The Price of Freedom – October 3, 2021

Preached by Pastor Kunle Oladebo

Galatians 5:1 (AMP) 

  1. Highlights 
    • Human beings are designed for freedom – God created man in His own image with a free will
      • Free will:  your own ability to make your own choice
      • Nobody wants to live in bondage
    • Freedom comes when you know the truth 
      • Know and practice or act on it
    • Freedom comes with limitations 
      • You are still subject to the law of the land
      • Galatians 5:13  For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (NKJV)
      • Living under the love of Christ
    • Freedom in Christ is living under divine authority
      • We have a price to pay to sustain our freedom in Christ
    • The freedom comes at a cost 
  2. Financial Freedom 
    • The price for financial freedom
    • Ability to take risk – no risk, no venture
    • Grace for contentment – can take risks that make you lose all your money
      • Godliness with contentment comes with great gain
    • 1 Timothy 6:6  But godliness actually is a source of great gain when accompanied by contentment [that contentment which comes from a sense of inner confidence based on the sufficiency of God].” AMP
  3. Career Freedom 
    • Create a niche for yourself – doing something that makes you valuable at any point in time
    • Activating divine favour:  Add value, but you need divine favour
    • Proverbs 3:3 – 4 “Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder.  Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people and you will earn a good reputation.” (NLT) 
  4. Healthy Living 
    • A disciplined lifestyle – what you eat, when you eat, how you eat 
    • Tapping into the power of divine healing
    • Jeremiah 17:14 “O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly saved. My praises are for you alone!” (NLT)
    • Continue in the service of God for divine health
    • Psalm 105:37 “And he brought them forth with silver and gold, and there was not one sick person among their tribes.” (JUB) 
  5. A Joyful Heart 
    • Requires the ability to be patient 
    • Romans 12:12  “Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in time of trouble and never stop praying.” (CEV)
    • Waiting on the Lord
    • Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” (NKJV)
  6. Securing Eternity 
    • Readiness to live a holy life
    • The lifestyle of holiness is in self-denial
    • Luke 9:23 “Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (NKJV)
    • Mathew 16:25 

Obtaining Courage in the Face of Crises – September 26, 2021

Preached by Deacon Steve Arogundade

Proverbs 28:1 – “The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” (NIV)

  1. Absolute Faith in God 
    • Isaiah 43:2 – “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.” (NKJV)
      • When, not If 
    • Absolute faith in God gives you the courage to face any circumstance you find yourself in
    • Deuteronomy 31:6 – “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (NIV)
    • Gives us courage to act decisively
    • 2 Chronicles 20:20b – “Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” (NIV) “Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” (NKJV)
  2. By Spending Time in the Word of God and Meditating on It 
    • Joshua 1:8 – “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you[a] shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (NKJV) 
      • The more we study the word, the more it becomes real in our hands 
  3. Discipline of Daily Fellowship with God 
    • Daniel 6:10 – “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” (NKJV)
  4. Having Knowledge and Understanding of Time 
    • 1 Chronicles 12:32 – “of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command;” (NKJV)
    • You know what to do 
    • Daniel 9:1 – 3 -“In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.” (NKJV)
      • Daniel understood  number of years, and believed God would fulfill His promise
    • Getting, acquiring and understanding knowledge
  5. Living in Righteousness 
    • Proverbs 28:1 
    • Puts one in the right standing before God.  As God backs you up, you act courageously 
    • When Jesus abides in you and you in him, you have great confidence to act decisively
      • 1 John 4:4 – “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (NKJV)
      • You cannot be moved
      • Jesus was bold enough to go to the cross and carry our sins on his head because he had the backing of his father and knew the glory that was set for him.  That gave him courage.
      • As we live a righteous holy, life and surrender to him to have control, the Lord will continue to grant us His courage and boldness that we need to take charge of our destiny
  6. Conclusion
    • Jesus has defeated the devil has already put the devil in his place
    • We have authority over the devil and can face all situations with courage and boldness
    • Because He lives I can face tomorrow….
    • Hebrews 4:16 – “ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (NKJV)
      • Pray fear and timidity will flee your life
      • Act boldly and courageously as lions

