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What Is Prayer: Psalm 54:2
Prayer is spending time with God as you express your heart to Him. It is not a one way activity. When we speak to God in prayer, He listens. God speaks to our hearts and we listen to that still small voice.
Prayer is seeking and finding, searching with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
God listens when we pray, so we need to pay attention to what we are praying. (Matthew 6:7)That is why we must understand the types of prayers we can pray

1. Thanksgiving (1 Thes. 5:18)
   When we pray we need to give thanks to God for all things in our life. Being thankful is being grateful for God’s protection, His provision, His blessings, and most of all for His Son. Sometimes things aren’t going well in our lives and frankly we don’t feel like praying let alone giving thanks, but we are commanded to give thanks in all circumstances.
2. Petition
   The prayer of petition is when we ask God for the things we need, or think we need, in our life.  Petitions are usually self oriented … give us our daily bread, give us the things we need to survive:  a roof over our heads, employment etc.  When we pray a prayer of petition we are presenting our personal needs to our Heavenly Father, trusting Him to provide.
3. Intercession
   Intercessory prayer is when we pray for the needs of someone else.  It is love on its knees in prayer, for others.
4. Prevailing
   This type of prayer is fervent, insistent and consistent until a breakthrough takes place.  This can be a prayer for ourselves, our families, or for someone else. Example Believing for emotional or physical healing.
5. Consecration
   When we pray a prayer of consecration, we are committing and dedicating of our life to God’s use.  To some this is a scary prayer because they are turning over their own personal will to that of the Lord. Jesus prayed a prayer of consecration  in Luke 22:42

6.Agreement
The Biblical principle that governs this type of prayer underscores the power of unity and harmony among Christians Matthew 18:19,20
When we pray the prayer of agreement, we cannot be casual in choosing a prayer partner.  We need to pray with someone whose basic viewpoints are the same as ours and who agrees with us on spiritual matters.
 7. Warfare Ephesians 6:12
A prayer of warfare battles against the spiritual forces of evil.  We should pray for alertness and insight into Satan’s tactics in our lives and in the lives of others.
A prayer of warfare also involves binding,loosing and using of Christs authority with all boldness.over It is before witnessing, teaching, or during periods demonic attack
While there are different types of prayer, there should also be different parts to your prayer.
A  -  Adoration
C  -  Confession
T  -  Thanksgiving
S  -  Supplication
Adoration means worship. Daniel 4:34-35
Begin your time of prayer by adoring and praising God.  Praise Him for who He is and for all that He has done for you.  God delights in your praises!
Confession is agreeing with God about the things that you have done wrong.  When you have done something that is not pleasing to God, tell Him what you have said, done or thought and ask Him to forgive you for these things, and then believe that He will.  1 John 1:9
Thanksgiving means being thankful to God.  Thank Him for His love, His protection, and His provision for you and your family Philippians 4:6.
Supplication should be the last part of your prayer.  This is praying for your needs and for the needs of others.  Remember to pray for your family, your friends, your pastor, government leaders, missionaries, etc. Ask God for His guidance and wisdom, and ask Him to show you ways and opportunities to serve Him.
Keep in mind that the ACTS model serves as a guide to help you, not a rigid formula to follow.
There are additional steps that will help.
Carve out a specific time to pray each day.
Pick a quiet place where you can be alone with God.
You will also find a special blessing if you begin your time by reading the Bible
Prayer needs to be personal.  We need to pray for ourselves and for others by name.

