:61). That is total surrender from the onset. You hear him say in Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

In other words, He was saying, “Forget the Paul you used to know, forget all you knew about me; the only reason I am living now is that Christ is living in me.” This is why he said in Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

By God’s special grace, He has done so many great things through me that make me glad that I surrendered all to Him. These are things that outweigh the pain of total surrender. Some people want God to use them mightily, but they still tell lies once in a while.

Some want to heal the sick but their money is too precious for God to take from them. Some want to command demons but even the devil is looking at them and saying, “From your sinful mouth? You think you can command me?”

Take your focus off the things of this world that distract you and surrender completely to God. Pray without ceasing, study your Bible regularly, fast often – just go all in with God. Let Him know that you are His and His alone. Don’t worry about the earthly things you are chasing now – Jesus Christ promised in Matthew 19:29 “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” I can attest to that promise because He has fulfilled it in my life. Try Him and see.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
John 14:2

God is preparing a place you. However, if you are still committing sin and feeling it is okay to do so, sorry, you have no place in heaven. The place He is preparing in Heaven is only for those living Holy and are without blemish, spot or wrinkle. He is coming back only for this people as they will be presented to Himself as His bride (Ephesians 5:27).

It is interesting to know however, that Jesus may be preparing a mansion with the name of someone on it, but that fellow may eventually not stay in that mansion while someone else takes his or her place. That is why Revelation 3:11 says, “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”

In the days when it was considered a crime in a certain country to believe in Jesus Christ, some soldiers arrested five young Christians. In the peak of terribly cold weather, the soldiers stripped these five boys and sent them into a freezing lake. The soldiers built a fire to keep themselves warm and said to these boys, “All you need to do to come to this warm fire and have your clothes on is to deny Jesus Christ”. After a little while, the boys began to freeze in the water. When they were about to freeze to death, one of the boys raised his hand and told the soldiers he was no longer a Christian. They told him to come to the fire. As he started moving towards the fire, God opened the eyes of one of the soldiers and he saw five angels, each one carrying a crown, just waiting for these boys to breathe their last so they could crown them and welcome them home. As the boy who denied Jesus began to walk out of the lake, his angel turned to go away with his crown. The soldier cried “Angel, wait for me, I will take the crown”. He removed his clothes, jumped into the lake, died with the other four and took the crown of that young man.

Starting a race is of little consequence; what really matters is if you reach the finish line.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Further into my study of how to become God’s favourite, I found that there was another disciple who also followed Jesus on the day He was crucified. It was this disciple that helped Peter access the courtyard as we see in John 18:15-16. This other disciple apparently was John the Beloved as he referred to himself in the third person all through his account of the gospel. When you read John 19:26-27, you will find that it was John who took the mother of Jesus into his own house. Anyone who looks after your mother must be very close to you.

I’ve always said that when you describe somebody as a Christian fanatic, it simply means he loves the Lord more than you. In John 20:1-8, the Bible tells us that when they brought news to the Apostles that Jesus was risen, John was the first Apostle to get to the tomb. In John 13:21-26 when the disciples sought to know who would betray the Lord, Peter beckoned to John and told him to ask Jesus, because he knew that John was the closest to Him. Thirteen people were at the table and two of them were speaking in codes the others could not understand. John was so close to Jesus that he could rest his head on His chest (John 13:23).

In John 13:21-28, we see that it is only John that Jesus trusted with the identity of who would betray Him. Jesus trusted John with His secrets. When God can trust you with His secrets, you become extremely close to Him. Jesus made John His confidant, that is why you find that in Revelation 1:1-20, it was John the Beloved whom Jesus chose to reveal the story of what will happen in the end times, thousands of years ahead of his time. In Revelation 10:4, there are things Jesus revealed to John that He said were for his ears only.

When you truly love God, you become willing to seek and fulfill His primary heart desire which is to bring souls into His kingdom.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In my study of what it takes to become a favourite of God, I saw in Luke 5:1-11, where the Bible tells us that after Jesus paid Peter a visit and performed that miracle of a boat-sinking catch, Peter left all and followed Him. He didn’t sell the fish he caught that day. However, all the other disciples also left everything they had and followed Him (Matthew 19:27), so there must be something extra about Peter, and I saw a little bit of it in Mark 14:54 when Jesus was to be arrested and the disciples, fled. The Bible says Peter followed after the Lord. I know that people always like to underline the fact that he followed afar off, but at least he followed. Where were the others?

Peter always followed Jesus because there was a rope permanently tied to Him and the Lord - the rope of love. The love Peter had for Jesus was like a magnet drawing him closer to the Lord daily.

As soon as Peter recognised the Lord after His resurrection, he jumped into the sea to go and meet Jesus. He abandoned the great catch of fish that he had just gotten – again. Clearly, this shows that Peter was very much interested in the Lord, not what the Lord could give. He was interested in the Lord Himself. Those who become God’s favourites are people who are not after what God can give them but after God Himself. They just love God with all their hearts – whether He gives them anything or not. It is this selfless love that made God choose Peter as His spokesman.

