Cdc Sept 14 2018 Opening Word and Prayer

[Speaker 1] Making requests, Lord, we want this, we want that. Lord, do this for me, Lord, do that for me. Because you are abiding faithfully in the words of God, then it says when you ask, request will be granted. Request will be granted. I want to give you a quick illustration of something in the Bible, a life in the Scripture. I want us to turn our Bible to a particular story, the story of Elijah, 1 Kings chapter 18. The power of the word and prayer. The power of the word of God and prayer. I read 1 Kings chapter 18, reading from verse one. I will skip a lot of verses because I'm rushing to get to verse 43, 44. So I'll just let us get the story then we move on. It says, "After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 'Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.'" Who gave Elijah a word here? [Congregation] God. [Speaker 1] What did he tell him? [Congregation] He should go and show himself to Ahab. [Speaker 1] To Ahab. Ahab then was the king. Show yourself to Ahab. And when you do that, what will I do? [Congregation] I will send rain. [Speaker 1] So there was a clear word from God. Is that not? A clear word from God. So Elijah went. It says, "So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria." Now, at the time Elijah got to Ahab, there was a problem in the land. What was the problem? [Congregation] There was a severe famine. [Speaker 1] It was a very, very severe one. So God told the man, "Go and show yourself. I will send rain." Which is because there had not been rain for all the years. That was why the land could not produce. So God told the man, "Go and show yourself. I will send rain." Now, look at what happened. I'm skipping a lot of verses now. When Elijah showed himself to Ahab. Let me read verse 10, 11. "As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or a kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them to swear that he could not find you." What was Elijah's answer? "But now you tell me to go to my master and say 'Elijah is here.' I don't know where the Spirit of the Lord may carry you when I leave. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn't find you, he will kill me. Yet I, your servant, have worshipped the Lord God since my youth." So what happened? Verse 15, Elijah said, "As the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will present myself to Ahab today." Why is Elijah doing that? Why is he presenting himself to Ahab? Because God has given an instruction that he should go and show himself to Ahab. Ahab had been looking for him, he could not get him. But this time around, he wanted to show himself to Ahab. He said, "Go and tell him that you will see me." Now, what happened? Verse 17, "When he saw Elijah, he said to him, 'Is that you, troubler of Israel?' 'I have not troubled Israel,' Elijah replied. 'But you and your father's family have. You have abandoned the Lord's command and have followed the Baals. Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table.' So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel." Now, what did God tell Elijah? [Congregation] Go and show yourself to Ahab and I will send rain. [Speaker 1] Elijah met Ahab. Was there rain? Was there rain? There was no rain. He has showed himself, but rain is yet to fall. He has showed himself, but rain is yet to fall. So what did Elijah do? Elijah told Ahab, you are familiar with the story of the contest at Mount Carmel. Are we not familiar with that story? When Elijah called down fire. We're familiar with that story. But who are the people that gathered at that mountain? Who were the people that gathered? The Bible says, "Elijah said, 'Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel.' That's one. 'And bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table.'" Elijah was sent to bring what? Rain. A rain that will bring fruitfulness and plenty. When Elijah met Ahab, there was no rain. But Elijah started a process that will bring rain. What was the first thing he did? There was a reason why rain could not fall. What was the reason? Israel had abandoned God. They were worshipping Baal and Asherah. So what did Elijah say? He said, "Bring the 450 and the 400 prophets. Bring them to that mountain." Of course, what happened at that mountain to all those prophets? What happened to all of them? They killed all of them. You see, there is a process when God wants to increase a people. The process is that God first purges. He purges. Personally, in your individual life, if you want God to increase you, you must deal with specific sins in your life. If you don't deal with specific sins in your life, you will not experience the rain of God. You can experience other kind of rain. But I'm talking of the blessings of the Lord that maketh rich and add no sorrow. There is a rain that comes from God. But when God is preparing to bring that rain, the first thing that God deals with in the life of an individual is specific—it's not... in the church where I grew up, they say *ẹ ṣẹtí mi o mọ mọ da*. I'm not talking of those ones you don't know. God will do