Lift your voice and give glory to God this morning. From the depth of your heart give Him praise. Celebrate Him and glorify His name. He can is worthy of all the praise, of all the glory, of all the honour and of all the adoration.
Lift your voice and let God hear you this morning. Do it from the depth of your heart. For those awesome testimonies let’s give Him thanks. This can only be the hand of God and we owe Him all the praise.
Lift your voice, lift your hands and celebrate God this morning, those testimonies are the hand of God in our midst and we owe Him all the praise. Give thanks, give praise, give glory.
Also begin to thank Him for the answers He has given to all of your prayers, your intercessions, your supplications inclusive, give Him thanks. He is worthy of all the praise. He is worthy of all the glory, He is worthy of all the honour and worthy of all the adoration. Lord we say thank You. We bless Your holy name.
Now ask Him to speak to you this morning, I’ve come to hear from You Lord. Speak directly to me today by Your Word. Thank You Father in Jesus precious name we have prayed.
Father in the name of Jesus we have come this morning with gratitude in our hearts to give glory unto You. We celebrate You for the blessing of being in Your presence yet again. Thank You for the awesome testimonies of Your mighty hand at work in our midst. We give You all the praise. For answers to our prayers we say thank You. Now our eyes are upon You. Speak to us this morning and let our lives be transformed again. We give You the praise in Jesus precious name we have prayed.
Give Jesus a big hand.
Our line of exhortation for this week has been
WHY MUST WE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR CHURCH GROWTH?
We discovered that the greatest enemy of the Church when it comes to its growth is satan himself. What that means is that satan does not dedicate the growth of the Church to any demon, he is personally engaged.
The Bible tells us in the Book of
2nd Corinthians 4:4
He is personally engaged in trying to resist the advancement of the Church of Christ and that’s why it’s important for us to understand that we are engaged in a battle when it comes to the advancement of the Church.
Matthew 16:18
So there is a contention, there is a battle against the advancement of the growth of the Church.
Matthew 11:12
So advancement is forcefully engaged. We don’t advance without engaging force. The force that we engage to advance is Spiritual and not physical.
The Bible tells us in
2nd Corinthians 10:3-4
Our battle is not physical, it is Spiritual.
Ephesians 6:12
We are are engaged in a spiritual battle when it comes to the advancement of the Church of Christ. That’s why you and I must understand that Church growth is a warfare. The battle that we engage in requires the instrumentality of prayer.
It is through prayer that we engage in Spiritual warfare.
Ephesians 6:12-18
How do we utilize the weapons? By praying always. We engage the weapons by engaging the force of prayer. The shield of faith is there, the sword of the Spirit is there, the breast plate of righteousness is there, the helmet of Salvation is there, the gospel of peace is there, engage all of them together by prayer.
It is not enough to be well armed. You must engage the armoury in battle and it is that engagement in prayer that is the avenue through which we engage those weapons against the assault of the enemy. Shout hallelujah.
Now the question really is why must we continue to pray for Church growth. We look at this reason this morning and I believe that the Holy Ghost will grant each one of us light and understanding.
It takes the prayer of faith to move the hand of God. In the Book of
James 5:15
We are told that the prayer of faith shall save the sick. So the prayer of faith is what will engage God. How do we see this?
Isaiah 53:1
Our faith is utilized in prayer and the hand of God is invoked by our faith.
So as we pray in faith God’s hand goes to work on our behalf. It is only the hand of God that can build the Church.
Matthew 16:18
The Bible tells us that there’s a Tabernacle that is built without hands. It is not the natural hand of man that can build the Church of Christ. The best of man’s effort is equals to zero without God’s input in the building of the Church.
Psalms 127:1
It will take God’s hand for the Church to be built.
Now more importantly we discover that we have to pray for God to keep drawing people to Church. It is that hand that draws and when we engage our faith in prayer we see the hand of God drawing men into God’s presence. Shout hallelujah.
In the Book of
John 6:44
It is God’s hand that draws.
In Acts 2:47
It is God that adds, He is the one that draws. So the hand of God is what draws the souls of men to the Church of Christ. It is not the skill of man. It is the hand of God. It draws men. So every soul that is added to the Church is a product of the drawing of the hand of God and that drawing of the hand of God is engaged through the altar of prayer.