In Acts 2:14-40, on the day of Pentecost, who preached? Peter. In Acts 3:1-8 at the Beautiful Gate, who spoke to the lame man? Peter. When God wanted to uproot Ananias and Sapphira – the first pretenders in the Church, it was Peter who pronounced their death. The Lord will not make you His favourite when He sees that your belly is actually your god and not Him (Philippians 3:19). Some people want to be able to command the devil, but he mocks them because he knows that they love the things of the world, so they are under his control, not the other way around.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

When you look at the Apostles of the Lord, you will see that there were twelve of them, but there were three in the inner circle and there was one who was called 'The Beloved'. These three were the favourites of Jesus Christ and He took them with Him everywhere He went. When He was going to Jairus’ house, He had all the twelve disciples with Him, but it was only those three who He took with Him (Mark 5:35-42). Peter, James and John saw His power; they saw Him raise the little girl from death while the others only heard about it.

Why did the Lord have a special inner circle amongst His disciples and why did He love one of them specially? Well, the simple answer is that God has favourites.

Many people say that God has no favorites. This is not true. The question you should be asking therefore is “How do I become one of His favourites?” When you read Romans 9:11-16, the Bible says a woman was pregnant with a set of twins. Before they were born, God said the elder would serve the younger, that He loved one and hated the other even, when they were not yet born. He said He would have mercy on whom He will have mercy and compassion on whom He would have compassion. He said it is not of him that willeth or of him that runneth, but of the Lord who hat showeth mercy.

In Acts 10:34-35, the Bible says:

Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

This passage makes me see clearly that God looks out for certain things in people before He makes them His favourites. I took a close look at Peter, James and John – His three favourite disciples. I studied Peter and John especially, because it wasn’t long after Jesus’ ascension that James was killed.

I will share what I learnt from these two with you in the next two days.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Fame is something that many people pursue without actually knowing just how dangerous it is. Once you are in the limelight, you have to become extra careful. You have to watch your every move because people are looking at you. Sometimes when we go for an event and I am to sit at the high table, my driver will say “You sit at the high table and we will sit where we can eat”. Those at the high table, though hungry, always act otherwise. Even if they eat at all, it would only be a little, with plenty of caution because all eyes are on them.

When you are famous, it is as if you are on the high table everyday of your life and believe me honestly, there is nothing like just being free to do whatever you want to do without anyone looking at you. When you are famous, you cannot even take a stroll outside or play in a public place like every other person.

One of the dangers of being famous is that people tend to forget that famous people are human beings too. I thank God that I have never been after fame so I show regularly that I am as human as anybody can be. I still occasionally buy roasted plantain on the roadside. These days it has become more difficult to do that because of the escort vehicles, but as often as I can, I still do, not minding who is looking at me. I am not after fame so whatever anybody thinks is their own business.

When you are famous, people expect more from you than the average person and if care is not taken, you would not want to disappoint them. Don’t pursue fame; as exciting as it may seem, it comes with a lot of problems. Fame may come as you fulfil your assignment on earth, but it should not be your goal.

Those who chase after people knowing and liking them all the time are likely to get into trouble. In 1 Samuel 15:24-30, King Saul got into trouble with God because he wanted to look good in the eyes of the people.

The only fellow you should live to please is God.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Jesus said clearly in Matthew 7:21 that not all who call Him ‘Lord’ will enter into the Kingdom of God. This implies that not everyone who is dancing and praising God in Church will go to heaven. Anyone who is a child of God is regarded as an Israelite, but then Romans 9:27 says that though there will be many who will become born again, only a remnant amongst them will be saved on the last day.

Not every Prophet, Pastor or evangelist will make it to heaven. Don’t think that every man who says he is a man of God will make it to heaven. Thus, when you hear of certain men of God doing some ungodly things, don’t let it surprise you; some of them are not on the narrow path to heaven at all.

There are two categories of Salvation. There is instant salvation, the kind that happens when people answer the altar call (Romans 10:13) and then there is the ultimate salvation, which happens when you endure to the end as seen in Matthew 10:22:

And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

The fact that you are standing now is great, but you must stand until the end to be saved. Some people teach that once you are saved, you are saved forever; that you can be saved and then live like a child of the devil and you would still make it to heaven. That is the devil’s lie. You must guard your salvation jealously as shown in Philippians 2:12:

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

The devil will do everything within his power to take you back to himself. Don’t think that because you have done many great things for God, you now have a sure ticket to heaven. You must remain standing until the end if you would make it to heaven.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Occasionally, particularly when I find myself amongst top academicians and theologians, they like to tell me that you can believe whatever is in the New Testament, but the Old Testament should not be believed. This is because anytime they find something in the Old Testament that is not convenient for them, they want to brush it aside. Malachi 3:10 for example that talks about how tithing is ignored by such people. They ignore Proverbs 3:9-10 too. Then I ask them, what about Isaiah 54:17 which says no weapon fashioned against you shall prosper? What about “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want” in Psalm 23:1? What about Deuteronomy 28:13 which says you shall be head and not the tail, you shall be above only and not beneath? I encourage you to know that every Scripture is written by the Holy Spirit and every bit of it must be embraced.

Aside from Scripture, there are people who do something and say, “God will understand”. The Bible does not say anywhere that God understands sin, but rather that He hates it. Psalm 5:4 is very clear about this:

For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

If you call yourself a Christian, you have to stay away from sin. 2 Timothy 2:19 says:

Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

If you are lukewarm, God pushes you out of Himself forcefully and if you are away from God, then you are with the devil. He says in Revelation 3:16, “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Don’t be lukewarm. If you jettison holiness during tough times, then you are not a child of God.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Isaiah 6:1-3 tells us that the Almighty God, even though He is all-powerful, loving and glorious, wants to be known for one thing above all others and that is that He is holy. He is a holy God and that makes it impossible for Him to lie. Numbers 23:19 says God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent. Psalm 119:89 says His word is forever settled – in other words, you can rely on His word. Psalm 33:8-9 says once He speaks, it is done.