something about those ones. I'm talking of specific—"Bring me the 450." They were some specific prophets. There are specific—you see, if we don't deal with specific things, we may not personally prosper. The same thing when you come to working in a school as a teacher. You may not really experience—you see, one thing I have learned over the years is that what increases a man is faithfulness. What increases a man from one level to another level is faithfulness. What changes because the real person that lifts up a man is God. He said, "Promotion does not come from the north, from the east, or from the west. Promotion comes from God." The real person that lifts up a man is God. God can change the fortune of a person. God can change a man's story. He can completely change—in fact, when he changes your story that "This was how I started," people will say "Heh? You mean this person can become like this?" And yet it's not because he did anything. There was no sharp practice. There was no cutting corners. There was no mago-mago. There was nothing. It was just that God made way for him. God just opened some doors. Some doors will just open, another one will just open, another one will just open. "Ah, this person is lucky oh." No, I will soon show you in the Bible that many times some of these things are not luck. There is a principle. That's what I'm showing you. If a people want to prosper, if an organization want to prosper, if I want to prosper in my individual life as a teacher, as a person... It's just like, personally, I'm an employer of government, so I'm an employee of government. Government also employed me. If I want to find prosperity where I'm working now, if I truly want to prosper, there must be faithfulness. People think "it's government money, steal government money, *iwọ njẹ, emi njẹ*." They don't understand. They are only taking poison. Over time, what happens with poison? Poison kills. But this is the point I'm making. If we really want to move on with God, we must deal with specific sins in our lives. That's the first thing. Now, at the end of the day, those prophets were killed. So they dealt with the specific sin. So what I'm saying is that please, deal with specific issues in your life. There are specific sins, there are specific things that you are doing personally, specific things you know that is not correct, it's not righteous, it's not godly, it's not acceptable to God. Deal with it. Let your conscience be clear. Growing up under my father, my father is a principled person with morals, although not a Christian. That's why I said that morality is not Christianity. But Christianity without good morals is not Christianity. Morality is not Christianity. My father got born again around the age of 80 something, when I eventually ministered to him personally. But he has been a moralist. We were raised with morals. He taught us not to lie. There is a principle of my father: a clear conscience person don't fear accusation. There is this word he normally tell us in Yoruba: *Otitọ o ma njabí aṣẹ, ogun oro otitọ*. So it has made me to be somebody who knows that once you are truthful and you stand on that principle, let people go and do all kind of—let them do anything. Let them gather themselves against you, they will not win. One with God is majority. So but eventually he gave his life to Jesus Christ around 80 something. He's close to 100 now, still alive. But the point I'm making is this: if you are not—you may be deceiving people. People may not know. But you cannot deceive yourself. You know when you are not truthful. You know. You will know when you are doing certain things and you know this thing is not good. You will know. That's what I'm talking about. Personally deal with it because no matter how much we gather to say "God, bless me. God, do this for me. God, do that for me," you may be surprised that there will not be much. As somebody who have learned under God over time, that much without God is little, and little with God is much. So as an individual, bring God into your situation by dealing with unrighteousness. As group of teachers, bring God into your situation by dealing with unrighteousness. As a school, as an organization, let us bring God deliberately into our situation by dealing with unrighteousness. So it is at all levels. Now, having dealt with that, what was the next thing that happened? There was a contest. Elijah called fire and then all the prophets were killed. After they were killed, what was now the next thing? What was the next thing? Let's see from verse 39 now, verse 40. I said that I will jump a lot of verses because of time so that we can quickly get to prayer. "Then Elijah commanded: 'Seize the prophets of Baal. Don't let anyone escape!'" And I'm begging you, in your life, don't let anyone escape. Don't confess lying while you still left fornication. Don't confess—don't let anyone escape. Deal with all of them. Deal with anything you know is not righteous. Don't let anyone get away. And after they have dealt with them, they were thrown where? They were slaughtered. What now happened? Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat, drink, there is the sound of a heavy rain." Where is the sound coming from? Where is the sound coming from? I want you—how do we know that rain want to fall? How do we know if rain want to fall, how would we know? [Congregation] The cloud will change. There will be wind. [Speaker 1] But I want you to relate something to something. Elijah said, "There is the sound of a heavy rain." Look at what happened. Let's just read down. "So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down his head, and put his face between his knees. 'Go, look at the sea,' he told his servant. And he went up and looked. 'There is nothing there,' he said. Seven times Elijah said, 'Go back.' At the seventh time, the servant reported: 'A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea.'" So listen, at the time when Elijah said there is a sound of rain, was there clouds? Was there wind? There was nothing. So where was Elijah hearing sound? Are you following me? You know there was no cloud, there was no wind, there was nothing. He just said, "Ahab, look, I am hearing sound of a heavy rain." Where was he hearing it? From God. Yes. You see, I want to tell you something. I want to tell you something. A very, very simple truth, but a very, very consistent truth. You see, when our lives are right, you begin to hear what others don't hear. You begin to see what others don't see. You begin to sense what others don't sense. You begin to perceive what others cannot perceive. When your life is right, there is something about God. He said, "Where is the man that fears the Lord? That man, he will instruct on the path that he should take." I was about taking a job with the oil company when I finished school. My brother was about processing that. I left school as the best student from my department. So they were to process a job for me with Chevron. It was in the midst of that processing that God said, "Son, I have not called you to be an oil worker. I have called you to be a teacher. So don't take up the job." I told my brother that I'm not interested in the oil job. He said, "Are you mad?" I said, "No, I'm not mad. I'm not mad." I said, "I want to be a teacher." He said, "*Iya lo ma je pa*." You see, when you have a consistent inner work with God, you begin to hear what men don't hear. You begin to see what men don't see. You begin to perceive what they don't perceive. And that is where real increase, that's where they are. That's where you begin to take some decisions in your personal life. You begin to do some things personally. Others will wonder why you are doing those things. "Ah, this one's faithfulness self is too much." You remember Joseph? There were a lot of servants in that house. But Joseph had a work with God. And he was walking faithfully with his God, faithfully with his master. What happened to Joseph? Gradually, promotion, promotion, promotion. Later, Potiphar said, "Come. I realize that this life because of you God is blessing me." If Joseph said "I want to resign," would Potiphar allow Joseph to go? When I told my last employer that I was leaving, he said, "Ah, no. You can't go. Don't go now." I said, "No," I said "the Lord said my time is over in secondary school." "Where am I going?" I said "I'm going back home." "What happened?" I said "the Lord just told me that my time is off in secondary school, that he is changing my mission field to the university." So I would leave you by the end—I gave him three months notice that I will leave by the end of the term. A week to leave, he had not advertised. I called him, I said "Sir, you have not advertised so I can put the person through before I leave." He said, "I was thinking maybe you will change your mind after three months." I said, "No, I'm not changing my mind. I'll be leaving by the end of the term." So at the end of the term, I left the institution. When I left, the following month, January, I received a call to come for an interview in Akungba. And by March, I was a lecturer. You see, I'm making you understand when I went back to him to show him the employment letter, he was shocked and he said something. He said, "I know you will leave teaching, but you cannot leave the discipleship in this school." I said, "There is no problem." I said "since I'm still in those states, I will continue with the discipleship." So I still go back there. I'm not in the school, but I'm still the chaplain. I'm not in the school, but till today, I'm still the chaplain of the school. I still go back there, go back there, go back there to do things. There were several other teachers. There were several people—in fact, at a point, one of them called me, said "Am I Deep Life?" I said I'm not Deep Life. He said, "How come the man make you to be chaplain over all the Deep Lifers?" I said I'm Anglican. Said, "Are there Christians in Anglican?" I'm talking of when your inner life is correct, you begin to hear what others don't hear. You begin to see what they don't see. You begin to take steps in what they don't take steps into. They will wonder, "What is your own? Your own is too much! What... this