DON’T WASTE YOUR LIFE PURSUING THE THINGS THAT MONEY CAN BUY
DEDICATION TO GOD IS KEY TO ADDITIONS IN LIFE
THERE’S NO LIMIT TO WHAT GOD CAN GIVE A MAN THAT IS DONATED TO HIM
PEOPLE DEPRIVE THEMSELVES OF POSSIBILITIES WHEN THEY LIMIT THEIR DEDICATION TO GOD
HOW FAR YOU WANT TO GO WITH GOD DETERMINES HOW FAR GOD WILL GO WITH YOU
EVERYTIME A MAN OR A WOMAN HAS BECOME TOO BIG FOR GOD, HE OR SHE HAS BECOME TOO SMALL TO REMAIN UP
THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO GO TO CHURCH TODAY, AND NOBODY CAN TELL THAT THEY BELONG TO GOD
DEDICATION TO GOD MADE SOLOMON TO BE THE WEALTHIEST AND THE MOST OUTSTANDING KING OF ALL TIME
WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT YOU, WHAT WILL THEY SAY YOU LOVE?
DON’T LET ANY DEVIL TELL YOU THAT YOU’RE WASTING YOUR TIME SERVING GOD
AS LONG AS YOU DO NOT FORGET THE GOD OF YOUR MAKING, YOU WILL NOT FORFEIT YOUR MAKING IN LIFE
WHEN GOD BLESSES A MAN, HE MAKES HIS CASE BECOME DIFFERENT
GOD CAUSES YOUR LIFE TO STAND OUT WHEN YOU ARE DEDICATED TO SERVING HIM
GOD GIVES YOU INFLUENCE AS A BLESSING FOR BEING DEDICATED
A VISIBLE PUBLIC STAND FOR GOD IS THE KIND OF DEDICATION THAT MAKES GOD BLESS PEOPLE
NOBODY CAN CLAIM TO BE DEDICATED TO GOD AND DOES NOT FEAR GOD
THERE ARE THOSE TODAY WHO ARE BATTLING WITH PAYING OF ORDINARY TEN PERCENT TITHE
IF YOUR HEART IS WITH GOD, YOUR RESOURCES WOULD BE WITH HIM
WHATEVER COMMANDS YOUR RESOURCES HAS COMMANDED YOUR AFFECTION
IT’S A SHAME TO SIT AT HOME ON SUNDAY MORNING WATCHING CHURCH SERVICE ON TELEVISION
DON’T LET ANY LEVEL OF MONEY, INFLUENCE AND POSITION MAKE YOU TOO BIG TO BE PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN ZION
- Dr. Pastor Paul Enenche on “The Blessing of Dedication” || Sunday Combined Service || Glory Dome, Abuja
Matthew 6:33. The Lord bless His Word in the name of Jesus.
Very quickly, speaking on “The Blessing of Dedication”. We want to understand the blessing of dedication and the dimensions of that blessing of dedication. Church Gist. We also want to understand the way to the blessing of dedication.
The Bible makes it clear that dedication is key to additions in life. Matthew 6:33. Additions follow dedication. The things that are valuable and profitable for life are added to the life of the dedicated. Church Gist. Everything that makes for a comfortable and fulfilling life are added to the life of the dedicated. Examples abound throughout Scripture, of people who were dedicated to God and the additions they experienced in life. I will look at 5 examples;
- Abraham. Abraham’s dedication to God set him apart from others in his family, ushered him to the realm of wealth and greatness. Genesis 12:1-3, Genesis 13:2. Genesis 24:1, Genesis 24:35. Church Gist. He was the first person in his family, literally the only person to experience God to that dimension to see that realm of wealth, greatness and increase by his dedication.
- I believe there’s somebody seated here today, your dedication in your Father’s house shall set you apart.
- I believe there’s somebody seated here today, your dedication, in your community, He’s going to put a seal of greatness on your life. You believe that, say a louder Amen.
