We Are Being Watched

We Are Being Watched        
   
    People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall.
Proverbs 10:9        
   
    Integrity is a high standard of living based on a personal code of morality that doesn't succumb to the whim of the moment or the dictates of the majority. Integrity is to personal character what health is to the body or 20/20 vision is to the eyes. People of integrity are whole; their lives are put together. People with integrity have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. Their lives are open books. They say to a watching world, "Go ahead and look. My behavior will match my beliefs. My walk will match my talk. My character will match my confession."


Integrity is not reputation--what others think of us. It is not success--what we have accomplished. Integrity embodies the sum total of our being and our actions. It originates in who we are as believers in Jesus Christ--accepted, valued, capable, and forgiven--but it expresses itself in the way we live and behave, no matter whether we are in church on Sunday or at work on Monday or in a lonely hotel room on Tuesday or suffering in a hospital bed on Thursday.


Unfortunately, integrity is in short supply and seems to be diminishing everyday. All too frequently our integrity is discarded upon the altar of fame or fortune. Sadly, what we want to achieve is more important than what we are to be. Integrity is lost when we focus on expedience more than excellence, on progress more than purity, on riches more than righteousness.


People are watching. They watch to see if our behavior matches our belief, if our walk matches our talk, and if our character matches our confession. In a word, they watch to see if we have integrity.


How secure is your walk? God is watching, devil is looking for opportune time to strike and others are watching.

MAKING SENSE OUT OF NONSENSE IN NIGERIA!

MAKING SENSE OUT OF NONSENSE IN NIGERIA!

Many priests were saying Christians should react to incessant bombing by Boko Haram. Bishop Ayo Oritjafor asked Government to give people the freedom to carry guns. Bishop David Oyedepo demanded for the country to be divided, and so many unimaginable comments from people. My question is; will all these solve our problems in Nigeria?   How did we get to this level? I remember those days when we used to hear about suicide bombers and bombing we quickly think about Afghanistan. Now bombing is synonymous to Nigeria, what a shame! I really love to make sense out of nonsense that is going on here Nigeria.

Could we just stop and think for a moment perhaps God is the One punishing the people for their persistent unfaithfulness because the word of God says; “when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it.” –Ezekiel 14:13. I do not subscribe to Boko Haram activities but they might be the hand God said He will stretch forth? They might be the whip/rod in His Hand to correct the people/church madness in Nigeria.  

Innocent bloods are being shed daily. Corruption has reached it peak. Family life has been disintegrated. It seems people don’t have respect for life and blood any more. Evil is all over and the church seems to be weaken and blinded by its so called prosperity. What prosperity? We had forgotten that prosperity without purpose is worst than Hurricane. Church has left her duty and serving tables. Pastors succeeded creating greed in people. They continue to strengthen the hands of the wicked so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life (Isaiah 13:22). They keep giving feign hope to people saying; peace when there is no peace. Can a nation have peace outside the Prince of Peace?

However, What do we need to do? I believe as a people and as a country we need REPENTANCE! God is ready and able to purge and heal our land – II Chronicles 7:14. We need to humble ourselves as a church of the living God. The state of the church is the state of a nation. Only righteousness exalts a nation not corruption (Proverbs 14:34). Let the people return to the Lord. Church needs to go back to her first love. God has no business fixing the society/nation when His house is in mess. Let the true revival begins Lord. May the good God grant us a servant leader like David who will understand that government exists for the security and welfare of the people.

Conclusively, “There is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease, though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant” – Job 147-9. There is hope for Nigeria! All hope is not gone.  Nigeria will conquer her conquerors. This country is not going to be divided!  God is in Nigeria. There shall be a New Nigeria! God has not abandoned His people. All will be well.

God bless the federal republic of Nigeria!   