Integrity in Giving – May 2, 2021

Preached by Pastor Kunle Oladebo

Psalm 116:12 – 14

12What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?
13 I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people.” (NKJV)

  1. Highlights 
    • Integrity means uprightness, sincerity
      • When it comes to money matters, you know the character of the person you are dealing with.
      • God expects you to give to family, the poor, and to the Lord
    • Giving is a natural response to love 
      • True love is about giving everything and expecting nothing
      • That is why God gave His only begotten Son
      • That is why Jesus gave His life
      • Many are being controlled by greed.  It starts slowly by you rationalizing, then it grows until you are destroyed
      • Life does not consist of your assets.  They don’t build you up for eternity (e.g. Lazarus and the Rich Man)
        • Ecclesiastes – Vanity upon vanity
      • Examples:
        • Judas Iscariot
        • Gehazi
      • Life does not consist of your assets.  They don’t build you up for eternity (e.g. Lazarus and the Rich Man)
        • Ecclesiastes – Vanity upon vanity
      • You can give without loving; but you cannot love without giving.” – Amy Carmichael
    • You honour through giving
      • There is no honour without giving
      • First commandment with a promise:  Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” (NIV)
      • Give your time.  Psalm 92:1-2 “It is good to give thanks to the LORD and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning and Your faithfulness by night,” (NIV)
      • Psalm 50:23 “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; and to him who sets his way properly I will show the salvation of God.””(NASB)
    • Giving is investing into your future
      • When you give to humanity, you are blessing a soul.  For every time you give there is always a blessing
        • Proverbs 19:17 – “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.” (KJV)
        • Matthew 6:19 – 21 – ” Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (NKJV)
        • The rule of sowing can never be broken.
        • Galatians 6:9 – “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (NKJV)
    • A person of integrity shows generosity 
      • Your generosity will define your experience in life. (Solomon);  People continously gave to Solomon
        • 1 Kings 10:23 – 25 – “So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 24 Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.” (NKJV)
        • The rich keep getting richer

Integrity in Service (Part 2) – April 18, 2021

Link to Facebook Sermon

Preached by Pastor Kunle Oladebo

1 Samuel 12:1-5 12 Now Samuel said to all Israel: “Indeed I have [a]heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. And now here is the king, walking before you; and I am old and grayheaded, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. Here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”

And they said, “You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man’s hand.”

Then he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.”

And they answered, “He is witness.”(NKJV)

  1. Serve Diligently
    • Diligence: determination and careful effort
    • To work hard in a careful, thoughtful and thorough way
    • To value highly and take delight in that service
    • Not distracted by things that happen in the place of service
    • They are ready to learn new things; put in effort in everything to make it right
    • Proverbs 12:24a “The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: “(KJV)
    • God rewards diligence
    • When you want to get reward for your service, serve diligently
    • Hebrews 11:6 “ But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (KJV)
      • Jeroboam was an industrious man, and Solomon recognized his diligence and promoted him
      • 1 Kings 11:28 “Jeroboam was an able young man, and when Solomon noticed how hard he worked, he put him in charge of all the forced labor in the territory of the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim.” (GNT)
      • Jeroboam got 10 kingdoms, Rehoboam got 2
      • 2 John 12:18 (NLT)
      • God does not call the indolent people.  He calls the diligent and equips them for higher service.
      • David was diligently working when the prophet came to call and anoint him
      • Elisha was in the field working when Elijah put his mantle on him; he was a farmer, not a son of a prophet
      • Peter had worked all night and when the time came, he took over from Jesus
      • How are you serving?
      • Joseph:  it’s not about dreaming alone.  You need some field and perseverance experience. Potiphar’s wife; Management experience; prison – contentment experience
      • Diligent person does things efficiently and takes care of little details
  2. Serve Skillfully
    • Have something you are bringing to the table
    • Joseph had the skill of interpreting skills
    • David was a skillful harp player when he went before Saul
    • Nebuchadnezzar want people with skills in different areas
    • When you go somewhere with skills and refuse to improve your skills, people will come from behind you and go ahead of you.
    • If you sharpen you skill, you will become more efficient
    • Ecclesiastes 10:10 “If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.” (KJV)
    • Sharpen you skills, and creativity will emerge.
  3. Serve Sacrificially 
    • Every sacrifice comes at a cost
    • Salvation is a sacrifice that cost God the life of His only Son
    • 1 Corinthians 9:16 “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” (KJV)
    • Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unrighteous to forget or overlook your labor and the love which you have shown for His name’s sake in ministering to the needs of the saints (His own consecrated people), as you still do.”(AMPC)
    • God does not owe any man.  He does not forget your sacrifices
  4. Serve Faithfully
    • Serve with a purpose of your calling (in you area)
    • When people see that your serve them faithfully, they will serve you loyally
    • 2 Samuel 23 – mighty men of David

