Because of the love of God toward us, we have everything we’ll ever need for life and godliness. (2 Peter 1:3). So, we are and should be the happiest people on earth, but sad to say, this is not the case with some Christians. Our countenance and actions should always reflect the Peace and Joy of the Lord even in rough times. It sounds easier said than done but it is still the truth. Someone once said that Christians need to notify their faces that they are born again—and I thought that was interesting. The only problem with that is the Bible says “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34), which also means that it is what you have in your heart that will show on your face, through actions and reactions. The Bible talks about the Joy of the Lord. This joy is not just about how great things are going around you, it is about the peace and assurance that we have in Him that no matter what things look like now, everything will be okay. It is very easy to put on any kind of face that you want people to see, but the question is as Christians are we supposed to put on faces? The answer is “NO”! So what do you do when you can’t get yourself to be happy in the face of trials? Answer—get a right understanding of who you are and what you have in Christ as a born again believer by study of the word and having certain questions answered by the holy ghost or your spiritual leader. This is important because if you have this understanding, no matter what you are going through you will not need to put on a face, instead, you will be able to allow the real you show forth and it will no doubt be a testimony to the world about what you have on the inside—the Joy of the Lord. This understanding id what will cause you to always have a joyful countenance. You may not like what is going on about a particular situation but that should not affect anything else because then you lose your peace and joy which will rob you of your ability to walk by faith in/for anything. When you are not working by faith there are no guarantees… One thing to note to note is that even though there is a difference between happiness—which results from positive events, and joy—which is from the Spirit, irrespective of what is going on around you, having the Joy of the Lord in your heart is so powerful that it will force contrary situations in your life to begin turn around for good for you. How does this work you may ask? Well the Bible says in (Ps 37:4) delight yourself in the Lord and He will grant you the desires of your heart. Don’t focus on how bad the situation is, but on the goodness/things of the Lord. The thing that are seen are temporary but the unseen is eternal (2 Cor 4:18). Anytime you focus on anything, it becomes magnified, in other words, if you focus on your problems it begins to look impossible, but when you focus God you see possibilities, solutions or a way out. God will always make a way when there was none. That is why the Bible says we should magnify the Lord; it will produce happiness even when you are still going through because somehow in the midst of the turbulent waters you can see the shore. If you are not already on board the ship of the happiest people of on earth I invite you to join, but if you are and are still always downcast I encourage you to meditate on the scriptures in this teaching as well as related scriptures in the Word of God e.g. (2 Cor 4:18) and your joy will not only be a witness to the world but soon you will be able to say sincerely I am on of the happiest people in the world!

In the book of Ephesians 5 verse 27, we are believer and led by Him consistently, partaking told that Jesus is coming back for a Church of the calamity that is coming will be inevitable. without spot, wrinkle or any such thing. As for the glorious church, all eyes shall see the (Glorious Church)  glory that will be revealed because it will not be Ephesians 5:27  hidden. Christians everywhere will begin to ex “That he might present it to Himself a glori cel in the area that they are called to whether it ous church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or be in business or ministry and the Church will any such thing; but that it should be holy become the center of attraction on the earth. As and without blemish”  the world gets darker we will get brighter e.g. The reason we are going to be without spot or hurricane Katrina is revealing the love and pros wrinkle i.e. walking in the fullness of love, with perity of the Church like the world has never out sin or sin consciousness is because we will seen before. Christian organizations were learn to fully receive the righteousness of God amongst the first ones to get there by the fastest which is by faith and depend fully on the Holy means of transportation such as airplanes. The Spirit in everything we do.  Church is giving millions of dollars in relief and John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to housing and most importantly, spreading the them gave He power to become the sons of message of the love of God like never before. God, even to them that believe on His Finally, I encourage you not to be deceived or name.”  discouraged by the gross darkness that is com Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the ing on the world. Know that it will continue to get Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” darker but it is out of this great darkness that will Looking around now, to some extent, it may emerge the Glorious Church. seem impossible. This is because many are Joel 2:2 “A day of darkness and of gloomi still walking in the flesh. But the revelation of ness, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, the power and purpose of the Holy Spirit is as the morning spread upon the mountains: a coming upon the Church which will usher us great people and a strong; there hath not into a higher manifestation of our love walk as been ever the like, neither shall be any more children of love (God).  after it, even to the years of many genera Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that tions.” the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall  The glorious Church is an army of people who be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in  fear God. Ask God for the manifestation of the all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the utter most part of the earth.”  Spirit of the fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:2). Be / Samuel 2:9 “He will keep the feet of his saints,  cause darkness (sickness, disease, failure) will and the wicked shall be silent in darkness, for by not fear you until you fear (reverence) God. It is strength shall no man prevail.”  your fear of God that glorifies you here on earth. Zechariah 4:6 “Then He answered and spake Too many Christians seem to have lost or don’t unto me, saying, This is the word of the understand that fear (reverence) of God and go LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by ahead to do what they please, how they please might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith and would not want to be chastised. But as you the LORD of hosts.”  hear this word, separate yourself and come out Being led of the Spirit cannot be overempha from among them and put the fear of the Lord in sized because a time is coming where if you | it’s place even as you manifest the fullness of the are not filled with the Holy Spirit as a born again glory of God. 