Why must we believe in Jesus Christ? John 14:6 says He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. If you believe in God the Father and God the Son, it automatically follows that you will believe in God the Holy Spirit. This is because John 15:26 says the Holy Spirit proceeds from God the Father. 2 Peter 1:20-21 says the Bible is written by the hands of men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. In other words, your Bible was written by the Holy Spirit, using the hands of men. Since 1 John 4:6 says the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, then it follows that everything you find in Scripture is the truth.

Unless you believe the entire Scripture, you are not even saved. John 1:11-12 says:
He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

If you are truly saved and you believe the entire Scripture, then you can go ahead and claim your healing because it is written in 1 Peter 2:24 that by His stripes we were healed – past tense. All that God is waiting for you to manifest divine health is simply your willingness to obey every word of His. You can also claim your deliverance if only you would believe. John 8:32 and 36 says you shall know the truth, the truth shall make you free and whosoever the Son sets free shall be free indeed. There are lots of blessings available to the believer. All you have to do is believe in God, believe in His word, and everything He has promised in the Bible will be yours.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

There are some people who go beyond worrying about the basic things of life, to fearing the unknown. They worry about all they have disappearing because Proverbs 23:5 says riches can develop wings and fly away. The Almighty God says “Don’t worry at all” because He is the All-Sufficient God (Genesis 17:1). The One who gave you what you have now has much more in store for you. Philippians 4:19 says you should not worry because He will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory. Do you know how rich He is in glory? Isaiah 6:3 says the whole earth is full of His glory. He is extremely rich in glory and since He has promised to supply your needs according to His riches in glory, then you know that supply will never run dry. Proverbs 10:22 says: “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.”

If your riches are from God, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about; otherwise, understand that money gotten from any other source outside God will come with sorrows.

You can be very rich and have many servants, but when you have grown old and feeble, you can call them and they may not answer. In fact, the Bible calls old age the evil days (Ecclesiastes 12:1-3). Some people, even though they are surrounded by friends, grandchildren, servants and everything they need, still worry. They worry about what is going to happen when they die. They worry about where they will spend eternity. In Psalm 37:25, David said, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have l not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” The same David told us in Psalm 34:10, “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.” He concluded Psalm 23 by saying that there is only one thing for you to look forward to if you are on the side of the Lord and that is goodness and mercy all the days of your life (verses 5 and 6). As long as you are on the side of the Lord, put your mind at rest, God will take care of you.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In John 14:1, the words “Let not your heart be troubled” simply mean “Don’t worry”. Whenever the Bible says “Don’t worry” it means there is something that could cause a person some anxiety. Whenever you hear God say “Fear not” it means there is something frightening around. The Bible says in Matthew 6:31 that you should not worry because that is what the heathens do. If you really have faith in God, if you really believe He loves you, then you should not worry about anything. The God that feeds the birds in the air is capable of feeding you too. The God that clothes the lilies in the field so beautifully will clothe you too. If you are sure that He is your Father indeed, then you have no reason to worry. The son of a billionaire is never worried about what to eat or what to wear. Your Father is not just a billionaire – all the gold and silver in the world is His (Haggai 2:. He promised in John 14:14 that if you ask for anything in His name, He will give it to you; anything means ANYTHING.

While He has promised to give us whatever we ask of Him, we must however, not be lazy. I have discovered that many Christians are lazy. There are jobs I have given to Christians to do and they charge much higher than the normal fee, yet didn’t deliver on time and did the work shabbily. A similar job given to an unbeliever would not only cost less but would be thoroughly done and delivered within the agreed timeframe. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says God does not support laziness and anyone who is lazy should not eat. Anyone who calls himself or herself a Christian and is lazy is not a child of God, and so the Lord is not under any obligation to provide for him or her.

There are many people who sit around all day saying they haven’t found a job, that is why they are not working. What a lazy attitude! Get up and find something productive to do with your time. Look within you; there must be one skill you have that you can use to meet other people’s needs. If you remain focus and continue to improve yourself, you will definitely begin to have some income from it sooner or later. Years ago, there was a man who didn’t find a job so he started frying akara (bean cakes) by the road and within months, had bought two motorcycles and was earning income from them. God has promised to bless the work of your hands (Deuteronomy 28:12), but you must first show Him the work.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Whether you realise it or not, people are watching you and tagging you with an identity. The tag they give you is dependent on their observations about what you do regularly.

If the people around you are to be honest with you, there is something in particular that they know you for and you need to know what it is because that thing is likely a reflection of who you are. You may not like what they call you, but if everyone agrees that a tag or identity fits you, rather than fight them for tagging you that way, you can just take it as feedback and change your character.

It could be offensive when you can remember your positive attributes, but people seem to only pick out your negative attributes and tag you with it. Don’t be offended; God is only using them to sharpen you and make you a better person. Rather than complain, saying, “Can’t you see all my positive behaviours?” take the feedback and use it to improve yourself. Don’t mind the fact that they are not commenting on the things you thought were good about yourself; you just take whatever negative thing they say and turn it to positive so that you can be a better person.