- Levites. Dedication to God separated the Levites unto God for service, distinguished them among the tribes of Israel and caused God to become their possession. Exodus 32:26. Numbers 18:21. Church Gist. “Who is standing with God?” “We” and God said to them; “for standing with me, I separate you to myself”. But that’s not all. Deuteronomy 10:8-9. “You can show me your land, the one you have, you can brag about your car but I want to brag about my God”, that is Levi. “I know you have an aircraft, I know you have landed properties, I know you have care and everything you want to have but God is saying to me – I am giving you material things, I am dashing you myself”. Church Gist. That is what it pays to stand by God. That is what it pays to stand with God. There’s no limit to what God can give a man that is donated to Him. Alpha and Omega, the Beginning, the End and everything in between says, “I dash you myself”. The creator of the Heaven and earth, the Custodian of all wisdom, the Ancient of days, the ageless, dieless, changeless one, the one who does not know what it means to lack. Church Gist. That is how people deprive themselves of possibilities when they limit their dedication to God. How far you want to go with God determines how far God will go with you. To take a stand with God is to stand out in life. Levi had no agemate in Israel, no contemporary. Church Gist. A little child of the tribe of Levi can sleep inside the Ark and that is his sleeping place, the eldest man of the tribe of Reuben touches the Ark, he dies. God says, “I give them my presence and I give you everything I have”.
Don’t waste your life pursuing the things that money can buy. Don’t waste your time pursuing the mundane things of this life. Waste your time pursuing God and waste your time pursuing El-Shaddai and He will give you Himself and you’ll become like a mystery to people. Church Gist. Some people ask people like us and they say, “what did you do for God? Why is it that God makes everything to work for you?” The mystery is, we dashed ourselves to God longest time without looking, without any consideration. Church Gist. While people were spending their youth on other things, we spent our youth on God. Hallelujah!
- Job. Dedication to God made Job the greatest and wealthiest man in his generation. Job had such a dimension of the blessing that his resources filled the land. Job 1:1-3. Job 1:10. Church Gist. Why? He was a man that feared God, eschewed evil and reacted against evil. His stand was known, everybody knew Job with God and knew God with Job. There are people who go to Church today, only them know that they belong to God. Their friends can’t even tell that they belong to God not to talk about their enemies. Church Gist. Only them know, even the devils are not sure who they belong to, even Angels are not sure. Job was a man with a notorious Godly identity, there was no devil that could claim that he does not know that Job belonged to God, everyone knew. God said to Job, “you’re known with me publicly, I will identify also with you publicly” for people know what God can make out of a man who does not hide his relationship and identity with God. Church Gist. Ask every witch in Abuja and in Nigeria, they will tell you about our identity in the realm of the Spirit. Hallelujah.
- look at your neighbour, say, “it pays to serve God and costs to serve the devil”.
“The whole of the east, Job was the greatest”, there are people from the east today that God will make great men and women because of dedication to God. There are people from the West, the South and the North and from the community you are that God will make notorious for God. If you’re among them, shout the loudest Amen.
- Solomon. Dedication to God made Solomon to be the wealthiest and the most outstanding king, not just of his time but of all time. How did he do that? Solomon loved the Lord. 1 Kings 3:3-4. Church Gist. What was the outcome? God came to him and said, “what do you want?” Long story made short, by the time God finished answering Solomon, 1 Kings 10:23-25.
When people talk about you, what will they say you love? For many of us, what we love is obvious, “the man loves cars, he loves to watch movies, he loves to talk, he loves gossip, he loves vanity” but for Solomon, he loved the Lord. Church Gist. Later on, he diverted into the love of women and that became the end of his story but his beginning, Solomon loved the Lord. Am I communicating? Question to ask yourself as you go out here today, if the Bible were to be written again, what would they say that you love? What do you love? Who do you love? Solomon loved the Lord, that was his qualification as King. Church Gist. If you’re ready to spend and be spent on God, God will be ready to spend and be spent on you. He said, “Draw near to me and I will draw near unto you”. So, as you go home today, after this service, tell God to point out to you the love of your life, what is your love? It’s a mark of your dedication. What is the love of your life? What captures your fancy? What tickles your enthusiasm? What causes the energy of your life to rise? There are people, they are so dull until you begin to talk about, they come alive; they’re so dull until you begin to talk about cars and they come alive; they are so dull until you begin to talk about latest fashion and latest hairstyle and they come alive; they’re so dull until you begin to talk about money. Church Gist. What is it that makes you come alive? It determines what God can do with your life. Solomon became the greatest and the wealthiest king, not just of his time but of all times. The record of the temple of Solomon, nobody has beat it yet. There’s no billionaire in the world today who can put all his money together that is equivalent to the amount it cost to build just the temple. Church Gist. When they quantified that temple, it was in billions of dollars, because everything was gold.
