Apostle Joel Obuobisa

The 3 Main Reasons Why the Resurrection is True

Luke 24:1-12 
Why Christians do believed that Jesus rose from the dead? 
1. The fact of the empty tomb

1 Corinthians 15:17
2.  The fact of multiple witnesses 

Acts 1:3
1 Corinthians 15:3-6 
Acts 3:32
2 Peter 1:16  
3.  The fact of the changed lives of those who followed Jesus Christ 
John 20:19-20 

The 3 Main Reasons Why the Resurrection is True

Luke 24:1-12 
Why Christians do believed that Jesus rose from the dead? 
1. The fact of the empty tomb

1 Corinthians 15:17
2.  The fact of multiple witnesses 

Acts 1:3
1 Corinthians 15:3-6 
Acts 3:32
2 Peter 1:16  
3.  The fact of the changed lives of those who followed Jesus Christ 
John 20:19-20 

The Symbolic meanings of The Cross

Matthew 16:24
Mark 8:34-38; 10:17-21

Be prepared to deny yourself and take up your cross to follow Christ 
Luke 9:23-26
A major condition to follow Jesus is to have a cross
        The bearing or carrying of a cross is a symbol; to bear a cross is to walk with the implications of                            surrendering
The Symbolic meanings of The Cross
  1. The cross is a symbol of the price Christians must pay to be a Christian

to be referred to as a Christian is a price
        when you become a Christian you run a filter across your life (so that certain things don't make it through) 
        1 Peter 2:19-21
       2. The love of God

        1 John 3:16
      3. A symbol of obedience

          Philippians 2:5-8
          What is your obedience costing you?
          Obedience is going to cost you
     4. The cross is the symbol of sacrifice     

         "take up your cross daily" means to sacrifice daily

 Ephesians 5:2

The Symbolic meanings of The Cross

Matthew 16:24
Mark 8:34-38; 10:17-21

Be prepared to deny yourself and take up your cross to follow Christ 
Luke 9:23-26
A major condition to follow Jesus is to have a cross
        The bearing or carrying of a cross is a symbol; to bear a cross is to walk with the implications of                            surrendering
The Symbolic meanings of The Cross
  1. The cross is a symbol of the price Christians must pay to be a Christian

to be referred to as a Christian is a price
        when you become a Christian you run a filter across your life (so that certain things don't make it through) 
        1 Peter 2:19-21
       2. The love of God

        1 John 3:16
      3. A symbol of obedience

          Philippians 2:5-8
          What is your obedience costing you?
          Obedience is going to cost you
     4. The cross is the symbol of sacrifice     

         "take up your cross daily" means to sacrifice daily

 Ephesians 5:2

The Symbolic meanings of The Cross

Matthew 16:24
Mark 8:34-38; 10:17-21

Be prepared to deny yourself and take up your cross to follow Christ 
Luke 9:23-26
A major condition to follow Jesus is to have a cross
        The bearing or carrying of a cross is a symbol; to bear a cross is to walk with the implications of                            surrendering
The Symbolic meanings of The Cross
  1. The cross is a symbol of the price Christians must pay to be a Christian

to be referred to as a Christian is a price
        when you become a Christian you run a filter across your life (so that certain things don't make it through) 
        1 Peter 2:19-21
       2. The love of God

        1 John 3:16
      3. A symbol of obedience

          Philippians 2:5-8
          What is your obedience costing you?
          Obedience is going to cost you
     4. The cross is the symbol of sacrifice     

         "take up your cross daily" means to sacrifice daily

 Ephesians 5:2

What It Means To Serve The Lord

To serve the Lord means:

1. To devote your efforts to the Lord.

Acts 20:28

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

2. To contribute your efforts 

Luke 8:1-3

​ And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

3. To become a shepherd

John 21:15

So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

1 Peter 5:1-3

​ The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock.

3 Elements That Must Go Into Serving The Lord

1. We need to serve God with joyfulness and gladness of heart

Deuteronomy 28:47

Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things;

God is the only one who gives us more than we bring to Him.

Psalms 100:2

Serve the Lord with gladness:

come before his presence with singing.

Psalms 100:1

A Psalm of praise.

​ Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

Noise is any sound that is out of place. But God asks us to make a joyful noise. God is not looking for perfection, He is looking for the joy that we attach to what we're doing. The attitude with what you're offering what you're offering is more important than you're offering.

Gods ability to hear sound goes beyond what we can understand as humans. God can receive praise from even stones.

2 Corinthians 9:7

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

2. Consistency

Daniel 6:16

Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.

3. Serve God with humility of mind and in tears

Acts 20:19

Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews:

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