Yesterday, 30th May 2015, was Global Day of Evangelism.
We appreciate those who came. God will surely reward you, in Jesus name – Amen

The new class of Workers-in-Training will commence by 1^st week in the month of June. Kindly register with Bro. Demola or Dcn. Bodunde or Church Admin Office

Destiny Revolution, a 21-days life transforming programme, continues every day from 6pm-8pm and 3am-5am in RCCG Miracle Centre, Ketu. You can’t afford to miss this unique programme!!!

During the period of the Destiny Revolution programme, 2nd to 22nd May 2015, our usual weekly programmes and all House Fellowship programmes will not hold.
However, if you want your resident to be used for House Fellowship centre, kindly register with Church Admin or see Deacon Bodunde.

The most important and satisfying things in life usually aren’t the easiest ones. The good news: In today’s hyper-connected world, we have access to all the information we could want to help us achieve our future goals. We know what foods will make us healthier. We can also estimate for ourselves the benefits of starting retirement savings early – and the implications for the lifestyles of our future selves.
We almost always know what we should do thanks to endless knowledge at our fingertips. But actually doing it is an entirely different kind of challenge. Most of us can relate to that feeling of inertia at the start of a big project, or the struggle to consistently make good, long-term choices for our health, or saving for the future. This mental tug-of-war we experience has evolutionary roots. While knowing this might bring comfort, it doesn’t help solve the problem at hand: How can we flex our willpower to become better, faster, smarter, and stronger? The bad news: you can’t Google your way out of this one. Or can you? A fascinating body of research.
There are ways to turbo boost your willpower:

1.  Slow the heck down.‎

Most regrettable decisions (the splurge at the mall, the procrastination on the project, and the snacks in the break room) happen when one part of our brain effectively hijacks the other. We go into automatic pilot (and unfortunately the pilot in question has a penchant for shoes, Facebook and cookies!). Researchers suggest that we can override this system by charging up the other. That is, slow down and focus on the moment at hand. Think about your breathing. Bring yourself back to this moment in time, feel the compulsion but don’t act on it yet. Try telling yourself, “If this feeling is still just as uncomfortable in 10 minutes, I’ll act on it.” Take a little time to be mindful – then make your decision.

2. Dream of ‘done.’‎

Imagine yourself handing in the big project, soaking up the appreciation from your colleagues or boss. Or crossing the finish line for the half-marathon you’ve always wanted to run. The rush, the aliveness, the wind on your face, the medal …

That’s a lot more fun and motivating to think about than how much work it is to get out of bed for your long, Sunday morning run!

Re-orient your brain by summoning more motivating feelings than just “not running this morning is more enjoyable than running this morning.” If your goals are meaningful, this will help.

 3. Make your toughest choices first.

Scientists have found that willpower is like a full bathtub that’s drained throughout the day. So, why not start your toughest challenges when you have a full reserve? Get that project started or fit that workout in before you even check your email or have breakfast. Bonus: the high you’ll get from crossing off your hardest ‘to-do’ will help you sail through the rest of your day.

4. Progress = commitment, not a license to backslide.

A lot of times people will ‘cheat’ right after taking positive steps towards their goals. (A common version of this trap is, “I worked out three days in a row, so I deserve this cookie.”) Most of us can relate to this thinking – but it’s totally irrational! We’ll often trick ourselves into setbacks because we think we deserve them, even if we don’t really want them and deep down we know they’ll work against us in the long-run.

How can you counteract this effect? Research finds that if you use your positive streak to recommit (“If I worked out three days this week, I must be really committed to my health and fitness goal!”) rather than an excuse for wiggle room, we don’t take the same cheat options. Cool, right?

 5. Meditate.

Meditation is an expressway to better willpower. Bringing your attention to your breathing for 15 minutes, or even five, flexes your willpower muscles by applying discipline to your thinking. It does this by working two mental ‘muscle groups’: first, the set of muscles that notice when your attention is drifting, and second, the set of muscles that bring you back to your task at hand. Over time, even small amounts of meditation will help you build the discipline to easily do what was once hard – like pushing through a long stretch at work.

 6. Set mini-goals.

Which seems more doable: committing to three 20 minute runs this week or a half-marathon? Mini-goals are brilliant because they’re easier to achieve and boost your commitment to continuing. When we size them up, we see them as achievable rather than daunting. Each time you succeed at one, it boosts your sense of efficacy and personal integrity: not only are you capable of doing what you set out to do, but you followed through on it. Nice.

The beauty of mini-goals is that over time, mini-goals – and the momentum you’ve built by doing them – can quickly turn into super-goals. So that half marathon might be more likely to happen, and sooner and more easily than you think!

 7. Eat.

Low blood sugar decreases your ability to make tough decisions. If you’re running on empty physically, you’ll also be running on empty mentally. (Yes, this one’s somewhat ironic if your goal involves changing food patterns – but even so, letting your blood sugar drop too far will only sabotage you over time.)