Now, since people will most likely notice the negative traits of a person before the positives, if you want to be known for the latter, you have to do it so much that it will be impossible for them not to notice it. Improve on your strengths. I have always wanted to be known as the man constantly winning souls for God, so I do that at every opportunity and today, people know that if you give Pastor Adeboye the microphone just to greet the people, he is likely to tell them to give their lives to Christ. I love to praise God and I want people to know me for that, so I am not ashamed to carry my tambourine around with me everywhere I go.

Begin to repeatedly exhibit those good behaviours that you desire people to identify you with. Do it so much that if anybody mentions your name, that is the trait that will come to mind immediately.

The people mentioned in Hebrews 11:4-11 were known for their faith in God. What are you known for?
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

There is one thing that many people take for granted and that is the power of taking notes. I see many people who do not take notes while listening to sermons and I wonder if they know what they are missing.

There is a popular saying that the faintest pen is smarter than the sharpest brain. You miss a lot when you don’t take notes. My professor of Mathematics who got his PhD in the year 1928, told us that you have to read something ten times to remember it all. If you did not take notes, how will you read it over again in order to remember?

Some messages are not very easy to swallow at the time you are hearing them, but one day, the Holy Spirit may take you back to that note and then open it up to you on a deeper level. It is a matter of even more concern when ministers of the gospel who expect the congregation to be taking notes when they are preaching don’t take notes when other ministers are preaching. If you don’t have an actual notebook with you, at least you can use a note taking app on your smart phone or tablet. When a sermon is going on, the Holy Spirit is likely to whisper some things into your ears; they could be prophecies or instructions. You need to write those things down so that you don’t forget. Also, as the preacher is speaking, to help you practice what is being preached, you may need to write down one or two actions you will take in line with the sermon. You need to also write down aspects of the sermon or passages of the Bible that you would like to conduct deeper study on.

You must understand that these notes are treasures from which you and others coming after you can gain from. At the Open Heavens International Centre, there are some of my old sermon notes from over 30 years ago; they are treasures for many who visit the gallery to draw lessons from.

In Revelation 1:19, God told John to write the things he was seeing down as a treasure for us today to know what is to come in the end time. We also saw similar instances from Isaiah 30:8 and Jeremiah 30:1-2. Beloved, you should take notes whenever you are listening to or studying the Word of God.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In Acts 27:21-25, when Paul was in a storm and had a visitation from an angel, he said to those around him:

And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.
Acts 27:22

I tell people that I have three kinds of children: tertiary children, secondary children and primary children. Generally, especially in Nigeria, most people call me Daddy. I’ll categorise such people as my tertiary children. A very notable leader of another religion once wrote me a letter and started the letter by saying, “Dear Daddy”. If a Pastor is Daddy to leaders of another religion, clearly, such people are tertiary children. I also have secondary children. These are General Overseers of other denominations who love me. Finally, I have primary children: these are members of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, and I always boast that the same divine insurance policy that covers me covers them. The same angelic protection I get is what they get too, just like Paul when he was in the storm we read about in Acts 27:21-25.

A few years ago, while in Zambia and on our way to a programme, a police escort rode ahead of us to help clear the traffic, but got hit by a car that crushed the motorcycle beyond repair and flung the rider across the road. He was picked up dead from the road. I felt terrible. I said, “My Daddy, this young man is with me; he is on my team, clearing traffic for me. Please save him”. If it were our own Church programme, I would have turned back, but I didn’t want to disappoint the people who invited me all the way from Nigeria, so I went on to the programme. All the while, my mind was on the policeman. After the programme, I enquired after the policeman and was told that he had come back to life – no broken bone or scratch on his body at all. That day, I saw clearly, God’s group insurance policy in action.

If the devil tries to touch any of your loved ones, call on God to cover them with the same insurance policy with which He covers you and He will answer you.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Intimacy with God should be your greatest heart’s desire. The desire for power to work miracles must be secondary compared to the desire to be intimate with Him. Believe me honestly, if you focus on intimacy with God, signs and wonders will follow effortlessly.

In Luke 10:19-20, after Jesus had given His disciples authority over all the powers of the enemy, He told them not to rejoice in that fact, but rather that their names were written in Heaven. God prefers for you to be close to Him than that you have power to do His work.

In Luke 10:38-42, when Jesus went to visit the two sisters, Martha was occupied with serving Him, while Mary sat at His feet, spending quality time with Him. Martha thought she was doing the right thing and told Jesus to instruct her sister to join her, but He told her that Mary had done the one needful thing, which is to spend time at His feet. He said further, “Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Someone can take a position in Church away from you or even deprive you of the opportunity to serve God in a particular area, but no one can take your intimacy with God away from you. That is what you should guard more than anything else. According to Jesus Christ Himself, that is the one needful thing.

When Jesus was on the cross in great pain, and being mocked by people who hated Him, He kept hanging on to life. When He no longer felt the presence of God, at that point, even with all the pain, He cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46-50). He bore all the pain and shame, but could not bear to be separated from God.

Beloved, intimacy with God must be your priority above all else. God desires to build intimacy with His children. He is seeking those who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24) and not just those who are seeking what they can get from Him.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Romans 8:29.

