DIVINE INCUBATION

DIVINE INCUBATION
Texts: 1 Peter 1:3-10; Romans 8:18-23.

Introduction: Anyone to be used by God must be thoroughly prepared by Him through the process of incubation and be certified useful in His kingdom before lunching out into the world.

A. Definition of incubation:
According to English Dictionary: incubation means sitting on eggs for the purpose of hatching young; a brooding on, or keeping warm, to develop the life within, by any process.
To incubate thereby means to brood, raise, or maintain eggs, organisms, or living tissue through the provision of ideal environmental conditions.
To incubate metaphorically, is to ponder on idea slowly and deliberately as if in preparation for hatching it.

B. What Happen To Men During the Incubation?
At the process of incubation, men and their destinies are processed, molded and shaped to meet its purpose in the Master’s plan. It has to undergo breaking down from its natural form (raw material) into remolding into finished good. Incubation is a process whereby the heroes are made.

There are two faces of incubation:
Spiritual incubation
Physical incubation

1. Spiritual Incubation: This is where God hands you over to the examiner (the tempter) to examine your sincerity, growth and maturity – Luke 4:1-4; 13-14. The tempter is Satan, the devil. He uses things such as
Money
Immorality (opposite sex)
Proper or improper handling of power and position
Pride (of race, grace, pace, fame…)
Hatred and mockery – Psalm 69:4.
Hard time and suffering to test you’re your faith and trust in God. David, in the face of battle and oppositions, could still say, The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want… Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Psalm 23.
Desertion – Psalm 40:12.

Questions you need to answer:
How do you see God in your days of adversity? Proverbs 24:10.
When you pray and do not see answer, what did you call God? What was your conclusion? Job 1:20-22.

The limit of the test is found in 1 Cor. 10:13, You shall not be tempted more than you can bear. All you may face in life shall be within your ability, unless you willingly derail and let down your God before His adversaries.

2. Physical Incubation: This is where men are subjected to human tutor to be mentored into the reality of fulfilling the purpose of God for your life. It is called “Discipleship”.

C.  The purpose of Divine Incubation
i. To build the life of Christ in us.
ii. To build faithfulness, integrity and humility in us.
iii. To build maturity for greater exploits.
iv. To build strength to face and overcome the challenges of life.
v. To build total trust in God over our needs and expectations.

D. JESUS CHRIST, OUR HIGH PRIEST
Before Jesus could become our high priest, he also was tempted and won. – Luke 4:1-13; HebHeb. 2:18; Heb. 4:15.

The apostles and the great fathers of faith suffered great persecution and affliction for faith they held unto, yet without compromising – Heb. 11:37. They preserved (incubated) the gospel (faith) with their lives (blood) for it not to perish. That is why we could have it alive till today.

E. Examples of Men Who Failed Their Incubation Test
a. King Saul – 1 Samuel 13.
He was told to wait for seven days, but when Samuel delayed to come, he pushed himself to sacrifice, which was the duty of the priest, Samuel. He launched himself our prematurely and God could not establish his throne. Learn waiting patiently on God as God is incubating you.

b. Gehazi – 2 Kings 5.
Elisha did not collect the gifts brought by Naaman for his healing, but Gehazi will not let this man go unless he collects something from his hand. What he would not let go earned him leprosy. Learn obedience and contentment from Jesus as He takes his time to incubate you.

c. Elimelech and his family – Ruth 1-4.
Because of famine in Bethlehem (the house of bread), he left to Moab and was wasted with all his two sons unto death (Ruth 1:20-21). Naomi came back empty-handed, because they could not understand the time and could not wait for divine incubation. If they had trusted God for their sufficiency and survival, they would not have died. Elimelech got his generation wiped out because of what he was looking for outside of God and could not even get it. Abide in Christ alone for your satisfaction – Jon 15:4-5.

d. Judas Iscariot,
Greed and covetousness destroyed Judas Iscariot as he came out of divine incubation prematurely. What he gave himself to was what killed him. Don’t dissociate yourself from Jesus, its end is destruction – John 15:5.

F. Examples of Those Who Were Thoroughly Incubated.
Peter, James, and John
They were called and trained by Jesus Christ. Though initially, they could not perform much sign and wonders as they thought, yet they keep staying under Him. Several times, they were on the mountain together with Jesus in the cool of the night. Sometimes, trekking a long distance in hunger and thirsty. But at the end, when they finally matured to face the oppositions that will later face them, they were commissioned with endowment of power and were multiplied greatly from 120 disciples to the current numbers Christians we are today in the world. They were called men who turned the world up-side-down.

Elisha
Elisha waited patiently as the disciple of Elijah. He was mocked by other sons of the prophets, yet he remained unmoved till he became the carrier of double portion of Elijah’s spirit (anointing). Maturity commands power for exploits and greatness.

Joseph
Being subjected to slavery and affliction, being detached from the love and care of his father, yet he remain faithful to God of his father. When no one sees anything, he still resisted sin in the days of his incubation in the house of Portiphar. He then experienced growth in his walk with God, he was an ordinary dreamer in his father’s house, but in the prison, he became the interpreter of dreamer – the potential used by God to lift him to the throne. When no one knows you, or when in your closet, remain faithful to God. Remember, you are under incubation, don’t come out immature.

Apostle Paul
After his encounter with Jesus, he was subjected unto three (3) days marathon in blindness through which God was transforming his heart for the work he has for him. He was tutored by Ananiah, a faithful child of God; before he launched out his ministry. He truly has days of incubation under a disciple (Ananiah) before exploits.

David
It was in the wilderness while tending the sheep that incubate David and tutored him for kingship. He started war skill with wild animal (bear and lion). Later after the victory over Goliath, he was sent by God under Saul to learn submission to higher authority and the royal life. All these were faithfully done by him before he could be enthroned by God.

Jesus Christ
Though God in man, yet he waited for thirty (30) years silence and unheard. When he was to begin, he started with forty (40) days and nights unbroken marathon in communing with God the Father for enabling power to overcome the challenges ahead. Several nights he spent alone communing with God. Have you been incubated? When? How?

Joshua:
He patiently and faithfully served his Master, Moses and would not want his downfall. Even when Moses was denied access to the promised land, he (Joshua) never rejoice over his master’s defeat. God saw faithfulness in him and promoted him and used him like his master, Moses. He was eye-witness of how God walked with his master and was not a novice when it came to his turn to lead the new generation of Israel into their rest. If he had failed his incubation test, God would have raised another vessel for Himself.

The Outcome of Divine Incubation.
Unusual greatness and becoming an icon of excellence. Daniel, David, Samuel, Peter, Paul, Abraham and other great heroes are our examples.

Conclusion:
The whole world (creature) is waiting expectantly for your manifestation. Therefore, don’t launch out immature, rather wait for your time (the time of your maturity) and you shall become an icon of honour and dignity on earth. Romans 8:19-22.

Chorus: Lord prepare me, a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true, with Thanksgiving and be a living sanctuary for you.      JESUS is LORD!!!

THE HEART OF A LEADER!!!

THE HEART OF A LEADER!!!

Brethren, being a leader is not a popularity
contest. There’s no doubt that as a leader,
there’ll be times you have to make tough
decisions. How do you balance motivation and
tough decision making? A leader must always
ask himself “What do I do to move people
forward?” Many come for conferences like this
one year after year but do not put what they’ve
learned to use! Brethren, after you learn
something you must change something within
forty-eight hours or else you’ll be back to
square one!