and that." But you just continue because there is a—something inside. There is something giving you direction. There is something giving you instruction. And you move on. Eventually what happened? All Potiphar's wealth was in the hand of Joseph. Even in that, he was still faithful. The man no more count again. And I said some Nigerians, if you come to an institution where nobody take record of what comes in and what goes out, are you sure you will still be faithful? Nobody take record. They just leave you, be the accountant. We don't want to know how much come. Just make sure staff salaries are paid. We trust you. Will we still be faithful? Joseph was still faithful such that when the wife came to do something and said "You see, you see, you see," he had to confront the wife. "Madam, I hope your head is correct? Do you know what you are saying? Everything in all of this mansion has been placed under me. But it is only you, and because you are his wife. Ah, Madam, you want me to do this thing and sin against God?" Was Potiphar there? Could Joseph not have settled for that? If Joseph settled for that, what happens? The Madam will begin to speak to the Oga, "*Ah, Oga, se ti e ri Joseph yẹ nẹ, se ko ye ka ran lẹti ẹ fun, se ko ye ka ṣe kini kan.*" They begin to say those things. Joseph will prosper in a way. But let me tell you, the joy of hypocrisy is for a while. The joy of unrighteousness is for a while. But you know, let us look at it in this other way. If Joseph even—let's look at it that he agreed with the Madam and then he goes into that. Joseph would have been very, very prosperous in addition to whatever he had. Is that not? But he would have died a prosperous slave. Do you agree with me? Whereas what God want for him is that Potiphar should still be his servant. Because Potiphar is a principal officer of Pharaoh. When Joseph became second in command, Potiphar became the principal officer of Joseph. I'm talking about Joseph had something speaking within him. Elijah was hearing a voice. There's a sound, there's rain, there's—and he was walking with that direction. But this thing happened to men who have correct inner life. What I'm saying that as a teacher, as organization, as employees, as employers, let us have a correct inner life. You can just go on—the employee will just come, or the employer, the employer will just say, "Okay, this year, we are going to change our policy. We'll do one, two, three, four, five. God is telling me something." And you will be surprised. Before you know, they'll be talking about higher heights all over Nigeria. Because God gave a direction. There is a way God can give a man—they say "No, others are doing it like this, don't do it like that. Go like this. Go like this." By the time you go like that, "Ah! In fact, what magic are they using in that school? What did they do?" It's not about magic. There is a God. It's the same thing with the employee. You just do certain things, do certain things. Do you know I have students somewhere, I will just be in class, I will be doing some things with them, and the Lord will just say, "Okay, this child, do like this, do like this, do like this, do like this." I have people that have just from nothing. And at some point in life, they met me. Later, I was at the filling station one day, I wanted to buy fuel. A lady just came out of a car, a cool car, and knelt down, both legs—you know, both knees on the floor, in a public place. She greeted me. "Sorry, I can't recollect." "Please, you don't recollect me very well again?" She said "You taught me CRK." I said, "Oh, you were my CRK student?" She said, "Yes." She said "I'm now a barrister. That is my husband." I'm talking of you will meet with life and you will do certain things with those life because God gave you direction. Today I was telling somebody as a teacher, there is no continent in the world, if I want to go to, I will not get somewhere to sleep. People have—people have met me. They have spread globally. Am I not prosperous? I'm still a teacher, but am I not prosperous? You see, I'm talking of faithfulness. I met people at different spots, some in private school, some in—like that, like that, like that, that's how I met them. But I was busy investing my life into them. I was not concerned with—I was just investing my life. I have an occasion where some people will just be from nowhere. They will just say—I have a time where somebody sent 500,000 into my account. Who can pay me that? You see, I'm making you understand faithfulness. Faithfulness on both sides. When you believe in people and invest in people and you are doing it faithfully. You begin to hear—I'm talking about inner life that is correct. I pray that you will see the invisible. You will hear the inaudible. You will comprehend the incomprehensible. In the name of Jesus. Elijah heard that sound. And finally what did he do? He climbed Mount Carmel. And what was he doing there? He was praying. "God, you have told me something and the rain must fall. You have told me something. I can hear the sound. Lord, bring the rain. Lord, bring the rain. Lord, bring the