YOU’RE NOT INTERESTED IN YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE UNTIL YOU’RE INTERESTED IN YOUR COMPANY
The devil FIGHTS DEDICATION BECAUSE OF THE DAMAGE IT DOES TO HIS KINGDOM
MOST OTHER RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD HAVE NO devil RESISTING THEM RATHER THEY HAVE A devil SUPPORTING AND ASSISTING THEM
THE JOURNEY OF DEDICATION IS MADE EASY WITH THE RIGHT ASSOCIATION
DON’T FOLLOW ANYBODY CARRYING THE BIBLE AND PREACHING AGAINST THE SAME BIBLE.
MY FATHER IN THE LORD, BISHOP DAVID OYEDEPO TILL TODAY IS OUT ON THE STREET ON EVANGELISM.
FOLLOW PEOPLE THAT ARE IN MOTION, DON’T FOLLOW PEOPLE THAT HAVE SETTLED.
ALL YOU NEED TO BE EXCUSED FROM YOUR DESTINY IS TO CONNECT TO THE WRONG COMPANY.
DON’T MANAGE THE WRONG INFLUENCE. TO MANAGE THEM IS FOR THEM TO DAMAGE YOU.
IT IS BETTER TO WALK ALONE THAN TO WALK WITH THE WRONG PERSON.
ONE OF THE GREATEST DESTROYERS OF PASTORS ARE OTHER PASTORS.
PLEASE, DON’T RELATE FOR FUN, RELATE FOR SPIRITUAL FIRE.
THE SPIRITUAL TEMPERATURE OF THE PEOPLE IS DETERMINED BY THE SPIRITUAL TEMPERATURE OF THE PRIEST.
I WILL NOT FOLLOW ANYBODY WHO IS NOT FOLLOWING ANYBODY
I WILL NOT BE PASTORED BY ANYBODY WHO IS NOT PASTORED BY SOMEBODY
DON’T SURRENDER YOUR LIFE TO TOO MANY DIVERSE INFLUENCES
FROM THE DAY I REDEDICATED MY LIFE TO GOD, THERE’S NO WEEK THAT I DON’T FAST FOR AT LEAST ONE DAY
WHEN SOME PEOPLE GET SUCCESSFUL AND THEY REDUCE THEIR SPIRITUALITY, THEY’RE RUNNING ON RESERVE AND THEY’RE NOT AWARE
– Dr. Pastor Paul Enenche on “STRENGTHENING DEDICATION” || Midweek Power Communion Service || Glory Dome, Abuja ||
I welcome everyone here tonight in the Precious name of Jesus Christ. This evening, we shall be moving further on the subject of dedication – “STRENGTHENING DEDICATION”. Church Gist. Our objective is to understudy factors that strengthen, boost or enhance our dedication to God.
Matthew 6:33. We have seen how critical dedication is to the life of the child of God. Church Gist. Among other things, I will review four things that dedication will do in the life of the child of God. We saw that:
1. Dedication is key to distinction in life. Malachi 3:17-18. I can see in my own life, the difference between some of us and some who were claiming to be serving God, who served half-heartedly. The difference is very clear.
2. Dedication is key to additions in life. Matthew 6:33. Key to additions. Things are added to the dedicated.
3. Dedication is key to preservation of life. Psalm 91:13-14. Church Gist. Lovers of God are defended, delivered, protected and preserved by God.
4. Dedication is doorway to revelation. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10. Those who love God access revelations that others don’t see, the same way that they access provisions.
So, this is how important dedication to God is. Meaning is, whatever we must do to boost, strength and enhance our dedication to God, we must do. Church Gist. By Sunday Service, we shall be looking at Proofs of Dedication. When we say someone is dedicated, what does he do? But then, I want you to take note of these before we go on:
1. The devil knows the impact of your dedication on the progress of the Kingdom and on your profit in life. He knows that if you’re more prayerful, it has a positive impact on the Church. Church Gist. Because, in that case, the Pastor is not coming to set people on fire afresh, he’s coming to pour more petrol on fire that already came. He knows that if you’re dedicated, there’s a soul in your office that will follow you to Church, even if you haven’t preached yet. Church Gist. They just observed your life. He knows the impact of your dedication on the progress of the Kingdom and on your personal profit in life.
