Mazi Emmanuel Okoro

13/02/2024

Prayer for the Morning

Dear Lord, You have brought me to the beginning of a new day. As the world is renewed fresh and clean, so I ask You to renew my heart with Your strength and purpose. Forgive me the errors of yesterday and bless me to walk closer in Your way today. This is the day I begin my life anew; shine through me so that every person I meet may feel Your presence in me. Take my hand, precious Lord for I cannot make it by myself. Amen.

29/01/2024

Corinthian Controversies – Common Spirit

There are only a handful of things that are common to every person. We all eat and drink in some way. But we also differ on what, how, when, and with whom we eat. You may eat only vegetables while I eat a hamburger. Another thing that is common to every living person is breathing. Unlike eating, there is little difference in how we breathe. It is so common that we rarely even think about it other than perhaps noticing if someone is winded or panting.

There is a deep Biblical connection between breath and God’s Spirit that starts back at creation. “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” (Genesis 2:7, NLT) After Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared to the disciples. John records, “Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:21–22, NLT) Later in Acts, the Holy Spirit would arrive with the sound of a mighty rushing wind.

Paul also points to the commonality of the Spirit as an answer for the division of the Corinthian church. He begins by pointing out how the Spirit reveals God. “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.” (1 Corinthians 2:9–10, NLT) None of us has come to faith in Christ without the Spirit of God speaking truth and life to our spirits.

Paul explains, “And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.” (1 Corinthians 2:12–13, NLT) The breath of our faith is the work of the Holy Spirit in us.

The Bible does not make any sense without the illumination of the Spirit. Paul said, “But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.” (1 Corinthians 2:14, NLT) The Holy Spirit binds believers together in faith regardless of our differences and divisions. The Holy Spirit is as common to Christ’s followers as breathing.

Now, we need to address the obvious. Why is the church so divided if the Holy Spirit is common to all believers? There are several factors at work. The sin of pride plays a role. The weeds growing among the wheat have an impact. Traditionalism and tribalism create walls of separation. You see, even though we may have the Holy Spirit, we do not follow or listen to the Holy Spirit perfectly. Most of our divisions were a move of the Spirit for a particular season and place that became frozen in time as the “right way to do things.”

Hear me in this. I’m not saying we should blow up the church and start again with another reformation. No, we need to honor one another’s practices (or lack thereof) as we all seek the voice of the Holy Spirit for the here and now. Instead of focusing on our differences, perhaps we should ask, What has God been speaking to you? How is the Holy Spirit moving you to walk your faith? In some cases, the answer will be common; in others, it will be complementary. But, if we humbly listen to the Spirit, we will find a God-empowered unity that cannot be shaken

28/01/2024

FLOWER IN THE DESSERT

One day a tender blade pushed up through the desert crust. The wind threw pebbles and dust at it to cover it again. The sun tried to bake it out of existence. The blade persisted and became two blades, then three leaves and a stem. At night, while the moon was high and the air cold, tiny droplets of water would gather on the leaves. In the twilight of morning, the droplets of water would run down the stem and into the ground and refresh the roots. Eventually, a bud formed which, after a few more days, unveiled a golden flower with radiating petals. The blossom seemed to mirror the very sun that sought to scorch it.

Invisibly, the roots of the golden flower grew deeper; gathering all of the moisture it could from the surrounding soil. Other creatures began to take notice. A caterpillar wove a chrysalis on the underside of one of the leaves. A bee, blown off course by a thunderstorm, found the flower and exchanged pollen for nectar. The sun and the wind continued their assault, but the night brought coolness and water. One night, when the moon was full, a coyote wandered by and sniffed at the flower. The scent was sweet and foreign to her nose. Hunger conquered curiosity so the coyote went on her way in search of supper.

The next morning a man walked by. His sights were set on capturing a high desert sunrise. Instead, he turned his camera on the flower. He wondered as he captured the flower’s precarious existence how it came to grow there and what kept it going. He was tempted to move it to a more appropriate climate but feared that it may not survive the trip. How like man, the photographer pondered, each life a miracle in the desert of the world. Alone yet not alone, seemingly accidental yet with purpose. Looking up, the man saw that he blew his chance for a sunrise picture. He wasn’t sorry about missing the opportunity or mad at the flower for distracting him. Instead, he shared some of his water with the flower, packed up his gear, and moved on.

