Pastor David Oyedepo Jr at CHoP
ENGAGING THE GRACE FOR CONTINUITY IN STEWARDSHIP
One of the vital graces required is the grace for continuity in our walk with God.
(1st Corinthians 15:58) but before he gets to that scripture, he says in verse 10 he said I am what I am by the grace of God. So stability is not the product of human ability, it is the product of the supply of grace. It is the grace of God that enables a man or a woman to stand fast in their walk with God.
We live in a world where stability become more and more scarce in the last days. The Bible says that the love of many will wax cold so to maintain our fervency, to maintain our potency, our walk with God, the requirement is grace. So God makes it clear and there are scriptures for you and I to follow. So we would be looking at some individuals that walked with God and kept their walk with God till the end.
This morning we are looking at the prophet Elijah, he made it to the end. You will make it to the end: (1st Kings 18:20-22) the condition of many people is instability. Look at what the Bible says in verse 22 of 1st Kings. Elijah was a man that was willing to stand alone with God. No matter who falls away from their walk with God, you will remain with God. Now if you believe it say amen.
Elijah called fire from Heaven, very exciting but look at the specifics of Elijah’s prayer and you will see the alignment of his stance with God. He acknowledged God, he acknowledged that he was God’s servant and that he has done all that God had asked him to do. For Israel He was God. For Elijah He was His Master. Church Gist In other words, there are many people who will call God their God but those who can be called servants are those who end up standing.
Elijah was part of the multitude who claimed God as their God but he was an individual who God could claim as his servant. And we all know the story, that the fire of the Lord fell and then the children of Israel began to cry out ‘the Lord God He is God’. As Elijah was concerned his concentration was on God. A man that was steadfast in his walk with God.
Take note of this, anyone of us that is going to make the most of our walk with God, (we need) consistency with God.
In (1st Kings 19:10-14) we find Elijah making this very passionate statement to God.
He said ‘I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts’. The word jealous there means zealous, I have been zealous, I have been passionate, I have been fervent for God. He said ‘For the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, they have thrown down thine altars, they have slain thy prophets with the sword and I even I alone am left and they seek my life to take it away’ and he repeated the same thing in verse 14 ‘I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts’. A man of unusual passion. A man of unusual zeal. A man of unusual fervency.
That was the story of Elijah. That means to you and to me that we can also stand out, if God allowed him to stand out. And that was not just for part of the journey, he stood like that with God till the end, to the point that we are told in (2nd Kings 2:11) how that the Lord sent a chariot of fire. It says ‘and Elijah went up to heaven by whirlwind’. Because of his passion for God, from the start to the end he was distinguished in his journey. You will be distinguished in your journey.
The Lord says be steadfast, be unmovable, grace abounding. You hear people say oh when I was in campus I was on fire for God. What is happening now? Elijah was not a young man. It was not a short walk but a long walk but the passion kept moving. Church Gist Your passion will be on the increase.
The second example we have from the scripture is John the Apostle. According to history he was the Apostle who lived the longest. He died a very old man. We are told by historians that they threw him into burning oil and he couldn’t die. He was a man that frustrated death. They tried every way to kill him but he couldn’t die. Then we are told about John the Apostle been put on the Island of Patmos where revelations and insight could easily come to him.
But where did John the Apostle start from?
Luke 5:8-11 that was the starting point. John was consistently with Christ. On the Mount of Transfiguration, at the crucifixion, he was a man who was consistent in his pursuit of Christ. He was there consistently till the end and as a result of that he became the one who was assigned by God to see into the future of the Church in the book of Revelations.
Why? because he was consistent in his walk with God. He stayed with God until his last breath increasing in passion. That will be your own testimony. Church Gist
You heard the testimony of one who said today I am seventy five. I won seventy four souls to Christ. They were not only saved but were followed up in foundation class.
There must be an increase of your fervency in your walk with God. It is a terrible thing to look back and say oh I remember when I used to walk with God, I used to pray. According to scripture Uzziah reigned for fifty two years. Fifty two solid years. He began reigning at the age of sixteen. We are told in (2nd Chronicles 26:3) that at the age of sixteen Uzziah began to rule. Not only did he ascend the throne he was marvellously helped but then he took incense and violated the law of God.
Can you imagine someone followed God for Fifty two years and then at the end of it became a leper and was put where lepers stay. He missed his way after fifty two years. Don’t say I have been serving God for thirty years, forty years. Somebody served God for fifty two years. You need grace. Grace to start well and finish well.
So you are to go to God saying God I need grace to stay consistent and persistent in my pursuit of You. I don’t want to be like the story of Uzziah, I want to be like the story of Elijah and John. They pursued You to the end. I must be on the increase for fervency. Church Gist My fire must never go out. It is by Your help oh Lord that I can continue, it is by Your help oh Lord that I can be sustained. It is by Your help oh Lord that I can remain ever burning. I must not lose my fire, I must not lose my passion, I must not lose my fervency. My spirit must remain on fire in the name of Jesus. Never going down, never going low but being on the increase day after day, month after month, year after year with tangible results in the name of Jesus Christ.
You will not miss it.
Your story shall be like that of Elijah.
You will follow God to the end.
It will be like that of John.
So shall it be in Jesus precious name.
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