2. The devil fights dedication because of the damage of dedication to God to his kingdom.
The Commanding the Day midnight prayer has helped so many people but how many of you have heard people say, “I was awake till 11 and I didn’t know what happened, I just fell asleep. Next time I woke up was 2 a.m.” Church Gist. How many people battle with maintaining a Bible study schedule? Some people even battled to keep their eyes awake in Church no matter the time of the day. But they won’t battle to watch 3-6 hour movie. The devil fights. Church Gist. This is no laughing matter. Because if he tampers with your dedication, he has tampered with your preservation.
Some people say, “Christians can be so lazy with their religion. People of other religions are so serious. They pray regularly when it’s time for them to pray. Church Gist. They do this and they do that”. In as much as I do not encourage laziness spiritually, I have answered people and I said, most other religions of the world have no devil resisting them. They actually have a devil supporting, enhancing and assisting them. If the devil can help you to pray 1000 times a day for as long as you end in hell, he’ll help you. There is not just a demonic neutrality to their work, there’s a demonic assistance, enhancement and enablement. Church Gist. “Run, run, run, do the wrong thing so you can end in the wrong place fast”. But for that child of God, all the demons of your family, they don’t want you to go to Church. All the territorial demons of where you’re living, they want to block you and hinder you. But the Bible said, “greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world”. Church Gist. We shall overcome the resistant forces, the resisting forces, the forces of hell, we are resisting them, we shall collapse them, we shall defeat them and we shall stand!
So, knowing this, you need to know that there’s been forces that want you to sleep when you’re studying the Bible and while you’re in Church and want you to break your fast before it is time to break the fast, you forgot and you ate. Am I communicating? Church Gist. Having said all of that, what are the kind of things we need to do to strengthen our dedication? What are the forces or factors that will help you strengthen your dedication? What kind of things will enhance dedication?
1. The Right Association.
The journey of dedication is made easy with the right association. Keeping the right kind of friends, brother or sister. Proverbs 13:20. Church Gist. You can interpret to say, he that walks with firebrand shall be on fire but the companion of water brands will lack fire. He that walketh with the fervent shall be fervent, he that walketh with the spiritual shall be spiritual but the friend of canal Christians will dwell in carnality. Proverbs 27:17.
Brothers, sisters, you’re not interested in your spiritual life until you’re interested in your company. Church Gist. The strength of Shadrach was Meshach, the strength of Meshach was Abednego, the strength of Abednego was Shadrach and the strength of them all was Daniel and Daniel’s strength was them. Daniel 2:17-19. Church Gist. The Bible says, “two are better than one for they have a good reward for their labour and woe is he that is alone”.
– somebody say Amen.
The strength of Peter was John, the strength of John was Peter. Acts 3:1-2. That is the worst thing that can happen to you, you are a Peter, your friend is a Judas. Or you are a John, your friend is a Thomas. You want to make the lame to work, Thomas said: ‘Let’s calculate it, let’s analyze this matter. Will it work? Supposing it doesn’t happen, what would they say to us’? Am I communicating at all? If you are Ruth, there is a Naomi. The worst thing that can happen to Naomi is to be followed by Orpah. Church Gist. If you are Paul, where is the Silas? Acts 19. The strength of Paul was Silas, the strength of Silas was Paul. Acts 19:25. The Bible said at midnight Paul and Silas prayed. Incidentally, we have many pastors tonight, pastors from other countries, pastors from Dunamis Church. One of the greatest destroyers of pastors are other pastors. All you need to hear from one pastor is one statement and they carry the Bible and carry it upside down, just one statement. With that one statement, you begin to undermine spiritual cover, ‘We are all priests and kings, we are all this and that’. With that one statement, you begin to slack.