Though God is the author of increase, man has his role to play. Here are various strategies that could generate church increase according to the sovereign will of God.( 1 Corinthians 3:6)
1.       Friends’ Day – Organize special Sunday for members and their friends, colleagues and acquaintances. Make adequate arrangement to welcome visitors and make them comfortable.
Record names, phone number and prepare to call or visit them.
2.       Concentrate on your Church children department. If you have a special place for them, let it be decorated with bright colours, toys etc. Those kids cold help in keeping their parents in the church.
3.       Organize a “calling program” to follow up first time guests. A set of people could be trained and equipped for “hello, we’re glad you visited us” calls.
4.       Senior Adult Program: you can design an outreach program for people over 60years of age.
5.       Congregational Card Invitation: print business card size cards that include a brief invitation to the services of your congregation and a description of the location. Provide 50cards each for the adults and encourage them to carry them in their wallets for distribution to co-workers and neighbours.
6.       Train and equip ushers and greeters regularly to empower them to be able to function adequately and make visitor feel welcomed.
7.       Team visit another church: send teams of 3 people each to visit the worship services of growing churches. Sense what it looks like to be a visitor, then let them come back and share implementable ideas.
8.       Multiple worship services:  when you add another Sunday worship service, you will give room for people to varied schedules to come in.
9.       More training:  train your leaders and willing members more and more.
It is called capacity building and it will generate good church health and growth.
10.     Hold times of retreat:  sometimes speedy / accelerated development can be experienced in just days. A lot of people love getting away. Sometimes into a solitary place for a time out with God
11.     Organize congregational evangelism training: a lot of people do not know how to effectively share their faith. Your job will be to teach them how to do it practically. Annual congregational training is not out of place.
12.     Form a rapid response team:  rapid response to the needs of the congregation gives a satisfactory feeling and sense of belonging. If a rapid response team led by a responsible high ranking church officialn with strong spriritual standing is in place, a lot of people will not leave the church because of lack of care.
13.     Form, encourage and empower church drama team:  a lot of people are  captured and educated by what they can see.
14.     Newcomer party: those joining the church afresh could be hosted on regular basis – every 3 months. It should involve the Senior Pastor and some members who can now begin to network effectively with the new members. The party is to end with refreshment and informal interaction.
15.     Appoint care givers over specific unit in the church.
16.     “Adopt a highway program. The church can select a particular raod around the  around the church premises and be involved in regular cleaning. Every one will soon know about that church.
17.     Ballon launch: fill balloons caring information about the church with helium and launch them into the neighbourhood.
18.     Bus Ministry:  evangelise a neighbourhood and offer to take to regularly to the church with the bus.
19.     Sponsor a movie night for children and invite them thereafter to Sunday service. It should be a “G” rated film.
20.     Newspaper reading center:  it keeps the neighbourhood informed and minister to those who cannot buy newspaper for financial reasons.
21.     Offer prayer booth or prayer request collection centre around the town. It may carry the banner “how can we prayer for you”
22.     Donate road signposts – inscribe the name of the donor (your church) under the signpost. It establish your presence and spread your name and influence.
23.     Marriage vow renewal
24.     Free car wash:  use a Saturday morning to offer a free car wash in a location close to the church. Do it whole heartedly and don’t collect money. While the owners are waiting you can share literature materials among them and befriend them – collecting their phone numbers and contact address.
25.     Neighborhood victory match (prayer walking).
26.     Promote a different ministry each month:  your church is one large group that is composed of several smaller ministries. Such group include children, youth, women, prayer groups, married and singles. Each of these groups could be promoted on monthly basis with special programs.
27.     Pursue the goal of making every member a minister: church attendance will take an upward surge if you are able to push 50% of the congregants to the work of the ministry. Research has revealed that most Chrstians who are more than 7years in Christ, yet without doing something for God, will start going down spiritually
28.     Promoting small group fellowship small group fellowship led by church members not pastors is one of the easiest way to create a strong relationship among members. It help close the backdoor of the church, serve as evangelistic outreach point ( if well managed), worship and prayer center, small group fellowship are literal cells and when cells multiply the whole body grows. (Matt 18:20)
29.     Creating an interdenominational atmosphere with a periodic special programme.
30.     Effective conflict management: the number one reason why people stop to going to any given church is conflict and gossip. To grow and continue to grow as a church therefore, the leadership must be able to manage conflict adequately.
There are many methods of conflicts management, the pastor need wisdom to know which method to apply per time.
ü    Collaborating, win / win
ü    Compromising win some / lose some
ü    Accommodating lose / win
ü    Competing win / lose
ü    Avoiding no winner / no loser.
It must be noted that conflict is part of the church ministry – we should therefore not be surprised when it arises in our midst (I Cor 1:10,11, James 4:2). The truth however is that it can be minimized while major conflicts can be prevented.
PREVENTING CHURCH CONFLICTS
ü Teach love and show it to the people. I Cor 13:4-5, Prov 10:12
ü Saturating the people with God’s word that could destroy selfish desire and silence the “old man”
ü Avoid direct passing of verdict in the presence of the two parties. Paul pleaded with two fighting parties to agree, without giving a verdict. Phil 4:2
ü Keep the people occupied and the congregation busy seeking to know God the more. Idleness is a fertile ground for conflict.
ü Refuse to listen to gossip (Eph 4:27, Prov 26:20, Prov 17:14, Jude 1:19, Titus 3:10-11)

• The fastest way to prevent or stop conflict is to stop the gossipers. Those who gossip to leaders cannot be trusted, they will also gossip about the leaders.
• Listening to gossip is like accepting stolen property and it makes you just as guilty of the crime

ü Discharging potential troublemakers wisely. I Cor 11:19
ü Never try to forcefully keep those who WANT to leave. It can cause disunity, unanswered prayers, church paralysis and CHURCH SPLIT.

THE 3 CONFLICTS IN THE CHURCH
ü Administrative conflict (Acts 6): when the number of disciples increased, there arose a conflict between the Hebrews and the Hellenists, concerning food distribution.

• This was solved by delegation and prayers.

