Text: 2 Kings 19:30; Isaiah 37:31-32

Those few people from the nation of Judah who escape will again take root and produce crops.

The Oxford Dictionary defines the root as: the part of a plant which attaches it to the ground or to a support, typically underground, conveying water and nourishment to the rest of the plant via numerous branches and fibres.  It is evident that from such a description that indeed the root is a very important part of the plant, and therefore the speed with which the shoot grows hinges on the ability of the root (which is both an anchor and store house) to respond to concentrated nutrients in its environment. In actual fact, the size of the root determines how well or how strong the plant/tree becomes, and thus, the strength of a tree is dependent on the root.

Now if God likens us to a tree (Psalm 1:3), then it means that we have to be very careful about our root, since our root determines our growth.

If roots are typically underground, then it means that they are hidden, which means that how well you grow in the Lord is not measured by your outward blessings.  Indeed the blessings you receive is not what makes you grown, on the contrary it makes you swell. Blessing in any form that one sees can make one think one is doing well, however, for us as believers, growth for us, is determined by how well we take root downwards. Remember, it is not the amount of rain that falls that makes the tree grow, but it is the amount that the root is able take in from the soil that makes it grow.

Any life completely free of challenges is a swelling life. Until your life takes root downwards it will not bear any fruit. How much of the challenges of life have you been able to absorb and turned around as nutrient for your growth in the Lord? For indeed the challenges speed up the process of you taking root, so that when it is the set time for you to blossom, you will have strong root to sustain it. Genesis 39:1- Joseph was taken down to Egypt to start the process of his root going down so that when it was his time to blossom, he had strong roots to sustain it. Going through the process would have taught him endurance, perseverance; and in whatever place he found himself, how to succeed in the things of God, why, because he had taken root.  A time is coming in your life when you are due to blossom and bear fruit, the question is have you taken root down? Are you able to sustain the heavy downpour of rain on your soil when it comes? Are you able to have room to store in your time of plenty? God cannot put you through certain situations and challenges, unless your strong root can sustain it.  When you have that root in your tree, your tree will blossom. Your tree will blossom and bear good fruits. And what are these fruits, why don’t you join us here at COD Cambridge for next week’s service for the nutrients you need for your growth in the Lord.

Text: Isaiah 63: 9

In their suffering He also suffered, and personally rescued them. In His love and mercy He redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years.

This month God Himself will redeem you. Every area of your life you need Gods rescue or deliverance He will appear for you.

When we look at the verse, it states that every problem, suffering, pain, weeping or crying you are going through God is going through the same process. Why? Because He identifies with those sufferings and it brings Him grief.

Secondly, He (meaning God, Almighty, I Am, Jehovah Sabboth, Jehovah Hoseenu) Himself will personally rescue you. The scripture did not say or indicate that man, husband, wife, father, mother or you or angels but God. No man can rescue you neither can you rescue yourself.

The word RESCUE means to bring out of danger, attack, harm or simply to deliver or save. The only person who can bring you out from every dark and stormy situation is God.

Hold on to him fervently this month because He is ready to bring you out of that slimy pit.

Text: 2 Peter 3:18 (NKJV) – but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

The word Grace has it’s origin as far back as the days of Noah, where it was recorded in Genesis 6:8 that Noah, an ordinary man found Grace in the eyes of God. Grace can therefore be defined as favour not qualified for! Grace is in stages and the greatest of them all is, Exceeding Grace (Corinthians 9:14), which encompasses unmerited favour, mercy and spiritual blessings.

We cannot over emphasize the importance of Grace in the life of a believer (a child of God). After having series of teachings on Grace, the teachings have exposed us and revealed to us some in-depth meaning and functions of grace. Some of the revelations being; we live only by the grace of God, which has been given to Christ and has made God not to wrought His anger on us each time we disobey Him.

Grace overlooks fault, it is not a function of whether you have done it right or wrong, what it does is to correct that which you’ve done wrong and make it right before the eyes of men, i.e., it disregards inadequacies of men. To continue to enjoy the Grace of God that gives unmerited favour, when we do not deserve it, mercy, when we sin and spiritual blessings that surpass the physical ones people can see and makes us succeed under any condition, we therefore, need to grow in it continuously.