One came up one day, he said: ‘Night vigil is not important’, he said: ‘Jesus has done all the fasting we need to do’. That one preached such a rubbish, that he lost both the Wife and lost the Church. That is, marriage ended, Church sacked him. Talking of a man, Archbishop Benson Idahosa of blessed memory imparted and raised. So you understand what I’m talking about? All you need to be excused from your destiny is to connect (to) the wrong company. If it was a pastors’ meeting I would have gone further than this. Church Gist. Please, don’t relate for fun, relate for fire – Spiritual fire. Otherwise, the right company! This has helped my life’s journey. And I have come to discover that it’s better to walk alone than to walk with the wrong crowd. It is better to walk alone than to walk with the wrong person. I’ve seen spiritual people on the right track derailed, just like this and all of a sudden they just derailed. All they did was to open their ear to one person. And as they derailed everything about them dries up.
-That will never be your portion.
One man came close to me sometime, many years ago he had a fault with Pastor Adeboye, he had a fault with Baba Adeboye, he had a fault with Papa Oyedepo, everybody was at fault. Almost everybody is going to hell, wow! Is that how God works? So God can’t, even, I mean, God can’t even visit them in person and say: ‘You have served Me enough, you are on the wrong path, I want to draw you now. And if you don’t want to draw back, I want to take you home’. Church Gist. Can’t God even move so drastic like that? All I needed to do was to listen to that voice a little bit more and then the next thing you will be hearing from the altar is condemning everybody and attacking everybody. That’s the only thing you will start hearing. All I needed was just, listen a little bit more! And then, everything is over, Healing Ministry gone, deliverance, gone, soul Salvation gone, crusades gone. ‘This one is wrong, that one is wrong, this one is this, that one is’. Everything gone! It has never happened, it can never happen, it will not, even in the dream.
-Somebody say Amen.
And as I’m talking now, some of us are conscious of certain, such… Don’t manage the wrong influence. Did you hear what I just said? Don’t manage, don’t manage. Don’t give your ears to them once. If the first one was a mistake, don’t give your ear the second time. To manage them is for them to damage you. What I’m saying applies to marriage. There are those with their eyes open they walk into a marriage where it is like making the Horse to marry the Jackass. That’s what the Bible calls: Unequal yoking. The Cheetah which is a big bush cat marrying the domestic cat which is a major disaster. Elephant marrying antelope, talking about spirituality and spiritual size. It is worse for the women, it is worse for both people. But, woman is high up there on fire, the only man she can find is a man that doesn’t, is just nominal. You say: ‘Well, I’ve waited for long, let me marry this person’ and vice versa. I knew a firebrand brother that was pulled back from Church by a drunkard woman. She said: ‘Your Church going is too much’. She pulled him back until they started drinking alcohol together. This guy laid hands on somebody, the person landed from the bed. That is, you fell under the anointing and took off from the bed and landed on the floor, hospital bed and woke up healed. Went back to the World into drunkenness, died a drunkard’s death.
-It will never be your portion.
Please be mindful! The right company. The second is like unto it, it is called: The right covering.
2. The right covering, spiritual covering.
If you want your dedication to God to be strengthened, you need the right covering. And by the time you are connected to the right covering, maintain that right covering. Acts 4:13. They marvelled! Why? Because they (Peter and John) were under the right covering. When people saw them, they marvelled. 1 Corinthians 4:16. 1 Corinthians 11:1. Wow! What a boldness! Paul is saying, I am sure of where I am going, follow me you won’t miss road. But any day you see me stop following Christ, stop following me. Be followers of me as I am also a follower of Christ. I am not saying just follow me oo. Church Gist. Follow me as I follow Christ. For as long as you see me follow Christ, follow me. Any day you see me deviate from Christ, you also deviate from me. Don’t follow blindly, don’t follow anybody to hell. Don’t follow anybody carrying the Bible and preaching against the same Bible. Haven’t you seen that before? Carrying a Bible and preach against the Bible? Listen to this, the temperature of the people is determined by the temperature of the Priest. The spiritual temperature of the people is determined by the spiritual temperature of the Priest. I think it was Hosea 4:9, where He said: Like people like priests. Show me the Priest and I will show you the people. Show me the spirituality of the Priest and I will show you the spirituality of the people. Hosea 4:9.
-Somebody say a loud Amen.
