Apostle Joel Obuobisa

The Difference Will Show

Malachi 3:18

Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked,

between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

Is there a difference between a righteous or a wicked man?

Yes

There is as much difference between one who serves God and one who does not as there is between a righteous man and a wicked man.

But sometimes the difference is not so obvious. That is why you need discernment to pick it up. 

In time, the difference will show.

Matthew 7:24-27

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

The rain descended and the floods came and the wind blew upon both the houses of the wise and foolish man. This makes many Christians wonder what is the point of serving of God. It makes many Christians begin to backslide and compromise because they have conceded too early. 

Just keep going on, just keep working for the Lord, in time the difference will show.

Building on the sand looks like it can save time, it can save money. Sometimes it seems like those are not serving the Lord live happier and better lives.

It will show in your household, in your character, in all you do.

Joshua 24:15

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Joshua made a choice to serve the Lord even if he would be in the minority. 

Noah must have been laughed at when he was building ark. It seemed ridiculous. He was in the minority. 

In God, the majority is not always right. In God, often the minority is right. The Bible says there is a road that leads to life and few find it. 

The Law of Sowing and Reaping

Genesis 8:21-22
We learn from this verse to make a decision, not to do anything about a certain situation 
The companions of sowing and reaping are cold and hot and are as sure as day and nigh
When God makes a law, no one gets to skip it 
1. You must plant something- John 12:24 
          Let planting be a habit of you
2.  You must plant in good ground- Matthew 13:8; 31-32
          When you don't pay your tithes, you deprive yourself of a tree
3. You must plant large amounts of seeds - Ecclesiastes 11:6
          Seeds are vulnerable and not all make it
          A mistake that people make it not sowing enough seeds 
4.  Some seeds will be lost - Mark 4:5-17
         Some seeds are corrupted by the sower 
         Just because you planted a seed doesn't mean that a harvest is coming 
5.  You must plant the type of seeds that you expect - Proverbs 21:13
         You design your life by what you do to other people
6.  Your seed must die - John 12:24
         Learn to allow your seeds to die, especially when you give - Ephesians 6:8 

Why Non-Tithing Christians Remain Poor

Tithe means tenth and it is something that The Lord says belongs to Him 
Leviticus 27:29-30
God has a habit of setting things aside for Himself 
1. they have nothing to harvest 
Hosea 8:7.Every time you sow, your harvest is greater than your seed; sowing releases a harvest 
When you don't tithe, you have scheduled a season(s) of nothing to come
2. they do not attract blessings on their lives; exclude themselves from many blessings 
A blessing is a stepping stone, makes you bigger than what you are; gives you something that you don't qualify for . Malachi 3:10 -You have to count your blessings to recognize them. Tithes replenishes the blessings in your life 
3. they are cursed- Malachi 3:8-10
When a Christian doesn't pay their tithes and offerings, then they are robbing God and are cursed with a cursed. 
4. devours constantly eat their wealth -Non-tithers expose themselves to devours to take their blessings
Malachi 3:11
5. the fruits of their field are constantly destroyed 
Malachi 3:11.The destroyer removes your wealth in a painless and mindless fashion; the destroyer is the brother to the devourer 
6. they lose their fruits before they get a chance to harvest 
Malachi 3:11.Blessings being destroyed before they are even mature 
Genesis 1:9-11; 26-31; 2:8-9; 15-17.Learn to respect holy things, for it belongs to God

How to Diagnose Proud Speaking

James 4:6-10
           -Allow yourself to be lifted up by God, but also allow yourself to be humble
Signs of Pride
1. Overconfident declarations
          -John 19:9-11
          -No one can have any power unless God gives them to you
          -James 4:13-16
          -When we make comments that forget the grace of God is a type of overconfident declaration
2. When we rebuke authorities
3. Abruptly ending conversations
           -Proverbs 1:7; 9:9
           -It doesn't hurt to hear what you already know again. The Word of God is a layered story which points out many flaws.
4. Declarations of self sufficiency
          -Revelations 18:4-8
5. Statements that trivialize issues
         -1 Samuel 17:28
6. Statements that belittles others

What It Means To Be Puffed Up Like Korah

1. Korah was puffed up because he thought that the pastor (Moses) was obliged to listen to his opinion.
                 -Colossians 2:18 
                 - Numbers 16:1-3
                 -  offer your suggestions in humility; when your suggestions are not used just thank The Lord 
                 -  being a leader means to take ordinary things, put them together and produce something great! 
2.  Korah was puffed up because he tried to correct a spiritual authority.
                 -Proverbs 30:10
                 -recognition of wrong is not your right to fix it
                 -Hebrews 5:1-2
                 -God chooses someone with a weakness, so that person can deal with His people gently
                 -Korah felt that he needed to correct what God missed in Moses 
                                 -God will correct His people 
                                 - 1 Peter 5:1-4 

What It means to be puffed up like Pharaoh

 1. You are puffed up like Pharaoh when you are overconfident and do not consider other options and possibilities            -          1 Corinthians 4:18-19

2. You are puffed like Pharaoh when you are full of delusions. 

       -      You must always be grateful and always say thank you 
     -     The Word of God helps us not to be delusional
     -     You must not be so passionate about something to the extent that you lose what you have
 3. We know Pharaoh was puffed up because he fell from his position as the ruler of a powerful country to become the ruler of a destroyed and powerless nation
     -      When you destroy something you don't have anything to replace it with
     -      Make it a possibility to be wrong 

What it means to be puffed up like Belshazzar

1. When you don't respect the church or pastors
We have to be careful not to cross spiritual lines; most of the times we don't even know when we have crossed spiritual lines
            -          1 Corinthians 5
            -          Daniel 5:2-3
We must not let arrogance and pride allow us to misuse and abuse sacred things because we must show respect to the person that is using them 
2. When you think God is not important and the only important things are gold, silver and wood. 
           -      Daniel 5:4 
If you work for, love and seek after money, you will find that money is a hard master 

3. Belshazzar was puffed up because he did not learn from his father’s mistakes
Everyone needs 2 examples in life: what to be and what not to be 
          -          Daniel 5:18, 22-23

Why You Must Serve The Lord

Apostle Joel shares why it is a blessing to serve the Lord. Listen and learn of the many benefits one stands to gain from serving in God's house.

Why You Must Serve The Lord

Apostle Joel shares why it is a blessing to serve the Lord. Listen and learn of the many benefits one stands to gain from serving in God's house.

What It Means to Serve God

What does it mean to serve God? To serve God is to perform a duty for the Lord. To serve God is to devote your efforts to Him. It also means to be useful in the house of the Lord.