WHO IS A LEADER?
A leader is a visionary or assigned executer of
the vision of an organization who owns the
responsibility of leading the people towards the
fulfillment of the vision. Brethren, God is
interested in the hearts of men but especially in
the hearts of leaders.

The job of every leader is to ensure everything
being done within an organization is according to
the vision. As a leader, you must ensure the
people you lead do not steer you away from the
vision.

Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence;
for out of it are the issues of life.
The heart is the place where genuine decisions
are made especially as it affects people’s lives.
Concerning David God said “I have found David
– a man after my own heart” Brethren, God is
always searching and looking at the hearts of
man.

1st Chronicles 28:9 And thou, Solomon my son,
know thou the God of thy father, and serve him
with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for
the LORD searcheth all hearts, and
understandeth all the imaginations of the
thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of
thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee
off forever.

MAYGOD NOT CAST US AWAY! Many are in the
habit of saying “God sees my heart” when what
they are doing is wicked! Brethren, OUR HEARTS
MATTER!

2 Chronicles 1:10-11 Give me now wisdom and
knowledge, that I may go out and come in
before this people: for who can judge this thy
people, that is so great? And God said to
Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and
thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour,
nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast
asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and
knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge
my people, over whom I have made thee king.

OTHER ATTRIBUTES OF A LEADER

COMPASSION & CARING
Ezekiel 34:11 For thus saith the Lord GOD;
Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep,
and seek them out.
Matthew 14:14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a
great multitude, and was moved with
compassion toward them, and he healed their
sick.
Matthew 15:32 Then Jesus called his disciples
unto him, and said, I have compassion on the
multitude, because they continue with me now
three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will
not send them away fasting, lest they faint in
the way.

SELFLESSNESS
Romans 15:2-3 Let every one of us please his
neighbour for his good to edification. For even
Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written,
The reproaches of them that reproached thee
fell on me.

PASSIONATE
John 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to
do the will of him that sent me, and to finish
his work.
John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to
do mine own will, but the will of him that sent
me.

LOVING & GIVING
Galatians 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that
he might deliver us from this present evil world,
according to the will of God and our Father.
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good
shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

HUMBLE
Numbers 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very
meek, above all the men which were upon the
face of the earth.

SERVICE
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not
to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to
give his life a ransom for many.

VISION
Psalm 57:7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is
fixed: I will sing and give praise.

INTEGRITY (HONESTY)
1st Kings 9:4-5 And if thou wilt walk before me,
as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart,
and in uprightness, to do according to all that I
have commanded thee, and wilt keep my
statutes and my judgments: Then I will establish
the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever,
as I promised to David thy father, saying, There
shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of
Israel.

RESOLUTE (FIXED & FOCUSED)
John Maxwell once said that “You must touch
the hearts of people before you ask them to
follow you”. Motivation is defined as an act or
process of giving someone a reason to do
something. It is a force or influence that makes
people do things. Considering the fact that most
church workers are unpaid, they need to be
motivated. A highly motivated workforce will
accomplish great things. Motivated people are
not looking for anyone to give them a certificate.

WAYS TO MOTIVATE PEOPLE
People are motivated by what we do as leaders
as well as by what we say. As a leader there are
things you can say that can mess up ten years
of what you’ve built. THERE IS POWER OF LIFE
AND DEATH IN THE TONGUE! Always keep the
end product in view. Challenge the potentials of
your followers. Share with them examples of
past achievements. If you’re a late-comer, how
can you get your followers to arrive early?
Brethren, the truth of the matter is that people
will get weary and tired. Life happens. YOU
MUST CONSTANTLY KEEP THEM IN VIEW OF THE
END PRODUCT. You must constantly remind
them “This is where we’re going, don’t get tired”.
By so doing they begin to realize that they can
do all things through Christ that strengthens
them.

Everyone has a potential. If we challenge the
potential of the people we are leading, you’ll be
amazed what they can do. Remind them of past
achievements. David told Saul about how he
dealt with the lion and the bear and how he was
confident he could bring down Goliath.

MAKING TOUGH DECISIONS
“Tough” denotes “hard” or “difficult”. The
expression “tough call” is defined as a choice or
judgment which is difficult to make, especially
one involving only two alternatives
(definitions.net ). Tough calls can be made by a
team, a vote, or by the leader alone. It is the
ultimate responsibility of the leader to make the
call. A “tough call” is a call from the heart and
can be painful to both the leader and the
people. It is perhaps one of the most stressful
things a leader has to do. An example is the
account of Abraham and his nephew (Lot).
Abraham peacefully told Lot to go and start his
own ministry “ELSEWHERE” (away from him) so
that there would be peace.

Touch calls are inevitable and unavoidable.
Effective leaders do not neglect making tough
decisions. A lack of decisiveness in a leader can
result in low productivity and eventually collapse
the vision.

BOTTOM LINE: If you don’t make tough calls,
the situation will come back to haunt you.
People are watching what you do and are taking
notes of whether you show favoritism by
chastising one person for one offense and
overlooking it in another.

KINDS OF TOUGH CALLS
To cancel or not to cancel a failing program.
Raising funds for the vision of the house.
Letting go of a church office staff.
Reprimanding a worker or minister or your
spouse.

Handling difficult members.
Some leaders will rather die than accept that
they are wrong. Some people are more loyal to
the system than to God and will fight you if you
change anything. Many pastors use guest
ministers to raise funds.

HOW DO YOU BALANCE MOTIVATION AND
TOUCH CALLS?
As a leader you must strike a balance. People
have left churches because of the pastor’s wife!
It is a fact that there are “members from hell”
for whom as a leader you’ll have a thanksgiving
the day they say they are leaving! A very
important thing to consider is that most difficult
members have great influence in your
organization kind of like Peter who said “I go a
fishing” and everyone follows. These members
are on “whatsapp” and other social media and
have the email addressed to every member of
your organization!

SOME CHALLENGES INVOLVED IN MAKING
TOUGH CALLS?
Keeping some or all the members of your team
motivated and focused on the vision, especially
when your decision has a propensity to impact
them.

“Counting the cost” and preparing yourself for
the possible backlash.

Timing. Lack of certainty about the right time to
make the call. John Maxwell once said, “Procrastination kills leadership effectiveness
today and leadership potential tomorrow”
In making touch calls you must realize that YOU
CAN’T PLEASE EVERYONE AT ALL TIMES or you’ll
become a politician in your organization.

QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO ASK BEFORE MAKING
A TOUGH CALL
Why am I making this decision?
What is the desired outcome on the ministry?
The envisaged outcome should boost your
confidence in making the decision.
When? Is this the right time to make this
decision? If I don’t do it “NOW”, will I regret it?
Do not delay if you are convinced.

How do I execute this decision to ensure
minimal impact on morale? You must have a
strategy and an action plan.

Am I ready to handle the ramification of this
decision? CONFRONT YOUR FEARS. Your decision
may not be popular at first or easily accepted.
Who will this decision impact the most? You
must preempt their reaction and begin to deal
with them ahead of time. If you do not get your
story out there rumors will carry it for you.