The scripture above tells us that God gave His only begotten Son to be crucified so that He could become the firstborn of many brethren. It is because God gave His only begotten Son to be crucified that there are Christians everywhere you go in the world today. Furthermore, Jesus stated this key to multiplication plainly in John 12:24 where He said, unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it will not bring forth much fruit.

If you really want to multiply, you must be willing to sacrifice the most precious thing that you already have. Proverbs 11:24 says when you withhold more than is necessary, you will tend to poverty, but when you scatter, you increase. Increase is good, but multiplicaton is better. When you give, you increase, but when you sacrifice, you multiply.

In Genesis 22:1-18, When God asked Abraham to surrender his only son and he was willing to do so, God said, ‘In blessing I will bless you.’ What Abraham did was significant, but what Isaac did was also trememdously significant. Isaac had only one life, yet did not struggle with Abraham. I believe it wouldn’t have been very difficult for him to escape if he wanted to, but he consented to being bound and placed on the altar like an animal. God therefore said He would bless Abraham who gave, but multiply Isaac who sacrificed.

I have sowed my personal cars for the sake of the gospel, and had to resort in public transport to get around. God responded to these sacrifices by blessing me with so many car gifts that at a point, I had to announce that people should stop giving me cars. Today, I travel in a Private jet He provided for me.

Beloved, sacrificial giving is the key to divine multiplication.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

In Philippians 2:10-11, the Bible says:

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus has dominion in heaven, on earth and underneath the earth. All knees only bow to a king when he is in his domain. The moment he enters another king’s domain, he becomes subject to the laws of that kingdom. For Jesus however, the domain given to Him is in heaven, on earth and underneath the earth. That is dominion so mighty that everywhere He goes, He is the King because all other kings must bow to Him. That is why He is the King of all kings.

Our Bible reading for today says Jesus has made us kings and priests unto God. Thus, for every child of God, there is a domain that is given to you to rule over. If you are in finance, you must rule the finance industry; if you are in entertainment, you must rule the entertainment industry. Whatever industry you are in, you are to rule as a king there.

Many people think it is only in ministry that you are to represent God – that is not true. You are to represent God in your profession as well. You are to be a king there, doing the will of God. We cannot leave these industries for other people to rule, and then complain that they are not doing things God’s way. We must get up and take our domains for God. To become the king of your industry, you must be the most hardworking person in that industry. You must be so good that you become a force to be reckoned with in your industry. This way, you will keep growing until you reach the top, until you become the king or queen of that industry. Only then would you have taken your domain for God.

Enough of mediocrity amongst Christians; enough of staying away from leadership positions because we consider the people vying for these leadership positions as ungodly. Remember, salt is required when food is tasteless, and light is only useful where there is darkness. You are the salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14). Go into the world and take over your territory.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Over the past two days we have discussed conduction and convection as methods of transferring anointing. Today, we will discuss a third method called ‘radiation’. Radiation in this context refers to when anointing is transferred through the air without any form of physical contact. This is the highest form of transferring of anointing.

We see the transfer of anointing by radiation in Acts 5:12-16 where Peter did not touch the sick at all; they were only laid on the floor and his shadow healed them. Anointing can be transferred from the preacher on the altar to someone sitting in the congregation or even through a television set, radio, phone and so on.

With the millions of people who attend our programmes in the Redemption Camp, it is impractical to lay hands on everyone, so God increased His anointing upon me and made it possible for me to just wave my hands from the altar and even people at the back of the auditorium would be healed. As the crowd grew even more, God increased the anointing so that it could be transferred through a combination of both radiation and conduction. Now when I wave my hands and pray on people’s handkerchiefs, those handkerchiefs become anointed and the Lord works miracles through them.

There was a fellow who came to one of our programmes during which, as led by the Lord, I said, “Whatever garment you are wearing today is anointed”. The following week, the man was going to work in his car and there was a crowd blocking his way, so he parked to find out what happened. He saw that a vehicle had knocked someone down and the fellow was dead. He suddenly remembered that the jacket he was wearing was the one he wore on the Holy Ghost night, so he pushed the people aside, took off his jacket, laid it on the dead man, and the fellow got up. Anointing was transferred to the cloth by radiation, then the cloth transferred the anointing to the dead fellow by conduction.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Another way by which the anointing can be transferred from an anointed person to someone who needs it is by convection. Just think of how car batteries are charged. Dead batteries absorb enough power to supply electricity to your car. In the same way, an anointed man or woman can pray on a handkerchief or oil, send it to the place where the anointing is needed, and miracles would begin to happen through that medium. This is because it has become charged with anointing. In Acts 19:11-12, we see a very good example of transfer of the anointing by convection. Handkerchiefs or aprons that had contacted anointing from the body of Paul were used to heal many sick people and to drive out evil spirits.

I remember the first time I transferred anointing by convection. I had just returned from a journey overseas and was tired. One of my daughters came to me asking that I come and pray for her grandmother, who had just been operated on, but because of old age, the wound refused to heal. I was too tired to go with her to the hospital, so I prayed on a handkerchief and gave it to her to lay it on her grandmother. She did as I said and by the following day, not only was the grandmother healed, the doctors could not even find the scar from the surgery. The handkerchief transferred the power of healing. You must note, however that this is a higher form of transfer of anointing than conduction.

