Author: james chasez

Making the Word Work for You (v)
Obey and Live by it’s Counsel (13/12/2019)

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

John15:7 “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” – KJV

People do certain things in God’s name, not because they really love and desire to genuinely obey God, but because of what they want to recieve from Him. It’s a selfish attitude, a form of ‘bribing’ God to win His favour as king Saul did. It’s a ‘deal’ kind of relationship with God. When things are fine and one is benefiting, you appear loyal to God. But when He seems not to favour you, you want to try other ways. Little thought is given to choosing to obey and purposing to live by the counsel of God in daily practice. Before the word works on our circumstances, it must begin with us.

God is more interested in moulding our character than all the excitements of His wondrous works He can do. Unfortunately, many want to only look at the pain free side of God’s working in us. Thats why He will allow certain pains or seeming failures to come our way to build character, His nature in us. Before, or as we tell the word to others and expect results in them, it should have worked, or is working on us similarly. It’s a double edged sword, working on the sender and receiver equally.

To abide in the word is not an on and off affair. Its an unwavering commitment to know it and to go by what it says in all matters of life. It means always asking, ‘what does the word say’, and doing just that. Life offers many things and choices; good and bad, right and wrong, sound and misleading advice. We must choose to face them all as guided by the counsel of God’s word which is solid and stands the test of time because its backed by God Who doesn’t change. Go by it, however unpleasant it might appear. All other advice not based on biblical principles, however appealing it may appear at the moment, will one day crumble. It’s like foundation of sand.

Choose to obey God’s voice for yourself, not necessarily for any good returns you expect, but for what it is: God’s holy word. Purpose to lead your life; job, career, relationships, family or decisions by the guidance of His word. Then you shall ask whatever you will, and it will be granted, says Jesus.

1Samuel 15:22 “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams.”

Shalom children of God. Have a great weekend.

Making the Word Work for you (iv)
Speak the Word (12/12/2019)

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Mark 11:23 “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.” – NIV

After you have filled yourself with the word, believe and meditate on it day and night, and your thought patterns are ordered by it, it’s time the word is applied to your life situations and environment. The word has to be spoken out to effect what it was intended. The bible teaches that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. When your heart is full of the word, your speech will naturally be ordered according to it.

Words are powerful as previously noted. They are creative. Eternal destinies are embedded on them. God created and brought forth what we see by the power of the spoken word. We have been given the privilege to be co-creators through what we speak. Words can heal or destroy, lift up or crush. Spoken words are the means by which the spiritual world comes to act on our behalf. They carry the spiritual authority one subscribes to. That’s why the bible says DEATH and LIFE are in the power of the tongue and each one will enjoy the fruit of what they speak (Proverbs 18:21). It’s the more reason we need to watch what we speak.

Jesus said whosoever shall say, believing, will be done for him. It’s anyone, not a selected few. One must speak, backed by faith, to the mountain(read situations of life) by the authority of God in His word, or else it will not move. Some speak and yet don’t believe what they say. No wonder the mountains don’t move. Speak forth the word, don’t let the mountain intimidate you. And Jesus concluded by saying you shall have whatsoever you SAY. Too much word unspoken is like a dormant dynamite, powerful, but useless when it has not exploded. It’s God’s word, gone out of His mouth, that effects what it is sent for(Isaiah 55:11). God watches over His word, spoken over situations, to perform it. That is the wonderful victorious reigning life we have been called to enjoy in Christ. Praise be to God!

Jeremiah 1:12 “The LORD said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”

Matthew 8:8 “The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”

Shalom children of God.

Making the Word Work For You (iii)
Meditate on the Word (11/12/2019)

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Joshua 1:8: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”(KJV)

Joshua was just taking over leadership from Moses. He had an enormous task to deliver the Israelites to the promised land. Among the instructions God gave him for the success of his mission, was to stick to the law, God’s word to them. His success in the assignment was hinged on his careful observance and commitment to God’s word. Three things he was to do with the law: not let it depart from his mouth (speak the word), meditate on it day and night, and to do what it says (obey it). Then prosperity and good success would follow. We focus on meditation for now.

Meditation is a process of taking deep reflective thought, understanding and allowing the word to sink in and become part of you. It’s closest anology is the digestive process of food. Eating, enjoying and filling one’s stomach is the first step. The body then further breaks down the food into much smaller particles, extracts the nutrients therein which get into the body system to actually nourish it. The wastes are eliminated. That’s what meditation does to our spiritual lives. It makes the word we took in through listening, reading or study to be part of our system and we are nourished. That is what actually makes us grow in the Lord, be transformed and yield visible fruit.

Beyond the nice sweet word you hear or read, the shouts of excitement as the word comes forth, is another deliberate act of meditation. Without it, the word simply passes by and is soon forgotten. Let the word you heard replay in your mind the same way a cow chews the curd to refine the food it hurriedly ate. Interrogate it. Think over it. Fit your situation and life into it. Allow it to search, challenge, correct, guide, rebuke, encourage or comfort you. Before you know, it has become part of your whole life system which naturally comes out in what you think, speak, decide or do. Then everyone shall see a healthy fruitful strong Christian in word and deed, manifesting the God nature. This is God’s plan for each one of us.