There is no Substitute for Faith

Title :	There is no Substitute for Faith
Preacher :	Dr. 'Tunde Bakare
Main Texts: 1 Timothy 1:1-7; 2 Timothy 2:11-18; Luke 18:1-8; Romans 12:1-3 “NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses] (Hebrews 11:1) (AMP). It is pathetic and increasingly alarming that those who profess to have strong faith and absolute trust in God’s word as far as their situation and circumstances is concerned are not getting the expected result of their faith. It is perturbing that in spite of their consistent confession and ‘claiming’ of the things they are expecting; they do not have anything significant to show for their faith. Why is it so? What is the reason or the cause of this unwelcome development in a believer’s life? This message unveils the problem and proffers solution to it. Every individual believer is endowed with a measure of faith at conversion (Romans 12:1-6). Subsequently, this measure of faith must be maintained with a pure heart and a good conscience. A pure heart and a good conscience are the foundations of sincere faith. In other words, your faith will not produce any positive or noteworthy result if it is not a sincere faith that is rooted in a pure heart and a good conscience. A pure heart and a good conscience do not have unbelief and every element of skepticism as far as the word of God for your situation is concerned. It is thus imperative for you to get rid of anything that promotes impurity and undermines good conscience in order to see a working faith. Moreover, contrary to popular belief, faith is not a ‘knowing’, rather, it’s a ‘belief’ that is followed by corresponding action. That is, it is not just having a pure and a good conscience coupled with your ‘knowing’ of the fact that will propel your faith to produce expected result—you must back up your faith with corresponding action. The reason why many people’s faith is not working for them is the lack of the corresponding action. You may be consistently professing and steadfastly claiming your blessing from now till eternity; nothing will happen if your faith is devoid of corresponding action. The woman with the issue of blood would have remained perpetually in her terrible situation if she had not backed up her faith with corresponding action. Zacchaeus, the rich man and chief tax collector, would have died in his sins if he had failed to take a giant step by climbing to the top of a sycamore tree in order to receive Jesus into his life. The ten lepers would have remained in their inglorious condition if they had not backed up their faith with action at the command of Jesus (Mark 5: 25-34; Luke; 19:1-10; 17:11-19). The Bible is replete with instances of those who received significant results by backing up their faith with corresponding action. Your faith ought to be used as a conviction of what is yet to manifest, but not as the substance of the expectation. That is to say, you must not use your faith as the substitute for what you expect to happen; you are to use your faith to get what is to happen. You must back up your faith with corresponding action. This message also admonishes you to grow in faith, because when your faith is not growing and your responsibilities and challenges are mounting, there is likelihood that you will depart from the faith. Hence, you will look for substitutes. You will look for quick fixes and shortcuts, which are not short in the long run (1 Timothy 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 3:9, 10; 2 Thessalonians 1:3).
For the complete message, please contact the Latter Rain Assembly Tape Ministry or Bookshop
Tel : +234(01)7739143-4; 7739140; 4968552-3; 4933684
Fax: +234(01)4922687
Email : lra@latterrainassemly.org

How I fell victim to date-rape

How I fell victim to date-rape

The 'Here I Am' Company (Part 2)

Title: The 'Here I Am' Company (Part 2)

Preacher: Dr. 'Tunde Bakare

Main Texts: 1 Samuel 3:1-10; Isaiah 6:1-8

We shall be unfolding both the positive and the negative “here I am” company. We shall also unveil and lay bare the price to be paid in order for you to belong to the company of those whom God will send. The first rung of the ladder of destiny is the call of God. The moment you hear God calling you, there is a destiny to be fulfilled. However, you would run to men if you do not know His voice, just as Samuel did in the beginning.

The Price:

The first price to pay in order to be part of the positive “here I am” company that God will send is to die to every personal agenda. That is, you cannot say “here I am” to God and ultimately fulfil your God-given assignment until you die to personal and hidden agenda and the philosophy of men. You have to die to every form of ulterior motive and every agenda that is soulish in its origin. If Jesus’ food was to do the will of God who sent Him and to finish His work, you also cannot afford not to be purged of everything that does not originate from God if you really desire to be part of the company whom He will use (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38).


Secondly, if you are ever going to be in that company, you must be ready to risk everything, including your life—you must be willing to risk all. You must come to a level where you do not count your life dear to you in order to fulfil destiny. You must resolve in your heart that your life means nothing to you except to use it in serving God, no matter what it takes (Matthew 10:39; 16:25, 26; Mark 8:35, 36; Luke 9:24, 25; 14:26, 27; John 12:25, 26; Romans 16:3, 4; 2 Corinthians 1:8; 2 Timothy 2:4).