If you have just been newly anointed, you may need to spend quality time praying on the medium through which you want to transfer the anointing. As you grow in the anointing, you would get to the point where you can just pray a simple prayer on the medium and it would become anointed. You can reach the point where the medium becomes charged just by touching it. In Acts 19:11-12, the Bible did not say that Apostle Paul prayed on the handkerchiefs and aprons; he only touched them while using them and they became charged, but that was when he had gotten to the point where God was doing special miracles by his hands.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Anointing, just like electricity, obeys certain natural laws and can be transferred by way of conduction.

Transfer of anoiting by conduction is when the anointed fellow has physical contact with the person who needs the anointing. This can be through a handshake or laying on of hands. For example, in Acts 3:1-8, the lame man at the Beautiful Gate didn’t walk until Peter grabbed him. The anointing flowed through Peter’s hands into the lame man. Jesus Christ said in Mark 16:18: “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover”. Jesus was saying that when we lay hands on the sick, the anointing in us will be transferred to them and the sickness will be gone. Sometimes, it may even be unintentional. For instance, the moment you step on a naked wire, knowingly or unknowingly, the electricity running through it will run through you too. Similarly sometimes, anointing can be transferred by conduction without both parties even trying to initiate the transfer. For example, in 2 Kings 13:20-21, when the dead man’s body accidentally fell into the grave of Elisha, the fellow came back to life.

A few years ago, I was abroad and decided to go shopping in a bookshop. A man came into the bookshop and made a joke about the large number of books I was buying. He stretched his hand to shake me and I shook his hand without trying to transfer anointing to him. Suddenly he shouted, “Who are you?” because the back pain he had been suffering from for many years suddenly disappeared as I shook his hand. That is transfer of anointing by conduction. Beloved, whenever you have the opportunity to shake hands with an anointed fellow or have them lay hands on you, don’t take it for granted. Your life can change just by that simple contact. This is not to say you should go around trying to touch every man or woman of God you see by force; be respectful and decent about it because the same anointing that heals can kill also, if grieved.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

The power of God does not come cheap. I remember asking God to give me power to work miracles and He answered, “Start where Jesus started”. I was excited, thinking I would repeat Jesus’ first miracle until the Lord pointed Matthew 4:2 out to me — where Jesus started with forty days of fasting and prayers. If you want power from God Almighty, you must be ready to conquer your flesh. When you are ruled by the Spirit, not the flesh, then God can trust you with power. If you can get addicted to fasting, prayer, studying the Bible and holiness, then you are a candidate that God can consider for the possession of divine power. When I talk about holiness and living above sin as one of my major secrets of power, some people think I am only being legalistic, but when you read Hebrews 1:9, you will see that you must love righteousness and hate iniquity for God to anoint you.

Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:27 that he put his body under subjection. He said also that he fasted often (2 Corinthians 11:27). What was the result of all these? Acts 19:11-12 says that when demons saw his handkerchiefs, they ran; that is power. When I am fasting and emphasising holiness everyday, I know what I am doing. I am seeing the results in my life so I will not stop. Several years ago, the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International invited me to preach on ‘The New Anointing’. By the time I had finished speaking, I had to sneak away into the car because everybody wanted to touch me. There was a man running after me with a handkerchief in his hand. Fortunately, he was able to reach the car and he rubbed his handkerchief on it before I drove off. Back at home, there was a little girl who was so demon-possessed that it took six men to hold her down. He arrived on the scene, touched the girl with the handkerchief and she became normal again.

If you want this type of power, you must be willing to pay the price. You must learn to put your flesh under subjection, and God will give you power to do great things for Him.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

When Jesus died and rose again, God gave Him great influence such that at the mention of His name, every knee bows and every tongue confesses that He is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). When you read Philippians 2:5-8 and see how Jesus Christ humbled Himself, even to the point of dying on the cross, one thing you will see clearly there is meekness – that is, being so powerful yet acting so weak for the good of others and the fulfilment of God’s will. This is what led to God exalting Him so highly and giving Him such great influence. Matthew 5:5 says: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth”. It is the meek that will inherit the earth; they are the ones who will reign and have influence on the earth.

When you look at the story of Elisha closely, you will see that he was a successful farmer who willingly became the servant of a Prophet (1 Kings 19:19-21). Because he was willing to go so low for the fulfilment of God’s agenda, God gave him so much influence that even the king of the land called him “Father” (2 Kings 13:14).

I told my children a few years ago when they asked me to talk on The Pains and Gains of Change, that one of the gains is influence. When I joined the Redeemed Christian Church of God, God told me to submit to the General Superintendent who wasn’t even educated, and I did it with all joy. When my Father-in-the-Lord later died and I was to go into full time ministry, it wasn’t a joking matter. I had known the worst kind of poverty and then worked my way through to getting a doctorate degree. I may not have been wealthy, but at least I had enough money to take care of my family and pay my bills. Now God was calling me into full time ministry to head a Church with little to no income. I went through the pain and today, at least if only in Nigeria alone, I can introduce you to many people of influence; above all, I can introduce you to the King of kings.

Influence comes with meekness. If you can genuinely submit to authority and put away all your achievements, then God will give you authority and influence.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

There are different types of promotions. When a human being promotes you, don’t rejoice too much because it is temporary. However, when God promotes you, you are really promoted. Even though you become the president of a country like America, you can only hold the position for a maximum of eight years. When man promotes, it is temporary; only God gives real promotion that no one can interfere with.