ü Theological conflict:  In Act 15, some Jewish Christians said gentile Christians must be circumcised in order to be saved. This became a very big issue until the elders met and issued a final statement on the issue.
Theological conflict cannot be covered for long.
ü Personal Conflict: Acts 15: 36-41: This is the most challenging of all types of conflict – majorly because of personality differences and character traits.
The only antidote is the pursuit of genuine spiritual growth among the parties involved. If not the parties may not be able to work effectively for the furtherance of the gospel and should be separated.
31.     Recognize, admonish and encourage those who want to leave.
There are some signs you can use to recognize those leaving the church.

• They start to complain to friends, family and staff about.
• They begin to absent themselves from church – related get togethers and services.
• They visit other churches
• They drop out of their units.
• Their relationship with people who are very committed to church becomes strained.
• They stop tithing. They stop jotting down sermons, finding it difficult to be blessed.
• They stop serving totally in the church.
• They begin to tell some people “we are thinking of leaving the church”
• They begin to criticize everyone.
• They look for any slight offence that will be the straw before they quit the church.

As you begin to notice some of these signs, you can call them, pray with and for them.
32.     Make the church to be more friendly.
7 steps to a friendlier congregation.

• Tutor the people with skill that is needed to be friendly. Simple things, eye contact, a handshake, a smile, remembering the name of the guest, phone call after the service.
•  Teach a Sunday class on being a friend to new people. Allow Christ love to permeate through the people.
•  Establish the 5 minutes rule. Train the people that they only talk with the people they do not know in the first 5minutes after service.
•  Bring a secret guest – who will help evaluate the worship service, the beauty and the receptivity of the church.
•  Let the members know the distinction between about “becoming friends” and “being friendly”
•  Interview new members and asked them why they stayed – improve on all the points they raised.

Welcome your newcomers in such a way they won’t be embarrassed

All through the scriptures are concrete evidences that there are enemies every believer must fight and overcome.
2 Tim 4:7 – You don’t fight if there are no one to fight.
Eph 6:11  – Only a mad man will be wearing battle dress in times of peace.
Eph 6:12  – Every believer is in a wrestling (hand to hand) match.

There are two groups of enemies we are fighting.
1)                  Spiritual enemies – the devil and his agents. 2 Cor 10:4
2)                  Physical enemies – these are men who have determined to stand on your way. Psalm 124:1-2, Matthew 10: 17-18
Some of these could be carriers of unclean spirit who are unrepentantly determined to see to your downfall, stagnation, death or failure.

1.         You will always have enemies (Matt 10:16)
2.      Anyone who is not happy about your progress is an enemy (Ezra 4 23,24a)
3.         Your enemies can always pretend to be your friend (like Judas); they can also be your family members. (Matt 10:36)
4.         Your enemies will attack at the beginning of anything significant in your life e.g. Jesus, Moses.
5.         Whenever the enemies attack becomes intensive, it is a sign that your level in life is changing. David / Goliath, Joseph / Potiphar’s wife, Jephta / household coup.
6.         You must never fear your enemy. (Psalm 23)
7.         You should never declare publicly the damage done by the enemy. (Prov 29:11)
8.         Your enemy will help you to quickly recognize the Judas of your life; they will force the Judas to reveal himself.  Judas is someone that believes your enemies are correct. Judas play both parts: in your presence, a friend; in their presence, a friend.
9.         Some enemies will help increase your movement.
The promised land would have remained a fantasy instead of a fact if Egypt is comfortable. Joseph was “sold” into destiny.
10.       Enemies you don’t deal with may turn back and deal with you.
God told Saul to destroy Amalekites but he didn’t. The man that killed him was an Amalekite. (2 Sam 1:9-10)
HOW TO DEAL WITH THE ENEMIES
There are different kinds of enemies, it require the wisdom of God to be able to deal
with them appropriately. Here are different ways of dealing with physical and spiritual enemies.

1. Fortify yourself in righteousness . Eccl 10:8
2. Pray for them that God should forgive them while you live your life. Luke 23:34.
3. Render them useless through prayer but do not kill them.Psalm 59:10-13; 69:22-28; 83:13-15.
4. Demand for their destruction. Life for life. Psalm 109:6-20; 137:7:9; 55:15

Potent scriptures to deals with physical or spiritual enemies. I Sam 2:10, Psalm 21, 35, 91, 92, 36, 37, 52, 54, 57, 58, 64, 74, 83. Prov 11:8

Suffering is one of the basic prerequisite of success. Though suffering is relative, it is an indispensable experience for a durable breakthrough.
Proverb 13:11 says
“Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished”
Another  translation says  “a sudden fortune will dwindle away”
I’m sure many of you are quick to cite examples of people who are succeeding without suffering.    Look! If you are succeeding without suffering it means somebody has suffered for you. May be your father, brother, husband or wife.
  2Corinthians4:17
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
For every suffering, there is an accompanying glory. Jesus we all know went down before he was raised up.
He was beaten and humiliated, eating nothing, drinking rubbish, reviled and punished. But today, he has name – respected in heaven, obeyed on earth. That at the mention of that name every knee must bow.
Friends, there is suffering before the smiling you are waiting for.