Thirdly, you cannot fit into the company of those that God will use until you put a halt to every distraction in your life. For as long as you are distracted, God would not call you. You should not be fond of pursuing many things at the same time. Being focused on what God wants you to do on earth is very critical in this regard. Your life should not look like an abandoned project. Many things should not be competing for your attention except God. You do not get called by God until every distraction is dealt with (Exodus 3:1-4).

Fourthly, you must come to the place where you are willing to obey God, even when He is seemingly not making sense. That is, your opinion must be brought to the altar of God, so that God’s word becomes the final authority in your life whether it makes sense or not. You must be willing to do the unprecedented things He asks you to do, regardless of how foolish, imprudent or inconceivable they may seem to you. You must learn how to trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. You must get to the place where you will recognize His voice, will or intention in whatever circumstance you may find yourself in (Romans 8:28).


The People:

The people of these “here I am” company are those at the beck and call of God. They are those who wait upon God to know His heartbeat and ultimately carry out whatever assignment He gives or commands them to execute.

Secondly, they are those whose wish is God’s wish. That is, God’s wish is their command, regardless of the content of that wish.

Thirdly, this company are those who obey God promptly, regardless what it may cause them. Brethren, the road to success, fulfilment of destiny, or significance is dotted with many parking spots. However, this company of people are ready and willing to go wherever the Lord will have them go.

The Who is Who of This Company:

Abraham:

Whatever causes you to laugh must be brought to the altar of God if your laugher would endure. Abraham’s laugher, that is, Isaac, was tested at the altar of God, and consequently, his laughter endured because he passed the test. Every part of your life will be tested in this journey just as Abraham’s life was tested. If your laughter is going to endure, you will have to offer it to God first and foremost because He is the only One that can fill your mouth with laughter that endures. It is not material things that will fill you with laughter but the joy of the Lord. But in order to get to this level, you will have to sow in tears. You must arm yourself with the mindset that surrenders all to God without any reserve (Genesis 22:1-19; Hebrews 11:17-19; Nehemiah 8:10; Psalms 126:1-6).

Jacob:

You will have to choose who you will fear and obey in this matter. You must be dead to public opinion. When God calls you and you obey, He will silence your adversary. Therefore, whatever He says to you, do it! (Genesis 28-31).

Joseph:

Although Joseph was not aware of all the impending problems he was going to face in the future as a result of his God-given dream, he knew that God would surely bring it to pass in any way He chooses.

The Accountability “Here I am”:

They are men and women who can swear to their own hurt, and present themselves not just to their employees but also to the entire nation to render account of their service. They are not responding to God alone, but also to quality leadership (Acts 20:33-36; 1 Samuel 12:1-5).

The Negative “Here I am” Company:

The Imaginary, Deceived, and Deluded: They are men who say “here I am” in order to take advantage of the people. God did not call them but they called themselves. Their end is destruction because their belly is their god (Philippians 3:13-19).

For the complete message, please contact the Latter Rain Assembly Tape Ministry or Bookshop Tel : +234(01)7739143-4; 7739140; 4968552-3; 4933684 Fax: +234(01)4922687 Email : lra@latterrainassemly.org

The 'Here I Am' Company

Title: The 'Here I Am' Company

Preacher: Dr. 'Tunde Bakare

Main Texts: Isaiah 50:4-11; 2 Timothy 2:1-14; 1 Samuel 3:1-10

This message is dedicated to all men of faith and women of deep conviction who understand that they are sojourners on the face of the earth and that their staying on this part of the world is ephemeral, and thus determine to do their best for humanity and all that is required from them, in order to leave this planet better than they met it.

"Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit not knowing why. Yet, some signs seemingly to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, there is one thing we do know however, that we are here for the sake of others; for the countless unknown souls whose fate we are connected to by bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realised how my outer and inner life is built upon the labours of people both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received." – Albert Einstein.