I remember the testimony of one of us who said that she came to the Church and when she began to hear the prayers that were prayed for the drawing and the establishment of souls she discovered that it was the prayers of others that drew her into the Church. She began to pray similarly because it was when she heard the prayers that she discovered this is exactly what happened. God drew me by Himself, planted me by Himself by the prayers of the Saints. So we engage the altar of prayer for God’s hand to keep drawing the people into the Church.
Secondly we discovered that we have to pray for our new converts and new members to be established in the Church. It takes prayer. That’s when the prayer of faith comes in. It takes prayer.
Colossians 4:12
The enemy is trying to make people fall but it is through prayer we engage for them to stand. The enemy is going around looking for ways to sift men like wheat but it takes prayer to ensure that they remain standing. Shout hallelujah.
In Galatians 4:19
It takes the altar of prayer to see individuals that will stand perfect, that will become Christ like in their lifestyle. It takes prayer and that’s why you and I must not relent. The souls are won yes, but they must stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. They have must be planted.
The duty is not done at the point of their salvation. It’s like a mother who goes to the delivery room, gives birth to a child, it is intense labour for the child to be born but that is not the end of the labour. Infact another chapter of labour starts there. There is a duty for that child to be raised so that the child becomes a proper representation of the family to society. In the same vein, yes the souls are won but you and I have a duty so that they can become proper representation of the Kingdom of God to the world.
That’s why you and I must understand that the duty does not end at the point of their salvation, we must keep praying for them until Christ is formed in them. Keep praying for them until they become representations of the Kingdom of God. We keep praying for them until they’re able to stand on their own accord. Shout hallelujah.
So we have to keep praying for our new converts, praying for our new members. Take their names and keep presenting it unto God. Labour fervently unto the Lord for each one of them and as you do so you will see God begin to manifest in their lives.
Let’s take note of this, we should also understand that we should expect our rewards for all of our labours. The Bible makes clear to us in
Jeremiah 30:19-21
What is God saying? You are serving Him by standing to see the multiplication, the advancement, the establishment of the souls before the Lord. He said “I will glorify you, I will punish them that opress you”. There will be no nonentity. People will enjoy sporadic advancement.
- Somebody will enjoy sporadic advancement.
Just suddenly was taken from the back to the front by staying consistent in engaging on the altar of prayer.
My charge to us this morning is remain consistent, remain fervent, remain committed and as you do so watch what God makes of you. He will decorate you in ways that will be difficult to describe. Those who know you will be surprised on how God will lift you.
Receive grace from God. Lord. I receive grace from You today for continuous and consistent engagement on the altar of prayer towards the establishment of every one of our converts. I receive that grace. I receive grace to keep praying always in the day time, in the night time, at every moment in time.
I receive that grace not to be slack but to remain consistent, to remain committed, to remain fervent. I receive that grace this morning. Receive it now from God.
My prayer life will not be torn. It will not lack fervency. It will remain on fire, it will remain consistent. I receive that grace. Standing for the establishment of every one of our convert, standing for every one of our new members. I receive that grace oh Lord.
I refuse to be lukewarm. Let the fire of the fervency of the Spirit come abide in me today in the name of Jesus Christ. So shall it be in Jesus precious name.
So let’s continue praying. Take up the converts that God gave you, pray for them. Don’t just be satisfied that they came to Church, pray for them. Those who have not yet come to Church, keep praying for them and as you do God will begin to turn their story around and as He’s doing so He will begin decorating you openly in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Now SPEAK TO THE DAY
Make your declarations concerning this day, what you declare God is sure to deliver. Speak to the day right now. Speak to it. Thank You mighty God in Jesus precious name we have prayed.
Lift your hand.
- Now in the name of Jesus this day is declared blessed.
- For each one of us it shall be a day of testimonies.
- Concerning each one of us there shall be no evil report.
- In your going out today be blessed.
- In your coming in today be blessed.
- Today is for you a day of good tidings.
- A day of Heavenly favour.
- A day of open doors.
- A productive day.
- A fruitful day.
- A peaceful day in the name of Jesus.
So shall it be in Jesus precious name. Amen and amen. It is done.
#PastorDavidOyedepoJnr
#CHoP20Apr21
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