God wants all of His daughters to know that they are very precious to Him and even more than princesses, Kings. Women of God are seated right up there reigning with Him with all of the rights and privileges of any child of God, not second class citizens like some women feel that they are. I can prove to from the Word of God. In Genesis 2:7 God formed man from the dust of the earth. The root word formed is “yatsar” which means to “to mold like a potter or squeezed into shape.” In Genesis 2:22, when God made Eve, the Hebrew “banah” is used and means “skillfully formed.” In other words, God did not just squeeze you out (no offence to the men) but made you with utmost care and gentleness. You may have been treated in the past like second class citizens, either by a parent, a spouse, friend, teacher, or even in the Church. Unfortunately, many women are told that they cannot be ministers or have leadership roles, but funnily enough, when you look around at the dying world and people going to hell and the high price God paid for our salvation, the last thing on God’s mind is whether it’s a male or a female, old or young that brings the gospel. He just wants the gospel to be preached by anyone who will answer the call and say “here I am, send me” Isaiah 6. Can God really use a woman? Yes! Yes! Yes! Genesis 3:20 tells us that Adam called his wife’s name Eve because “she was the mother of all living.” What an awesome task God has for women to nurture and bring up Godly children to propagate the kingdom of God. Micah 6:4 says that God sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam before Israel as leaders of the Israelites journey to the Promised Land. Miriam was a singing prophetess. (Exodus 15:20) Another one was Deborah (Judges 4 & 5) who saved her nation. She was prophetess and judge. We can find so many of them in the Old Testament, and even in the new, fulfilling the prophesies of Pentecost in Isaiah 32:9-15, Joel 2:28-29 for example. In Acts chapter 2, God’s Spirit was poured out on both men and women, 120 of them including Mary the mother of Jesus for the work of the ministry (witnesses). So the Church that silences women silences the Holy Spirit (Psalm 101:15) for both men and women are anointed. Paul’s statement about keeping women silent has been misconstrued for so long. He was talking about disorder in the local assembly not in the Church (Body of Christ) as ministers. (You can search on more information on this teaching). The point of this teaching is that in God’s eyes and purpose for you as a woman, you are a first class citizen and that is the most important thing. So no matter what life has brought in your way, find out who you really are in God by studying the Bible and start enjoying your life to the full!