It is unfortunate that believers are quick to express and demonstrate obedience to the things of God and the instruction given to us that are easy and simple to execute. But when it comes to seemingly difficult and uneasy tasks or assignment, we sing a new song. Brethren, Jesus did not die a cheap death—it cost Him all of heaven. Our life and time are beyond riches and material mesmerism. Until you fulfill the purpose for which God created you, you are part of a wasted generation. Let nothing derail, deter, or detract you from fulfilling your purpose on the face of the earth because you never can tell the time of your exit. Brethren, it is not how long you live on earth that matters to God but how well you live a meaningful life—a life that is fulfilled in God.

There is always the time in the life of everyone when he or she is yet to know the Lord. It is called the time of ignorance. However, from the moment you know the Lord but refuse to hearken to His voice, it is no more ignorance but rebellion (1 Samuel 3:7; Acts 17:30, 31). The encounter in 1 Samuel 3 centers around a period in the history of God’s people when there was no frequent vision or widespread revelation. Pointedly, this was a time when there were no leaders with courageous integrity in the land. Eli and his sons had perverted their ways and the way of the Lord in Israel (1 Samuel 2:12-17, 22-25, 27-36). Thus God called a boy because there was no man of God hearing His voice or that could pick the vibration of His voice with the urgency required and the promptness to obey. Hence the perverse leadership brought about the dearth of widespread revelation in Israel.

Furthermore, when a nation lacks courageous and men of integrity in leadership, the dream of getting better will become stronger as a nation or that of writing and setting new goals of helping people and changing lives for good would be forgotten for decades. Additionally, no one saw the big picture, and as at that time, no one was brave enough to do something about the desperate situation the nation of Israel was in. This is exactly the situation of our nation today. Many of our organizations, including churches, have lost their vision. Hence they are stagnant and dying. What is it that is producing lawlessness and carnage in our nation such as we witnessed in Jos? What is the root cause of the perpetual epileptic power outage in spite of the billions that have been invested in power sector by past and present administration? What is the cause of the snail speed of our development? Vision 2020 is nothing but a lie and false hope from the pit of hell put together by soothsayers! The snail speed approach to executing any agenda will land us nowhere in 2020 but at the bottom of developing nations again! Because there is no courageous leaders of integrity who will take the bull by the horn and bring out a master plan and stage-by stage execution of agenda that would bring a turn around in the lives of our people. At present, Nigeria is a nation where there is no widespread revelation and quality visionary leadership. Nonetheless, God will raise a company of people to deliver Nigeria from the hand of cruel and tyrant leaders that are eating her up. He will raise authentic, fireproof and ‘bribe-proof’ leaders who are ready to lay down their lives for what they believe, and thus bring the expected change in our country.

Unfortunately, the Church that is supposed to demonstrate what visionary and quality leadership entails has also lost her vision and mission. The leaders in the Church have forgotten that the real purpose why God called them is to change and transform the people by bringing them to a place of conviction and understanding that they are called to be agents of change. The greatest problem of Nigeria is the hypocritical churches that are nothing but whoredom in the name of faith. Hence, there is no burning vision and energetic wide spreading revelation that would result into transformation of communities, local governments, states, and our nation at large. Invariably, we have nothing but dying and dead churches. The peculiarity of our nation is that we have golden lampstands that should be burning but there are no lamps on them. Therefore there is no wide spread revelation. The churches are dead!

Brethren, God is about to turn around the situation of our great nation, Nigeria. He is raising men and women, boys and gilrs, old and young that will do His will and pleasure on earth. May you be part of the ‘here I am’ company that would bring about God’s reign into every sector of our economy and our nation at large. May it begin with you. The Lamb is not in the market place or the political arena; the Lamb is in the Church. May God give you the tongue of the learned so that you may know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. That is the way widespread revelation would be birthed in the souls and hearts of men. (Exodus 27:20, 21; Leviticus 24:1-4; Zechariah 4:14; Revelation 9:1-13, 20; 1:4; 3:1; 4:4).

For the complete message, please contact the Latter Rain Assembly Tape Ministry or Bookshop Tel : +234(01)7739143-4; 7739140; 4968552-3; 4933684 Fax: +234(01)4922687 Email : lra@latterrainassemly.org