May God give us the grace to serve.  Ask Him.

Integrity in Service – April 11, 2021

Link to sermon on Facebook (coming soon)

Preached by Pastor Kunle Oladebo

1 Samuel 12:1-5 12 Now Samuel said to all Israel: “Indeed I have [a]heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. And now here is the king, walking before you; and I am old and grayheaded, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. Here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”

And they said, “You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man’s hand.”

Then he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.”

And they answered, “He is witness.”(NKJV)

  1. Highlights
    • The life of Samuel was dedicated to service
    • Jesus also came to serve
      • Many called him Lord.  He did not exercise lordship but exercised humility and service
    • The Apostles were taught to serve
      • Matthew 20:25- 26 25 “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.”(NKJV)
      • Served with humility and at the peril of their own lives
    • You are saved to serve
      • To serve humanity like Samuel, David, John, Peter, Paul
      • Titus 2:7 “And in all things show yourself to be an example of good works, with purity in doctrine [having the strictest regard for integrity and truth], dignified,” (AMP)
      • “You don’t need a position to serve; what you need is a platform to serve.”  – PKO
      • Sharing the good news, living by example, doing charity work, etc. in you church, community, home, etc.
    • Integrity in service means serving to meet the expectation of the Master
      • Employers set expectations for the employees to follow, if not they are fired.  If you meet expectation, you can receive appreciation.
      • Deuteronomy 10:12-13 “12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your [a]good?” (NKJV)
      • Partial obedience is disobedience
  2. To Serve in Integrity, you must
    • Serve Willingly
      • Willfully carry out your role to meet the expectation of the Master
      • Surrender all to Him and live for Him only
      • Galatians 2:20 “ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.“ (NKJV)
      • To do things as God expects them to be done
      • John 4:34 “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” (NKJV)
    • Serve Dutifully
      • To conscientiously and obediently fulfilling your duty rather than desire
      • Sense of duty not labor
      • Take it more than a job with passion
      • Zechariah (Luke 1:8-11) – Never allowed his need to suppress his sense of duty
      • John 5:17 “But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”” (NKJV)
      • Whatever you take as work will lack creativity.  Make things better than the last time you did it.

