At the end of this month, I will be moving partially to Kingtson, Ontario. We have been praying and planning and we believe that great things are being prepared for us and the people of Kingston.

Our budget for the year is about $20,000 and right now we have pledges and donations of about $7,000. We are sure that by God’s grace we will have all the money we need to begin a work in Kingston and also to sustain the work for the year. We are assured that the work will be able to sustain itself at the end of 2010.

From March 1st I will be spending 4 days in Kingston and 3 days in Montreal. I will spend most of the month of March praying, getting to know Kingston better and at the same time sharing the good news of the Kingdom of God. I believe that by Sunday March 28th we would be able to locate some of the people that the Lord has prepared for the work.

I am so glad that the work in Montreal is going on very well. The Leaders are getting more and more accostomed to leading the meetings and are also growing in the spirit. I am so grateful for God’s grace on these young men and women. My wife Olu is doing a fantastic job of assiting me and I can only imagine how much more work she would have to do when I begin to spend more days away from home each week.

Please continue to pray along with us for a great harvest of souls for the Kingdom of God. And also give towards the work. Nothing is too small. All we need is 20 people giving $1,000. You can be one of them.

You are blessed

Ade

I am happy to be alive and well this 2nd day of 2010. Last year was a very good year and I am sure that this year will be a better year. In every aspect of our lives and ministry we saw God’s faithfulness. From what the LORD has laid on my heart for this year, I believe we will see several miraculous interventions from God. Our theme Chapter for this year is Isaiah 40.

I believe that this year the Lord will cause us to experience things that can only be explained as God’s glorious revelation. The first miraculous manifestation of God’s power in my life occured yesterday when He delivered me from an excrutiating stomach pain. I still don’t know what caused the pain but I know it was terrible and it lasted for over 24hrs. If not for the hand of GOD, I would have started this new year in the emergency ward of a hospital. I give all glory the glory to GOD.

In verse 5 of Isaiah 40, God said he will reveal his glory so that everyone will see it. I believe that everyone will see the Glory of God in our lives this year. I pray that we will all see the Glory of GOD in your life this year too.

These are difficult days for many people all over the world, Jobs are being lost, homes are being lost, marriages are breaking down, ministries are crumbling but  the word of God for you this month is that YOU ARE NOT ALONE! JESUS IS WITH YOU.  And with Jesus, you can overcome all challenges and difficulties. I know that sometimes when we look at the situation of things around us, when we consider how much time we have spent praying, when we remember for how long we have been waiting on the Lord for breakthrough, it may seem that God has forsaken us, or that He is not aware of the many things that are troubling us. However, I have a word of comfort for you this month. You are not alone. And you will never be alone because He who has promised to be with you is ever faithful. 

1. You should not fear because GOD has got your back and things will surely end well.
2. You should remember to ask for help from the Lord. He is with you to help you become what He created you to be. So ask for help.
3. Every time you remember that He is with you, say a short thank you to Him for being with you. I wonder how many times in a day you will remember to say thank you. However, the more you practice this, the brighter the day will be, and the more the power of God will be revealed in your life. Do not wait until you are alone to say thanks. You can say “thank you Jesus for being with me” in your heart, while driving, while speaking to someone, in the shower, in fact you can say it any time, anywhere and as often as you want. Remember that the more you do this, the more you will remember to ask for and experience God’s power in your daily life.

For sometime now, I have been thinking that if we are to make serious headway in minisering to the people in quebec, we must have a missionary mindset. What do I mean by that? I mean we must realise that the people that we are ministering to have their own culture, their own language and they have their own approach to dealing with the things of God.

If we are going the be successful at preaching the gospel of the kingdom, we must realise that it must be by the power of God. It has to be innovative and it has to be one person at a time. We must realise that mass evangelism may not be the way to go. We must understand that we need to get out of the church and get unto the street and the world to meet with people who need the good news of the kingdom.

So as the Lord has been laying on my heart, In 2009 we will adopt a new strategy. We will spend more time praying for revival - the power of God to convict people of their need to sumbit to God. We will also spend more time reaching out in our community. Many hours will be spent sharing the good news of the kingdom with everyone that care to listen.