• David suffered in the bush, in the caves when Saul was busy pursuing him around, before smiling in the palace.
• Jacob didn’t find it easy in the house of Laban, he suffered before God gave him his inheritance.
• Joseph was a spoiled child of an aged father. close it the father and pampered in all areas.

But the law of suffering had its way. He passed through the servitude in Potiphar’s estate before tasting what it is to go the prison. But when God turned back his captivity, it was like a dream! I’m sure you know that David, Jacob and Joseph  later forgot their suffering – in the name of Jesus you will forget your suffering.

• In recent history also, we have records of men and women who passed through the land of suffering, and gloriously moved to the land of Canaan.
• During the 10 years in which Isaac Newton made his greatest discoveries, he found  it very hard to pay 2 shillings a week to the Royal Society of England to keep his membership.
• Chief Obafemi Awolowo of blessed memory though he died as an infidel is an example of how men can rise through the rubbish heaps of life to sit among men that matters. I’m sure you know he was once an houseboy, a sterographer, a poor man by all standards.
• Late Arch Bishop Idahosa, the man who put the name of Nigeria in the world map of Christianity once pushed truck in Benin, while the wife sells plantain. According to him, he was so poor that the poor called him poor!
• Look,  that you are suffering today does not mean you should lose hope. Don’t ! Don’t !!
• I know of a man who once hawk bread on the streets of Ibadan, who today is having a growing Pentecostal fellowship in U.K.
• Thomas Edison, that great thinker and inventor who helped us with the light bulb and many other inventions was once a newsboy on the train.

II Cor 5:21
Our light afflictions of today worketh…
Friends, receive hope! Your suffering today will work out your long awaited success. You are paying the price today, don’t worry you will get the prize. Please take note that by suffering, I’m not referring to punishments received for your disobedience or crime.
The Almighty God will not allow you to suffer in vain!

What should be your attitude during suffering?

1. Don’t lose hope: if you don’t lose hope, you will receive help. Things may not be working as you want today, but you just keep on. Keep on, you help is coming.

The word of God says “for thou shalt not be ashamed neither be thou confounded; for thou shall not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood anymore”.
How do you generate hope:
a.Get closer to God-the hope of all creatures. There is nothing too hard for Him to do. “For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope”. Be saved, forsake sin and begin to follow God, He is able to change your story, He is able to put laughter into your mouth.
Oh thank God for the life of Job throughout his days in the school of suffering, he was hopeful. He said I know my redeemer liveth!
b.Hope in His words
Ps 119:114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield. I hope in thy word.
c.Begin to imagine a great tomorrow. Gen 11:6
“As a man thinketh in his heart so is he”   Imagine yourself getting out of that suffering, imagine a better tomorrow. See yourself succeed .Visualize it in your mind: what you see is what you get.

2. Never lose your joy. Suffering is not forever. Don’t lose your joy, laugh often. Laughter has a great medicinal value. “Whether the fig tree blossom or not” the writer of Habakkuk says I will rejoice in the Lord my God, I will joy in the Lord of my salvation. Joseph was a good example of a person who suffered ‘joyfully’. He accused his prison mates of losing their joy, because he was never sorrowful.

Beloved you will succeed. But remember, it is a matter of choice. There will be two teams in heaven. – Abraham’s team and Lazarus the beggar’s team.
To which team would you like to belong? The same scriptures which says
the poor shall not cease in the land also declares thou shall lend into nations and thou shall not borrow

Beloved, there is nothing that cannot be done. The impossibilities of yesterday are the possibilities of today.
In 1923, Rober Milken a Nobel Prize winner in Physics said “there is not likelihood man that can ever tap the power of an atomic”. (But today, we are all aware of Nuclear energy and the reality of atomic bomb)
In 1885, Lord Kelvin said “Heavier than air flying machines are impossible”. But we all know aeroplanes now!  Another man, a Bishop also said its impossible for man to fly and that only angels are intended to fly”. Coincidentally, the first flying plane was made by his two sons!
In 1954, there were medical articles that said human body can’t run 1 mile in 4 months. Yet the same year, Roger Banister a young medical student went out and run a mile under 4 minutes.
Therefore, understand that there is nothing that cannot be done. All you need is a strong desire.
Psalm 145:15-16
The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
God is a specialist in satisfying desires.
Desire is an unbeatable force. It has well been defined as what you cannot live without. And all through Bible and secular history, we saw the power of desire.

• Moses desired to free the children of Israel from servitude. It made him kill an Egyptian and eventually he ran away. But we all know God made him a deliverer.
• Jacob desired strongly to escape the looming death from the hand of his senior brother Esau, that desire made him hold tenaciously to the  angel and his name was changed for better.
• Jabez had a strong desire for a change of status. The desire propelled him into effective prayer and he received his miracle.
• Henry Ford’s desire was to make automobile available to every family in America. He became one of the most successful businessman in the world.
• Helen Keller’s desire was to learn to speak and she became one of  the world’s outstanding citizens though she was blind.