Empowered by Grace – March 28, 2021

Link to Facebook Sermon

Preached by Pastor Kunle Oladebo

2 Corinthians 12:6-10 “If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (NLT)

  1. Highlights
    • Grace and mercy are closely related
      • Grace is getting what you do not deserve
      • Mercy is not receiving what you deserve
        • John 8:1-11 – The Woman caught in adultery
        • Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (NKJV)
    • Grace is the fuel required to finish strong
      • Paul – a product of grace; 1 Corinthians 1
      • Life without grace will lead to disgrace. – PKO.
    • Grace to start and grace to finish 
      • Lack of grace makes you quit before your blessing arrives
    • Grace is needed for the race of life
  2. You Need Grace Because
    • You need to stand holy when others are falling for unholiness
      • In this generation, it takes determination to stand; it takes grace.
      • Many things worked against Daniel in Babylon, but by grace, he overcame
        • Joseph in Egypt
        • Immigrations in a foreign country
      • Pastors fail to tell the truth (being politically correct)
        • Vatican (Catholic) stand on same-sex marriage; but treat them with respect
    • As you go through life things are not always going to work on your own terms
      • It keeps grace to keep going
      • Things happen according to God’s plan and purpose
      • James 4:15 – “15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”” (NKJV)
      • There is constant war between the flesh and the spirit
    • There is discouragement along the way
    • Oppositions are among the observers
  3. Conclusion
    • Be empowered by the Lord
    • Exhaust the grace that is deposited upon you
    • Grow in grace

Empowered for Mission – March 21, 2021

Link to sermon on Facebook

Preached by Pastor Damola Alabi

Genesies 13:14 – 17 

  1. Introduction 
    • Sometimes God needs to start us off, and release (fear of standing by himself) 
    • We are empowered for a purpose 
      • (setting the Israelites free from Egypt) 
      • Moses panicked initially and gave excuses, then God showed Him what He could do through him 
      • Joseph faced challenges with his siblings, then God endowed him with special talents for vision and raised him up for a purpose.  Though you meant it for evil, God has turned it around for me.
    • Journey of life is a purpose 
      • Why are are there
      • What we are meant to do
      • Sometimes we stumble on opportunities
      • Many simply follow the traffic without bothering to know whether God has a purpose for them there or where they are to go.
      • There is a place meant and an idea for each person.  We need revelation.
      • Revelation brings divine knowledge of what the purpose of God is for our life
      • Difference between success and failure is the information we have access to and the value we can deduce from that information.
        • Increase, multiply, prosper and make a difference (Hosea 4:6) “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (NKJV)
  2. Introduction (continued)
    • Knowledge is critical
    • Psalm 1- God wants us to be righteous
      • Element of “doing” in the knowledge of God
      • Don’t ignore those silent moments of God when He is telling us what to do.  Receive your inspiration from him
      • Act based not knowledge of God; Be conscientious and diligent. (Ecclesiastes 9:10) “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” (KJV)
    • Lots of wasted talents and opportunities; takes the grace of God to advance us forward;  Lack opportunity for expression
    • God make all those things a reality
    • Race is not for the swift.  Time and chance happeneth for them all.  – Ecclesiastes 9: 11 “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all” (KJV)
      • It takes God’s grace for the seed that has been planted to germinate.  Divine influence is require
  3. Why is this conversation important 
    • Decision of where to go is influenced by what we see
    • We often follow examples of other people
    • God has a plan and purpose for your life – Message of DESTINY 
    • Psalm 90:5 – 12 – “Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth. For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. 10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. 12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (NKJV)
    • Wisdom of God is empowerment 
    • Vision triggers wisdom – see beyond the ordinary
    • Vision gives mission
  4. Strategies for Empowerment 
    • Faith 
      • Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen
      • Faith cometh by hearing and hearing from the word of God
      • Read God’s Word and be inspired by it, and you will see the difference
      • God knows where the solution is
      • Declare God’s word on your situation; May God give us the right word for the right situation
      • Part of God what God can do is to answer your prayers
      • God gets helpers of destiny to help at the right time
      • What is the attitude of mission and faith that I must follow?  What must I do?
      • “Lord, separate me from unbelief and increase my faith”
    • Vision 
      • Function of what we see; sometimes we see in part, and don’t see the big picture
      • When God gives you revelation or vision, you see the bigger picture
        • The rich young ruler (what you have in this world will not go with you) – Mark 10:17 – 27
      • Beyond what we see is spiritual intelligence (God sees the end before the beginning)
      • Tendency is to give excuses by giving into perceived limitations 
        • Joseph was a minority in Egypt.  He could have complained, but it was in the same Egypt (unpleasant, challenging situation) that he found favour with God and became a prime minister
        • Joseph impacted lives positively
        • Psalm 62:11 “God has spoken once, Twice I have heard this:That power belongs to God.” (NKJV)
      • Plan of God for our life may challenge social order; you can challenge the status quo and succeed in Jesus’ name
        • Male children were supposed to die when Moses was born
        • Male children were supposed to be destroyed when Jesus was born
        • When the enemy sees there is a promise for your life, he begins attack through
          • people around you
      • Receive the light of God to receive clarity of your target and where you want to go
      • John 10:10:  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (NKJV).
      • Power of resurrection
  5. Conclusion
    • Develop the character and attitude for faith – you will make a difference
    • You are a Seed of God, planted by the river of water; designed to make exploits in your due season.
    • Prayer:  “As your seed gravitates toward the light, help me to grow and increase in the Light of Your Glory; let there be Light upon me, my household, as a people.  Turn our darkness to light.”