- I see God about to lift you. If you’re that one, you say a loud Amen!
- King Uzziah. Dedication to God made King Uzziah to connect popularity, authority, prosperity in his generation. 2 Chronicles 26:4-5. 2 Chronicles 26:9-15. Church Gist. This man pursued God until God picked him, He gave him authority, popularity and prosperity.
- look at your neighbour, say, “you’re not wasting your life pursuing God, you’re not wasting your time”.
Don’t let any devil tell you that you’re wasting your time. We have not wasted our lives, we haven’t wasted our time, we haven’t wasted our energy. Church Gist. You’re not wasting your time and for as long as you do not forget the God of your making, you will not forfeit your making in life. You know why I said so? This man pursued God until he was marvelously helped and he became strong. Church Gist. If you read verse 16, he became lifted up with pride; 2 Chronicles 26:16-18. He took upon himself the duty of the altar because he’s big and he’s a king. When they said it to him, he reacted and said, “who told you that?” And the Priest said, “no, you can’t do that”, while the wroth was on, leprosy came on his head. 2 Chronicles 26:19-20. Church Gist. When he died, they couldn’t bury him where they bury kings, they buried him in a several house. God raised him and he became bigger than the God who raised him. Pride goeth before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
There are those who are so committed to God when they were nothing; when God began to make them into something, they became too big for God, too big for Church, too big for Pastor, they even want to give Pastor direction. Church Gist. That was what Uzziah did. I needed to pull this in so that you don’t hear the half of the story. God raised him but he became too proud. When you become too big for God, you’re too small to be up. Church Gist. Everytime a man and a woman has become too big for God, he or she has become too small to remain up, a crash is inevitable.
- lift up your right hand and say, “Father, I receive the grace to serve you with all my strength, I receive the grace not to fail, I receive the grace to remain with you”.
That man had more military force than the Nigerian Army, yet they couldn’t help him when he went against God.
- you will not fail.
In our place, they say “it’s not good to know a person twice”, that is, we knew him as a normal person, next time we are knowing him as a mad man, it’s not good. We knew Uzziah as a normal person, now we are seeing him as a leper, it’s not good. Church Gist. - may your identity be consistent! May what we know of you be consistent! May your life be consistently good! May your life be consistently beautiful! May your life be consistently prosperous! May the things we hear out of your life be consistently positive! May we not hear stories of calamity and disaster from your life! May it be consistently positive! Every negative story that the enemy may want to generate out of your life or anyone’s life here, we declare it canceled! In the name of Jesus!
🎵🎶Make me Lord to be your friend whenever Lord You are looking for a friend🎶🎵
What are the dimensions of this Blessing?
- Exemption. When God blesses a man, he exempts you, that is, your case becomes different; different from your family members, different from your community. Church Gist. That was what happened to Abraham, that was what happened to the Levites.
- Distinction. You stand out, God causes your life to stand out, you don’t die under, you’re not under a cover.
- Provision/Prosperity.
- Greatness. That is, you become known, effortlessly. Church Gist. You’re not struggling to be known but because you know God, God makes you known, effortlessly.
- Influence. You command, you’re obeyed, you speak, you’re heard. Influence. Church Gist. There are people who have money but no influence; there are people in positions of office but no influence but you command followership effortlessly. God gives you influence as a blessing for being dedicated. He gives you exemption, distinction, provision, prosperity, greatness, influence and command of followership as a blessing for being dedicated.
In the course of the month, we shall still look at dividends of dedication; what it profits to be dedicated, some of these may still come up.
Finally, what is the way of this dedication that provokes the blessing?
- Unwavering and unquestionable obedience to God. God said it, you said, “yes Sir” like Abraham. Church Gist. You’re not negotiating with God, you’re not over analyzing instruction, you’re not in argument with God, your will is buried in His will. That was Abraham’s life in Genesis 12:1-3.
- Public stand for God. Like what the Levites did. Visible representation of God. We saw that in Exodus 32:26. Your identity for God and with God is not hid. There’s nobody who knows you who can claim he doesn’t know you with God. Church Gist. A public stand for God, visible, is the kind of dedication that makes God bless people, makes God give you exemption, distinction, prosperity, provision and influence.
