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The Secret of Progress Song: 1. Abraham blessings are mine (2x) 2. Do it, come and do it for me (2x)
“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” (3 John 1:2). The Lord is interested in your spiritual progress, family blessing, wellness, progress in business and promotion in work. Things that bring progress 1. God’s love in the heart The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. (Psalm 14:1). “A fool's work wearies him; he does not know the way to town. (Ecclesiastes 10:15). “Yet they say to God, 'Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain by praying to him?'” (Job 21:14-15). However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9). How do you know you love God: you must be born again, love God with all your heart and forsake not the fellowship of believers. “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25). Love and study His word, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:8). Love the Lord not just because you want miracle but also because you want to be born again. Here is a warning against refusing God: “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews12:14). Desire to do or work for the Lord, don’t be contented with just being born again but preach and evangelise. 2. Obedient to God’s word “I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:3-8). God has promised to bless us abundantly when we obey His words: “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19). Prayer: not prayer from the head but from the heart: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Therefore you will be punished more severely.” (Matthew 23:14). Pray like the widow in the Parable of the Persistent Widow: “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” (Luke 18:1). 4. Faith in God You need to put your faith in God and not in charms, false prophets and herbalists. They can not help you. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) 12 "Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have laboured at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror. 13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. 14 Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. Here are no coals to warm anyone; here is no fire to sit by. 15 That is all they can do for you— these you have laboured with and trafficked with since childhood. Each of them goes on in his error; there is not one that can save you. (Isaiah 47:12-15). 5 This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. 7 "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:5-8). “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6). “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves. (Psalm 127:1-2 ). 37 For nothing is impossible with God." 45Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" (Luke 1:37, 45).
God bless you Evang. John B. Oseh |