Apostle Joel Obuobisa

It Is A Great Thing to Serve The Lord

This is our year of serving the Lord. There is nothing better to do with one's life than serve God. Apostle Joel expounds on how there is a difference between those who serve the Lord and those who don't.

Formula for Humility - Sign of a proud person is to be puffed up

Chapter 12- What it means to be puffed up like Nebuchadnezzar 
1. You are puffed up like Nebuchadnezzar when you do not listen to warnings from your pastors and prophets

   Daniel 4:27 

2. You are puffed up like Nebuchadnezzar when you think that your achievements have been by your own efforts                   Daniels 4:30

           John 3:27 
           1 Corinthians 15:10

    Success is when you use the grace that God has given you and not remain lazy
3) We know Nebuchadnezzar was puffed up because he fell from his position and lived with the beasts of the field

Reasons Why We Need to be Humble

You need to remain humble to walk with God.

1. God resists proud people.
When you’re proud you set God up against you. James 4:6

2. God gives grace to humble people. Philippians 2:13
Grace is God’s help that you didn’t qualify for but He gives to you .Luke 16:12

16:12
3. Humble yourself so that you will be covered and protected. 1 Peter 5:5.
People who walk in pride are attractive to demons.

Formula For Humility

Formula For Humility  - 7 Reasons Why You Should Humble Yourself

1) Humble yourself because God resist the proud. James 4:6;10 

2) God gives grace to humble people. Luke 16:12 
3) You will be lifted up to the next level in life

    1 Peter 5:6 

    Psalm 1: 1-3

4) Humble yourself before The Lord so that you will be covered and protected. 

    1 Peter 5:5

5) Humble yourself because your pride will lead to destruction, your fall and shame 

    Proverbs 29:23; 16:18; 11:2

6) Humble yourself in the sight of The Lord because pride is essentially satanic and demonic 

7) Humble yourself in the sight The Lord because your pride will make you an abomination to God

Why This Must Be Your Year of Serving God

1. There is a difference between those who serve God and those who do not.  Mal 3:18

2. Serving the LORD with joy and gladness of heart will result in the abundance of all things - Deut 28:47

- Psalm 122:1 - I was glad when they said unto me, 'Let us go into the house of the LORD.'

- Psalm 100:1-2 Make a joyful noise... Serve the LORD with gladness, come before the His presence with singing

- Deut 28:37-46 - curses of not serving the LORD with joy and gladness of heart

2015 - Year of Serving God

- God has called us to serve Him! That is the main focus of the church.

- It is important to learn how to enter the blessing that is upon this house

  2 Tim 2:1 - Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus

- Mal 3:8-18

  - one way to be blessed by God is by paying the tithe

- it is a mistake feel or think 'it is in vain that we have served the LORD'

- a true believer must not insist on any particular blessing that they will be offended if it does not come

-v18 in the long run, LORD differentiates between those who serve Him and those who do not

Testimony and Thanksgiving

- Luke 17:12-19 - of the 10 lepers that Jesus healed, only one, a Samaritan (foreigner) returned to thank Him.

- When God has done something for you, He expects you to return to Him to say Thank You!

- Let the redeemed of the LORD say so Psalm 107:2

- We have all been given one chance. We didn't ask for it, but we have been blessed with LIFE. 

- Isa 48:17 - God is the one who causes things to work out for us

- Receive things you have been given with gratefulness and especially when they are not all you would have wished for

- James 4:13-15 - Constantly acknowledge God's will in your life. 

When God Has a Baby

The word 'baby' is a descriptive word for something small. e,g, baby steps, baby car, etc

When God has a baby, it refers to small beginnings

Many of God's purposes and plans begin small.

Matt 13:31 - God's way often includes taking something that is insignificant and small and growing it to the full effect.

3 Characteristics of God's Babies

1. They may not have an impressive beginning

- Luke 2:11-14 - in swadling cloths in a manger

- A new church is God's baby.

- It is a mistake to judge the baby by their size and the manger residence

2. It is a privilege to be invited to attend to that baby

- Matt 2:8-15 - Herod was not invited tp worship the baby, as the wise and the shepherds

- Whatever sacrifice you have to make to attend to God's baby, it is worth it

3. Wise men see the blessing in the invitation and they come to worship the baby

- Matt 2:1-12

- The wise deploy their gift with the baby. They invest themselves into it and do not hold back.

- The baby of the LORD grows and becomes a blessing to all.

How To Pray: Praying With All Kinds of Prayer

8 Kinds of Prayer:

1. Prayer of Consecration - the kind of prayer Jesus prayed it at Gethsemane
      - Trust God's voice for you and choose it over yours
      - Distrust and fear of God's will is of the devil

2. Paying in the Spirit
      - Jude 20. ... Building up yourselves in the most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost
      - 1 Cor 14:2 - shows what praying in the Spirit means
      - When you are praying in the Spirit, God leads you in the prayer to ask for what is necessary
      - Acts 2 ...the Spirit gave them utterance...
      - It builds you up. Jude 20, 1 Cor 4:12 he that speaker in tongues edifieth  himself...

3. The prayer of Faith
      - Mark 11:24

4. The Prayer of Confession of Sins
      - If you omit this, you have become presumptuous, to approach God as one that had no sin
      - Romans 3:23 all have sinned
      - 1 John 1:8 if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us

5. Short and powerful prayers
      - Mark 4:36-39
      - John 11:41

6. The Long Prayer
      - Luke 6:12

7. Loud prayers
      - Hebrews 5:7 ...strong crying and tears...

8. The Prayer of Thanksgiving
      - 1 Cor 5:18 ...in all things give thanks...
      - Eph 5:20 ...giving thanks always for all things...
      - Jesus prayed a thanksgiving prayer when Lazarus was dead
      - John 6:11 Jesus gave thanks in the face of shortage

Kinds of Prayer - The Prayer of Consecration

Ephesians 6:18 - Praying with all payer ...

- Prayer goes with watching and perseverance. Expect to exert yourself and resist your natural urges in order to make room for prayer.

- Jesus' prayer of consecration asking God to let His will be done and not how He felt

- We are reluctant and unwilling to pray conescration prayer because we feel that we know better what is good for us and do not think God will give us things undesirable, or what we do not want.

- God's ways are higher than our ways Isa 55:8-9

- Praying the prayer of consecration and leave God room to do what He would rather do that is better for us in the long run

- Prov 3:5-6 ...do not lean on your own understanding

- The LORD who made our understanding warns us that it is not to be leaned on. Better believe it.

- Phil 2:6-11 - the result of Jesus letting God's will be done.