Integrity in Relationship (Part 2) – February 28, 2021

Link to YouTube Sermon

Preached by Pastor Kunle Oladebo

Ecclesiastes 4:9 – 12 “It’s better to have a partner than go it alone. Share the work, share the wealth. And if one falls down, the other helps, But if there’s no one to help, tough! 11 Two in a bed warm each other. Alone, you shiver all night. 12  By yourself you’re unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped. “ (The Message) 

  1. Introduction 
    • Better to have a partner.  There is no glory in being a Lone Ranger 
    • A rich man in the multitude of the poor is as better as a poor person. 
  2. Integrity in Relationship 
    • Relate in honesty
    • Relate as a friend
      • Partnership – It is all about your success and fulfilling your destiny in the land of the living 
      • Integrity in partnership helps you to sustain the relationship
    • Relate as a family
      • The integrity in any equipment will be compromised if some components in that machine are no longer working as expected – same applies in a family
      • It takes integrity to stand for what is right – be on the side of truth not people
        • Mark 9:38 – 40 “Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. 40 For he who is not against us is on our side.” (NKJV)
        • Genesis 25:23 “And the Lord said to her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other. And the older shall serve the younger.”” (NKJV) – used information to break the family – Esau & Jacob
      • Complement one another, don’t compete with one another.  Work together with integrity
      • Families build not break
      • David raised a household of terrorists (Absalom, Adonijah, Amnon)
    • Relate with openness and transparency
      • Operate in transparency and openness
      • Transparency provides a platform for accountability
    • Relate with compassion 
      • Lamentations 3:23 “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,  Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”
      • Empathy – feel what someone else is feeling.  Compassion – willing to relieve the sorrow of somebody else (it is an action).  Compassion is an emotional response to sympathy that creates a desire to help
      • Learn to forgive – every marriage built on LOVE must have forgiveness 1 Peter 4:8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” (NKJV)   Ephesians 4:32 – “32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (NKJV)
        • Love covers a multitude of sin; be ready to forgive
        • Be compassionate in communication; It takes compassion to speak the right word even at the wrong time Ruth 2:13 “Ruth answered, “You are very kind to me, sir. You have made me feel better by speaking gently to me, even though I am not the equal of one of your servants.” (GNT)
        • Compassion by being considerate, flexible, and having a heart of generosity

Integrity in Relationship – February 21, 2021

Link to Facebook Sermon

Preached by Pastor Kunle Oladebo

1 Samuel 18:1-4; 19:1-3 (NKJV) – Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David; but Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted greatly in David. So Jonathan told David, saying, “My father Saul seeks to kill you. Therefore please be on your guard until morning, and stay in a secret place and hide. And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are,and I will speak with my father about you. Then what I observe, I will tell you.” (NKJV)