BOTTOM LINE: You shouldn’t have a minister
you can’t rebuke. If they want to start their own
church, LET THEM GO! I once grounded my lead
instrumentalist and the following Sunday the
others did not show up. Then I went on to fire
every single one of them! Needless to say, they
all came back begging.

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR TEAM MOTIVATED
AFTER A TOUGH CALL?
Keep your passion. Remain on course. Don’t
mourn your decision. Be ready to start again.
Acknowledge the changes in the organization as
a result of your decision. Recast the vision and
reset priorities. Make sure everyone understands
the big picture and how they can fit in. Be open
and willing to listen and answer questions
concerning this change. Be accessible to offer
clarity when necessary. This removes barriers
that may create a volatile atmosphere. Be ready
to retrain replacement to give maximum output.
Celebrate the progress of the team and
appreciate their support. Recognize and reward
results.

GOOD LEADERSHIP IS NOT A POPULARITY
CONTEST. Good leaders take responsibility.
NOTHING CHANGES IF NOTHING CHANGES. As
you lead, you must know when to be a lion and
when to be a lamb. When next I see you, I hope
to see you at the top!

Psalm 68:11, "The Lord gave the word; great is
the company of those that published it."

From: Pastor Tola Odutola

UNLESS YOU COME OUT …

UNLESS YOU COME OUT …

How can you be born again when you have not been washed away from your sins and guilt?
Like a man who falls inside a soak-away full of excretal, how can he be washed if he remains deep-sinking in the soak-away? He must first come out before cleansing can be made possible. The provision for forgiveness and total cleansing has been perfectly provided in the blood of Jesus Christ according to 1 John 1:7. But as powerful and readily this cleansing is, unless you willingly and genuinely come out from the soak-away of sin and worldliness, you can never access the cleansing. And an unclean thing shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Isaiah 35:8 says, “A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray.”
The word of God for us in 1 John 2:15-17 is “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
A sinner shall not see God unless he/she repent of his sins and turn to Him. God who is ready to accept you back is calling you to come out of your evil and wicked lifestyle and embrace His new life of holiness. He says, “Therefore Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty." 2 Cor. 6:17-18.
If you can heed His invitation, His warm embrace is waiting for you to receive you as you are, then cleanse you  and make you whole to be come glittering saint. He will forgive you all your sins, erase them off and remember them no more. He said, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” -- Heb 8:12; 10:17.
Jesus loves you, but not the sins in your heart. Do away with sins, cry unto Jesus Christ for mercy and ask Him to come and live in you, you will then become His temple where He will be living. For He says, “for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” 2 Cor. 6:16.
Do you desire to be a temple of God, an abode of God Almighty? You must be washed clean by the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Without cleansing, you will be irritating to Him. Of a truth, before cleansing, you have to come out of your sins like the man in the soak-away. Confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour and you will be saved – Romans 10:9-10.
It is a personal decision. Don’t allow anyone to stop you from confessing His Lordship over your soul. On the judgment day, only you will stand to give account of what you do with the salvation of your soul. No friend or parent will stand with you. Come out today from your secret sins and stand out for God in holiness and righteousness, tomorrow may be too late. No sin is too wicked that God cannot forgive, if you confess it and repent from it. And no sin is too small that He will ignore, if you refuse to confess it and repent from it. Every sin is capable of ending us in hell fire. Repent today and be saved. Jesus is Lord!!!

TRANSLATING MOTIVATING VISION INTO MEASURABLE GOAL

TRANSLATING MOTIVATING VISION INTO MEASURABLE GOAL

Tips:
Organizing and Leadership.
Public Narrative: The Mission of the Ministry.
Building Relationships in organizing.
Mapping Actors: Identifying and Recruiting Leaders.
Creating Effective Leadership Teams.
Developing Motivating Vision.
Developing a Campaign Timeline and Tactics.
Call to Action: Story of Self (Mission), Us and Now.
Translating Vision to Goals.
(Give room for panel discussion, Question and Response.)

LEARNING GOALS - Purpose, Power and Path.
Motivating Vision - Purpose
Theory of Change (transformation) - Power
Measurable Goal - Path.

WHAT IS ORGANIZING?
Organizing is identifying, recruiting and developing leaders, building community around that leadership, and building power out of that community.
Organizing Theory of Change (transformation): Change = People + Power.
Relationship as Interest
Relationship as Resources
Commitment based on shared interests and shared resources.

ORGANIZING AS A THEORY OF CHANGE
Grounded in collective Action.
What is the vision that will motivate people to take action?
How do we move vision to goal?
STRATEGY is turning the RESOURCES you have into the POWER you need to get CHANGE you want.
STRATEGY is interactive; not a five year plan. What does it take?
Decision to change an intolerable condition that exists within your people.
Developing a vision of a different kind of future.
Shared commitment to a goal.
Deep knowledge of your people and their resources.
Creativity in how to use them.

THE DECISION: Stepping into leadership - Leadership is accepting responsibility for enabling others to achieve purpose in the face of uncertainty. It is a decision, not a position. Authority is not bestowed.
What causes someone to lead in this fashion? – Decision.
Articulating the intolerable condition – What is the urgent challenge?
What is the intolerable condition that you want to end or to avoid?
Why is the action urgent now?
What is at stake?
What will happen if you don’t act now?
Who are the people who affected by this challenge?

DEVELOPING A MOTIVATING VISION
What is the motivating vision?
What could happen if you and your people take action?
What is the choice you are asking your people to make together.

MOVING FROM VISION TO GOAL
What kind of change needs to happen?
Spiritual?
Physical or structural?
Technological?
Behavioural?
Shift in the balance of power?
Does this change require collective action?
What are the resources needed to effect this change?

WHAT ARE THE KINDS OF RESOURCES AVAILABLE & NEEDED.

MEASURABLE OUTCOMES
What is a plausible path the offer hope?
What would achieving success look like?
What are our measurable outcomes? Change in the world; Building capacity; Individual development and growth…

FOLLOW-UP THROUGH QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Do you know that implementing this intervention will positively impact your beneficiaries?
How or Why?
What is your near-team goal for implementing the intervention(s)?
Do you currently have data to show your intervention is reducing the increase of worldliness and sinfulness in the world?

GOD IS SURE OF EVERY WORD OF HIS MOUTH.