Friends, what God has placed in you and before you is far more than your
imagination. You have greater ability than you ever dare believe. But it will take strong desire to bring it out.
Let me expatiate on what desire will do:
Luke 19: 1- 3
And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.
And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house.
And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.

Zacchaeus had a strong desire to see Jesus.

1. Desire imparts speed v3, he RAN. Gehazi desire the clothing materials of Naaman, he received an unction to run and overtake chariots of Naaman
2. Desire overcome obstacles. The crowd wanted to stop him, but a man with  a strong desire cannot be stopped.A wise man once said: If you have your heart fixed on what you want, there is nothing that can be done to stop you  from getting it.
3. Desire commands divine attention.

Luke 19:5
And when Jesus came to the place he looked up and saw him.
When your desire is righteous, God will be forced to listen to you. Actually, there is nothing like fruitful prayers without genuine desires.
How do you generate desire:
1.       Have a goal, a dream. Dream precipitates desires. Thomas Edison dreamt
of lighting the world with lamps and he pursued the dream ceaselessly though he paid the price of 10,000 failures, he gave light to the world.
- Martin Luther Kg Jnr had a dream of seeing apartheid
eradicated in America. The desire generated by that dream was so great that in the face of death he didn’t budge. When he saw Jr Kennedy shot, he even told his wife categorically that his is how I will die – and truly that was how he was shot!
- Paul the apostle had a dream of seeing Israel converted. He said in Rom 9:3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. KJV
Another translation says   Indeed, I could wish that I myself might be sentence to separation from Christ, if that, will benefit my brethren, my own kinsmen race.
That dream brought out an undefeatable desire in him such that when the Holy Ghost said bonds and afflictions were waiting for him in Jerusalem he did not fear.
He said categorically;
“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself….he said again in Act 21¹³
I am ready not to be bound only but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the lord Jesus
To generate desire, have what you are pursuing and know it.
2.       Put your goals on paper and keep reading it to yourself. Give yourself a pep talk daily, stay excited
Hab 2:2
Write the vision and make it plain upon the tables, that he may run that readth.
If you read, you will run. Therefore, put something down to read so, as soon as you begin to read it, you receive power to run.
3.      Stay competitive: If you desire to excel in business, develop a healthy spirit of competition to be the top businessman in your area
Finally read  Psalm 145:15-16

Anger is a virtue, if it is directed at the right target. The road to destiny is rough and cumbersome; you must be forceful before you can progress.
John 2 : 13 – 16
And the Jews Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves and the chargers of money sitting and when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple and the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers money, and overthrew the table.

Jesus was filled with holy indignation He was angry at sin and the works of the devil because that was what he came to destroy. What stirs up your anger is a pointer to the problem you are here to solve.
Apart from this, anger is a force, a progressive force. When you are angry it becomes easier for you to do what ordinarily you wouldn’t do. Have you ever noticed that anger increases your speed while running? Imagine for a minute. You have just returned from office weary and dejected. You are about to open your door, your key dropped to the ground and a seven years old kid suddenly rushed at key, took it and started running away for no reason. Even if you can’t run, you will run after him fast enough to collect your key!
When David entered into the battle field he heard the boasting of Goliath and became angry.
1Samuel 17 : 48
And it came to pass when the philistine arose and came and drew high to meet David, that David lasted and ran toward the army to meet the philistine.
The anger in his inside increased his speed. Your destiny is still some distance away, you need to run. And to run into your future you must be angry with your present position.

2 King 2:14
And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the water and said, where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted thither and thither: and Elisha went over.

Elisha was imprisoned at the other side of Jordan. And that would have been the end of his vision. His double potion would have been of no use. But with anger he said ‘’where s the Lord God of Elijah?
There are some rivers along your way, you must be mad at them before they can part.

WHY MUST BE ANGRY
• Where you are today is not where you should be, God want you to move higher
• If you are not angry at failure you cannot attract success
• The devil is sitting on your destiny you must resist him in anger. He is like a dog, you must be angry at him before he can stop following you.
Friends, treasure in the kingdom is only for the violent. God has a Canaan for you but there are giants there.
You must rise up and fight. Christianity is not dumbness. The way you talk, the way you pray, the way you react, it’s like you are too gentle to make it. Your adversary is roaming about and you are yawning about without conscience! Look, you must match him fury for fury!
Jonah :1:3, 5b
But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
... But Jonah was gone don into the side of the ship. And he lay down and was fast a sleep.

Stop sleeping inside trouble, as if you will live twice on earth! Your life cannot continue like this. All these begging for food and hunting for goods on credit must stop. Your children should not become vagabonds,
Look, why must you continue failing your examinations? Why must your name be missing from the computer sheet? Why should your script get lost in transit? Why should your business be going down daily? Why should your family be falling apart? Why should your children be wayward?
Enough is enough! Quit ye like men and fight. You have a future in Christ; you should not waste your only life.