The days passed without much change until the morning the chrysalis began to open. With shaking and trembling the butterfly pulled itself from its chamber and fell to the desert floor. After righting itself it slowly waved its bright blue wings. Once dry it fluttered up to the flower’s golden blossom, gave a quick flap and flew off. The timing of the butterfly’s escape and the final day of the flower were coincidentally the same. It was almost as if guarding the chrysalis was its purpose, and now that was finished. The flower lost pedals and dropped leaves until, falling to the desert floor, it dried up and succumbed to the dust.

While the days of the misplaced golden flower was over, its life and its legacy continued. The next year the photographer returned and found a small patch of golden flowers. Year after year he would visit and marvel as the flowers covered more and more of the desert floor. How like God he thought, to use one simple bit of creation to change desolation into a place of thriving, beautiful, life. To bring hope to a dry and hopeless desert

15/01/2024

07/01/2024

(GENESIS 13:14-15)
14 ¶ The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, "Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward;
15 for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants for ever.

* THE LORD GOD DID NOT MAKE THIS PROFOUND COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM UNTIL LOT HAD LEFT HIM.
* ABRAHAM DID NOT LIFT UP HIS EYES TO SEE HIS LAND OF POSSESSION UNTIL LOT HAS DEPARTED FROM HIM.
* YOU WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO ENTER INTO YOUR COVENANT OF MASSIVE POSSESSIONS UNTIL CERTAIN PEOPLE HAVE PARTED FROM YOU.

In 2024, some Unprofitable Friends must go.
In 2024, Some Unprofitable Jobs and Businesses must Leave,
In 2024, Some Characters and habits that would destroy Peace and joy in home and family must GO from one's Life.
In 2024, there may be need to relocatie from Unprofitable and Unfruitful Places.
I rebuke all Unprofitable and Unfruitful Relationships in Jesus Name!
In Jesus Name, I dissociate Myself from all stupid Characters and disgraceful Habits that would tarnish the glory of God in my Life.
In Jesus Name, I demobilize all family and friends that would act as devil's agents to stagnate my visions and ministry in 2024
I lift up my eyes unto the Lord, and enter my land of Possessions In the name of the Father,
In the Name of the Son,
In the name of the Holy Spirit.

07/01/2024

Happy Sunday friends

17/11/2023

I have reached 200 followers! Thank you for your continued support. I could not have done it without each of you. 🙏🤗🎉

25/12/2022

Mount Zion Film Academy is here again!

12/07/2022

Lesson to learn from Lebanon

11/07/2022

VANITY OF LIFE.....
🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃

🌿One Sunday morning, a wealthy man sat in his balcony enjoying the sunshine and his coffee when a little ant caught his eye; going from one side to the other side of the balcony, carrying a big leaf several times more than its size.

🌿The man watched it for more than an hour. He saw that the ant faced many impediments during its journey, paused, took a diversion and then continued towards its destination.

🌿At one point the tiny creature came across a crack in the floor. It paused for a little while, analyzed and then laid the huge leaf over the crack, walked over the leaf, picked the leaf on the other side then continued its journey.

🌿The man was captivated by the cleverness of the ant, one of God’s tiniest creatures.

🌿The incident left the man in awe and forced him to contemplate over the miracle of Creation. It showed the greatness of the Creator.
🌿Before his very eyes was this tiny creature of God, lacking in size yet equipped with a brain to analyze, contemplate, reason, explore, discover and overcome.

🌿Along with all these capabilities, the man also noticed that this tiny creature shared some human shortcomings.

🌿The man saw about an hour later that the creature had reached its destination – a tiny hole in the floor which was entrance to its underground dwelling.

🌿At this point the ant’s shortcoming that it shared with man was revealed.

🌿How could the ant carry the large leaf it carefully managed to its destination into the tiny hole? It simply couldn’t!

🌿So the tiny creature, after all the painstaking and hard work and exercising great skills, overcoming all the difficulties along the way, just left behind the large leaf and went home empty-handed.