Follow people that are in motion, don’t follow people that have settled. Amos 6:1. Follow people in motion, follow people at work, follow people on duty. Don’t follow people who have settled. My father in the Lord, Bishop David Oyedepo till today is out on the street on evangelism. He has an evangelism team, vehicles, out on the street on evangelism till today. That is, the Bishop Oyedepo, the one, the only. Church Gist. Ruggedness of fasting, Bible study daily, one year, 10,000 Churches planted and somebody who hasn’t started anything is relaxing crossing leg using toothpick. ‘Yeah! In those days when we used to see the power of God’. There is a pastor under the submission of this Commission. Some of you know him, when I met him the people he was around with including those above him has considered that he has arrived so he needed the title of Bishop, ‘Big-shop’, he needed that title.
Now, when I preached, that Church, that is realistic capacity down is not up to a thousand. (You know the Church right?) And then up, people were not filling the down place. Gallery, nobody, that is main program. But he has become, he has succeeded enough to be a Bishop. He said, when he saw me he said: ‘Ah! Ah! But look at this person and as he drew closer he saw the things. He said: ‘You people leave me alone, I haven’t started yet, I have not started yet’. He came on a journey, a journey that is still on. Church Gist. That place that was like a desert got filled, the road got filled, they now have a land that is almost 10,000 capacity, people filled everywhere, he was associated with people that have settled, so they settled him. They wanted to settle him with a title. Nothing wrong with title, please don’t misunderstand me when it is rightly and appropriately achieved. Nothing wrong at all! For instance, there are those carrying doctors who can’t speak English. They are neither academic doctors nor are they medical doctors, even native doctors. So do we say that something is wrong with the doctor title? No! Are you hearing what I’m saying here today? Don’t ever be quarantined by the Mystery of the Old Prophet, people who are alive but have lost relevance. And if you ever find yourself under any cover that you have perceived to be a fireful cover, understand that the devil will like to pull you off it.
I don’t know about you but I will not follow anybody who is not following anybody. I will not be pastored by anybody who is not pastored by somebody. Church Gist. And there are many people of that, alpha and omega, the beginning and end of revelation. Don’t surrender your life to too many diverse influences. This one says one, the other one says the opposite and then you’re in the middle wondering what to hear. In Africa, anybody who is claiming more than one father, there’s a name they call him. Church Gist. That is, he doesn’t really know his father, he says, “this one is my father, that one is my father”. I didn’t call any name . A lot of people are confused.
One young man was in our Youth Church one time, he will be preaching inside the Church that there’s no need for payment of tithe, this and that, inside our own Youth Church. Church Gist. So, I called him, I said, “you should go and look for people and gather them and teach them your theology. Don’t teach that rubbish, I don’t know where you heard it from, but it’s not for preaching here”. That was in Area One longest time, “find your way. Your evangelism is not for members of this Church. Go to the streets, evangelize the people, gather them, teach them what you’re saying. But for your information, you’re on the path of destruction”. There are many of them, we don’t know their address anymore. Church Gist. They have strange vision, strange revelation there, hearing from here and there. Too many diverse influences, confusing mentality, then they want to spread their confusion.
– Friends, you’ll not miss it!
3. Periodic consecrational fast
Where “it’s not money I’m looking for, it’s not food, it’s not cloth, it’s not car, I want to recharge”. Isaiah 40:31. 2 Corinthians 11:27. Church Gist. “I am a frequent faster”, that’s what Paul is saying. It’s for recharging, refiring and refueling.
– somebody say a loud Amen.
From the day I rededicated my life to God and started pursuing the Lord, 1986, 12th of May after I had done a 3-day fast in 1979, I cannot remember that a week passed and I ate from morning till night the whole week. I can’t remember. That is minimum, once a week. Church Gist. At a point, it was twice a week. Then if I’m to count not eating from morning till 1 (p.m.) as fasting. If I’m to call that one fasting, then it means that.. (laughs) because there are people if they don’t eat by 9 a.m., their legs will be shaking, everything is just shaking. Church Gist. There are those if they fast, in the evening, madam must bring breakfast, lunch, dinner, all the food that was cooked must be surrendered. Scripture said, “pursue, overtake, without fail, recover all”. I have a relation who said that if he does night vigil, he must sleep from morning till night of the next day. This is very important. Pastors, Church people, once a week, twice a week, morning till 3,5,6 p.m., consecrational fast. Church Gist. Praying in the spirit extensively on such days, minimizing many things.