DIVINE MADNESS
According to Horace anger means short madness.You must be ‘’mad’’ before you can make it. David saw Goliath and lost his right senses. He ran toward that strange creature as if he was ready to commit suicide! Why? Physically speaking David couldn’t pose any threat to Goliath. Goliath should just pick him up and remove his head from his neck.

2Corinthians 5:13
For whether we be beside ourselves it is to God; or whether we be sober, it is for your cause.

Everyone who could be counted as somebody in the scripture was mad.

Characteristic of mad people
•     Madman don’t listen to others
•     They are controlled by another spirit
•     They are insensitive to people comments
If you must get to where you are going in life all these qualities must be in you. You must be careful of counselors. You also need to allow the Holy Spirit to be controlling you. Above all you must toughen your mind against criticism and false accusation remain focused and mind your own business.

WHERE IS YOUR GOD
Friend’s its time to wake up. There will never be another you; you must make the most of your life. Don’t stay on a spot, waiting and wasting. Fight your way into your destiny. Be angry against all mockers of destiny
11 Kings 2: 23 – 25
And he went up from thence into Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up thou bald head.
And he turned back and look on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord and there came forth two she bears out of the wood and tare forty and two children of them.

Out of anger, Elisha killed his Mockers. The mockers of your destiny will not die until you become angry; therefore wake up. Your life should improve. Where you are now is not where you ought to be. God has a better plan for you.
Be angry with failure. Be angry with poverty; be angry with fruitlessness and stagnation. In the Name of Jesus, you will not die unfulfilled. Remember, until you become angry with the present, you have no future.

The secret of victory in this kingdom is the authority bestowed on us.  Satan and demons bows to men who have genuine authority and know it.  In Acts 19:14 – The seven sons of Sceva failed woefully because they had no authority though they used the name of Jesus.
Lk. 10:17 – The seventy disciples came back home with joy because of the authority they have used successfully.
I.     THE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST
1.    Matt. 28:18.  the authority was given by the father.  It was manifest whenever he speaks (Mt. 9:8)
2.    It encompasses the heaven and the earth (Phil. 2:10, Matt. 28:18).  It includes:
(a)      Authority over angels
(b)      Authority over powers and principalities Heb. 4:14,
Eph.2: 23,  Col. 2:15.
 ( c)  Authority over the church and men Jn. 5:22,23   ICor. 11:3.

II.     THE AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER
The authority of the believer is rooted in the authority of Christ.
To understand this we must be able to analyze our position in Christ, so Satan and demons will not ride on our ignorance.
·    Jn. 1:16 – The means as believers we are indwelt by the full potential of the life of Christ.
·    We are raised and seated with Christ.  This is our legal position and the devil knows it.  Eph. 1:15-23, 2:4-6.
·    We are; literally the body of Christ, with His spirit dwelling in us.  Christ is in us.  Gal. 2:20, I Jn. 4:4.
Our union with Christ as evident in the points outlined above is the foundation of our authority.

Believers Authority is in 3 fold
1.    Authority over the power of the Enemy Lk.10:19(NIV).  Serpents and scorpions refer to demons and satanic agents.
2. Authority  Over Satan Rom. 16:20 Satan is legally placed beneath the fact of Christ – that is subject to this authority; and Satan is legally beneath our fact too.  Psalm 91:13 – That scripture is not talking of animals but of Satan!
3.    Authority to act in Behalf of Christ Jn. 17:18, II Cor. 5:20 with His authority we preach, lay hands on the sick and cast out devils.
Demons have no final say over our life at the mention of the name of Jesus demons must bow and flee!

Every genuine Christian hates backsliding. The mere mentioning of the word should fill a good believer with holy anger and grave watchfulness. 
1.    Result of Backsliding

(a)     Captivity and demonic oppression. Judges 4:1-3, 6: 1-6
When there is backsliding, God stops defending the backsliding and he becomes an easy prey for the enemy. The man who has been binding the devil before automatically enters into bondage.
(b)    Loss of divine provision:  Luke 15: 13 – 16. When the prodigal son moved far from the father, he entered into a season of “want”
        Provision is only sure when God is your shepherd.
(c)Unanswered Prayers:  I Sam. 28:6, Ps. 66:18, Prov 1:24, 28. When you begin to forsake the Lord, heaven is not obliged to hearken to your voice.
(d) Selfishness: Prov 14:14. A backslider will no longer be concerned with the things of God or fellow brethren. He regards his life first and all other things are secondary.
(e)Unfitness for the Kingdom of God. Luke 9:52, Rev. 3:16, Ex. 32: 33 Heb. 10:26-29. No backslider has right to eternal life; he has forfeited his heavenly inheritance and is lost forever. The door of mercy is closed and the kindness of the Almighty is kept at bay.
(f)Loss of Spiritual Power
(g)Loss of inner peace
(h)Loss of joy of salvation. Psalm 51:8, 12

