YOUR SERVICE TO GOD MAKES YOU RELEVANT.
WE ALL NEED GRACE FOR CONTINUITY IN OUR STEWARDSHIP
-Pastor David Oyedepo Jr at CHoP
*This race is not run by expertise, it is run by grace.
*This race is not run by experience, it is run by grace.
Our Father, we have come this morning to give thanks and praise to You. We thank You Lord for the testimonies we have heard this morning, they are Your doings and they are marvelous in our eyes. We give You all the praise, for the answers You have given to our prayers, we say thank You. Now Lord, our eyes are upon You this morning. We ask of You, that You will speak to each one of us, let Your words transform our lives. We give You all the praise and we give You all the glory. In Jesus precious name we have prayed.
Our line of exhortation for this week has been:
ENGAGING THE GRACE FOR CONTINUITY IN STEWARDSHIP
The Word of God makes it absolutely clear to us that for anyone’s engagement to be rewardable, it must be consistent.
1 Corinthians 15:58
In other words, for your labour to be rewardable, it must be consistent, that is why the Word of God declares, “He that endures to the end, the same shall be saved” – Matthew 24:13
Our race in the Kingdom is a race of endurance. Endurance demands continuity.
Hebrews 12:1 – It is a long-range race, so it requires consistency and continuity.
-I pray this morning that the grace for consistency, the grace for continuity will come afresh upon each one in the name of Jesus Christ.
Acts 26:22 – Continuity is a product of grace. It takes the help of God to be consistent, it takes the help of God to be persistent, it takes the help of God to be tenacious in this race.
-That is why this morning, I pray that there will be an unleashing of divine grace upon each one of us to stay the course to the end. No one here will fall short in the name of Jesus Christ.
But the Bible makes it clear that we must be followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises – Hebrews 6:12
So we must look at the examples of others – Romans 15:4
In other words, we look at the examples of others and pattern our steps after them in order to get what they got, to get the prize that they got. We must look at examples. This morning we are going to look at examples, 2 examples of those who pressed to the end and a cautionary tale of somebody who ran the race but didn’t finish well. Church Gist. The purpose is simple, to emulate the prize winners and to avoid the error of the ones that missed their way.
-No one here will miss their own way in the name of Jesus Christ.
The first example we’ll look at this morning is Joshua. Joshua was a man that made it to the end.
Exodus 33:11 – He remained there, he stayed consistent there.
We are told in the book of Numbers chapter 14 verses 1 to 10, how all of the camp of Israel began to lament and say, “No, we will not follow the commandment of God. We cannot go to take the promised land.”
Joshua and Caleb said, “No, don’t sin against the Lord. Let us obey Him. These people are bread for us, we can win this battle.” They stood alone against the entire camp of Israel. They stood their ground against the entire camp of Israel in order to obey God. Even when it was not popular, their stance was uncompromised and that is what we see concerning Joshua.
We begin to see that this attitude and attribute of Joshua was consistent to the end.
Numbers 27:18-20 – The Lord spoke unto Moses. He was simply the minister or the servant of Moses, but here we see God saying transfer the honour on your life to him, the people of Israel will be obedient to him. We are told in scriptures how that Joshua was not only one that became the leader of the children of Israel, but the Bible tells us in Joshua chapter 1, He says that the children of Israel had respect or fear for Joshua all the days of his life. The honour of God rested upon him.
Joshua 11:15 – He was a man committed to the end. No wonder we are told in Joshua chapter 21 verse 45, “…all of them came to pass.”
Joshua enjoyed fulfillment of prophecy by consistency in his walk with God.
-I pray that the same grace that God gave to Joshua that made him press on to the end, I pray that the grace comes afresh upon each one of our lives.
Joshua began as a young man, but the grace was consistent to the end. It was a long-range race but the grace never failed.
-For somebody here, that grace that kept Joshua to the end will never fail in your own life.
The second example we will look at in scriptures is the example of Anna. Anna was a widow of 84 years old, at the point when her story was recorded in scriptures and she made it to the end, serving God, day and night, with prayers and fasting in the temple.