Isaiah 55:10-11 “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”

Intro: Chrs: Alagbara l’Olorun mi, Alagbara ni Jesu, bo ba ti soro bee na lo nri, Alagbara l’Olorun mi.
A. What God Is Not.
Numbers 23:19, God is not a liar.
1 Cor. 14:33, God is not the author of confusion.
Gal. 6:7, God is not mocked.
Matthew 22:23, God is not God of the dead, but God of the living.
Hebrews 6:10, God is not unrighteous.
Hebrews 11:16, God is not ashame of His people who are in Him (the believers in Christ).
B. GOD IS Faithful & True – Revelation 19:11; 3:14; 22:6.
Has He ever failed any of His promises?
Gen. 1:3, When He said, Let there be light. Was there not light?
Gen. 6:7-8, When He determined to destroy the world of Noah’s generation with flood, did He not do it?
Gen. 12:1-3, When He blessed Abram and promised to make him nations, did He not do it?
Gen. 19:13, 24-28, When He’s ready to destroy Sodom & Gomorrah with fire, did He not do it?
Gen. 35:5-11, He promised to make Joseph great, did He not do it?
Exodus 14:15-22, When He was to parted the red sea, Was it impossible for Him to do?
Luke 1:30-38, When He said the seed of the woman shall defeat the serpent (the devil), though Mary was without sex, yet Emmanuel came out of her virginity and yet remain uncontaminated.
John 11:41-44, When Jesus called Lazarus from the world of dead, though since four days ago, did he not obey his creator and became a living soul?
Matt. 16:18, When Jesus said, the gate of hell shall not prevail over His Church, upon all opposition and persecutions from ages till the current boko-Haram insurgence, did they prevail?
C. GOD Is Able To Do All Things. – Luke 1:37.
i. He is able to give you peace flowing like a river.
ii. He is able to give you ever sure protection.
iii. He is able to give all round breakthrough and blessings.
iv. He is able to make you fruitful and prosperous.
v. He is able to give you power to fulfill destiny.
How To Be Connected To God?
Believe and have faith in God and in His word – Mark 11:22-24. God is His word, His word is Him.
Ask Him all you want, not some of it – John 16:23-24; Matt. 7:7-11; Jeremiah 33:3.
Conclusion: Asking in faith is the power of receiving from God. Act now and you will receive the wonders of His hand. Shalom!!!

THE EVIL MEN DESIRE TO KNOW...

Genesis 2:15-17, “Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying,
"Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,

The consequence:  for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.".

The deceit of the devil: In Genesis chapter 3:1,
“And he (devil) said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
What should be the answer? NO!

But Eve said, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” V. 3.

God did not said they should not touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Actually, death is not in touching, but it is a bait toward falling.

Devil said, “Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Vs. 4-5.
Devil called God “a liar” because the woman has added to the divine order. Devil grabbed the loop-hole as a trap to confuse and lure them into their defeat. He is doing the same today telling people that God is loving than to destroy all sinners in hell fire; that God cannot destroy the works of His hand. He usually promise wealth and pleasure, but hide the fact that they will not live long to enjoy what he had given them.

It is written in Proverbs 30:5-6, “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.  Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”

There are some questions we need to ask from the response of the devil…
Were they blind before, why will they want their eyes open?
Were they not created like God with His breath of life in them?
Why will they admire demotion – to be like gods instead of the image of God.
They have known good, why would they want to know the evil. They desire to know evil and they could not sustain it.
The evil that men want to know is what is hunting them. Men disobey God today to satisfy their lust, but evil that follows them live after them. What men want to know is what takes them away from God.

V. 6, When she critically examined the fruit, she admired it and then discovered it was good for food – lust of flesh, it was pleasant (beautiful) to the eyes – lust of eyes, and it was a tree to be desired to make one wise – pride of life, she took of the fruit and did eat. Were they fools before? The more you know, the more ignorant you discover you were.

She took of the fruit thereof and she did not die as initially claim – v. 3.
Taking and examining might take several minutes before eating. She might have thought of dying but it seems no danger in it. Anything evil, no matter ugly and disastrous it is, when examined so closely and intimately, you might see it admiring and appealing. The only way to overcome sin is to run away from it.

And she did eat – she ate and did not die immediately.
God may be waiting for what will be the response of the man (Adam) who was directly ordered to keep the word in total obedience.

And gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
The plight, doom and woe of many men today is obeying the voice of their wives contrary to God’s word (order).
Abraham obeyed his wife, Sarah in Genesis 16:1-4; he blamed himself later as his wife lamented years after that “my wrongs be upon you; the LORD judge between me and you.” – Genesis 16:5. The error of Abraham is still afflicting till today and cannot be erased as Ismail (the Arabic world) is waging war against Isaac (the Christianity). God’s verdict on Ismail and Haggar – Gen. 21:9-12. (esp. v. 12).

Outcome (implications) of Knowing evil
The knowledge of evil of nakedness dawn on them for the first time – v. 7.
Evil of guilt pursued them away from God’s presence – v. 8.
They now need cover-up.
They felt insecure.
They received curse from God and were chased away from the garden of God – Gen. 3:17-19, 23.

When God brought Eve to Adam in Genesis 2:22-23, Adam said she was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, she shall be called “woman”. It is written, “And the LORD God …took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
After the fall of man, the purpose and value of woman was changed.
God said: “thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” Gen. 3:16.
In Gen. 3:20 “And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.”

Conclusion: Desire to know more than God brings death and demoralization. Keep knowing God but not in search of evil. May God bless us all.

VISION: A REASON FOR OPPOSITION.

VISION is all about the inspiration one has on the expected future which propels him/her into doing all it takes to bring it to the world of reality. Vision (dreams) makes a man bold, it builds confidence and it is sure of the future once there is strong hope and means for its fulfillment. It is the revelation or discovery of God’s purpose for man’s existence. 

Everyman equally has the same twenty-four hours of the day, seven days of the week and twelve months of the year but what makes the difference in manifestation and impact lies in vision realization, utility and time management.

Vision is the force behind discoveries which eventually leads to recovery. It makes man restless both during the day and at night until it is achieved. It is the power that effect greatness in life when approved and empowered by God. It makes its possessor a pace setter among others. It makes man special, valued and superior to others. It gives access to self adjustment and improvement until it attains the position of being the best among others.

Vision makes one happy even when things at hand are seem to be uncalled for. It is because it sees beyond present and knows for sure that soon what is not seen shall be madder known. It builds hope for a better future and it makes one to plan ahead of others, pray ahead and it establishes one ahead of others. It provides solution ahead the needs. It gladdens the heart while others could not.

On the other hand, when vision lies down unfulfilled, life becomes unbearable and agonized. Life becomes frustrated and sorrowful. One finds no hope for the future, no resting place for one’s soul and no means of happiness. At such situation greatness becomes a dream not fulfilled and thing of history. The world becomes a prison yard where there is no reason for jubilation as an unfulfilled cannot be celebrated neither can anyone prays to be like him.

Because of the position of vision in becoming a model in life, it becomes the reason why people must pay its price, so also it becomes the target of the enemies to get rid of in man’s life so as to be rendered useless, irrelevant and uncelebrated. As I said earlier, opposition means opposite position. It means something or somebody is opposing you because of your position. Greatness and productivity are what enemies hate most in man’s life especially when such greatness is not a product of their help. Once you bear a vision in your heart that can earn you your desired greatness it provokes envy, jealousy, and hatred in the camp of the enemies (human or spiritual), and their action will be how to silence (terminate) it never to grow into reality; to render the bearer unknown, unappreciated and unaccepted.

Vision exposes people to the limelight of opportunities and greatness. It also announces the arrival of a man/woman in the camp of the enemies to be resisted, calmed and silenced. As anointing announces the arrival of any sincere man of God to the world both to be loved by the saints and whoever wants to be delivered from the captivity of the devil; and to be hated by the enemies of progress and the agents of hell, so is the works that vision does.

Therefore, before any vision could enjoy God’s eternal provision and divine backing, it must be God-oriented and glorifying. It must not be the one that will oppose the will of God. Be it known to you that any vision set up against God shall not stand the reality; it shall suffer abortion and the bearer, if unrepented, shall be erased and dealt with to allow peace on earth.