 8. Sleep.

Research shows people who don’t get enough sleep have a tough time exercising their willpower. Sleep is critical for a healthy brain – along with just about everything else. So to optimize your willpower muscle, make sure you’re catching your zzz’s.

 9. Nix the self-sabotage.

Making yourself feel bad hurts, rather than helps, your willpower efforts. Researchers have found that compassion is a far better strategy than tough love – telling yourself “It’s OK, everyone has setbacks sometimes,” will help you bounce back more quickly than negative self-talk.

10. Take the first hard step.‎

As a new behavior becomes a habit, it is more natural. You have to use less and less willpower to ‘make it so.’ When you’re starting a new pattern that feels hard, remind yourself that the first steps are truly the hardest. It will probably never feel harder than it does in those first few choices. In the case of repeated behaviors, like exercise or saving money, it takes weeks for new habits to take hold. By that point, the habit will be so ingrained; you’d have to try hard not to do it.‎

Brother Sina Afolabi

Of course by now we are all becoming aware of DNA. It is the source code that determines who we are. When we look at DNA we can see what a person will look like, what diseases they may come down with, etc. This has been a tremendous breakthrough for scientists and will continue to be so for some time, I think. This got me to thinking about what makes up those who are top achievers. Is there a “DNA” to them? Obviously, all top achievers wouldn’t have the same literal DNA but what about a figurative DNA? Is there a common “gene” that they all have? Are there common “genes” perhaps? I think so! If we could get right down to it, I think these are the genes we would find in the DNA of top achievers:

 A heart to recognise and accord God His place

Top achievers are people who know there is limit to what they can do, where they can go, what they can achieve without God. But with God on their side and in their lives there is no limit to their achievement, greatness, success, exploits and height in life. They ‎recognise these and sign up into the limitless God’s power, presence, wisdom and grace.

A predisposition to setting high, lofty goals

Top achievers are people who won’t and can’t settle for the status quo. They see average as a place they want to keep in the rear-view mirror. Instead, they continually look for ways to stretch themselves, to get better, to do better, and to be better! They set their sights on goals that others have never even thought of. They want to shoot so high that even if they miss, they go higher than everyone else. This is what makes them top achievers.

An ability to focus intently upon reaching their desired destination

Many people can set high goals, but just as many people get sidetracked by one thing or another on their way to those goals. High, lofty goals usually take a while to get there so there will always be plenty of time to be tempted to stray away from the road that is taking you to those goals. Often, those things that sidetrack people are good things, but not the best things. Top achievers do not get sidetracked. They stay focused. They know where they are going. They have an ability to say “no” to the good things in order to get to the best things.

The willingness to personally sacrifice in order to get to their goal 

When the going gets tough, many people quit. When the going gets tough personally, most people quit. When the going gets tough for top achievers, they remind themselves of the high lofty goals they have set for themselves. They remind themselves of what an accomplishment it will be for them and that the reward is worth pushing through the momentary trials. They are willing to sacrifice personally in the short-term in order to get the reward and the prize long-term. Keeping their eyes on the big picture enables them to persevere through any personal pain they may experience.

A predisposition to tenacity

Tenacity is the ability to “keep on going.” Tough times? Keep on going! Financial troubles? Keep on going! People are suspect? Keep on going! You look like a dreamer? Keep on going! Tired? Keep on going! Want to quit and take it easy? Keep on going! Just remember this: Keep on going! The prize is ahead! Many people quit just before they were to get the reward, so keep on going!

The ability to see available resources and to use them accordingly

Those who are top achievers know that they cannot be lone-rangers on the way to the top. No one makes it by himself or herself. Top achievers recognize their weaknesses – the weaknesses that if they don’t cover will keep them from becoming a top achiever! They see their resources and they work to get them into a helping position so they can continue the route to becoming a top achiever. And they don’t use them, they utilize them. There is a big difference! People, finances, etc are all brought in to help by the top achiever.

A desire to help others achieve more for themselves as well.

The top achiever knows that they can make a difference for others by becoming a top achiever. They know that the wealth they make can feed the hungry. They know that the position of influence they achieve can open a door for someone who may not normally get a chance. True top achievers look at how they can bring many with them, not how they can leave many in the dust. People are helped by the top achiever, not trampled upon! I think if we could get to the DNA of top achievers, the things we talked about above would be at the core and fiber of their beings. What about you? Did you recognize yourself at all? I hope so! The good news about the DNA we are talking about today as opposed to real DNA is that you can go out and work on top achiever DNA whereas you are stuck with real DNA. So if you lack a little in the above-mentioned areas, take heart – you can get better and work on them so that you can become a top achiever!

Brother Sina Afolabi

You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created. Revelation 4:11.

One indisputable fact is that everyone on the surface of the earth is created for a purpose. And it is crystal clear that God created man to fellowship with Him.

And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and keep it. Gen. 2:15. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where are thou? – Gen 3:8-9.

Man fell out of the perfect arrangement of God and, since then, the fellowship and worship sought by God became a matter of condition and a principle through Jesus Christ. Law came to bring man back to no avail but grace did. ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’. –  Romans 3:23. Then the worship and service that God accept and seek becomes selective.