How then can we continue to grow in Grace? 2 Peter 3:18 says we should grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1. The number one thing we need to do is to humble ourselves before our maker, tell Him that we can do nothing except He helps, acknowledge the fact that without His grace in us, our life is miserable. When we do this, He will bring to pass, His promise over the humble (James 4:6 – He gives grace to the humble).
2. Knowing Him is another thing we can do to grow in Grace. In 1 Timothy 1:14, Jesus Christ is the Grace that brings salvation to all men, He is Grace personified Himself. This statement tells us that a life without Christ cannot function in Grace. So all that we need, to function and grow in Grace is to make our life right with God, involve ourselves with the things of God, and meditate in His word both day and night.

In conclusion, one can say that Grace is the sustenance of all men and when the Grace in a man expires, he ceases to be called a man. In order not to be void of Grace in our life, we need to maintain the one we have, and grow in it; for Grace is a lubricant that beautifies and greases the life of a man.

Text: Joel 2:12-23

Now, therefore, “says the LORD, Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness;

For God to work it out for you during this Month of Fasting and throughout this year 2011, we must cry out unto Him. This time of Fasting, is not just a time of giving up one’s meals, but indeed a time to return our hearts back to God. This is not just any ordinary fast;  if you want God to do all that He has purposed to do in your life (both corporately and individually this 2011), you must all join in on the fast.

This month of February the Lord has said is our Month of Help, which means God Himself will send help to you. I don’t know what area of your life you need God to work some things out, in this month of February, Help will locate you. People you don’t know will come to bless you. Key into this and you will see the Lord work it out for you this month in Jesus Name. Amen.

May the Grace of the Lord continue to be with you, during and throughout this month of Fasting; Amen.

Text: Nehemiah 1: 4

When I heard this, I sat down and wept.

GOD IS AN ORGANISED GOD. Planning is a major or crucial issue in life. Learn to seat down and analyse situations. Learn to calm yourself in making decisions. Don’t ignore people when they want to speak to you. From the above text, Nehemiah heard, but did not stop at hearing. He did something with what he heard.

What do you do with the information you hear? The problem is not with what you heard but what you did with what you heard. What you do with the information you heard determines what will happen to you.

The faith that will move you from where you are now to your destination is through hearing. If Nehemiah had not sat down, he wouldn’t have known what to do, or analyse the situation at hand. He had a vision of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem but sat down to set out his mission and goals in achieving it.

Learn to sit down in every issue of your life. You can plan everything about your life, education, spiritual, finances, and many more when you are seated. Planning makes us to be prudent. A good plan enables you to know when to take a step of faith.

Have a proper plan for your life or you will live a chaotic life.  When you don’t know what to do with your time, the devil occupies it. (An idle hand is the devil’s workshop).

Learn how to plan. Plan your day. When you have a plan it helps you to appreciate the miracle of God better. If you don’t plan your life, it will be hijacked. The reason why people hijack our time or use our lives to achieve their purpose is because we do not have an effective planning for our lives. Proper planning also makes your prayer life effective. It makes your prayer life sharp and effective.

Learn to write things down. When you do a proper plan for your life, your life will be well spent.

Finally, every second matters. Plan your life. Planning is very important. When you plan you maximise your potentials.

Text: Revelation 1:6

He hath made us kings and priest unto God and His father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen

The first word in the passage above read HE HAS MADE, Jesus Himself is the one who has made us (those who have been washed from their sins Rev 1: 5). It is not something we are aspiring to be but we have been made king and priest to Serve God. So, the authority of the king is directly linked with the one who rules over the kings of the earth.

The second question we need to ask ourselves is who is a king? In the book of 1 Samuel 10: 1, a king is a captain or leader over God’s inheritance. Therefore, what is God’s inheritance? Psalm 24: 1 shows us that the inheritance of God is massive. And as such, there is no king without a kingdom.

What makes a king is his kingdom. In the inheritance of God, there is a kingdom that is carved out for you. Our kingship has something to do with our kingdom. God gives us gifts so that we can reign in our kingdom.

My question to you is, if you are a king where is your domain? When you are not ruling in your kingdom, God is not ruling there. Because you have submitted your authority to the devil. Revelation 5: 9 says our kingship is here on earth and not in heaven. Kings rule by decree in their kingdom and have the final say.

Ecclesiastes 8: 4 where the word of a king is there is power. Until you locate your kingdom you can’t rule as a king. I want you to understand that the fact you have been made a king does not guarantee that you will rule as one. Ecclesiastes 10: 5-7; there is an evil which I have seen under the sun, as an error which proceeded from the ruler. Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in low place. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.

You can be a king and still live as a servant. Example of two kings in the bible, king Saul and David. David was a successful king while Saul failed woefully. Which one of them do you aspire to become? The choice is left to you.