I believe that as lives start getting transformed by the power of God, it will spread and with prayers it will even spread faster. One other thing that is needed, is for all true christian believers to work together with only one goal. We must forget about building personal empires and build the kingdom of God.

Finally, pastors need to learn the french language and adapt to the french culture. That means, I must continue to practice my french and make the effort to be fluent in french by 2010. I must confess that I have not been able to balance the demands of ministry and studies with mastering the french language. However, since classes are over I intend to work harder on my french.

     Thus says the LORD:
      “ Heaven is My throne,
      And earth is My footstool.
      Where is the house that you will build Me?
      And where is the place of My rest? 
      For all those things My hand has made,
      And all those things exist,”
      Says the LORD. 
      “ But on this one will I look:
      On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
      And who trembles at My word.

After reading this verses from Isaiah 66:1-2, I felt a sense of God’s love and I am so amazed that as poor as we humans are, God as great as He is desires to fellowship with us. The first verse reflects on the greatness of God, God is so much bigger that the earth that it is like a footstool to Him. He made the earth and there is nothing that is on the earth that we can offer to God. 

I remember how I used to feel so good after spending some time in fasting and prayers. I feel that I have giving God some “quality time”. But you know what? He owns all my time anyway. And this is true for those of us who love God and those who do not care whether He exists or not or even those that hate God. God still owns them and He can do whatever He likes with us. What of those times that I have given all the money I had to do the work of God and dedicated my life to doing the work of ministry. You one feels this wave of accomplishment as if God need to say thank you. This portion of scripture reminds me that there is nothing that I give to God that was not His own originally.

Do not misunderstand me, God delights in seeing us give back to Him what is His. He loves to receive our love from a willing and loving heart and it should give us joy when we please our God. However we must be reminded that there is no way we can give too much to God. And that when we give to God or to other in His name, we are only doing the normal thing. It’s not such a big deal. It’s a beautiful thing for sure but at the same time it’s the normal thing to do.

Now the kicker is in verse 2: The Lord - The great God, this God who is so much bigger than the whole earth, chooses to look (to consider, be interested, help, influence, challenge, heal) at one of us humans. But he has some qualifications.

One who is poor: You may wonder what it means to be poor in God’s estimation. To the one who owns the whole universe, what is considered poor? Can I suggest that every human being is poor with regards to God? And that this scripture is not necessarily talking about poverty where one does not have enough to live? Of course God is ready to help the poor man (in human terms) but I want to submit also that the multi-billionaire is poor in the sight of God if he or she is humble enough to recognise that before God they are poor and are simply blessed.

Of a contrite spirit: Other translations refer to this as a broken spirit; I have the feeling that its a spirit that does not see itself as worthy of God’s focus or attention. A heart that knows and recognises his or her frailty and weaknesses. One who is aware that who they are today is a product of God’s blessings and grace of good health and life. One who is willing to say I am sorry as soon as they recognise any tendency to boast or be proud.

Who trembles at My word: This great God is interested in one who trembles at His word. One who recognises that when God speaks - it must be obeyed because it is wisdom at the very best. One who recognises that the world was created by the Word of God. One who honours and respects the word of God. I see that as approaching the Bible with a desire to hear God speak. This does not mean that we cannot be critical in studying the scriptures, but that we let the Holy Spirit guide our critical reading of scriptures. Not only that, we commit ourselves to letting the word of God change us as we approach the Word of God.

Isn’t it glorious to know that God actually works in us and with us if we will be humble and submissive enough to let Him? I know the Lord has been working in me, on me and through me this past 20yrs and more and I look forward to more of His work.

Oh Lord help me to always remember that you own the earth and every one and everything that is in it. Keep me humble and grateful and let me never forget your greatness.

I really want to see God move and glorify Himself in Montreal.  I am yet to see the kind of brokenness described in the Bible. I am yet to see people crying out to God for mercy not caring about those around them. I am yet to see people being transformed in large numbers. I am still crying out to God for Revival.