rain." He persisted in the place of prayer. And what happened? Did rain fall? Rain fell. What I'm saying is this: it is men that have strong inner life that actually have a prevailing prayer life. What did I say? It is men that have a strong inner life that have what? A prevailing prayer life. Because there will be a meeting point between two things. He said, "If you abide in me and my word abide in you, you will do what? You will ask what you will." When Elijah was asking for rain, who gave the word? Who gave the word? God. God gave the word. So what was his prayer? His prayer was what? The word of God. There was a meeting point and there was prosperity. So this as we go this morning to pray, I'll give two examples from the Scripture and then we'll build that foundational prayer. Two biblical examples from the Scripture. The first one I will talk about is what the Bible says in Micah chapter six. Maybe we should read it. Let's read it. Let's read it. It would be good we read it. Micah 6. Old Testament. Micah. Micah chapter six. Are you there? Micah chapter six, I read from verse six. "With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow down and exalt God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with a thousand of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sins of my soul?" Verse eight, what did he say? "He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require from you? Is to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." That is a particular word that goes to the employers. What does God require from those who are employers? It's what happening in Nigeria, our Nigerian government. When anybody is in power, when anybody holds power, what God expect from the person is what? What does he expect? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. So that applies here in two ways: on the part of the management to the workers, to the staff. What will God expect as we go through the session? That they act justly, that they love mercy, and they walk humbly before the Lord. Classroom teacher towards your children. You don't need the employers. What are you supposed to do to all the children? To love justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before the Lord. That's what God expect. It applies everybody that happens to be a Christian in whatever the person is doing. God requires that a man should act justly, that a man should love mercy, and that a man should walk humbly with his God. And then on the part of the employees, let's look—I think I have to take the Scripture. Luke. Luke. That should be 16. Luke 16. Are you there? Luke chapter 16. I read verse 10 through 12. It says, "Whosoever is not faithful with very little cannot be what? Cannot be faithful with what? Much." Verse 11, "So, if you cannot be trusted in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with what? True riches." Verse 12, "If you have not been trustworthy with what? Another man's property." I like it in the NIV. It says, "If you have not been trustworthy in someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?" So I want to ask us as employees. I want to show you why somebody said something someday and I said anyway, I'm not a prophet of doom, but I have this to say to Nigerian civil servants. I'm a civil servant myself. Look, if you are not faithful wherever you are, you will not find policies and programs that will favor you. You see, if you are not faithful in someone else's property, who will give you your own? People think when they are not faithful to government, they are doing the government. Who are they working against? They're working against themselves. Somebody said government work don't pay. It makes people die. I said anyway, I've not found my story that way. Because there are different other things God has done and is still doing. Because my faithfulness is not to government, my faithfulness is to who? Is to God. Let me tell you the truth: the root to your own is to be faithful in what belongs to other men. If you are not true in what belongs to other men, you can never get your own. You must remember that no man can receive anything unless it is given to him from above. It is God that gives. And God who gives, what did he say? "If you are not faithful in what belongs to another man, who will give you your own?" And that is why so many people today, they don't find their lives changing. They will spend all their years till they will die serving men. But because they are not faithful, they will not get their own. They will serve and serve and serve till they die. Even after then, some of them will retire from government something, their life will go into shipwreck. Because they can still not hold—lay hand on their own. So it's not only about being in private school, it can be anywhere. It can be in anything. It can be diversely. If you are not true in what belongs to other men, you cannot get your own. See, this matter I have made with you is in every sphere of life. What did I say? Every sphere of life. Martially, career, spiritual, financial, it's in every sphere. The reason why some ladies will never