 “ For as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in His name’ . – John 1:12. To believe in God is to dedicate our lives to the cause of His kingdom in the world…the second commandment flows from the first. When a man turns to God desiring to serve him, God directs his attention to the world and its need.

‘But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some unto honour and some unto dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepare unto every good work’.  2 Timothy 2:20-21. It is therefore imperative to note those that God seek:

• Those that have located themselves:  Location is where you are before God at this moment. God knows everything about us: our thinking, steps, intention, and our reactions. He asked Adam where he was. God would want us to state expressly our location before Him before He can solve our spiritual problems. ’So when they continued asking him, he lifted Himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her’. John 8:7. Christ gave the accusers the opportunity to locate themselves before God to enable Him help them see their personal spiritual condition. They were convicted of their sins but they did not stay there to talk with Jesus about it. Why don’t you talk your own with Jesus today? The story of the sower  and seed (Mat. 13-9, 18-33) brings out the desire of Jesus to help us locate ourselves. It is possible one is on the wrong path and not realize it until one get to the wrong destination. Before Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they had wonderful fellowship with Him. There were no cover-ups, no pretenses and no secrets. But when they chose their own way, God had to ask ‘where are thou’.
• Those that are willing to obey the first commandment:  ‘For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offering’. Hosea 6:6. ‘Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment”. Mat. 22:37-38. I heard Lord saying in that book of Hosea that, I don’t want your sacrifice, I want your love, I don’t want your offering, I want you to know me.
• Those that will say – “Here I am”:  ‘Also I heard the voice of the Lord , saying: “whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”Isaiah 6:8. To say “Here I Am” is to yield to call for service. “ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”. Mat. 6:33. The beginning of any instrument God will use will start by a call and the response of willingness. To become great in God’s hand, it is not greatness you must first seek. It is service, and through the service you become great. It doesn’t matter even when the environment is hostile, conducive or not, co-operative or uncooperative, yours is to say “ Here I am”. One thing that is important is to check if you have said “ Here I am” to God. This is the next thing to do after you have located yourself – presenting yourself as an available material for the potter to work on you.
• Those that are willing to come out: God called Abraham out from his people with a promise of everlasting and generational blessings. “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”. Mat. 11:28. “Therefore “come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you” 2 Cor. 6:17. Getting out is one of the conditions God expect from worshippers He seek. – Get out of the old covenants; get out from your place of initials, where you have no knowledge of Christ;  get out from sin, atrocities; get out from worldliness, pleasures of this world; get out of the valley of troubles; get out from the hills of pride and self righteousness; get out from the mountain of self satisfaction. There is no one without a background or a place of beginning, but then if we must worship God, we must leave our past. Abraham was made to get out from Haran before God established His covenant with him.  Haran represents all your past.
• Those that desire a change of name: The Angel of the Lord asked Jacob, “What is your name”. Gen. 32:26-27, because the name Jacob means a deceiver and could not fit in to the new covenant of God. Also, Jesus had to rename Peter to enable him fit in for the new covenant because Peter means cowardice, fear, backslider and the new name, Cephas, means Stone . John 1:42. Each time a man desires to worship God, God will seek his identity. What make a man’s identity a greater priority to God than the man’s several urgent request? Is there any man on earth whose name is unknown to God? If the answer is “No”, then what was God looking for whenever He asked such question, “what is your name”. God was trying to remind Jacob of his life style from his birth. His life had never been straight. Of course, it doesn’t matter who you are before now, God can change that position if you will allow Him.
• Those that have conviction about God:  Conviction is spiritual instincts that drive us to action regardless of the circumstances. “The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him in those that hope in His mercy” – Psalms 147:11. “ ….and if I perish, I perish”- Esther 4:16. Conviction like the three Hebrew men – “But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up” – Daniel 3:18. Like conviction of Paul – “ For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” – Phil. 1:21.
• Those that God seek will also include those that will allow God to direct their ways; those that will put on the whole armour of God; those that will stand up like Nehemiah to build the Church and those that will make adequate use of the God given gifts.

 Remain blessed as you determine to be among the worshippers that God seek.

 Deacon Wole Bodunde

The Sunday School quarterly review comes up on Sunday February 22, 2015. All students are advised to study their manuals from lesson 14 to 25.

The Digging Deep and Faith clinic have taken a new shape. Members are encouraged to attend these weekly programmes from Tuesday, 17th February 2015, as it promises to be enriching and life changing.

The Graduation Certificates for RCCG House Fellowship Leadership Training of 2012 are ready. The Certificates, which are from RCCG National Headquarters, are to be issued at a cost of N1,500.00 per Certificate. Interested person(s) should see Deacon Mike Ben or Call 08023218328 for more details. The time frame for collection of certificates is two weeks, beginning from Sunday, 15th February 2015.

A new gift arrived the Church last Friday, 6th February 2015, through the Family of Brother Emmanuel Benjamin. Naming Ceremony will hold on Friday 13th February 2015 at 4:00pm