Psalms 1:1-3 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”

Shalom children of God.

Making the Word Work For You (ii)
Read, Listen and Study (10/12/2019)

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Acts17:11: “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

There is a price for knowledge acquisition. Some are too lazy to read and study the word of God by themselves. Entirely depending on others makes you susceptible to being misled. Not all that is passed on to us is the authentic word of God. It’s therefore critical that you get it first hand for yourself and whatever else you get from others should be compared and weighed against it. Alot of adulteration of God’s word goes on around us, leading to falsehoods.

The Bereans did this daily. They heard apostle Paul preach but went back to compare what he said with the written scriptures. They were commended for that. Countless number of people have been led astray because they took only what the preacher said as total truth, without testing it against the written word. Men can err and misfire. Others have hidden intentions but use the word to achieve it. But we are safer crosschecking and ascertaing the truth ourselves. We are tasked to test ALL spirits behind what we hear, see, read or listen to (1 John 4:1). Whatever is from God we take. Whatever is not, we leave out.

Apostle Paul similarly adviced his mentee, Timothy, to study so as not to be ashamed, but approved before God and the people he ministered to as he rightly divided the word of God. Study goes into depths and the heart of any matter, revealing the truth or any fallacies. Then one is able to sieve truth from error. Friends, let’s get to the word, be rooted in it and fill our hearts and minds with its knowledge. The word will only work for those who are knowledgeable about it and apply its principles. You can’t apply what you don’t know. And you cannot acquire knowledge untill you seek it by spending time to read, study, listen to others expound it. Fill yourself with the word. Delight and be rooted in it.

2Timothy 2:15: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Shalom children of God.

The Cleansing Power of the Word (6/12/2019)

John 15:3 “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”

Joh 17:17,19: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth…. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.”

The word of God is powerful in every way in its working. As one reads, meditates, believes, acts and speaks it, it comforts, encourages, rebukes, challenges, transforms, convicts, purifies, discerns, speaks. In the verses above, Jesus focused on the cleansing power of the Word. As He spoke it to the disciples, the word was working to cleanse and purify them. And He declared them clean by the power of that word. In His prayer before physical departure, Jesus asked His Father to sanctify the disciples through the truth, His word being truth. Sanctification is purification, cleanliness from sin.

This is why it’s very important that we spend time in the word; to read, study, listen, meditate, speak and act on it in faith. Without our knowledge, the sanctification and transformation process will take place in us. And the fruit of righteousness will be seen in our lives. Unfortunately, many have time for everything else except the word! That’s a trick from the enemy to deprive us of the most valuable thing in our walk with God. Purpose to spend time in the word.

Ephesians 5:26 “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Shalom children of God.

The Convicting Power of the Word (5/12/2019)

Acts 2:37: “Now when they heard [this], they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men [and] brethren, what shall we do?”(KJV)

Apostle Peter was speaking under a heavy anointing of the Holy Spirit to worshippers gathered in Jerusalem from different parts of the world. When they marveled how these Jews spoke their own languages by the Spirit, Peter stood and explained what was happening, in the process, preaching God’s word to them as guided by the Holy Spirit. The word pricked their hearts, and they asked what to do.

Many of us could agree that when we heard the word of God at some point, it created a heavy conviction. It touched so deeply, sometimes eliciting deep emotions. Some get tempted to even think the (genuine) preacher knew about their secrets and talked about them publicly. This as well happens as we meditatively read the Bible individually. The word of God is alive and active. It’s God Himself speaking through it. That’s why it searches upto the hidden intentions and reveals secrets in people’s hearts that no one knows. When this happens, please respond positively. God means well for you.

The Holy Spirit uses God’s word to enable us see ourselves as God sees us. When what He tells us is contrary to what we thought we are, we feel convicted. The purpose of conviction is to make us see the need to repent and turn to God. He does not convict to condemn, but to turn us, in love, to His ways. The preacher, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, is a great instrument in God’s hand to deliver soul searching messages that draw men’s hearts to God as Peter did. When this anointing is lost, and other interests take precedence, preachers become more of ‘good’ public speakers, entertainers or even comedians (which have their place) and the word appears less effective. Yet it isn’t.

Heb 4:12 “For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Jer 17:9-10 “The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, [I] try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, [and] according to the fruit of his doings.”

Shalom children of God.

The Healing Power of God’s Word (4/12/2019)

Psalm107:20: “He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered [them] from their destructions.”

The Psalmist was relating how Israel wondered off from God, ended up in exile and were later restored to their land. In this narrative, he mentions how God sent His word and healed them and delivered them from their captivity. He healed their land and it became productive again. He restored their relationship with Him and were at peace again.

Because the Word is God Himself, wherever it is sent, it effects great things. The word heals and restores individuals, groups or nations. Many people are wounded and hurting physically, emotionally, psychologically, socially. Communities and nations too get hurt economically, politically, socially or diplomatically and need healing. The word of God has ability to restore sour relationships and heal any form of hurt however deep. When we look for solutions outside the principles of God’s word, we obtain short lived answers.