II CURE FOR BACKSLIDING
The cross of Calvary is not only for salvation, it is also for restoration. The Like’s account of the prodigal son reveals the basic steps a backslider must take in order to get back home.
1.    Realization (Luke 15: 17). The backsliding must recognize his spiritual state. Without realization there is no recovery.
2.    Resolution: (Luke 15: 18). There is  the need to make a concrete decision to go back.
3.    Repentance: The backsliding must confess to God and be sorrowful for his sins (v. 18) Hosea 14: 1-2
4.    Renunciation: With the words of mouth, sins must be disowned. Luke 15: 18 – 21
5.    Reception: Christ must be received again like a small baby. John 1:12

The promise of God to backsliders remain: Jer. 3: 22, Hosea 14:4

Text:I Cor.10:12, Jude 11:16
Generally speaking, backsliding means turning away from the Lord. It refers to growing cold, losing interest in the Lord, the Bible, church attendance, prayer, witnessing and turning to the world and the old way of life.  (I King  11: 9, Rev.  2:4)
There are many things that ultimately result into backsliding, as you know, “curse causeless shall not come”1.    Love of the world. II Tim.  4:10, Ex. 32: 4- 6, I John 2: 15 – 17, I Sam 8:5.
Wanting to be like other “nations” in dressing, celebrations, conversations, and in marriage will take the Christian straight into the midst of the world. When Demas loved the world, he departed from God.
2.    Love of Money.  John 13:29,  I Tim 6: 9-10.  Some people are too desperate  to get money. Reckless pursuit of money is sure to take any Christian away from grace. We all need money, but the love of God should be supreme in our heart.
3.    Prayerlessness.  Heb 4:14 –16, 2 Cor. 10:3-5. The devil seeks to bring the believer down he can however be solidly resisted through prayers.
4.    Evil Association. I Kings 11: 4, John 18: 17, 25. I Cor. 15: 33, Prov. 13:20. Sin is contagious. If you associate with the wicked, you may soon learn their wicked acts. Evil companionship pollutes good men.
5.    Fear of Man. Matt 26:70 – 74. Fear of persecution, attack, and parental rejection has made many to look back into the world.
6.    Desire to be Independent. Luke 15: 12 -1 3. When a Christian begins to think that no one can really direct his life, when he begins to think he is mature enough to be independent without spiritual supervision, he is in for a fall.
7.    Other causes
(a)    Failure to read the Bible for spiritual instruction. John 5:39, 2 Tim 2:15.
(b)    Lack of spiritual growth. Once there is no growth, there will be death. There must be concrete attempt at spiritual growth.
(c)    Failure to maintain quiet time. Quite time is necessary to receive daily strength and guidance.  Without it becomes easily to enter into the devil’s trap.
(d)    Forsaking church attendance (Heb 10:25). There is a power obtainable from corporate worship, without it the Christian life become dull.
(e)    Not having spiritual partners – when you walk alone you
suffer alone. You need spiritual partners of the same sex to pray and share together. Ecc. 4:9-12
 (f)    Disobedience to the spirit of God.
Please take note that when causes are taken care of curse will not come.

Here is the summary of the second part of the teaching on 'The Man God Uses'
Main Text: Ezekiel 22:30

Characteristics Of Men That God Can Use
1.    A man willing to be used
2.    God uses people who are willing to serve him in small things faithfully.
3.    The man who is a good steward over what He has put him over.
4.    A man who has known the Lord.
5.    A man who relies upon God in regular fervent prayer.
6.    A man who trust God’s word, a man of the word.
7.    A man who is obedient to His Lord.
8.    A man who is led by the Holy Spirit.
9.    A man who is not seeking his own glory but seeking only to bring Glory to God.
10.    A man who is willing to suffer persecution..
11.    A man who will rather obey God rather than man. An uncompromising man.

Why People Don’t Serve God
1.    Poor self image
2.    Inadequacy.
3.    Weakness
4.    Negative programming
5.    Fear.
6.    Laziness
7.    Sin
8.    Self – centeredness

Determining Factors (How much God can use a man)
1.    Potential.
2.    Availability
3.    Humility
4.    Purity.