STRATEGY OF OPPOSITION

Opposition can manifest against any ordained vision in any these forms:
Competitive / rivalry
Superiority to enforce humiliation on others.

COMPETITIVE / RIVALRY: Countless are the so called visions in our days that were primarily set up to compete with the existing ones in order to terminate it. Many are the God given visions that are falling off the track as a result of mismanagement. There is nothing wrong with having a result-oriented vision for your future that others could not dream of, and with your hands you start implementing it, but the proper way of handling such a vision should be learned first, knowing that any vision that is mishandled can be frustrated and aborted. Learn proper relationship and good way of communicating your dreams since no vision can be achieved without the inputs of others.

On the other hand, vision has raised hatred and envies in the hearts of some superior officers and countless friends against the bearers of visions and thereby developed evil actions. To this effect, such hatred has also engineered some adulterated visions to silence someone’s reality. Some visions came to show because the bearer has the means such as the capital, accessibility, power, connection, etc and thereby want others to be subjected unto them.

I knew of a man who shared his vision with his friend, but surprisingly the so called friend outran his partner and got the vision done before it could be materialized by the original owner. The owner then forcefully became a copier. This kind of act has terminated the visions of many people which would have given them hope for survival in life.

As a result of rivalry and envy, many vision carriers had died not discharging their vision unto reality before they died. There is a tragedy attached to this, that is, many had died with their vision without disclosing it to anyone. It became painful as a case of a pregnant woman who died with her unborn child, not live to see or know what such a vision could become in life.


SUPERIORITY TO ENFORCE HUMILIATION ON OTHERS

Superiorism is an act of lording over others that are less privileged or the followers by the virtue of their fame, popularity, money, post holding, authority in their possession, and accessibility to the higher authority or being a boss/master over others. 

To be superior is to be high above others while leadership is to be servants unto the followers. To serve others and help them discover their potentials and be lifted up, but in most of the case today, the leaders are found not to be servants but superior and thereby terrorizing the followers with the grace they were given by God as they thought it achieved by their qualities of hard working. Anyone who wants to rise up under them is seeing as a competitor who wants to compete with them, who must be silenced before he/she grows wings above them.

Qualities Of A Good Leadership

A good leader builds and raises a good and better leaders (successors) out of the followers who will outlive them but superiors maintains his position without a successor and never wish to die or vacate their position of honour as they believe that no one can ever do it right as they can do it and that should not taste of the honour given to them so as not to be dethroned. 

A good leader shares the fortune of his position even to the least of his followers to receive their blessings of prayer for fruitfulness and fortune in the office but the superior even eat up the benefits of his followers to expose them to famine (hunger) and affliction. 

A good leader creates change of promotion for his followers to receive their good report but superiors always close any chance of breakthrough and promotion against their followers whenever they are chanced to cause them to remain unfruitful and uncared for.

A good leader watches carefully his followers and gives warning at the right time against fallen whenever he takes note it is necessary but the superior keenly watches for the errors and mistakes of his followers to have chance of terminating their appointment without any recovery and reward. 

BREAKING OF RIVERS IN THE WILDERNESS.

GOD’s personal commitment to your ALL ROUND Breakthrough.

“Say to those who are fearful-hearted, "Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you." Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isaiah 35:4-7, 10;

“Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You. Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, They make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion.” Psalm 84:4-7.

It takes a man of integrity to firmly stand by his word, whether it is easy to keep or not. Keeping our promises makes us a faithful before others. If a man who is not faithful in keeping his word gives you a promise, no matter how good, admiring and highly needed it might appear, such a promise will not be counted serious. Not because the man is not having what he promised but because he is not faithful to his word. Take for instance, he may give you a promise of fifty thousand dollar ($50,000) and may not be valued, though seriously needed but because of the life of the man who gave the promise. But if a promise comes form someone who is faithful and honored by his/her word to give you a sum of one million dollar, he will still be trusted, not minding the huge amount of money involved. Before a promise could be relied upon, it must come from someone who is unbent in fulfilling his/her word. Therefore, the life of a man determined the potency of his promise.

Isaiah 35:4-7 is a prophetic promise of God to you signifying His readiness to do the impossible – what is already concluded to be impossible to man and nature. God has His area of specialization and great delight in doing the impossible.


HAS GOD EVER FAILED ANY OF HIS PROMISES (WORD)?

God, whose name is Faithful and True (Rev. 19:11; 3:14; 22:6) never makes a promise He will not keep. Whatever He promises to do, no matter how hard and impossible and good or evil it might be, must be done. Let’s consider some of His great promises that He kept fulfilled at all cost:

In Genesis 1:3; when God declared light to come, did it not come?

In Gen. 6:7-8, when He promised to wipe off Noah’s world to start a new race with Noah, was it difficult for Him to do, irrespective of the numbers of lives involved?

Gen. 19:13, 24-28, when He determined to utterly destroy Sodom & Gomorrah in their great numbers, were they too many for Him to wipe out?
In Gen. 12:1-3, when He made the promise to make Abraham great and nations of people, did He fail to do it?

In Gen. 37:5-11, when He revealed to Joseph that the sheaves of his brothers together with the sun, moon and eleven stars will come bowing down unto him, did it not come true?

In Exodus 14:15-22, when He was to part the red sea for His people (Israel) to cross to the other side on  dry land, though it has never happened before, yet was it impossible for Him?

In Luke 1:30-38, when He sent his word to virgin Mary that she will be with child without having canal knowledge of man, even till she weaned her first son (Jesus), was it impossible?

In Matt. 16:18, when He said the gates of hell shall not prevail against His Church, with all persecutions and religious wars militating against the Church (Christians) from the days of the Pharisee and the high priests unto the days of Emperor Nero, even till date (with terror and mass killing of Boko Aram), have they prevailed against her? NO!!!!!!

Why will you not believe Him now when He says “your barren, unfavoured, uncelebrated and unfruitful land (life and destiny) shall turn fertile and bear much fruits and that your desert shall be flowing with waters, milk and honey?” He will give you total turn-around and a fulfilled life and destiny both in your life and ministry (your career).
Are you written off and abandoned in the ministry?
Are your termed failure and unfruitful?
Can you not make an edge no matter how hard you tried?

Don’t rely on your wisdom of efforts again, but hold and rely on God alone. He never failed. He is faithful to His word; He has spoken and will do it.
v. 6 Is the personal commitment of god unto your case, He will not rest until He has settled your own too.
vs. 4-7 is a promise of healing and recovery for the sick and the wounded, the outcast and the fearful.
v. 4 is a promise of courage to the fearful.
v. 5 is a promise of opening of eyes and ears to the blind and the deaf respectively.
v. 6 the lame shall leap and walk as an hart.
v. 6 The tongue of the dumb shall be loosed and shall sing.
v. 6 In the wilderness shall water break out and streams shall spring out in the desert.
v. 7 The parched land shall become a pool and thirty land shall become springs of water.

Rivers shall break forth in the wilderness/desert.
Wilderness is a large area of land that has never been developed or used for growing crops because it is difficult to live there. While desert is a large area of land that has very little water and very few plants growing there. It is also synonymous to an abandoned area (or life).

Wilderness and desert in the life of man is symbol of dryness, unfavoured life, deserted life, career & destiny, forgotten and abandoned life, unfruitfulness, unpatronized life, uncelebrated life and destiny, unpatriotic life…etc

Water is a symbol of healing and cure to the wounded, new beginning and freshness, glory, fulfillment, celebration, fire extinguisher and antidote to bomb devices before its explosion …etc.