Today and for the past week or more, I have not had any desire to organise any programs, try any new strategies even though there are a couple of interesting ideas that are running around my mind, but I have had this feeling that when God shows up at a meeting - you really don’t need some elaborate publicity ideas to fill the place up. With this at the back of my mind, I have been asking the Lord to work on me and change me so that I can cooperate with Him in such a way that He can “show up”.

I have had a testimony from yesterday’s sermon that God touched a sister’s heart and helped her to take another major step forward in her walk with God. For this I give God the glory. However, I know that God desires to do more and I am looking forward to more of our brothers and sisters being totally broken before the Lord all mighty. I desire to see more people repenting before the Lord, and being filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered for ministry.

Dear Lord, work on me your servant, remove every barrier and make me a perfect reflector of your glory. I cry like the saints of previous years - LORD BEND ME. LORD TEACH ME. LORD USE ME TO DISPLAY YOUR GLORY.

I think a more appropriate title should be - I need revival. We have been looking at the Acts of the apostles at church and the more I meditate on the early church, the more I realise that we have lost a lot of the things that they had. The depth of love, fellowship and commitment to the Lord is very rare in our churches today. The convicting work of the Holy Spirit is hardly seen or experienced and the mainfestation of the power of God in signs and wonders is almost non-existent in most of our churches (at least we are not seeing any wonders in our church).

So when I say I need revival, it’s because I believe that the pastor of a church has a major role to play in promoting a revival in a local assembly. I believe that if I am on fire, that soon some of the members will catch the flame and we will be on our way to seeing and experiencing what was described in the Acts of the apostles. I have read many books on revival. I commented yesterday on one of the ones that has really challenged me - The revival we need by Oswald Smith. The convicting power of the Holy Spirit did not stop working in the first century, we read about great Holy Spirit convictions in the ministries of men all through the ages - People like the Wesley brothers, Whitfield, Finney, Spurgeon, Maria Wooodworth Etter, Wigglesworth, Brainerd, John Hyde, Oswald Smith and many more. If we are serving the same God, preaching the same Jesus and being moved by the same Holy Spirit, the results should be similar. However the only difference is the vessel (me). So I think I need revival.

I have spent a good portion of my day today crying to God to help me, to qualify me for His work. I cannot afford to work by my strength and I cannot afford to try to pretend that all is well. Lack of fruitfulness is a sure sign that there is need for more humility, mor submission and more obedience. May I add that the presence of conversions is also a pointer that there can be more fruit. I don’t mean to say that once I begin to see people get “born again” I will think that I am perfect, but I am saying that I will not give God any rest until I am totally transformed according to His will into a vessel that He can use to bring people into the kingdom.

I desire to see genuine salvation - not the half hearted conversions that we see today. I mean people going all the way for Jesus and never turning back. I want to see the same depth of love and fellowship in our church and I am sure signs and wonders will follow. Oh Lord I need revival.

Please pray along with me for revival.

I can not get over this book. I have read it over and over again and I will recommend it to every preacher, every christian worker and indeed to every serious christian. In this 140 page book, Pastor Oswald J. Smith challenges the church to a revival based solely on prayers and preaching with the power of the Holy Spirit.

It was really helpful to read the entries in his diary as he began to cry out to God for personal revival and subsequently for revival in the church he was pastoring. When reading this book, one’s faith is stirred to trust God for a supernatural move of God in one’s ministry especially when you read about the hours and hours that Oswald Smith spent in prayers before the power of God began to move so much in his church.

The book is easy to read and he gives some interesting and challenging examples of how God had brought revival to several places at different times through various ministers. This books makes you want to cry out to God to do the same in your Church if you are a pastor.

I like this book also because it comes out of something that happens in Toronto Canada (being a pastor based in montreal, Canada.) You may read this book online using the link below or order a copy from amazon.

http://www.gospeltruth.net/OJSmith/revival_we_needch1.htm

Do you realise that so many people today are looking for fulfillment, Happiness and love? When I listen to the news and interact with people daily, I find that everyone seems to be looking for something, and they seem to think that other people have that thing called happiness and yet it seems to allude them. This is my contribution to this search!