enter into the house of a husband that will promote their lives when they finally marry is because they have been unfaithful with several boys before they get to the junction of marriage. The reason why some boys will never find their wives is because when God brought other girls around their lives, they have been immoral. They have not been true. God will never give them their own wife. They will marry oh, but they won't get their wife. You see, it's in every sphere of life. Go and check it. Before God will give a man his own, he did it with Joseph. Is that not true? He did it with Mordecai. Is that not true? When—why couldn't the king sleep? There was a plan to kill Mordecai. Was that not? The king could not sleep. What did God make the king to do? He said "Go and bring what?" Records. When they brought the record, they began to read. What was found in the record? That there was a time when Mordecai was faithful to the king. The king now said, "Ah, has he been rewarded?" They said, "No." He said "Okay, what do I do?" Haman was coming to discuss how they are going to hang Mordecai. The king was thinking of how to reward Mordecai. When they met at that point, before Haman could talk, the king had spoken. But listen to me, why could God save Mordecai without record of his faithfulness? If God wants to reward you and they say, "Let us go and bring the record," will there be anything that you have done faithfully to men that God wants to reward you for? Please, go and think. It's a principle I'm teaching you. I have taught people several times, everywhere I've gone. That is the principle of increase. Go and check how did Adam, how did he get his wife? God said "I will make a wife for him." How—what was the first thing God did? God brought animals. God want to make a wife for him oh, God first brought animals. And Adam was naming them, naming them. After he finished naming them, God now said, "Okay, go and sleep." God now brought Eve. Why didn't God first bring Eve? How did God bless Abraham? He first tested him. "Go and kill Isaac." When he was about killing Isaac, "Don't kill him. Now I know that you fear me. In blessing, I will bless you." Until you are tested, you can't be trusted. God will test you with what belongs to other men before he gives you your own. That's my charge as you go through this session. On the part of the employer and management, let us be sure we are doing justly. We are loving mercy. We are walking humbly before God, knowing that whatever we have, it is because God showed mercy. On the part of the employees, let this rule your heart: the true way to mine... I'm not doing any man service when I'm faithful. I'm doing myself service. That is a principle of life. I'm doing myself service. And it has ruled my life everywhere I have gone to. And I've seen myself growing from teaching in KG. I've risen and risen and risen, I don't know where God is taking me to, but I've learned this principle. Where I am now is purely faithfulness, investing into life. Investing, doing the same thing. Investing into life, just investing. Doing my work as if I'm paid regularly, even though the last one I collected was June salary. For the faithfulness, the work and you will see blessings come from nowhere and your life is as if the salary is being paid regularly. God will help us as a nation. There's a meeting point between what? Our action and our what? Our prayer. Let us pray. There's a meeting point between our actions and our prayers. I want us to first worship God. Let's worship God. Let's worship the Lord. Just like the administrator said, he said it is by his mercy that we have gathered again. That we are looking at ourselves, we are complete. We are alive. We are fine. We are good. We are here. Oh, let's give thanks to God. Let's bless the Lord that "God, you have done us good again. We bless your name." It is your goodness. It is your mercy. Thank you for your mercies. I want to pray that God Almighty, we beg you again, it has been you, we are committing this session again into your hand. Lord, we are committing it into your hand. Lord, go before us into the session. The first term, the second term, the third term. Lord, go before us. Lord, go before us. Be our light. Be our salvation. Our eyes on you. Go before us into the session. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. We are still going to pray that Lord God Almighty, we commit all the pupils that will be resuming, all the children, the old ones that are returning, the new ones that will be coming. Lord, we commit all of them into your hand. All of them they are in your hand. The ones you will be giving us, we receive from you. Our old ones that will be returning, all into your hand, Lord, we pray. Lord our God, go before their parents, go before the children, go before us all into the session. Lord, our eyes on you. Let your mercy attend to us. It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, it is of the Lord that showeth mercy. Lord, go before us into the session. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. We are moving on. Elijah said "I can hear abundance of rain." And first and foremost we need to pray for the owners of the school. He said first of all, prayer to be prayed for leaders. We want to pray for them. There is a path you should go. There is something you can do. There is a policy you can bring about. There is a decision you can take, and suddenly you will see the abundance of God. We first want to pray for them that God Almighty, Lord, that specific sound that they need for this session, that sound they need to hear, that sound of instruction, "My son, do it like this. My daughter, no, don't do it like this, do it like this. Make it this way." We want to first pray for them that God grant unto them that the sound of your instruction will be clear in their heart. Policies, decision, God can surprise a man. God can surprise you with policies, with decisions, with ideas that you will just put in place. People will think maybe it is magic, and it is not magic but it is God. Say God, that thing they need to hear, that sound of direction, that thing that will bring abundance, that thing they needed to do, Lord, we pray. Grant unto them. Let the sound be clear. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. We want to pray for the employees, you want to pray to the Lord for yourself. I'm telling you you can also hear sound. I'm talking about things that have happened with my own life. Things that have lifted me in so many situations. Things that have made the Lord to set me apart among my fellows in many things. I told you how I rose. It was from nothing. I want you to pray: Lord God Almighty, as an employee in this place, what is the sound I need? What are the ideas I need to go about my work? What is that sound that will bring abundance, that will make your blessing to come upon my work? That will make you to command your blessing upon what I am doing. That will make your blessing to be—that people will say "Ah, this person is different. Ah, Mrs. this, how are you doing it? Go and learn from sister this." Lord, help me to see. Teach me in the path that I should go. Lead me in that path that I should go. There is a path for glory. There is a path of honor. Lord, teach me in that path. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. [Speaker 2] Eternal Father, King of glory, we are grateful. We are sincerely grateful. When you want to help people, you will gather them to hear you. Lord God Almighty, we have seen that Lord, you want to help. And so, Lord, we are very grateful. Thank you for instructing us with clear terms. In summary today, you have told us that if you want to increase, if you want to be promoted, we need to deal with unrighteousness and we need to be faithful. That's what you have spoken in this short while. Lord, we are asking: let our heart hold this word tenaciously all through this year, in the name of Jesus. [Congregation: Amen.] Lord, we are praying that we will not lose any of this word in the day-to-day running of this school, in the name of Jesus. [Congregation: Amen.] Lord, we are praying and asking in your mercy, oh God, let this word be our guiding principle, in the name of Jesus Christ. [Congregation: Amen.] For the employers, for the staff, help us to run with this word and to see results in them, in the name of Jesus. [Congregation: Amen.] [Speaker 3] Eternal Father, we commit all the pupils that will be resuming, all the children, the old ones that are returning, the new ones that will be coming. Lord, we commit all of them into your hand. All of them are in your hand. The ones you will be giving us, we receive from you. Our old ones that will be returning, all into your hand, Lord, we pray. Lord our God, go before their parents, go before the children, go before us all into the session. Lord, our eyes on you. Let your mercy attend to us. It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, it is of the Lord that showeth mercy. Lord, go before us into the session. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. [Congregation: Amen.] [Speaker 1] Elijah said, "I can hear abundance of rain." I pray first for the leadership, for the owners, that they would consistently in this place and in all your endeavors, experience the fatness of the heavens. [Congregation: Amen.] The earth under you will not be hard. [Congregation: Amen.] The dew of the morning, that dew of the morning... we have seen it. I've always known the family. We have seen it. It has always been there. I pray this dew of the morning will consistently remain yours. [Congregation: Amen.] In the name of Jesus. [Congregation: Amen.] And in this place, I pray you will experience fatness. [Congregation: Amen.] You will experience expansion. [Congregation: Amen.] You will experience increase. [Congregation: Amen.] The Lord who has kept you in righteousness, who have been preserving you and having a walk with him, he will continue to uphold you. [Congregation: Amen.] Such that in the process of time, when the Lord look and look and look and check again into your record, the Lord will see further reason why you must keep going forward. [Congregation: Amen.] And you will keep