Functions of water…
It cleanses, it refreshes when drink, it irrigates both life and plants, it gives food for the eater and the seed for the sower – Isaiah 55:10. It serves as antidote to fire outbreak and bomb devices before its explosion.

Streams in the desert is a symbol of impossibility in the natural world because of its dryness and its location – no tree, no forest or cool atmosphere that could call for rivers, but God says, He will do the impossible for His people, the favoured who hold unto his word till they see the dawn of reality in their lives.

But as great as this promise is and true to be trusted, it is not for ALL, it is only meant for those who will believe, be favoured and see. …Those who can see with eyes of faith; though not yet happening in the physical realm. The canal men ask for signs and proofs of evidence before taking the step, but real men stands on the word of God, not minding whether such promised has happened before or not, until they could see its reality in their lives.

Many had been in the deserts all though their lifetime and could not survive it as they were faced with hunger and thirsty and thereby rendered unable to cross over to their promised land as they died together with their great potentials. Haggar also was found hooked in that wilderness of life; thirsty and wearied without seeing any way out – water of streams… She has lost all hope, written herself off, she was waiting for death. So overwhelmed with sorrow, God heard her sorrowful cry and favoured her. A word then came unto her, God opened her eyes, she looked and saw and made use of the provision until she was satisfied.

“And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, "Let me not see the death of the boy." So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, "What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.  "Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation." Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.”  Genesis 21:15-19.

You must cry out unto God in need of this divine provision until your voice is heard by Him – Gen. 21v. 17. Only those whose voices were heard shall be visited by God, He will open their eyes to see the provision promised for their lives and kept so close that they would not need to be wandering again in search of livelihood and fulfillment. To be a beneficiary of God’s abundant provision, it calls for you to see in the strength of God – seeing is the power for possessing. Only those who can see God in action in their favour shall possess the gates of their enemy together with healing, recovery, salvation and fulfillment.

“Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.” Number 21:8-9.

“…And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:14-15;

Who could ever think that deliverance and healing could live in seeing the bronze serpent when beaten by serpent? Or who can imagine that fiery furnace could be turned to air-condition until God did it in favor of Sadrach, Mesach and Abednego when He appeared as the fourth in the furnace fire. The proposed failure and victims became celebrity. The name of their God became household name till date. But before then, they had learnt to see God in every situation they are facing. They saw God’s ability and confessed the same until it brought them great testimony, the act of God that cannot be denied in the history of men – Dan. 3:16-18, 22-30.

How can we Claim the Outbreak of Streams in our Desert?

Having believed in your heart and favoured from God and have seen with eyes of faith, you need to stretch out your hand in reaching your flourishing destination through these three means:

1.  You can get your waters (streams) break out through the word of God.

“And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.” Exodus 14:15-16.

The word of is the rod of life with which you cross your red sea – Exodus 14:15-16, 21-22. Through it you can strike the rock in the wilderness to give you water satisfactorily in time of thirsty – Exodus 17:5-6; Psalm 105:41-42. In the word of God is life that carries power for creation and reformation – John 1:1-4.

2.  You can break out through effectual prayer –

“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16.

Effective fervent prayer of the righteous is always empowered to do the unusual, the miraculous things to the glory of God. Learn from Elijah who prayed till heaven opened with heavy down-pour of rain after the drought of three and a half years as he declared – 1 Kings 18:41-45.

3.  You need anointing that breaks yokes –
“It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.” Isaiah 10:27.

Two kinds of anointing are known to the apostolic age, of which you need…

i. Anointing of the Shepherd that leads the sheep to quiet still water – Psalm 23:2.

ii. Anointing of the prophet that attracts divine declaration and its fulfillment – 2 Chro. 20:20.

Will you now go into the presence of the Most High in prayer, touching the heart of God with your heart request. Let heaven come down in your favour and your life will not remain the same. Pray until you could see streams abundantly springing out from your desert till you are overflow.
But as I said earlier, this blessing is only meant for the children of God; those who have confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal Saviour; because it takes God only to see according to Gen. 21:15-19. If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour, you are urged to do so right now as you take these steps by faith…

Acknowledge that you are a sinner, for all have sinned… Rom. 3:23.

Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He came and died for your sins – Rom. 10:9-10.

Confess all your known sins and plead the blood of Jesus for your total cleansing – 1 John 1:7-10.
Confess with your mouth the Lordship of Jesus Christ over your soul as Saviour. Rom. 10:9-11.
Live the rest of your life for/with Him in holiness, obedience, faithfulness and love.
Decide to share the good news of Christ with others to further populate the kingdom of our God on earth – Mark 16:15-16.

Henceforth, don’t let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in the lust thereof – Rom. 6:11-14.

Praise the LORD! If you have taken these steps in faith, congratulations! You are now part of the family of God.  Your line to overflowing in the blessings and healing and prosperity that flow from God is now activated. You will henceforth be receiving from the abundance of God’s riches.
Remain blessed.

JESUS is LORD!!!

BEYOND DOING EXPLOITS.

BEYOND DOING EXPLOIT.


“And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons” Mark 3:13-15;

“…but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” Daniel 11:32.

Doing exploits in life and ministry is the heart cry of almost everybody everyday, men and women, youth, old and even the children, educated and illiterate, all yearning to be used of God for signs and wonders, to be known for excellence with power and demonstration in order to be celebrated. Every minister of the gospel, whether in the city or in the remote villages wants to be an outstanding and worldwide preacher and conference speaker. Gospel singers and drama ministers also want to be the hot cake of the time in the name of God. The honour and fame of doing exploits had blinded so many people to the extent they could not effort not having a chance in becoming part of doing exploits. To this effect, so many people, having lingered so long for the outpouring of the grace for this public ministry, an avenue of pulling the crowd, they forgot divine timing, right location and the primary purpose  of god for each individual according to what He has assigned for each man to do (Eph. 4:11-13), they doubted the efficacy of prayer and waiting on the Lord for divine approval and appointment and went into occultic covenant to be demonically empowered to do signs and wonders though with lots of silent rituals and sacrifices at the designated time and places. To some of these false ministers, it works as if it is divine endowment – flourishing and seeming successful, but not in the sight of God. They actually have a missing point – secretly betraying JESUS CHRIST of NAZARETH.

