Pastor Joseph Ondu: Lit & Lifted - Inspiring Minds through Sermons, Books, and Stories

PRAYER DECLARATIONS TO FINISH THE YEAR STRONG AND START THE NEW YEAR 2026 STRONG Introduction God is a God of seasons, times, and divine transitions. He does not intend for His children to finish a season weary, defeated, or confused, but to finish strong, full of faith, wisdom, and purpose. How we end a year matters just as much as how we begin the next. Finishing well positions us to enter the new season with clarity, strength, and momentum. As the year draws to a close, God offers grace to recover what was delayed, strengthen what was weakened, and complete what was left unfinished. He also releases fresh vision, renewed strength, and divine direction for the year ahead. The transition into a new year is not merely a change of calendar but a spiritual crossing into new opportunities, new responsibilities, and new manifestations of God’s promises. These declarations are designed to empower you to finish this year with victory, peace, gratitude, and fulfillment, and to step into the y...

 STRENGTH TO FINISH STRONG AND START THE YEAR STRONG INTRODUCTION Finishing well is just as important as starting well. Many people begin seasons with passion but end them exhausted, distracted, or discouraged. Others rush into a new year without healing, clarity, or renewed strength. God’s desire is not that His people limp to the finish line or stumble into a new season unprepared. His will is that we finish strong and start strong. Strength is not merely physical energy. Spiritual strength is the capacity to remain aligned, faithful, and focused until the assignment is complete. The strength to finish strong and start strong comes from God, not from human effort. WHY FINISHING STRONG MATTERS TO GOD Scripture places great emphasis on completion. Ecclesiastes 7:8 says the end of a thing is better than its beginning. God is not only concerned with how we start; He is deeply invested in how we finish. Jesus declared on the cross, “It is finished.” He did not stop when it became pain...

 MAKING YOUR LIFE FERTILE FOR THE SEEDS OF MIRACLES INTRODUCTION God works by principles, and one of the most powerful principles in Scripture is the principle of the seed and the soil. Miracles do not grow in barren ground. Divine intervention responds to divine order. Many people desire miracles, breakthroughs, and prophetic fulfillment, yet few examine the condition of their inner soil. People pray for us. Pastors lay hands on us. Prophetic words are spoken. Declarations are released. These prayers are seeds. The question is not whether the seed was powerful. The question is whether the soil was fertile. A seed placed in poor soil does not fail because it is weak. It fails because the environment cannot sustain it. WHY GOD USES PEOPLE TO PLANT SEEDS INTO OUR LIVES God often uses people as carriers of seeds. He sends instruction, correction, encouragement, and prayer through human vessels. Romans 10:14 reminds us that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. God re...

THE POWER OF THE FAMILY INTRODUCTION Family is one of God’s greatest gifts to humanity. Before there was a church, a nation, or a government, there was family. God’s first institution was not an altar or a throne, but a household. When God wants to bless, preserve, and multiply His purposes on the earth, He begins with families. In Genesis 33:5, we encounter a powerful moment between Jacob and Esau. After years of conflict, fear, and separation, Esau lifts his eyes and asks a simple but profound question: “Who are these with you?” Jacob’s answer reveals his heart, his theology, and his understanding of blessing. He says, “The children whom God hath graciously given thy servant.” Jacob did not introduce his wealth, his servants, or his achievements first. He pointed to his family and acknowledged them as a gracious gift from God. This scripture teaches us how God wants us to see, value, and protect our families. THE CONTEXT OF JACOB’S CONFESSION Jacob was a man who had experienced God d...

BECOMING THE PERSON THE NEXT SEASON REQUIRES INTRODUCTION God does not promote people without first preparing them. Every new season God releases is preceded by a process of transformation. Many people pray for change in circumstances, but God first works on change in character. Before God shifts what is around you, He shifts what is within you. The next season you are believing God for will not only require new opportunities, it will require a new version of you. What God is about to release demands maturity, capacity, and spiritual depth. If the person does not grow, the season will crush them instead of carrying them. God is not only interested in giving you more. He is committed to making you ready. WHY GOD PREPARES PEOPLE BEFORE PROMOTING THEM Throughout Scripture, God always works on the person before He works through the person. Joseph received the dream early, but the fulfillment came years later. The delay was not denial. It was preparation. Genesis 37 shows Joseph dreaming, b...