🌿The ant had not thought about the end before it began its challenging journey and in the end the large leaf was nothing more than a burden to it.

🌿The creature had no option, but to leave it behind, to reach its destination.

🌿The man learned a great lesson that day. Isn’t that the truth about our lives?

🌿We worry about our family,
🌿We worry about our job,
🌿We worry about how to earn more money,
🌿We worry about where we should live – 5 bedroom or 6 bedroom house.
🌿What kind of vehicle to buy – a Mercedes or Honda or BMW or a Porsche?
🌿What kind of dress to wear?
🌿All sorts of things, only to abandon all these things when we reach the entrance to our destination – {THE GRAVE} when we realize we cannot enter our destination with all these things.

🌿We don’t realize in our life’s journey that these are just burdens that we are carrying with utmost care and fear of losing them, only to find that at the end, they are useless and we can’t take them with us.

🌿The ONLY TREASURE that lasts FOREVER is; OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR CREATOR - GOD.

🌿So ask yourself, "AM I USING MY WHOLE LIFE TO SERVE HIM?

🌿May God guide us all and remove from our hearts the excessive love we have for this world. Amen.

06/07/2022

For All Those Seeking admission into the Diploma In Performing Arts (Christian Drama) at Mount Zion Institute in Affiliation with Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo.

ADMISSION IS ON..

Follow the link below to apply.

https:bit.ly/mziacu2022diploma2

15/05/2022

THE MAGIC IS NOT IN THE FAUCET!

Matthew 17:14-21

14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

15Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the
water.

16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

17 Then Jesus answered and said, O
faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

18And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

19 Then came
the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your
unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove
hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

21 Howbeit this kind goeth not
out but by prayer and fasting.

INTRO:

Thomas Edward (T.E.) Lawrence was born on August 16, 1888 in Wales. Popularly known as Lawrence of Arabia,
Lawrence became famous for his exploits as British Military liaison to the Arab Revolt during the First World War.
The desert raids of British officer T.E. Lawrence and his Arab rebels tied down many Turkish troops who could have
been fighting the main British armies in the Middle East. Lawrence of Arabia's struggle against the Turks during
World War I was a classic of guerrilla warfare, and his personal account has become a classic of world literature. And,
of course, many of you have seen the movie about the life of Lawrence of Arabia.
Lawrence wrote about his Arabian adventures in The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
During the war, Lawrence formed close friendships with many of the Sheiks of Arabia. After the war, he brought some
of these Sheiks back to England to show his appreciation for their support against the Turkish domination.
They had a wonderful visit, appeared before the Joint House of Commons and Parliament, had an audience with the
Queen.
On the last night of their visit, Lawrence offered them anything they wanted to take back with them to their desert
homes.
They led him up to the hotel room, into the bathroom, and pointed to the faucets in the bathtub and said that they
wanted to take faucets with them that would provide them with running water in the deserts.
They didn’t realize that the faucets were superficial. Behind them was plumbing, a hot water heater, an energy
source that heated the water, a city main that supplied the water, and from the city main went a line to an
outside source of water!
· The magic is not in the faucet! It is what is behind the faucet that gives the water!
· The faucet can be 24 carat gold, but if its not attached to a water supply, its useless!
· The magic is not in the faucet, the power comes from what is behind the faucet! Things that are not visible to
the human eye, but are there nonetheless!

If the pump, or the plumbing, or the reservoir ever to out of service, the faucet is useless! It’s what’s behind
the faucet that gives it its power!

I.) THE FIRST THING I WANT TO SAY THIS MORNING IS THIS; THE FAUCET IS NECESSARY TO GET THE WATER TO WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE.