Remember men including kings and even the priests could be deceived with sweet words and powerful demonstration of signs and wonders, working healing, deliverance and all sorts of religious acts, but God cannot be deceived. Men may receive honour from people in the name of doing exploit for God, but no matter how convincing it may likely appear, God cannot be confused – He knows those who are in Him and those whom He sent on any assignment. It is clearly declared in 2 Timothy 2:19…
“Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, “The Lord knows them that are his.” And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

If God chose to go through you in doing exploits for His kingdom, it immediately calls for more carefulness on your side so as not to misuse the opportunity given to you and lose the chance for continuity. It is never a sin to be favoured in doing exploit for God but it will be disastrous to take the grace of God for granted as if you paid a price for it as some used to say. They claimed God interrupted their academic career, political ambitions, better money making ventures … etc in order to be called into the ministry. Alongside, they claimed they paid the price of many days of fasting and prayers to receive the power for the exploits. All these are good exercise but none of it is the price for counting you worthy for the task… Where is the BLOOD provision of Christ, the Lamb of God for your worthiness in the kingdom of God?  Where is the atoning DEATH of Jesus on the cross for your redemption? Where is the word incarnation – Jesus Christ – John 1:14? Where is Christ’s resurrection – 1 Cor. 15:14-17? Where is the grace that chose you out of the multitude for you to be their leader, no matter whether your present impact over your people is great of little?  It is not by might or power but by His Spirit that calls and enables men to be fitted in the kingdom matters. If you are currently doing exploits for God and people are glorifying God for the outpouring of grace and power on you, you should know that it is now that you need to be very careful and daily renew your intimacy with God the source of your strength. Don’t be so busy in doing exploits that you will not have time to keep your personal walk (relationship) with God the owner of the exploit. He has specific instruction for each assignment in Hi s kingdom. You can’t use the style and wisdom of yesterday to approach the problem and task of today. You won’t get the same result because God is not a stereotype in His approach. He changes in His approach as case may be at each time.

God may not certain exploits without seeing correct vessels to use – channels through whom He will do it. Sometimes, His work may suffer delay in as much as the vessel to be used is not yet available. Many times revival that tarries is not because God is not able to do His work but because the vessels are not ready for the work. Men and women who took charge the pulpits are not having the heart of Christ and they want to have His honour and provisions to be consumed on their lustful desires – a means of competition and self glorification. Only few are carrying the correct heart – the heart of Christ. Out of these few that are dependable to God some of them are even sleeping and busy comparing themselves with others. So intimidated that they almost forgot the reason they were called into the ministry. They are afraid of devouring wolves in the field. Only few are the courageous Micaiahs who could stand before the aggrieved Ahabs of this world to declare the whole truth of God’s world, not minding what men (the killers of the prophets) can do to Him but the heart of God. Holiness and righteousness in total obedience to God and His word is their heart beats.

Examples of men/women of Exploits

There are golden examples of men and women who did exploits in their days. They were people of different professions across the Bible land, so diligent, industrious, faithful and discipline with resilience spirit. Among them are…
Noah: The man who was so favoured by God with great commission of building the ark (supernatural wooden ship) for the salvation of his family members against the coming flood (the judgment of God upon the ungodly). Though wooden, yet never sink for those one hundred and ninety days of the flood till God was true with all the ungodly. It was the first ship in the history of creation. He was favoured and became the ancestor of all humanity of whatever numbers we are now on the surface of earth – Gen. Chapter 6 – 8.
Samson: The man so anointed from His birth to be the judge and deliverer of Israel from the terror and affliction of the Philistines. The only warrior who ever worked without a team or armour-bearer and still fulfilled his mission. With jaw bone of an ass, he killed one thousand enemies singlehandedly. He judged for twenty years – Judges Chapters 14 & 16.
Deborah: The only female judge in Israel who stood on God to face the challenge of delivering Israel from the affliction and harassment of Jabin the king of Canaan and Sisera his captain, when Barak could not stand for God before the adversary – Judges Chapter 4 & 5
Samuel the Prophet: He was so favoured from his childhood till his death. He was the last judge in Israel, the national prophet and the high priest of Israel. He anointed both the first and the second kings of Israel for appointment and enthronement. He lived a perfect life and acceptable unto God and humanity. Great exploits indeed. – 1 Samuel Chapters 1-28.
Prophet Elijah: He was the man with the heart of lion who boldly and courageously confronted King Ahab and declare his judgment as God as given the utterance. He declared national drought across the land of Israel for three and a half years. At another occasion, he singlehandedly contested with eight hundred and fifty false prophets and prevailed on mount camel. He was known to be prophet of fire. He lives not seeing death but was caught up into heaven in the chariot of fire – 1 kings 17 – 2 kings 2:11.
Apostle Pater: He is the leader of the rest apostles. He did great exploit in soul winning. At a time he won three thousand (3,000) souls for Christ on the day of Pentecost – Acts 2:38-42. At another instance, he won five thousand (5,000) souls after the healing of the man born lame at the beautiful gate – Acts Chapters 3 & 4. He was mightily used to the extent his shadow was an asset of healing to the sick and the oppressed – Acts 5:14-15. Great exploits indeed.
Apostle Paul: He was a special apostle sent to evangelize and won the gentiles for Christ. Great was his teaching until sinners get saved with handkerchief and aprons he worked signs and wonders for healing and deliverance – Acts 19:11-12.
The Seventy Disciples of Jesus Christ: They were sent for evangelism of soul winning and came back testifying of signs and wonders of demons bowing down to them. Jesus even confirmed satan’s falling before them like lightening – Luke 10:16-17.
Daniel: Among the politicians, incomparable was the wisdom of Daniel that made him the apple of God’s eyes. He truly did great exploits for/with God in the foreign land to the extent that the name of his God was ordered to be praised and worshipped by all nations of the world – Daniel Chapters 2 & 6. 3
The Kings: Among the kings, great were the exploits that David, Solomon, Jehosaphat, Josiah, Hezekiah… did for God in their days. They were the revivalists of their days in their individual’s capacity.
ALL the afore-listed heroes did great exploits, BUT ABOVE DOING EXPLOITS THERE IS ONE THING THAT MATTER TO GOD MOST: IT IS YOUR LIFE.

YOUR LIFE BEFORE YOUR EXPLOITS

Let us examine the life of King Solomon as our case study. In it you shall clearly see what God meant by “YOUR LIFE FIRST BEFORE YOUR EXPLOITS”.

“Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord, and the King’s house, and ALL THAT SOLOMON DESIRED TO DO; that the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, as He has appeared to him in Gibeon. The Lord said to him, “I have heard your prayers and your supplication, which you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built by putting My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually”” 1 Kings 9:1-3.

The Life of King Solomon
Solomon who never deserved being a king was chose by God to be favoured. A son of a concubine, a product of adultery, probably the last son of David, a proposed outcast, almost deprived of the throne, was later crowned number one citizen in Israel (as the king), favoured, blessed and divinely endowed for greatness.
The honour of building the temple for God which David his father earnestly sought for and was denied access was freely given to him, though in the strength of David’s provision.
He was favoured with divine provision of God’s presence, peace round about flowing like a river throughout his kingdom in all his days; material provisions were also sufficiently made available for him to do ALL HE DESIRED TO DO – v. 1.
He built the first and the best temple together with the best palace of the king made of excessive gold and other costly materials until he had satisfied all his desires.
God appeared unto him at first time having paid the price of heartfelt thanksgiving of one thousand sacrifices unto God and God said… “ask what I should give you”. He asked for wisdom and God endowed him without rival or measure until he became an embodiment of wisdom till this day.
He was so favoured that God could appear to him the second time having made request that touched the heaven – the privilege many priests sought for and never have even for once in their life time. Jesus said in Luke 10:23-24
“Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."”
When he prayed to God, desiring His (God’s) presence to indwell the temple dedicated unto Him, his request was not ignored but granted. The exploit was too much that he could sacrificed 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep in appreciation to God for His favour.

In response, God said unto him,

“I have heard your prayers and your supplication, which you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built by putting My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually” – v. 3.