My children were telling me, “how come you can answer question on everything, you talk on everything”. I said, it’s because, I decided to learn on almost everything. Church Gist. If I sit in an aircraft and I’m sitting by an aircraft engineer, what I will learn in one hour about aircraft will shock you. So, I learnt that the aircraft has what they call inspections for it to fly. It has a 6 months inspection, 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months, 72 months. Meaning is, after 6 months, you park it and take it to the maintenance shop, it’s called inspection, they will open what the manual said they should open, open all those places to see if there’s any tiny thing there that needs attention. Church Gist. If it doesn’t need attention, they’ll clean it or close it back, anyone that needs attention, they’ll change it. There are some that it can be so tiny as your pin that determines how close the aircraft is to the ground. If that one is faulty, it’ll crash without your notice, God forbid. Then, you have the 12 months, you open it again and so on and so forth, just for it to be fit to fly. By the time they have done the inspections, they give you what they call a certificate of return to service, so you’re certified to return back to flying and then airworthiness also. Church Gist. Do you understand what I’m saying? Many of us want to fly without checking whether the system is okay. You want to fly spiritually, you want to do exploits, you want to command the devil, you want to take charge of principalities and powers and yet your landing gear is not functioning.
– somebody say a loud Amen.
This is very important. The typical prescription is once a week. A schedule. Once a month, maybe a bigger schedule and of course the once a year is the one we’re doing now. Church Gist. The 21-day fast at the beginning of the year. This keeps you on fire, it keeps you permanently on fire. You’re just fire walking. I told some people sometime ago, I said, as we are now, this is a period of the fast, December last year and they say, oh, there’s a crusade in Zambia or something and they’re asking you to come and preach now, will you be able to come? Or there’s a crusade in Katsina or something, the crowd has gathered, the place is filled with people and they’re giving us one hour notice to go, we’ll just carry bag, enter the car and go straight to the crusade and anything would happen. Church Gist. Now, the reason I’m saying is, the preparation for that crusade happened 10 years ago. It’s not today. Some of the prayers we’re praying today is handling some issues of tomorrow. The car that is driving today is not surviving on today’s fuel, right? Not necessarily. If your full tank can last you for 5 days or 7 days depending on how you drive, it means you’re driving a car of fuel you bought 6 days ago. Church Gist. That’s how it is in the spiritual life. So, when some people get successful, they reduce their spirituality so they’re running on reserve and they’re not aware. So, when the reserve expires, they begin to go and no motion anymore because the prayer that should handle today wasn’t prayed yesterday. “I have succeeded. When I didn’t have a lot of money, I was praying and fasting. Church Gist. When the Church was not growing, I was praying and fasting. Now, everything is successful, I relax a bit”. And then the devil says, “wait a minute, your tank is running. Don’t worry, it’ll soon finish and when it is gone..” Samson wanted to move like as other times and he wist not. Church Gist. He did all the things he used to do before but no result.
– lift up your right hand and say, “Father, I receive the grace to maintain a periodic consecrational fast”.
Now, this is what will sustain fasting, evangelism and all the things you need to do as a dedicated child of God. Church Gist. This kind of action will sustain it for you, it’ll help you to keep on moving – periodic consecrational fast.
4. The Climate of Worship.
——SINGING—–
Two things that the Climate of Worship does for you:
4i. To keep you in the climate of His presence.
You are just kept in God. Psalms 89:15. So you are kept, that kind of CD playing in the background while reading, while driving. Church Gist. Word or CD while in your office, just in the background.
4ii. It intensifies the consciousness of spiritual things.
Your consciousness is tuned to the spiritual. Your mind is being transformed, is being renewed. Romans 12:1. Church Gist. Conscious of the spiritual! You are being spiritualized instead of being carnalized. But this third is very important:
4iii. It activates the fullness of the Spirit which imparts passion for God.