I don’t want to minimize the importance of a vessel! God needs faucets!
God has always worked through human vessels.
In fact, most of the time, God works through the most unlikely vessels!
God Can Use Anyone
Moses stuttered.
David's armour didn't fit.
John Mark was rejected by Paul.
Timothy had ulcers.
Amos' only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning.
Jacob was a liar.
David had an affair.
Solomon was too rich.
Abraham was too old.
David was too young.
Peter was afraid of death.
Lazarus was dead.
John was self-righteous.
Naomi was a widow.
Paul was a murderer.
So was Moses.
Jonah ran from God.
Miriam was a gossip.
Gideon and Thomas both doubted.
Jeremiah was a bullfrog;
Just kidding -- he was depressed and suicidal.
Elijah was burned out.
Martha was a worry-wart.
Mary may have been lazy.
Samson had long hair.
Noah got drunk, and that's not all.
Did I mention that Moses had a short fuse?

But God doesn't require a job interview.
He doesn't hire and fire like most bosses,
because He's more our Dad than our Boss.
He doesn't look at financial gain or loss.
He's not prejudiced or partial, not judging, grudging,
sassy, or brassy, not deaf to our cry, not blind to our
need.
A Christian minister once said, “I was never of any use until I found out that God did not intend me to be a great man.”
God needs us to be faucets! John 7:38
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

God can have all the plumbing in place, have the pump hooked up, ready to pour out blessings on His people, on the
world, but He needs us to be vessels! He needs a faucet!
In many cases, the only thing that stops a move of God is the lack of a vessel.
· When Elisha was performing the miracle for the prophet’s widow, and the oil was flowing freely, the Bible says: 2 Kings 4:6

6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto
her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
The only thing that stopped the flow of oil was the lack of a vessel!
· Now, don’t ask me to explain why God decided to use imperfect vessels to accomplish His work.
· It doesn’t make sense to me that this God who can do all things would choose to restrict Himself to moving
through imperfect, flawed, inconsistent humanity!
· I don’t know why the Creator chooses to move through His creation!
But God is always seeking for men and women through which to move!
1. At the day of Pentecost, God poured out His spirit upon all “FLESH”! Was filling vessels!
2. In Isaiah 43:18 He said, “I will work, and who will let it?”
God needs a vessel to through which to work!
3. Ezekiel said that God was seeking a MAN to stand in the gap and make up the hedge!
4. When the Lord struck Saul from his horse on the road to Damascus, He then told Saul, “Go see Ananias, he will
tell you what to do!” GOD USED A HUMAN VESSEL!
5. In the Book of Revelation, John says that God wept because He could find no MAN to open the book of
salvation, so God Himself took on the form of man to bring redemption!
Do you understand how important you are to the work of God! God will not move without a vessel!
God will not pour out His spirit without a faucet for it to flow through - you are that faucet!
God needs you and He needs me!

II.) NOW, THE SECOND THING I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS THIS: EVEN THOUGH GOD NEEDS US, WE CANNOT AFFORD TO TAKE THE GLORY FOR WHAT ONLY GOD CAN DO!

I am a faucet, but I must remember that there is no magic in the faucet!
Its what is behind the faucet that counts!
If the power supply ever gets shut off behind the wall, this faucet is useless!
I may still look good, may still say the same things, may still appear to be the same, but if my power supply is shut off, I am of no use to anyone!
Romans 7:18
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to
will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
I must understand that I am only the vessel, the conduit, the faucet!
2 Corinthians 4:7
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
The power is God’s, I am only the earthen vessel! I can’t sing well enough, I can’t preach well enough to
duplicate what God can only do!
Romans 12:3
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than
he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
· No matter how much God moves through us, remember it is God and not us!
· No matter how many prophecies we give, no matter how much anointed preaching and teaching comes
forth from us, we must never forget that it is what’s behind the faucet that makes all the difference!
· No matter how many good things happen through me, I am only the faucet, there is a power supply behind
me, and if that is ever cut off I am useless!

III.) IN OUR TEXT THIS MORNING, JESUS IS TEACHING HIS DISCIPLES THIS VERY IMPORTANT LESSON.

