Pastor Cornelius Abodunrin (Guest Minister)Moving forward in the right direction(part 2)

Commentary:In part 1, we shared with you about 'Sin' being the first hindrance identified by our Guest minister Pastor Cornelius (from Canada) in his message Moving Forward in the right direction. In this segment he explains why 'the lack of prayer' , 'fear' and 'unforgiveness', hinder progress.

1. Sin(please read Part 1).


2. Prayer: The lack of Prayer is holding many back, especially in our challenging time. Prayer is about God and not about us.What Action should we take? Praying should be done with a repentant heart. This means we must avoid wrongful attitudes in prayer such as 'praying against others' . If we are being antagonised or harrassed by others our focus in prayer must be AGAINST THE SPIRIT OF EVIL INFLUENCING THEM OR INCITING THEM AGAINST US! We must not pray against them. In prayer we must Have the wisdom of God. When we are praying with the wisdom of God our prayer will be characterised by love.....love for people. If we love people we WOULD NOT WANT THEM DESTROYED! How do we pray and when? We need to give ourselves to prayer every single day. We need to pray in the spirit and if we want God to answer our prayer we must learn to pray for other people!

Fear: The kind of fear which hinders our progress and prevents us from moving forward is different from godly fear, reverential fear or having a reverence for God. Fear of the unknown could be a hindering factor in our movement forward . 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV, reads ' For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and selfcontrol(and of a sound mind in some versions)' Read 1 John 4:18 ' Perfect Love casteth away all fear'. If you are walking in love you would not fear your brother or sister. In the Old Testament anyone among the army recruits who was fearful, was asked to stay behind (Judges 7:3)!Why? Because fear opens doors for defeat from adversaries! Fear would make us stagnant.Those who are free from fear can move forward! Fear is often generated in us through listening to and yielding to bad voices spoken into our minds by the enemy. Such voices can result in the fear of death which targets our health and our strength. Such voices attempt to steal our joy,attack our peace, make us doubt the presence of God in our lives. Deception is often 'welcome' into our lives when we dwell on thoughts resulting from fear and we experience a low self esteem as we dwell on thoughts of self condemnation and self doubt(more about this later when we discuss our fifth point about the Grave clothes). FEAR IS DESTROYING MARRIAGES AND THE COUNTRY. IT IS DESTROYING SOCIETY AND PREVENTING PEOPLE FROM TAKING A STEP FORWARD ? WHY? THEY ARE AFRAID THEIR PAST UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCES WILL RECUR IN THE FUTURE! How can we deal with fear in our lives? WE CAN DEAL WITH FEAR ITSELF WHICH IS A SPIRIT AND , OUR INDIVIDUAL FEARS BY USING THE WORD OF GOD AS AN OFFENSIVE WEAPON AND OUR FAITH IN GOD'S WORD AS A DEFENCIVE WEAPON. We need to stand our ground and AFFIRM THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD WHENEVER SATAN CONFRONTS US WITH FEAR GENERATING LIES! Affirm: God is the strength of my life! He is my refuge and my strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. THAT IS WHY I SHALL NOT FEAR(Psalm 46:1,2)I shall not fear the terrors of the night nor the arrows that fly in the daytime(Psalm 91:5). If God is on my side, NO ONE SHALL BE ABLE TO STAND AGAINST ME(OR OPPOSE ME SUCCESSFULLY ) all the days of my life(Romans 8:31,Joshua 1:5). The joy of the Lord is my strength(Nehemiah 8:10), I will not let the devil steal my joy...i have the joy of the Lord because i have the Holy Ghost who energizes me with an ever continous supply of the joy of the Lord! I THEREFORE EXERCISE THE AUTHORITY VESTED IN ME BY JESUS...IN THE NAME OF JESUS I REBUKE FEAR AND I COMMAND THE DEVIL WHO IS BEHIND THE FEAR UNLEASHED AGAINST ME, MY FAMILY, MY MARRIAGE, MY CHILDREN,MY JOB MY CHURCH....!DEVIL LEAVE MY CHILDREN, AND MY MARRIAGE, LEAVE MY SPOUSE AND MY JOB, LEAVE MY CHURCH, LEAVE THIS NATION, IN JESUS NAME!(Please continue with the third segment, presented as part 3, for the conclusion of this message)!