A few weeks ago, God tapped me on the arm to wake me up from sleep in the middle of the night and spoke these words to me as clearly as you would hear a person’s voice – “IT’S TIME”. I jumped up, noticed my husband was not in the room and even though I recognized that it was God, I still peeked under the bed to make sure my husband was not playing a trick on me. (That’s how strong the presence was that night) So I said, “Lord, time for what?” God wanted to get my full attention on something very important and He begun to let me, but He did not stop. This is where you come in. He also began to make me see that the time for playing church is OVER. You may have heard this many times before but look around you, and what is going on in the world and tell me if you don’t sense something different. Judgment time has come and it is good for those who are trusting Him but bad for those who refuse Him. You need not be afraid of it, if only you will remain steadfast in Him. It’s time to get fired up on His Word by His Spirit and to put spiritual pressure from the inside out instead of letting circumstances put pressure on you. Don’t wait for bad things to happen before you pray or spend time with God or carry out His purpose. It’s time to awaken from your slumber. (Romans 13:11-12) It’s time for manifestation of that which was spoken by the prophets (judgments included) It’s time to ANSWER. Many believers have been disobedient and turned a deaf ear, on the things that God would have them do now. It’s time to repent, it’s been long enough. It’s time to pray harder than you’ve ever prayed. God needs us praying for the church and the world more now than ever before. I don’t know about you but for a few months now, the urgency of God for me to pray has intensified. I’m not just talking about praying for “me myself and I” but that His will be done on earth, that His purpose for this time be accomplished. What has God said to you? What has He told you to do? No is the time to take advantage of the season. It may never come again. If you have been thinking you still have some time, and that there are still a lot of people who have not heard the gospel so Jesus is not coming yet, do not be deceived: God said to tell you that it can happen all in one day. Mathew 24:13b (Remember you were not promised tomorrow to repent.)  So prepare yourself. First of all, make sure you are born again (John 3:16) By asking Jesus to forgive your sins invite Him to come into your heart. Secondly, be filled with the Holy Spirit – He only can guide and help you live and consistent Christian life. Finally, it’s time to win more souls than you’ve ever done. The most important thing you can do as a believer is to tell people about Jesus, it’s not enough to provide for their physical needs. For all these things are fleeting and can be gone in a moment. But the born again spirit of a man will sustain him in adversity. Proverbs 18:1a

We’ve all heard stories and the forecast of financial doom through the media, the health threat about the flu and everything else. The question is “Are you surprised that things are going the way they are in the world today?” You shouldn’t be. It is all inevitable because there is a law of sin and death. Sin always produces calamity if there is no repentance. Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people. We’ve all heard stories and the forecast of financial doom through the media, the health threat about the flu and everything else. The question is “Are you surprised that things are going the way they are in the world today?” You shouldn’t be. It is all inevitable because there is a law of sin and death. Sin always produces calamity if there is no repentance. Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people. Moreover, it was prophesied thousands of years ago by the prophet Joel 2:24 that these things will occur and worse. But you don’t have to participate in them because there are two sides to the prophecy. There’s the dark side for those that work in darkness and the light side for those who walk in the light. Not everything prophesied while we believers are here on earth. We will be raptured before the worst things happen. SO WHAT DO WE DO NOW? We RELAX and WALK in the PEACE of God. HOW? Answer: Isaiah 26:3 “He will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are stayed on Him.” Keep your eyes on Jesus and on God’s Word. Let his report/Word be your daily news because what you hear/listen to is important in determining your peace and joy in these troubled times. I encourage you to stay in the Word of God. It is life and it is what will keep you from experiencing any of those woes of the world today. WHOSE REPORT WILL YOU BELIEVE? His report says: You are rich. He will increase you more and more. He will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. By His stripes you were healed. He will give you the hidden treasures of secret places. I choose to believe the report of the Lord!!!

The word “Dominion” means sovereign. As I meditated on the word dominion, strength and opposition came to mind. This means that if we are supposed to dominate, there must be a level of opposition. Genesis 1:28 says, “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” To subdue means “to bring under control either by physical force or persuasion”. So if you are not persuaded, I might have to do it physically. In our individual lives, there is a struggle or things that want to struggle with us, for the authority and power God has given us e.g. our emotions; finances etc. When God created the world, He had a choice to make it, destroy it or put us in charge. He chose to give it to us. Genesis 1:1 says, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He took the heavens and gave us Earth to rule over. Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” He had this plan from the beginning. In verse 28 of Genesis 1, God said fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish and sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth, yet some of us are still afraid of creepy crawlies e.g. worms, snakes etc. Even roaches, if they refuse to leave your kitchen, use physical force. God has the power of choice and He gave us this same choice, Deut 30:19 says, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” God could have said, “You don’t have a choice – choose life” but He gave man a choice. He said He made us in His image so if He (Godhead) have a choice, so must man. Life is more than that breath in my nostrils. There is something more than life that God is and it produces love, peace and joy, so if you are a Christian and you are sad all the time, and there is dissatisfaction then you have chosen unbelief. If we are truly living like Gods intends us to, that is walking in dominion then we will enjoy life e.g. joy, peace, and everything God has given us to enjoy. That is why we need to know what it means to walk in dominion. Genesis 1:1 God is a creator. How do we know?  