- Committed service to God. We saw the Levites also in Deuteronomy 10:8. Church Gist. Where you live to serve and the most critical service is the soul-winning service, not just sitting in Church as a bench warmer; not just satisfied to come to Church every Sunday to feel good but you’re bothered about the souls of others.
- Reverential fear of God. Where it is clear that you fear God. Job 1:1. Proverbs 8:13. So you fear God, you hate evil, you live upright, that’s dedication. Nobody can claim to be dedicated to God who does not fear God, the fear of God is not in their heart. Church Gist. They might come to Church but they don’t fear God.
- Affection and passion for God. A heart that beats after God. 1 Kings 3:3a. Church Gist. Where the devil knows, those who know you know that you love God with passion.
- Giving and sacrificial living. Dedication to God that makes a person to connect with the blessing has to do with giving and sacrificial living. That was what brought God to the scene in 1 Kings 3:4-5. Church Gist. Solomon was a sacrificial giver. There are those today who are battling with paying of ordinary 10% tithe. We left the realm of tithe longest time, 10% cannot be what we give, it’s not possible, it’s far beyond that. Church Gist. The Bible says, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be”, so if your heart is with God, your resources would be with him. If I know where you spend your money the most, I know where your heart is. There are people who cannot send money to their father in the village but they have enough money to buy a woman a car. So, their heart is not with their parents or with God, their heart is captured, probably, by a Jezebel, a Delilah. Church Gist. Whatever commands your resources has commanded your affection. There are people, their money is in the beer parlour, they can donate their life, I mean, when you go to an alcoholic joint, if you go to preach, not to drink, you see people ordering beers en masse for their colleagues on their table, that’s a normal life. Church Gist. They’re very generous at that place, wife may be at home looking for the next meal but “drunkeous” colleagues are benefitting from their alcoholic benevolence. Church Gist. Anybody who claims that his heart is with God and doesn’t know what it means to honour God with their resources, he doesn’t know God yet, the heart is not there.
- The consistent pursuit of God. I said consistent because there are those who pursued God yesterday who are not pursuing God today. Church Gist. We saw that in the life of King Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26:4-5. 2 Chronicles 26:16.
- may you never come to the point where you slow down in your pursuit of God.
- may no level of prosperity destroy your prayer life!
- may no level of authority or promotion in the office destroy your fasting life!
- may no level of business or money making destroy your attendance to Church.
I was talking with a white man the other day who came here to visit us and he said, “since the Coro, most of their Churches in America are not functioning physically as it should”, so I told him that was the aim of coro, to destroy people’s spiritual life. He said, mostly, they’re doing zoom meetings now. Church Gist. So, I told him, “the Bible said, they grow from strength to strength, everyone before God appeareth in Zion, not appeareth before zoom”. He said “what?” I said, “the Scripture cannot be broken. There must be a physical appearance in Zion”. Hebrews 10:25. He said, “I am taking this Scripture to America, I’m going to share it with them”. Some of you are seated at home now watching television, it’s a shame, on Sunday morning. Church Gist. Of course, if you have no facility to be there or for one reason or the other, you can’t be in Church in the morning but others are physically in the presence of God and you’re crossing your leg in front of television, watching and you say you’re in Church service, it’s not Scripture. Hebrews 10:35. Hebrews 12:22-23. It’s a physical occasion. Church Gist. Don’t let any level of money, influence, position in the office make you too big to be physically present in Zion.
The reason why there was so much victory in the early Church is that everytime the doors of the Church were open, they were there. Church Gist. I tell our people, on Sunday morning, do Church service before you make any travel if you have to travel on Sunday. Honour God in that physical presence and see what it does to your life.
- may you come to the point where nothing destroys your consistent pursuit of God.
I have been pursuing this God, fasting, praying since university days. My wife is with me here and she has observed my life for 30-something years, there has been no drop in this pursuit. Church Gist.The kind of fasting I have never done even while I was in the university, I did it many years later. When I see people that are robust, I say, “I wish I’m like you” because I will do a very long fast before people catch me (fasting), I have finished. Church Gist. By the mercies of God, God has helped me in that tenacious pursuit.
- may no realm of growth, money, finances stop you from pursuing God. This morning, the blessing of God is changing your life!
—–Prayers
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