-Pastor David Oyedepo Jnr at CHoP
*As a result of that, their dedication will always be limited.
*There are many people today who are in the house of God, yet they lack passion for God. They are passive concerning anything that matters to God.
- It is the degree of our dedication that determines the height of our glorification.
- In these last days, God is not necessarily looking for the great to make greater. He is looking for the insignificant to make great.
Our Father, we have come before You this morning grateful and thankful for the privilege You have given to us to be here in Your presence. We know that You are the Prayer Answering God, every time we call You, You hear us and when You hear us, You answer our prayers. We give You all the praise. For the testimonies we have heard, we say Thank You.
… Let every one of our lives be changed supernaturally. We give You the praise and glory for it, in Jesus precious name we have prayed.
Our line of exhortation all through this week has been:
DEDICATION: A COVENANT PLATFORM FOR THE RISE OF GIANTS
Dedication can simply be defined or described as a deadly commitment to a cause. It is an unwavering commitment to a cause, an unshakable pursuit of any cause. That’s what dedication can be described as in its most simple terms.
John 12:23-26
Jesus gives us a picture of what dedication looks like. That picture is a picture of service. Dedication has to do with pursuing a cause, serving a cause with a deadly commitment. From that Scripture, it is clear that Jesus paints the picture of Dedication as the planting of a seed and He says, “except that corn of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abideth alone.” It cannot produce much. It is relegated to insignificance but according to Him when it is planted there is a change of situation.
What could be overlooked begins to stand out. As a result of that, Jesus said,” if any man loves his own life so much, he is committed to his own convenience”, He said, “he will lose out” – John 12:25
But if anyone will follow the pattern of Dedication, then that individual cannot but be a candidate for honour.
Let’s understand this, this morning.
Until your commitment is excessive to men, it is not conducive for God.
Until you are willing to go beyond what men call acceptable, you have not yet attained what God considers rewardable. It is the degree of our dedication that determines the height of our glorification. Church Gist. How far you go for God determines how high you can scale with God.
1 Corinthians 15:58
Our labour is expected according to Scriptures to be unmovable, to always be abounding, to be steadfast, that is the degree that God demands of us. Until we reach that we are not yet set to begin to experience the reward. That’s why dedication remains the vital key for anyone that will scale heights with God.
The Bible paints the picture of the Mustard seed.
Mark 4:30-32
I want you to understand that Dedication is the key to greatness. If you are going to attain greatness in this Kingdom, dedication is God’s condition. It is the unmovable condition, it is the irreplaceable condition.
If greatness will be your experience, then dedication must be your lifestyle.
This is so important, you discover that in the physical, a jumping man will make noise and suffer sweat but a growing man will not make noise nor suffer sweat.
We are told that the average size of a baby at birth is 51 cm, but that baby can grow up to 8 feet. You will never see the baby making noise and they say, “what is happening?” the baby is growing, that is why it is making noise. Growth is noiseless, jumping is noise filled. There are many people who are trying to scale heights by jumping but they are making noise. But if you get planted in dedication, you will grow without making noise.
I don’t know if you have ever gone to a farm before; you hear noise and you say, “What is happening?” They say, “all the plants are growing.”
No, they grow without making noise. They grow without suffering sweat. All that they need is to remain planted. When a man is dedicated, he enjoys greatness without sweat.
-For somebody this morning, I see grace to remain planted coming afresh upon you.
Let’s take a case study from Scriptures and we look at the example of Nehemiah.
Nehemiah was a man that was a servant in Babylon. He was the cupbearer of the king, a man with no credentials, a man who found himself to be in a position that did not require credentials, yet was enjoying certain specific benefits. He was in a place of comfort to a particular degree.
Nehemiah 1:1-10
I will like us to pick some lessons from the life of Nehemiah
- Nehemiah was a man with unparalleled, undying passion to see the dignity of the City of God restored. A man of undying passion, his passion was fervent.
How will men describe you?
Will they describe you as passionate?