THE YEAR OF ALIGNMENT NOT STRUGGLE INTRODUCTION Many believers have been taught that the Christian life must always be hard, exhausting, and full of endless battles. While spiritual warfare is real, constant struggle is not God’s design for His children. God never intended His people to live in confusion, frustration, and spiritual fatigue year after year. The truth is this: struggle often comes not from the absence of prayer, but from misalignment. Alignment with God’s Word produces ease, clarity, and fruitfulness. Struggle is frequently the symptom of being out of position. When something is aligned correctly, it functions effortlessly. When it is misaligned, even simple movement becomes difficult. This is a year where God is calling His people out of unnecessary warfare and into divine alignment. WHAT ALIGNMENT MEANS IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD Alignment means being positioned according to God’s order, God’s will, and God’s timing. Amos 3:3 asks a powerful question: “Can two walk together...

 NEW OIL FOR A NEW SEASON INTRODUCTION God is a God of seasons, progress, and divine movement. He does not keep His people static, and He does not repeat Himself mechanically. When God shifts seasons, He releases fresh oil to match new assignments. Every season in God requires a corresponding anointing. Old oil can sustain old victories, but it cannot carry new dimensions. Many believers struggle not because God has stopped working, but because they are trying to use yesterday’s oil for today’s demands. This message is an invitation to discern the times, embrace God’s transitions, and receive fresh anointing for what He is doing now. WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES ABOUT OIL AND ANOINTING Oil in Scripture represents the anointing, the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit for divine assignment. Zechariah 4:6 declares, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” Oil was used to consecrate kings, priests, and prophets. Without oil, position meant nothing. Saul was ...

WHAT YOU PLANT NOW WILL SPEAK ALL YEAR INTRODUCTION Every year speaks. It speaks through results, experiences, testimonies, struggles, victories, and lessons. The voice of a year is not random. It is shaped by what was planted before it began. Life does not respond to wishes or resolutions alone. Life responds to seeds. God governs life by the law of seedtime and harvest. This law is spiritual, moral, financial, relational, and eternal. What you plant now will speak for you all year. Your prayers, obedience, discipline, and faith are not just spiritual activities. They are seeds that will grow, mature, and eventually speak through outcomes. Many people want a better year, but few are intentional about planting better seeds. This message is a call to spiritual intelligence. If you desire a different sound from the coming year, you must sow different seeds now. THE LAW OF SEEDTIME AND HARVEST Genesis 8:22 declares, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and...

 THE YEAR YOU MUST BE INTENTIONAL INTRODUCTION Every new year comes with expectations, prayers, and hopes for change. Many people desire growth, progress, and victory, yet few understand that none of these happen by accident. Spiritual maturity is not automatic. Progress is not seasonal. Victory is not guaranteed by time alone. They are the result of intentional choices made consistently in alignment with God’s will. This year calls for deliberate living. It demands focus, discipline, and spiritual awareness. God works through intention. What we do on purpose determines what God multiplies by grace. INTENTIONALITY IS A BIBLICAL PRINCIPLE Scripture reveals that God Himself operates with intention. Genesis 1 shows creation unfolding by deliberate command. God spoke with purpose, and everything responded in order. Nothing was random. Luke 2:52 tells us that Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and men. Growth did not happen passively even for Jesus. It was progressive and...

WHEN HEAVEN INTERRUPTED EARTH Christmas as the Moment Eternity Stepped into Time Introduction History is filled with dates, events, and turning points, but there is one moment that divided time itself. Before that night in Bethlehem, humanity waited in hope and prophecy. After that night, the world was never the same. Christmas was not a gentle addition to history; it was a holy interruption. Heaven did not observe from a distance. Heaven intervened. Christmas is the moment eternity stepped into time, when the invisible became visible, when the eternal Word took on human flesh. God did not send a message. He sent Himself. This interruption was not accidental; it was intentional, redemptive, and world changing. THE SILENCE BEFORE THE INTERRUPTION For about four hundred years before the birth of Jesus, there was prophetic silence. No new recorded word from God. No fresh revelation. Israel waited. Rome ruled. Religion continued, but heaven seemed quiet. Yet silence does not mean absence. ...