going. [Congregation: Amen.] You will increase yet further. [Congregation: Amen.] And you will become exceedingly great. [Congregation: Amen.] And I pray this day in your greatness, there will be no killing. [Congregation: Amen.] There will be no stealing. [Congregation: Amen.] There will be no destruction. [Congregation: Amen.] In the name of Jesus. I pray for all the workers, at all levels, the management workers, everybody put together, all the employees. I ask concerning you: may the hand of the Lord be upon you for good. [Congregation: Amen.] The Bible says that the hand of the Lord was upon Joseph. How I pray for you: the hand of the Lord will consistently be upon you. [Congregation: Amen.] Those things that have been a struggle, they will become easy. [Congregation: Amen.] Every areas of your struggle—struggling, struggling, and struggling—I bless you this day with the blessing of the Lord. May your struggles become easy in the name of Jesus. [Congregation: Amen.] There is what we call the spirit of excellency. But the truth that most people don't know is that this spirit work with the spirit of faithfulness. I pray for you. In this place and beyond this place, the Lord will grant unto you the spirit of faithfulness and the spirit of excellence. [Congregation: Amen.] In the name of Jesus. [Congregation: Amen.] The hand of the Lord will be upon you for good, to bless you, to enlarge you, to prosper you. In the name of Jesus. I say concerning you: your joy shall be full. [Congregation: Amen.] Your cup of blessings will overflow. [Congregation: Amen.] Your expectations, they will not fail. [Congregation: Amen.] Your hopes, they will not perish. [Congregation: Amen.] Together as a people, Lord, we pray today. Lord, the Bible says sound of jubilation will not cease from the midst of the righteous. In all our undertakings, Lord, we commit ourselves into your hand as your people, both the speakers and the hearers. In all our dwellings, in all our undertakings, shout of jubilation, shout of victory will not cease from our midst in the name of Jesus. [Congregation: Amen.] And the people say Amen. [Congregation: Amen.] We are still going to pray. Ahab started to flee. Elijah said I can hear abundance of rain. And first and foremost we need to pray for leadership, the Lord will be a strength unto his people and he will bless his people with peace. I want us to pray. Lord, as far as Higher Heights is concerned, everything that has to do with Higher Heights International School, Lord, we are begging you. Lord, be a strength unto us and Lord, give us rest. You begin to run here and there, "Ah, help us oh, it's not good." No, God. Lord, we are begging you as we go through this session, Lord, give us rest. Lord, give us rest. Lord, give us rest. And in starting... God can give us rest. He said the Lord will be a strength unto his people and he will bless his people with peace. Lord, give us rest. Lord, give us rest. Lord, give us rest. Rest from trouble. Rest from evil. There will be no strange happen. There will be no strange story. Let us agree with God that Lord, there will be no strange story. There will be no strange story. The Lord will give us rest. The Lord will give us rest. The Lord will give us rest in the name of Jesus. [Congregation: Amen.] The secret of rest is prosperity. Once there is rest, what follows again will be prosperity. We want to pray. We want to ask the Lord. It is the Lord that bless. When he gives us rest, prosperity... Lord, as we go through this session, let your blessing in three levels—let it be upon the school, let it be upon the employers, let it be upon the employees, let it be upon the pupils, let it be upon their parents. Lord, let us experience your blessing. Your blessing... let God, let us experience your blessing. Your blessing upon the school, upon the employer, upon the employee, upon the pupils, upon the parents. Lord, let there be testimony by the time we reach the end of the year. Individually and as a community, in the name of Jesus Christ. [Congregation: Amen.] And the people say Amen. [Congregation: Amen.] We want to take more general and specific prayer. There is a way people can be around and still the Lord... we pray oh God, that none of us will be lost. In the name of Jesus. [Congregation: Amen.] Lord, we stand to decree today among these teachers that we are standing, that none of us will be instrument in the hand of the devil to frustrate the hand of God in this school, in the name of Jesus Christ. [Congregation: Amen.] Thank you, Eternal Father. Thank you for the ones who have gathered us here together. Lord, we pray. Keep them, please keep them from embarrassment. Keep them in righteousness, in school and in their families, in the name of Jesus. [Congregation: Amen.] Thank you, everlasting Father. We are grateful that you hear us always. And we know that you have answered us. For we pray with thanksgiving in Jesus' name. [Congregation: Amen.] Thank you, Father. Thank you, Jehovah. Thank you, mighty God. Blessed be your name. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. [Congregation: Amen.]