· They had most likely watched Him cast out devils many times before.
· They had heard Him teach about going into the Strongman’s house and taking his armor.
· They had probably watched as he sent the legion of devils into a herd of swine.
Numerous times the scripture speaks of Jesus casting out devils, and it is probable that the disciples were witnesses to
these events.
So, now they come across a situation that they feel very confident that they can handle!
· They have watched Jesus do this, they have observed His hand motions, listened to what He said, and how he
said it!
· They have the words, actions, motions, and everything else down pat, but there is one thing missing!
· They have no power! There is nothing behind the faucet, and they fail miserably at the task at hand.
And Jesus takes this opportunity to tell them that there is no magic in the faucet!
In other words, if there is no prayer and fasting, there will be no power!
There is no magic in the faucet, its what is behind the faucet that makes the difference!
I can:
· Say all the right words
· Do all the right hand motions
· Use the right tone of voice
But, if there is no prayer and fasting that has taken place behind the wall, there will be no power coming from
the faucet! This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting!

IV.) THE DANGER WE FACE IS WHEN WE TRY TO DUPLICATE THROUGH MERE HUMAN EFFORTS WHAT CAN ONLY BE PRODUCED BY GOD!

· Preachers get into trouble when they learn how to preach!
· Singers get into trouble when they learn how to sing!
· Teachers get into trouble when they learn how to teach!
We must never reach the point where we learn how to do what only God can do!
I am never going to become so smart that I don’t need God!
2312 Simpson’s Most Valuable Discovery In the year 1847, a doctor from Edinburgh, Sir James Simpson, discovered that chloroform could be used as an anaesthetic to render people insensible to the pain of surgery. From his early experiments, Dr. Simpson made it possible for people to go through the most dangerous operations without fear of pain and suffering. Some people even claim that his was one of the most significant discoveries of modern medicine.
Some years later, while lecturing at the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Simpson was asked by one of his students, “What do you consider to be the most valuable discovery of your lifetime?” To the surprise of his students, who
had expected him to refer to chloroform, Dr. Simpson replied, “My most valuable discovery was when I discovered myself a sinner and that Jesus Christ was my Saviour.”
The most valuable discovery that you and I can make this morning is this:
No matter how smart I am,
No matter how well I can preach,
No matter how well I can sing,
No matter how well I can organize
I am still just a sinner saved by grace!
There is no power in me, I am just the faucet, the conduit, the vessel through which His power moves!
There is no magic in the faucet – I NEED JESUS!
Who would like to come and check their water source this morning? Who would like to come and make sure
that the pipes are not clogged?

29/04/2022

NOW THE WORLD IS BLAMING US ALL.
Now the World is blaming Us All for the Mistake you made.
Now we are All being forced to take Responsibility for the Man you Willingly and Smilingly said YES, I WILL to.
Now it is our Fault that he is beating you.
Now it is our Fault that you have said YES, I DO, to a Mad man of Gadarene!
An Animal in human Skin, who became a Church member to marry a Daughter of God.
May be out of LOVE
May be out of Pity
May be you were flattered.
May be you were deceived by his handsomeness and display of smartness and riches.

NO ONE IS ABOVE MISTAKE,
WE ARE ALL HUMANS.
But God would not have handed you over to a Man who would turn you to a Punching Bag?
Sis, I know you probably prayed,
But, Did you pray very well?
I know you probably waited,
But did you wait very well?
I know you were probably convinced before you said: YES, I WILL,
But were you convinced by the Spirit of the Lord?
Did you hear from God very well?
You had a moment of Courtship,
What were you doing during the Courtship?
Just strolling and talking and buying Ice Cream and eating at Eateries?

Weren’t you watching every Steps and Actions and Attitudes of his?
When he was displaying that terrible anger when you were courting, you thought is was a Nollywood movies?
You thought it was not real,
Only bragging at you?
When he displays that attitude of strong stubbornness and arrogance and disrespect and showing you small small disgrace here and there during courtship,
You thought it was TellyNovela drama you were watching?

When the dynamites was releasing small smokes from the long wicks, you thought is was Christmas fireworks?
DIDN’T YOU SEE THE RED FLAGS?
DIDN’T YOU OBSERVE THE GLARING SIGNALS OF HIS EMBEDDED INSANITY?
You were in love, Abi?
The Love covered your eyes and blocked your ears?

NOW WE ARE ALL TO BLAME FOR THE SIN WE ALL COMMITTED TOGETHER.
We Are All To Blame for the Choice You Made When we were not There when You Made it.
IT IS WELL!