Since we know now that the only way to really make progress in life is to be promoted by God, then we need to find out His criteria for promotion. God promoted David from being a shepherd boy to becoming the king of Israel for one simple reason – David was sold out to the will of God (Acts 13:22). David was not a man to argue with God. With David, God’s wish was his command. The reason God gave Jesus a name that is above every other is what He said in John 4:34: “…My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work”.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus wished the cup of suffering for the sins of the world could be taken away from Him, but He said to God, “Not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). When Jesus was teaching His disciples to pray, one of the prayer points He mentioned was: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

God wants His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Therefore, when He sees someone willing to do His will, He promotes that fellow to a position of authority. If God promotes somebody because the fellow started in humility and submission to Him, but along the line begins to disregard His instructions, that fellow would be demoted immediately. That is what happened to Saul in 1 Samuel 15:24-28. Saul started out well, but somewhere in-between, he preferred to please the people over doing God’s will. Some people have been asking God to promote them, but they have no regard for His will. Promotion will only come when you surrender completely to God’s will.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Following yesterday’s study, the second kind of fire God uses to purify His children is the fire of affliction. Let us take Job, for example. When you look at Job 30:1, you will be shocked to discover that Job had that little contamination called Pride. After he lost everything, he discovered that God has a way of making a fellow humble by fire. God used the fire of affliction to remove pride from his life.

Some people have asked me why I am always saying ‘Yes, Sir’ and ‘Yes, Ma’am’ to everybody. I wasn’t like that before. I was one of the proudest persons you could ever meet – even though I was poor, but God taught me a lesson that settled the issue of pride in my life forever. When I got born again, one of the greatest blessings I received from God early on was the ability to hear Him. I was also the interpreter for the General Superintendent of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. One day, for whatever reason, one of the Pastors came to me and asked me to interpret for him during his ministration. I felt offended. “Who does this man think he is? Doesn’t he know that I am the General Superintendent’s interpreter?” I interpreted quite all right, but I was very upset. After the Service, as I was going to my car, I heard God say clearly, “So you are now too big to interpret for my servant”. I stopped hearing from Him and everything became silent. As soon as the devil discovered that I was no longer hearing from God, he tormented me. I prayed, wept and fasted, but God was silent all through. Believe me, honestly, it is better not to have heard from God at all than for Him to stop speaking to you. God will not leave you alone, in Jesus’ name.

The period God stopped talking was a terrible time for me. In desperation, I told Him, “Lord, I make a covenant with You: if I am going to offend you tomorrow, take me away today”. And then He started to speak to me again. Thus, when you see me saying “Yes, Sir” to the driver or the cleaner, it is because fire burnt pride out of me.

If God is to use you, one way or another, He will have to Purify you because only those pure in heart will see Him on the last day.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

When gold is found, it is in its raw state. It is undesirable and filled with impurities. Raw gold must first be purified with fire before it reaches its full potential and becomes useful. Ezekiel 36:24-26 says that after God has taken you out from the heathen, He will pass you through the process of purification. When you met Christ, you were in your raw state. God cannot leave you in that contaminated state because you can only be useful to Him after you’ve been purified. To purify you, He will need to introduce fire. There are two types of fire God usually uses to purify. The first one is the fire of the Holy Ghost.

Peter was one of the first people called by the Lord Jesus Christ in Mark 3:13-19, but he had one little problem: he was always afraid, and the devil discovered this weakness. That is why, on the day Jesus was arrested, the devil brought three people to test Peter, knowing that he would be too afraid to identify openly with Jesus. Indeed, Peter denied Jesus three times. The devil was happy that he had gotten Peter but thankfully, Jesus had prayed for him so he repented and found his way back to God. Now, if Peter was going to be useful to God, Jesus needed to do something about the fear contaminating his heart, so He purified him by fire. On the day of Pentecost, when the fire fell on all the disciples, Jesus was purifying them to make them useful. Immediately that fire sat on the head of Peter; it consumed the fear in him (Acts 2:1-47). The man who used to be afraid suddenly became very bold. The contamination was removed by the fire of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Ghost Baptism is a refining fire that takes away impurities in the life of a believer. If you are truly baptised – that is, after sanctification (setting oneself apart for God), then that fire will burn off all impurities in you. Note that a person may speak in tongues, but if he is not yet fully surrendered to Christ, if his heart is still after the things of this world, he cannot be purified. Sanctification must happen first before the fellow can truly be purified by the fire of the Holy Ghost.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

I would like to give a clear illustration of what we I discussed yesterday with the story of Moses. Numbers 12:3 describes Moses as the meekest man on earth, but he had the problem of anger. The devil discovered it in Exodus 2:11-12. Moses saw an Egyptian beating up an Israelite and because he couldn’t control his temper, Moses killed the man. Many years later, while leading the children of Israel to the Promised Land, the devil started hitting on this weak spot. In Exodus 14-15, we see the children of Israel complaining about different things; this was the devil throwing blows at Moses to get him angry, but he dodged all of them. However, in Exodus 17:1-7, when there was no water to drink and they turned to Moses to complain again, he said in verse 2, “Why are you chiding with me?” The devil said, “Good, blow number 1 has landed, he is now beginning to respond”. In Exodus 32:15-20, Moses had gone to collect the 10 commandments from God; by the time he returned, the children of Israel were already worshipping an idol. When he came and saw them worshipping the idol, the temper in him rose and he took the two tablets of commandments that God gave him and smashed them. At that point, the devil knew his punches were now landing.