The bible said in the beginning, “God created.” Even though God is the creator, we have the same ability to create and recreate. What do I mean? If you are going through certain situations and you don’t like it, recreate it. You have the ability and power to do so. In Romans 4:17 God calls those things that be not as though they were. The words that we speak out of our mouths are so important. It doesn’t matter what are situation and our circumstances look like. The way you can recreate your situation is by calling those things that be not as though they are. E.g. you may not be rich now, or you may be sick, but you confess that you are rich, and you are well. People may think you are crazy but you just go on confessing what the word of God says. Be like God, “call those things that be not as though they were.” Rev 1:5-6 says we have been made kings and priests. One of our priestly duties is intercession and that includes speaking. You should not just pray for yourself because it is our duty as priests to intercede for others. When we see people dying it is our fault because God has given us dominion.  The bible says that whatever Adam called the animals, it was so. What name are you giving to what is going on around? What are you saying about the Church? What are you saying about the body of Christ? God said, “I am building My Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” They are a few people going around saying there is too much sin in the Church and yet they are not praying. Someti mes you hear certain prominent preachers saying things like, “I know you didn’t hear me” and some other negative words. They may seem insignificant but they matter a lot. Eccles 8:4 says, “where the word of the king is, there is power.” Power is the dynamic ability to change things. Faith is not complete till we have heard the Word, believed the Word, spoken the Word and acted on the Word.

Even though there are certain things that are constant for us to enjoy in God’s word such as our righteousness, health and prosperity, (3 John 2) as believers, we must realize that God has times and seasons for various things in our lives and ministry. (Acts 3:19) “Repent ye therefore, and be converted that your sins might be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the lord”. Any time God speaks concerning anything, it is important to respond properly or we may miss out on what God is doing. First of All how do we know what times and seasons we are in? By being constantly in God’s presence praying and seeking His face and He will reveal His will for that time to us by His Spirit. For example, God has told us that it is a season of new beginnings, how do we respond to that? Certainly not by sitting around and waiting for a wind to blow or just saying “Hallelujah.” (Ephesians 3:13-14). We are forgetting past failures and successes and reaching for what God has for us in the future which is always better than the past, doing better than we’ve ever done, in all things required by the Word of God. We press into it through prayer, obedience and faith. PRAYER:  When we are praying in response to a word from God to us about a particular situation, we should not pray just any kind of prayer, but prayer that is in line with what He has said to us. Zechariah 10:1 says “ask ye of the lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the lord shall make bright clouds and give them showers of rain to every one grass in the field.” Let us be reminded of how important it is to yield quickly whenever we feel led to pray, because God uses our prayers to manifest His will on earth. Romans 8:26-27 says “likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God” FAITH:  Some say “if God wills it, it will happen regardless of  my response or actions” but this is not true, for example, we all know how the children of Israel wandered for 40 years in the wilderness because they did not respond properly (by faith) to God’s will/word until a new generation came in with faith before they entered into the promise (Hebrews 4:2) “for unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them not being mixed with faith in them that heard it”. OBEDIENCE: There are different levels of obedience. There is complete obedience and there is partial obedience. Partial obedience is manipulating an instruction to fit your needs, desires, circumstances or situation. It is doing it at your own convenience and not in the timing of God. The problem with this is that it is a lack of trust for God, power and might and according to the flesh not the Spirit. Needless to say you definitely will not get the desired result. Complete obedience on the other hand is doing what God says in His time and how he wants it done. A perfect illustration is seen in Numbers 14:1-45. God told the children of Israel to go up and possess the land of promise but they were afraid to go and did not go because of the bad report given by the ten spies. When they were told by Moses that God was angry with them and that they  would  die in the wilderness because of their unbelief, they then decided to obey and go to possess the land. But Moses told them not to because God will not go with them. They did not listen and insisted on obeying the initial instruction but it was too late, the timing/season was wrong and they were not in complete obedience. This led to their eventual defeat and destruction by their enemies. Was it God’s will that they possess the land? Yes. Were they able to do it? Yes. Yet, they were defeated and destroyed. Why? Disobedience and unbelief. Finally, brothers and sisters, let us pray that God will give us the strength to seek His will, when He reveals it to us, (which He will), that we would be obedient and also mix it with faith. This is the only way that God’s perfect will, will be done here on earth.