Augustine of Hippo in his classic “The Confessions” says that True happiness can only be found in God. The sad truth is that we all have been trying to find true hapiness without God. Can I say along with many great men and women before me that TRUE HAPINESS or LASTING JOY can ONLY be found in GOD?

Chassing after gadgets (fast cars, money, a big house, political positions) and fame will only give temporary happiness, but once one makes the decision to repent of ones selfish liestyle and chooses to live according to the will of God, one begins the lifetime journey into continued and increasing inner joy and hapiness.

You may say - yes I am a christian so I am covered, but really can you say that your life is centered on God? If some one’s life is centered on Movies, it will be obvious to everyone, and we know those who’s lives are centered around themselves!! If you say your life is centered around God, then it must be obvious to you and to those who are closest to you.

There are many people who claim to love God and live for God whose life do not reflect God in anyway. The reason for this is that they are not living for God, they are simply attempting to use God as a tool to achieve the real thing they are living for. They spend hours praying - FOR WHAT? They study the scriptures and even memorise them - WHY? The only proof of a live centered on God is an outflow of godly life. By this I mean a “contagious” life that draws others to God.

If your life does not draw others to God - that is a sure proof that your life is not centered on God. 

How do you center your life on God?

This is a question that would take a whole book to explain completely. I have spent practically all my life as a christian, learning daily how to center my life on God. However, what I can share with you is how to begin this lifelong process.

1) You must agree that you are a failure with regards to living according to God’s standard - As long as you think that you are doing an excellent job, and that you are a good person, you will find it impossible to surrender your life to God. However, the fact that you have read this far shows that you feel the need for something more in your life. It is my opinion that someone who thinks they are doing pretty well without God will have no need for God and as such will have to continue living the way that they are.

2) You must “repent”. That is to make up your mind to life right. To choose to do the right thing ALWAYS no matter whether it pays you or costs you.

3) You must surrender to God - That is to say to God that you are at his mercy and that He can do to you what He pleases

4) You must then accept the work that God has done on your behalf through Christ Jesus. Accept freedom from the power of sin and forgiveness of sins committed.

5) Be Baptised - Find a church where these truths are taught and get baptised in the Name of Jesus Christ.

6) Be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Once these 6 things are done, I would say you are on your way to a life filled wtih increasing inner joy and happiness, both in this life and in eternity. Take note that inner joy and happiness are not the same as the things that make you laugh. No there will be tough time, tears and pain along the way, but through it all, you will find a constant underlying joy and assurance that ALL is well.

In the past couple of months, I have been learning more about what it means to be crucified with Christ. I am learning daily that rather than trying to make the best of the life that I have, I could instead learn to live it by faith in God. I could dedicate my life 24/7 to the purpose and will of my Lord Jesus Christ.

It is getting clearer everyday that the purpose of God for my life is to fulfill the purpose for which Christ died for us all. I am learning daily that the more allow my life to be controlled by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the more my life will be fulfilling and the more fruitful my life will be.

I must say that I am still learning about the meaning of fruitfulness, what it means to be totally controlled by the Holy Spirit, how to relax in the face of difficulties but at the same time when I look back to just 8 months ago, I cannot help but notice that the Lord has done so much in me.

Some people have been asking about our financial state - I am happy to announce that every month has been better than the previous month and this month of Sept has been the best so far. On the very first day of the month, the Lord sent us $700 through one of his children here in Montreal. We give all the glory to God. (I am only sharing this to serve as an encouragement to other servants of God who are trusting the Lord for provision). In addition, in August we got a partner who has pledged to support us with $100 every month. Our God is a faithful God. I believe you now see why I said that the Lord has been teaching me how to let Him live His life through me.

I am still learning about the power of praying in tongues. It has been impressed strongly on my mind lately to study this some more and I believe the Lord will teach me.

I leave you with this word of encouragement. IT PAYS TO GIVE YOUR LIFE TO GOD.