Ephesians 5:18. Just once the songs are on: 🎶 As the deer panteth for the waters so my soul longeth after Thee…. 🎶 So worshipping in that kind of climate brings the fullness of the Spirit and when the Spirit comes, see what happens in Romans 5:5. That climate provokes the fullness of the Spirit and the Holy Spirit saturates your heart, irrigates your heart with love for God. Irrigates your heart with passion for God. Church Gist. You are just getting lost after God and lost after God, by that kind of climate. This afternoon I was playing songs I used to listen to about 30 years ago, 30-35 years ago in the University campus and it took me all the way back to the ruggedness of campus evangelism and campus spirituality, very deep. I read my Anatomy and Physiology and Biochemistry in that climate. Yes, I read them in that climate. The things I read there stuck, hallelujah!
This is very very important. This will make you to just be… you’re just running, you are just moving, the consciousness of His presence, the consciousness of the spiritual. Love for God! Imparted in the heart and then that keeps you to do the fasting you need to do. Church Gist. To do the study of the Word you need to do, pushes you to do the evangelism you need to do, the givings you need to do, the prayers and the things you need to do. You are just in that climate, it’s very very important. Beloved, I am not teaching you theory, I am teaching you practical. I’m teaching you life!
5. The Climate of Corporate Fire.
Hebrews 10:25-26. You see! So forsaking the assembling of ourselves together has the tendency of taking us back to the World. Corporate fire. Church Gist. Acts 1:13-14. Acts 2:1. It was a corporate, corporate fire. A corporate fire that… because fire begets fire.
-Somebody say Amen.
I was talking with one of our members some time ago and she said her favourite is the International Ministers’ Conference, Flaming Fire Conference. I said, but you are not a pastor, you are a professional, you are a professional. Why is that so? She said, that Conference teaches her deep spirituality, it makes her to be deeply dedicated to God. Am I communicating? The climate of conferences especially in this Place, these are climates where you block your year’s calendar. Church Gist. The last week of May, last week of August, the one that has the Friday night. The last week of November. You just block them out, casual leave – morning, night. That is real corporate fire. Last November we had people from 55 countries most of whom are pastors. Some pastoring mega ministries and everybody coming with a hunger for God, everybody coming with some measure of fire together and then we sit and there is a rainfall of revival, a rainfall of fire.
It is absolutely impossible to connect with corporate fire and lack fire. The only firewood that loses fire is the one that has been brought out of the fire. That’s the only firewood! I’m sure many of you, anybody who ever operated firewood before. For as long as it is with other fires, it keeps on burning but if you want it to lose fire, take it out. Church Gist. Only the matter of time, if the broomstick must be effective it must be together with the broom bunch. You can’t do anything much with one broomstick but its strength is released in the company of other broomsticks. I’ve seen the Lion injured to death by the back kick of a giraffe. Even a zebra can kill it but that can never happen if the lions are five or six, the pride of a lion. They just bring it down on the spot and settle down for dinner.
Hallelujah! The Bible says, ‘Woe unto him that is alone’.
-The curse will never be your portion.
Somebody receive something tonight say Amen. You know there are pastors who are too big to sit in any conference? One Pastor called me one day he said, he saw me in Shiloh, he saw me in Ministers’ Conference. He said my head was almost permanently down, writing, writing, writing and camera will be capturing me. He said: ’What are you writing again? You are the one preaching to all of us we are writing, what are you writing again? I said: ‘You don’t know’! Some of those conferences I will leave. As I’m writing, while I am hearing the Holy Ghost also speaking to me. Action: one, action: two. I may come home with about twenty-something actions. Things that I have, that I must act upon either personally or ministerially. Church Gist. There are those who, you know? They don’t sit up. it will be very very rare for anybody to teach them, for anybody to preach to them. I was preaching in a conference one day, Daddy G.O. was seated and he was writing and writing and writing. When he came up, he said: ‘If what I said is true, which is true because it is Scripture’, he said: ‘It means we have not started then’. That’s all of us including himself. You were there at Redemption Camp, it was on Church growth. He said: ‘If what you said is true and that it’s in the Bible you just read for us’, he said it means all of us have not started then. He remembers the Message and the Service, he was there. Hallelujah! If people, at those levels, are still hearing things from babies, from babies. He’s old enough to be a biological father, that’s biological, by age. And he is still hearing something from babies and talking like that, then what have we started?
—-PRAYERS——
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