Or
Will they describe you as passive concerning the matters of the Kingdom?
There are many people today who are in the house of God, yet they lack passion for God. They are passive concerning anything that matters to God.
Here comes a man who was not even in Jerusalem, yet his heart was panting after it.
He was crying out to God for the liberty of Jerusalem – Nehemiah 1:4
The first characteristic we find in the man Nehemiah was undying passion. - Nehemiah was a man ready to die for a cause – Nehemiah 2:2-3
“Why should not my countenance be sad…”: If you know anything about the monarchy of the past, you don’t answer them like that.
Don’t forget that he is a captive in the land, which means that what he is complaining about, the person who caused it is the person he is talking to. He is talking to this man without any recourse for personal safety, he is talking to this man without any recourse to his personal comfort. All that mattered to him was the restoration of Jerusalem.
Jesus said, “He that loveth his life will lose it” – John 12:25
We find this man as a man whose passion for God was so heightened that his life was of little consequence to him. One of the greatest enemies of dedication is personal comfort. Church Gist. There are many individuals today who are after their personal comfort, what matters to them is what is convenient to them and as a result of that their dedication will always be limited.
Here comes a man, he was committed to sow his life as a seed and as a result of that, he positioned himself for greatness. - His unparalleled sacrifice, his willingness to go all out.
Nehemiah 4:17-21
We are shown the gruesome price that this man paid towards the building of the wall. They were fighting and working at the same time. Unparalleled labour. The Bible tells us that they did not even have the opportunity to take off their clothes except for washing. These were men of unusual dedication.
What was the result of it?
This man called Nehemiah ended up becoming the governor of Judah – Nehemiah 5:14
I will like you to understand that in these last days, God is not necessarily looking for the great to make greater. He is looking for the insignificant to make great.
I will like you to understand that your starting point does not matter with God. Your dedication lifts you to unimaginable heights.
The seed of your life may look smaller than all, but the tree of your life will end up greater than all. Church Gist. All that is required is that you get planted. In life, the size of a seed does not determine the size of a tree. The planting of a seed is what determines the future of a tree. All that you require therefore is get planted and when you get planted God begins to cause you to scale unusual heights. You don’t know how high you can go until you decide to commit yourself to God. It is when you are planted with God that the glory of God is manifested in your life.
-For you Today, I see the grace for dedication coming afresh upon you in the name of Jesus.
Prayers: Receive grace from God. Lord, the grace You gave Nehemiah with undying passion, the grace You gave him to be committed to your cause, I receive that same grace.
Pray that prayer from the depth of your heart.
In Jesus precious name we have prayed.
As your life gets planted, God’s glory shall be manifested upon you.
The heights that you cannot presently imagine, you will go beyond it, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Fliers for Sunday: Breaking Invisible Barriers Service
Declare the breath of the Holy Ghost upon these materials right now, making them sharp sickles, bringing about great harvest.
Thank You mighty God…Father, we declare right now that these materials go forth and they return with a mighty harvest. Thank You for doing it, in Jesus precious name we have prayed.
SPEAK TO THE DAY
Make your declaration concerning this day, speak to it right now. Do it with confidence. This day is declared blessed in the name of Jesus Christ.
This day is declared blessed. For you:
-A day of testimonies in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
-As we continue in this month, the blessings and the benefits of the month will keep speaking louder and louder in your life.
-This is the 9th month, the month of delivery: it shall be a month of unusual delivery for you in the name of Jesus Christ.
So shall it be, in Jesus precious name.
It is done.
Don’t forget, the Week of Spiritual Emphasis continues today, we are waiting on the Lord again. Gather this evening across all of our Zones to break our fast with the Communion.
Also, all youths be reminded that there is no Youth Aflame due to the Week of Spiritual Emphasis and we are having our rally on Saturday at 12 noon as it was earlier announced. Be blessed in the name of Jesus.
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#CHoP2Sept2021
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CHoP is an acronym for Covenant Hour of Prayer