In Numbers 11:10-15, when the children of Israel were complaining that they wanted meat, Moses turned to God and said, “God, why are you doing this to me? Am I the father of these people?” The devil said, “Good, now I have turned you against your supporter”. By the time we get to Numbers 20:2-13, the people murmured again about water, but this time, instead of speaking to the rock as God commanded, Moses was so angry that he hit it twice. God asked him to speak to the rock, but He decided to strike it. That was disobedience. At that point, the Almighty God said, “Moses, you will not reach the Promised Land”.

The meek Moses – with only one little contamination called anger, had become, after forty years of ministry, a failure.

Beloved, kill that little weakness in your life before it kills you.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

When you want to fight a champion in a boxing match, the first thing you want to know is if he has been wounded before. If he has, you can hit him on that spot to get the upper hand in the match. When the devil wants to bring down a champion, he looks for the greatest weakness in the fellow and keeps aiming at it until the champion falls. This is why you must not allow any weakness in your life, because the devil will capitalize on it. You must destroy the weakness before it destroys you.

A hunter went hunting and killed a big leopard. He also saw a baby leopard and decided to take it back to the village because it looked harmless. The little leopard began to grow, playing with children in the village, and the hunter’s son was its best friend. Years later, the leopard had the hunter’s son riding on its back towards the village stream. The boy fell and bruised his leg on the ground. The leopard, wanting to help his friend, licked the blood on the boy’s leg. The taste of the blood drove the leopard to eat the boy up.

Beloved, if you don’t kill that little leopard in your life, it will kill you. That little contamination – that little anger or lust would later kill you, if you don’t kill it now.

Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.
Song of Solomon 2:15

It doesn’t matter how many good virtues you have or how strong you are in the Spirit; if there is just one weakness, it can destroy you completely. A little contamination destroys purity. Hebrews 12:1 says that you should lay aside that sin which easily besets you so that you can run the Christian race successfully. This race is a marathon. In marathons, carrying the smallest weight can cause you to fail. Once the devil sees you carrying that weakness around, he knows he now has a joker card to use in bringing you down later. Don’t give him that joker card, kill the weakness immediately.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

Purity means ‘No contamination’. This also stems from the definition of purity we discussed yesterday. When something else comes into a material, it is no longer pure. All children of God must love Him with all their heart. Once any part of your heart is given to any other object apart from God, that object is a contaminant and must be removed immediately.

Every little contamination is dangerous. I gave an illustration many years ago in one of my books As Pure As Light, that if there is a big bucket of absolutely pure water that a group of people want to drink from, then a very little drop of feaces from a baby’s diaper drops into it – even if it is just a bit, would they still drink it? The big bucket of clean water becomes contaminated the moment faeces drops into it irrespective of the quantity. The water would no longer be pure and no one would want to drink from it.

In John 14:30, the devil came, examined Jesus Christ from top to bottom and discovered that He was pure; without any contamination whatsoever. That is the testimony I want to have also: that when the devil examines me, I will be able to say, “The devil found no contamination in me”. What about you?

In 1 Timothy 5:22, Paul was advising Timothy:

Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.

Don’t get contaminated by other people’s sins; keep yourself pure. You can be contaminated by other people’s sin when you partake in it. For example, anyone who watches pornography is partaking in other people’s sins. When you and some people do something wrong and one of them tells a lie to cover the entire group and you say, “After all I am not the one that lied”, you are partaking in someone else’s sin and that has contaminated you. In Proverbs 1:10, we are advised: “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.” If sinners entice you to come and be a partaker of their sins, run away. There is a congregation called the congregation of the dead (Proverbs 21:16). If you are found amongst them, you are like them already.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

To be double-minded is to be a hypocrite – one minute, you act a certain way and the next, you are someone else. You say something here and something contrary elsewhere. That is double-mindedness and a sign of an impure heart, according to James 4:8: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”

Matthew 5:8 says only the pure in heart will see God, so double-minded people will not make it to heaven. To be pure means to be of a single content. When people talk about pure cotton or pure wool, it means it does not contain any other kind of material. Purity, therefore, implies singleness of mind and purpose. One of the reasons I love dogs is that you can tell when they’re happy or angry. They have no pretense at all. Unfortunately, when it comes to human beings, they can smile at you and yet plan to kill you.

To be pure means no pretense (James 5:12). That is when your ‘yes’ is ‘yes’, and your ‘no’ means ‘no’. If you stand for something, stand for it all the way. In Luke 9:59-62, Jesus Christ gave us an illustration of this when He said the moment you have placed your hand on the plough, there must be no looking back. In Luke 16:13, He puts it another way: “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” If you are serving one master today and serving another tomorrow, you are double-minded. Choose who your master is and stand by him all the way. If you want to serve God, then don’t serve money, or visit a witch doctor in secret; serve God and God alone.

As for me, I am serving the Lord Jesus Christ and I am going with only Him all the way.

I tell you again brethren, whatever God does not do for you, no one else can do it. Many of us have not been getting full benefits from the Lord Jesus Christ simply because we are double-minded. James 1:6-8 says the double-minded should not even expect to get anything from God. Don’t be double-minded.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.