Reading from verses 1-3 of this chapter, I thought God would round it up there and bless this man who could do such great work with such enormous sacrifices and celebration of God’s goodness, but instead, God continue to address the main issue that will make his twenty years labour not a vain exercise – he used 7 years for building the temple and 13 years for palace. That main thing is the life of the vessel, the bearer of God’s presence.

Studying from the NASB version of the Bible, v. 4 gave me a great suck. From vs. 1 – 3, God gave His approval to all what Solomon had done without any ill-complain as He honoured the temple with His presence as Solomon requested. But while the king and the entire people of the kingdom would have settled down celebrating this great achievement, God said,

“As for you, if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to ALL that I have commanded you and keep My statutes and My ordinances, THEN, I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel for ever, just as I promised to your father David, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel’” – 1 Kings 9:4-5.

Already people had attached “success” to his name for the job well done. He became the most famous king in the whole world and no king or kingdom can deny it as they all came and present gifts unto him. He engaged the skills of foreign professionals in order to have the best of taste. But God said, after all these, “AS FOR YOU, IF YOU…”

It immediately dawned on me that the end of everything matters to God than its beginning; though He has interest on your foundation too on which you are building that which you are doing for Him. Knowing that devil also has interest on anyone doing exploit unto God’s glory… as it is written, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” - 1 Cor. 10:12.

“As for you…” implies that you should be careful so as not to be overwhelmingly blinded by your achievement that you will lose you personal relationship and communion with God Almighty Who is working in/through you. Because, if you allow the praises of people around you to puff you up that you no longer feel it necessary to visit the throne of God in personal communion with Him, you will soon lose your relevance in the kingdom matter. It is written in Ecclesiastes 7:8 that “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof” (KJV)

More importantly than your service, He needs your life in total consecration unto Him and unbroken daily relationship with Him. To have a continual flowing of God’s virtues of healing, deliverance, word of life and undiluted prophetic utterance from you to your numerous followers, both near and far, you need to retain and maintain undamaged life and relationship with God. Not only for today but till you breathe your last breathing in Him.

Unfortunately, Solomon did not heed the warning of God for his life. He went astray by lusting after strange women who later turned his heart from following the God of his father, David. He almost got the promise of God for David terminated for his wickedness, if not that God remembered His love to David. To this, I know and I am saying, take heed so as not to fall off the track. Solomon built the best temple but the real temple inside him (heart for God) was polluted that he lost his position before God. He lost divine award before God and all the good he had done were all gone unrewarded as sin turned them all to ashes – Ezekiel 18:20, 24.

Judas Iscariot was among the seventy disciples who preached the good news with signs and wonders of whom Jesus said their names are written in the book of life. Later in the journey of life, he lost his love for Jesus and did not heed the warning of his master and Lord Jesus Christ till he finally got perished. The beginning of man’s journey with Christ does not determine its end. As you go you will determine your end by your determined decision whether to keep following Jesus Christ no matter what or not.

The joy and honour of been used by God for exploit must not blindfold you to the extent of losing the primary purpose of the exploit – salvation of souls and edification of the saints (believers) – Eph. 4:11-13. The reason is that exploit does not guarantee salvation or heaven – Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23 concerning this.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'”

Only Jesus is the way to eternal life. Your life with/in Jesus is the primary focus to God. If you give your life to Him and grow till you see the harvest of breakthrough in your walk with Him and thereby stop growing by dissociating from fellowshipping with Him, you will end up being cast out and becoming irrelevant to Him in His work. May God forbid you becoming a forgotten issue, an irrelevant vessel in the kingdom of God. Amen.

GOD’S PLATFORM OF TEST

The best way to confirm a right man/woman of God is not on the pulpit but in privacy. God counts on your privacy than your public life. No right-minded person will stand in the public to do shameful thing but such things are easily done when thought it can’t be seen or heard in the public. Even if by mistake or divine arrangement such evil is uncovered, one will still want to look for means of defending it. Your real life is determined by how you handle your privacy (your secret living); how you respond to money and opposite sex when you are alone or in a place where people did not know you. Study the life of Joseph in Genesis 39:7-16; and the fool man in Proverbs 7:6:23 (please examine these two).

It was in the secret that God tested the integrity of Joseph in that which belong to others – where his master’s wife requested that he should meet with her. Though in the secret, yet he violently refused to sin against God. This is the kind of hearts God is looking for - the heart of Christ. But David failed his own test also in the secret as he lusted after Uriah’s wife and it attracted the penalty of sword.

Reuben also could not overcome his test against the beauty and innocence of his father’s concubine – Bilha and it attracted great curse and set back upon him and his descendants as he lost his birthright. It was in the secret that integrity of Achan and Judas Iscariot pertaining to money was tested and they both failed God exceedingly which eventually cost them their lives prematurely. Obedience of Adam was also tested while alone, he failed. In the midst of great joy of revival in Samaria God tested the obedience of Philip by speaking to his heart, not the leading of the apostles, to leave for wilderness because of a soul. He obeyed and greatly gladdens the heart of God.

If your private life is full of evil that God is not allow in it, the outcome will be so disastrous. A life that Jesus has its control will not have chance for devil to exploit it. Dedicate and spend all your loneliness with God for renewal of strength and to know more of Christ for your personal spiritual growth and to bring freshness of God’s beauty and His word to your listeners (followers).
Let us see Mark 3:14-15 to examine how Jesus chose His disciples and what was the primary purpose for chosen them.

“And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils”

From the example of how Jesus called His disciples and the priorities He set for their calling as seen in the above scriptures, we will see clearly that pulpit is not the primary but that they “should be with Him, and that he might send them forth to preach” which indicates their intimacy, closeness, standing by, leaning on, relying on, waiting on, and getting acquainted with Him before the possibility of sending them on errands – Matthew 11:29.

Your salvation comes first before your service. It is a privilege if He chose you for exploit in His kingdom, but not at the expense of your personal walk with Him. Don’t play with your life; it is more important than the position you occupied in the service. Those whom God used in the Bible days, both in Old Testament & New Testament, were all men and women who won divine approval for their private lives. They were men and women who never joke with their night or allow anything to stand in-between them and God. Someone like Daniel, who decided not to defile himself with king’s portion of food or wine in order not to overwhelm himself with the joy of being favoured and lose the real essence of his existence. Also, after his enthronement, he could not afford anything, including king’s decree, to stand as obstacle to his unbroken devotion to God. No wonder God kept on doing unusual in his favour – such as keeping lion away from devouring him….

As a teaching, singing, deliverance, drama or minister, hanging on the outcome of your public performance might be so deceitful, remember God does not see as men see. The condition of your heart/life matters most to Him or else you end up forging messages for yourself thereby deceiving people that you are still in the Lord. You cannot do the work alone; you need Him doing it for/through you.

Conclusion: if you are in public service of preaching Christ as a teaching, pastoral, drama, singing, or deliverance minister and you have lost your contact and intimacy with Christ, your Lord and Saviour, I urge you to turn back to God. Go back to Calvary and rededicate your life and zeal to God as in the beginning. Remember your first love towards Christ and make your way right. He will not ignore your coming back, rather He will celebrate your coming back as He will renew His covenant with you. If you remain connected with Him till the end, you end shall be exceedingly great and God-honouring than your beginning. You shall live to show forth His praises. Remain Blessed.
Jesus is LORD!!!