Guest Minister(Pastor Cornelius Abodunrin )Moving Forward in the right direction(Part 1).

Comments: Pastor Cornelius made a number of illustrations about change in the introduction to his message. Among those he cited were obvious physical changes in growing children and adults which results in them letting go of previous size clothing and outfits in order to use outfits that are more suitable for their present age. After giving these examples Pastor Cornelius stressed that IT IS NOW TIME TO MOVE FORWARD IN FAITH AND IN HOPE! The loss of Hope RESULTS IN SOME DESCENDING EVENTUALLY INTO A VISCIOUS CYCLE OF DESPAIR AND EVEN SUICIDE.

Affirmation by Pastor Cornelius: You can make it with determination, Move forward with the right attitude and in the right direction!

BACKGROUND TO THE MESSAGE:Deuteronomy 1:8 . In this verse God was urging Moses and the nation (of Israel) he was leading to move forward. HE SAID TO THE NATION OF ISRAEL IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THAT IT WAS TIME TO MOVE FORWARD! What does this mean, and how does this injunction apply to us today?GOD IS SAYING TO US THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A VISION FOR THE FUTURE, BECAUSE THERE IS PROSPERITY IN THE FUTURE! THEREFORE,WE MUSTN'T GIVE UP!
If you don't know how to leave certain things behind, you will be left behind when Jesus Christ comes! The list of things we need to forsake or relinquish and leave behind include:

• Worldliness
• The lust of the flesh
• The Pride of life
• Double mindedness
• A Bad Attitude

We need to move on in stability and mature to the level whereby we are not constantly dependent on others to provide the ministry of prayer for our needs . We ought to learn to take our burdens to God and achieve results in prayer!

FIVE THINGS THAT CAN HOLD YOU BACK

1. The first hindrance to moving forward is SIN. God hates sin . The Bible says righteousness exhalts a nation but sin is a reproach to a people(and anyone who indulges in sin). Sin will cripple you. The Psalmist says (), 'if i regard iniquity in my heart God will not hear me(my prayers). Sin degenerates our quality of life to one that stays within a state of lawlessness. Read James 5:16-18 and then go to verse 14. There is a possibility that our promotion in God is being hindered by MANY WEIGHTS(BAGGAGES).Hebrews 12:1-2 provides another illustration about how a besetting sin or 'pet sin' can become a hindrance to making progress in our life and in the Lord. WHAT ACTION SHOULD WE TAKE? We need to ask God to show us how to move forward and what it is that is hindering us.Some of the areas that can result in a sinful hindrance are 'bad company' and 'wrongful association'(psalm 1). This can lead to destruction. Abraham had to let his nephew Lot go and it was after he had become separated from Lot that God moved him into the next level of the manifestation of God's glory in his life! Now read Romans 6:12 and verse 13. Note the emphasis in verse 13'.....yield not your members'. Sin is what destroys the very fabric of our family, the divine institution of marriage and our society. THIS IS AFFECTING OUR NATIONS! It has 'infected' the United Kingdom, the U.S.A, Nigeria, Ghana(the reader can provide additional examples)! WHAT ACTION SHOULD WE TAKE?We need to ensure that we are not a hindrance to the corporate body of believers we are linked with. As a local church, the move from Deptford by HOPEGICC is a positive development! In the porocess the church has left certain situations behind in order to embrace new opportunities and situations that are ordained by God!It is a sign of God at work leading His local body into another phase of ministry. But as an individual you need to move with God when He moves.(click part 2 for continuation)