Luke 2:37
She was a widow. She was in a situation, where perhaps she might had been written off, but she said, “No. I’ll keep consistent serving God night and day.” The only reason why her story was recorded in history was her stewardship. Her service to God made her relevant.
If you look at the scriptures, we are told, scholars tell us between the book of Malachi and the book of Matthew, which is between the Old and the New Testament, there were 400 years that they call 400 years of silence, nobody knew what was happening. People were not able to pick the signal of God. Only two people in that generation knew the programme of God coming next: Anna and Simon. Only 2 people could pick from God when there was silence to everyone else. These people were in tune with heaven and we look at the secret of this woman, Anna.
Simple, she was simply aligned in prayers and fasting, serving the Lord – Luke 2:37. She picked what others could not get by reason of her alignment with God. Her story was recorded as relevant in history by reason of her alignment with God.
Please hear this, this morning. Even if you don’t know any other thing as long as your alignment is right with God, you cannot but make your mark on the earth. This woman was aligned with God, serving God, day and night and as a result of that, she became an entity to be reckoned with on the earth.
-I see that becoming somebody’s experience here in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We have a cautionary tale in scriptures, that is the story of Saul, the king. Saul the king was anointed by God, selected by Him and chosen to reign over the children of Israel.
1 Samuel 13:10-14
We find Saul’s first disobedience. The Lord had given a commandment that every time they will go to war, a sacrifice must be made and it must be made by a priest. The Bible says, “…I made a sacrifice unto the Lord, against God’s commandment.” Samuel said, “you have done foolishly. The kingdom would have been established with thee but now it is taken away from thee.”
By disobedience, by misalignment, he missed his place.
We see his second incidence of disobedience against God, refusing to obey the instruction of God completely – 1 Samuel 15:22-23
Somebody says, how long did this take?
Acts 13:21-22
Saul reigned for 40 years. After 40 years of getting it right, he missed so close to the end.
I will like you to understand that if we are going to win this race, we must be consistent from the beginning to the end. We need grace for it. For 40 solid years, Saul was on the right course but at the end he missed it.
-No one here will miss it in the name of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, it is important for us to understand that we all need grace for continuity in our stewardship – Romans 9:16
We need grace and we are told how to get that grace: let’s come boldly to the throne of grace, to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need – Hebrews 4:16
This race is not run by expertise, it is run by grace.
This race is not run by experience, it is run by grace.
The only way to attain the conclusion of this race effectively is to do so by grace.
-This morning I see that grace coming upon each one of us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Prayers: My Father and my God, I receive that grace this morning. Lord, this is my time of need, I need your grace. Let there be an outpouring of grace for the effective running of this race. Let it be so Lord, blessed be Your holy name. In Jesus precious name we have prayed.
None of us will fall short in this race. Each one will endure to the end and you shall end this race as a Prize Winner, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAK TO THE DAY
Another day is here. Speak to the day and make your declaration concerning the day. Whatever you decree, God will deliver. Speak to the day right now.
Make your declarations and do it in faith. Speak forth to the day right now, do it with boldness, do it with confidence, do it fully assured of the blessing that you are declaring. Thank You mighty God, in Jesus precious name we have prayed.
-As you have declared this morning, so shall it be.
-The day shall be loaded with testimonies.
-It will be loaded with encounters.
-It will be a day to be much remembered.
-We are still harvesting our testimonies of favour released on Sunday, therefore, today for you shall be a day of favour. In the name of Jesus, so shall it be, in Jesus precious name.
Our fliers are available for Sunday Special Miracle Service. Stretch your hand forward and declare the breath of the Holy Ghost upon these materials. Every flier becoming a sharp sickle, returning with great harvest. Sharp sickle, returning with a great harvest. Thank You mighty God, in Jesus precious name we have prayed.
Now in the name of Jesus, every flier is declared right now a sharp sickle. Every flier returns with a mighty harvest. Thank You Father for doing it, in Jesus precious name we have prayed.
Don’t forget we are waiting upon the Lord today and we are gathered this evening, it is our Midweek Service across all of our zones: Lagos, Ota and its environs. Please ensure you are there, take advantage of it, it will be a glorious time in God’s presence, in the name of the Lord Jesus.
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CHoP is an acronym for Covenant Hour of Prayer