  1. Three Types of People – TD Jakes 
    • Confidants
      • Help you fulfill your goals
      • Always for you
      • Jonathan to David
    • Constituents
      • Not for you
      • They are for what you have
      • Ahitophel to David
    • Comrades
      • Not for you
      • Against what you are against (fight common enemies)
      • Joab to David
      • Like scaffolding in a house
    • Point 
  2. Highlights
    • Integrity is integrating heart’s value into daily actions
      • Can others and God count in you
    • Relationship can be horizontal or vertical 
    • Every relationship requires time
      • Time makes us grow – time with God reveals His secrets
      • James 4:8 “Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”  (NLT)
      • Time is required to grow, heal, mature, sustain what you have built
    • Relationship grows through mutual investment 
      • Conversation 
      • Communication
      • Intentional and deliberate 
      • Ecclesiastes 4:9 “Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor.” (NKJV)
    • Relationship is about everything 
      • When relationship is broken, respect is lost
  3. Integrity in Relationship 
    • Relate in honesty – Proverbs 12:17 – “He who speaks truth declares righteousness, But a false witness, deceit.” (NKJV); Proverbs 24:26 – “He who gives a right answer kisses the lips.” (NKJV); Acts 6:1-3 – “Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;” (NKJV)
      • Keep promises  (God does not lie) – Numbers 23:19 “God is not human, that he should lie,  not a human being, that he should change his mind.  Does he speak and then not act?  Does he promise and not fulfill?” (NIV); Ecclesiastes 5:5 “It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.” (NIV)
      • Jonadab contributed to the death of Amnon, his friend
    • Relate as a friend
      • David and Jonathan 
      • Build friends for yourself and not enemies
      • Proverbs 18:24 “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (NKJV)
      • A good friend will be there for you at all times – Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.” (NKJV)  (Ushah) 
      • Friends correct one another- Proverbs 27:5,6 “Better to correct someone openly than to let him think you don’t care for him at all. Friends mean well, even when they hurt you. But when an enemy puts his arm around your shoulder—watch out!”  (Good News)
      • Friends mean well even when they hurt you 
      • Friends stand  with you, stand for you and provide unwavering support

Building Integrity – February 14, 2021

Link to YouTube Sermon

Preached by Pastor Kunle Oladebo

Proverbs 10:7 – 9 “The name of the righteous is used in blessings,[a] but the name of the wicked will rot. The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin.Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.” (NIV) 

  1. Introduction 
    • The name of the righteous is used in blessing:  name is your credibility;  it is tied to your integrity 
    • Proverbs 22:1 – “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches. “
    • Honesty, dependability and pure motives must all align 
    • If you are a man of integrity, you have nothing to hide
    • Secret indulgences undermine integrity
    • Integrity is a virtue not a skill nor a gift; You have to build it
    • Reputation is what men think you are.  Integrity tells the real ‘who’ you are. – PKO
  2. How to Build Integrity 
    • Tell the truth even if it hurts; Tell the truth at ALL times 
      • Don’t exaggerate or embellish 
      • Stand for the truth even if it means you are standing alone
      • Proverbs 12:17 “An honest witness tells the truth but a false witness tells lies.” (NIV)
      • The final cost of truth is cheaper than that of lies (Ask David re:  Bathsheba — he ended up killing Uriah)
      • The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak of it.” – George Orwell
        • Corruption has become gratification
    • Keep a promise rather than breaking it
      • People with good intentions make promises; only people with integrity keep those promises” – PKO
      • Deuteronomy 23:21 “When you make a promise to the Lord your God, don’t be slow to pay everything you promised. The Lord your God will demand that you pay it. You will sin if you don’t pay what you promised. (ERV)
      • Don’t over promise and under deliver. “There is no greater fraud than a promise not kept.”
    • Confront the problem rather than neglecting it
      • There will always be problems – search all things; hold onto that which is the truth
      • You cannot change what you cannot confront – Galatians 2:11 (Paul had to confront Peter)
      • Confront not comfort;  It is for restoration, not destruction
    • Take the right path rather than the quickest one
      • Proverbs 14:12  “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (KJV)
      • Stand for what is right rather than going with the majority