Demons are wicked spiritual forces.  And when humans are under their influence, there are signs (physical, psychological and spiritual) that will most of the time be obvious.
However in trying to know whether some symptoms are typical of demonic influence or not, one should differentiate carefully between the works of the devil and the works of the flesh.
I FLESH OR DEMONS
Many people attribute to the devil things that are really nothing more than the works of the flesh.
If anything is a demonic problem, the demon should be cast out, but as far as the works or the lusts of the flesh is concerned it is to be put off.
The flesh has its own lusts.  (II Pet. 2:11, Eph. 2:3, 4:22) because It is degenerate, it is never born again.  The only way you won’t have problems with the flesh (and even Satan) is to die and leave this world.  However, we all have the choice to allow the flesh to dominate us or to keep it under control. (Rom. 8:12-13
Common confusing works of he flesh    
·    Anger
Most cases of anger are not in anyway demonic.  If you let the flesh dominate you, you can lose control of your temper and do or say things you will forever  regret. Eph. 4:26: Means if you get angry about something you don’t have to let  your flesh take over. You have a choice.  You don’ have to give in to the dictates of your fleshy nature.
·    Fornication
Many people blame the devil when they fall into sexual sins, this is not totally correct.  It is true that we have demonical sexual perversion but it is not as common as people think.
·    Rom. 1:24-27: Here the scriptures say uncleanness resulted from burning lust or lust of their hearts.
If a young man get saved and he  was  used to having reckless affairs with woman before salvation, his flesh will want to keep on doing that.  That doesn’t necessarily mean he needs to have a devil cast out of him.

The Solution To Flesh Problems.
·    Eph. 4:22, Col. 3:5,8 – Put off the works of the flesh deliberately (I Pet. 2:11, Matt. 5:29,30)
·    Rely on the Holy Spirit, Be filled and be obedient. Rom. 8:13, Rom. 8:5;; Gal.5:16.
·    Put on the new man, the good qualities imparted by the Holy Spirit.  Col. 3:12-14, Eph. 4:22-24.
·    Retain the word of God in your mind continuosly

    Demons exist.  They are alive and well.  They can be cast out but they cannot die.  To say demons should die, with the expectation that they cease from existing is very UN-scriptural and cheer was of time and efforts.         
In order to understand how demons can affect mankind, we need to the difference between the spirit, soul and body of man.  And we need to understand the difference between oppression, obsession and possession.
1.  WHO IS A MAN
Man is a spirit being, he has a soul (mind: well, intellect and emotion), and he lives in a body.  (I Thess. 5:23, Heb 4:12)
At salvation, the inward man, the spirit becomes a new creature; but the body and the mind still a new creature; but the body and the mind still remains the same.
The difference between the three spirit, soul and body can be appreciated by understanding that:
·    with the spirit, the spiritual realm is contacted
·    with the soul/mind the intellectual and emotional realm is contracted
·    with the body, the physical realm is contacted.

    The Soul
1.    After salvation, the soul, the mind can be renewed, saved, purified through the truth of God’s word. Jam. 1:21, I Pet. 1:22.
2.    it is the renewal of the mind that ultimately transforms us i.e. our actions.  Rom. 12:1-2  Please note that all the above scriptures were directed to born-again Christians

The Body
As believers there are very important roles we have to play as far as our bodies are concerned.  Since it is with this body – the five physical senses – (touch, taste smell, see, ear) that the physical world is contacted we cannot allow our body to do whatever it wants to do or else the devil will gain a foothold. (Eph. 5:27)

What To Do With Our Bodies
1.    Present it as a living sacrifice to God.  Rom. 12:1
2.    Crucify or mortify the deeds of the body, (Col. 3:5).
3.    Keep the body under subjection to your spirit man through adequate discipline (I Cor. 9:27).

3.    DEGREE OF DEMONIZATION

        a.     Oppression
Satanic influence, that tends to punish the victim.  Oppression is in levels and it could affect the body or the mind.  Sicknesses affecting the body are a form of oppression; though not all sicknesses are manifestation of satanic attack we must know that God is not the author sicknesses.
Fear is also a form of oppression.  The devil can oppress anyone but as Christians we must stand against it and resist it.  (Matt. 18:18, Lk. 10:19, Phil. 2:9-11, James 4:7).  Forced satanic attachments like spirit husband/wife are forms of oppression too.

b. Obsession (Lk. 22:3; John 13:2 NIV).
This is what happens when evil spirits literally begins to push someone around, with little ability to resist.
As a Christian, if you yield yourself to Satan and give him a place, he will exercise control over you. Anger, mental imbalance, sexual perversion, suicidal tendencies are all manifestations of demonic obsession.
     c.  Possession
Total possession means giving over: spirit, soul and body to an evil spirit.  To possess means to own.  Bearing in mind this specific definition, an active, spirit filled Christian cannot be possessed.  But if he sleeps in the spirit, backslide even momentarily; throw away his confession/profession anything can happen. (Matt. 5;2, 16,18)

Is Deliverance Prayer necessary for Christians?
1.    Yes, if the Christian is being influenced or attacked by unclean spirits.
2.    If he is just coming into the fold and has had unclean contacts resulting into demonic problems before.
3.    Not all Christians needed deliverance, as some will have us believe.  When did Jesus conduct deliverance for all the disciples?
4.    If he was a Christian, who slept off in the spirit and the evil seeds were sown.
That somebody is being prayed over for deliverance does not mean that he his fully possessed by unclean spirit.