Allow God’s word to heal your body, emotions, family, relations, business, finances – whatever needs healing. There is no amount of hurt, wound or challenge beyond the healing and restoring ability of God’s word. Nations which honor and call upon God can also recieve healing. By applying the word to those situations which need healing and restoration, you are involving God who takes over and brings the healing by His supernatural ability. To some, when faced with serious challenges, the word of God is not even one of the options! How far from the truth!

Matthew 8:8: “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.”

Shalom children of God.

The Certainty of God’s Word (3/12/2019)

Isaiah 55:10-11 “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” – NIV

For God to make the point sink home to His people on how sure and effective His word is to accomplish its intended purpose, He uses a common example that anyone could understand. We all know that when it rains or when snow falls, it wets the ground. When the ground is wet, it enables plants to grow. From these, a harvest is obtained for food or seed to replant. This truth is so certain that no one bothers to question it.

God said, as sure as that fact is known, established and true, so can we apply the same certainty to the word He has spoken out of His mouth. God does not rush to speak. Neither does He lie. He means every word He utters. He is not on trial and error to see what works or doesn’t. And His power backs those words to effect them so that whatever He said comes to pass. If He spoke the word to heal you, it will surely heal you. If He spoke to encourage, give direction, restore, correct or anything else He intended that word to accomplish, it will effect exactly that. It’s a sure word we can trust. A man’s word may fail, but not God’s.

This word comes in several ways; primarily through the written word, word of knowledge, wisdom, prophecy or any other. As long as it’s His word, spoken directly or through others, we can rely on it. We can take God at His word. He committed Himself to it and watches to see it fulfilled (Jeremiah 1:12). God greatly honors His own word. Psalm138:2 says “… for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” Has God’s word come to you concerning a particular situation? Even if it delays, He will fillfill it and accomplish it’s intended purpose without fail at the appointed time. Cling to it. Believe it. Claim it.

Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”

Psalm130:5: “I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.”

Shalom children of God. Have a great day

I Have Given You the Land (29/11/2019)

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Deuteronomy 1:8 “See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers– to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob– and to their descendants after them.” – NIV

To Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, hundreds of years before actual fulfillment, and from the time the Israelites left Egypt, the Lord had already made a promise to give them Canaan land. Along the 40 year journey, God reiterated His promise and assured them the land was ALREADY given to them. Their part was to go and take possession of it.

But the land they were promised had other people living in them. It wasn’t just going to be handed over to them. It would take a fight to dislodge those people. And God expected them to fight for it with His assured commitment to enable them win. Whatever God initiates and tells us to do, He will fully back it up to the end. He knows and has already taken care of what is required for complete victory. Whatever, and whoever presently occupies what He is handing over to you will surrender at His command. Remember how Pharaoh was forced to release Israel when it was God’s time to release them to their inheritance.

What this story teaches us is that God is faithful to the several general promises He has made to us in His word. There are many more specific promises and prophetic words that He has spoken to each one individually. Some of them are too huge and we wonder how they will come to pass if we look at them against our own limited abilities. God is true to His promises, however long they may take to be fulfilled. He will ensure it comes to pass. He will fight the hindrances the enemy creates to stand on the way. Our part is to take Him at His word, overcome fear, resist the enemy, act, and at the right time we will possess our inheritance as promised.

Deuteronomy 1:21 “See, the LORD your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Shalom children of God. Have a great weekend

When God Answers in Unexpected Ways (28/11/2019)

By Pastor Aggrey Soyekwo

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” – NIV

Man was created by God in His image, perfect and to function as Himself. But the entry of sin corrupted the image of God in man. The natural inclination of man in his thoughts, decisions and actions tended more towards evil than to the righteous nature of God in Whose image he was made. Man fell short of God’s glory. That’s how man’s thoughts and ways became very different from God’s ways as the heavens are higher than rhe earth. But in Christ, the indwelling Holy Spirit reveals to us the mind and the will of God to enable us align our ways to God.

It’s this affected nature that makes us oftentimes ask for things from God amiss. To the best of our understanding, what, and how we ask God is the best. But according to God Who searches motives and intentions of our hearts, we could be out of His will, timing and purpose, because our ways are not aligned to His. And so He will answer in ways we didn’t expect. Sometimes He is silent, delays to say anything, or answers in ways we never thought about. At times we dont even know He answered because our minds expected answers in a particular way, and it came in a totally different manner. God does this inline with His will, bigger purpose and timing.

God answers every prayer to Him. But in His way. Many, complain, give up and miss out His blessings altogether when God doesn’t respond the way they thought. Israel was expecting the Messiah. But when Jesus came in ways they didn’t expect, they rejected Him and to date, some are still waiting! As we pray, let’s allow His will be done and be sensitive enough to discern when He answers, even in unexpected ways.

Romans 8:26-27 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”

Shalom children of God.