A YOUNG ECONOMICS GRADUATE FROM COVENANT UNIVERSITY MADE 2 MILLION NAIRA ($4000) DURING HIS NYSC FROM TEACHING ECONOMICS IN A VILLAGE.
LET NOBODY SAY, “I AM WAITING FOR A JOB”. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE THINGS AROUND YOU FOR LEGITIMATE EARNING.
SOMEBODY CAME TO FAITH TABERNACLE DURING A COMMUNION SERVICE AND WAS SURPRISED WE FINISHED THE COMMUNION MINISTRATION UNDER 11 MINUTES.
HE THOUGHT IT WOULD TAKE THE WHOLE DAY, WHEN HE SAW THE CROWD IN CHURCH.
THERE ARE BETTER WAYS OF DOING THE THINGS YOU ARE DOING, FIND OUT AND APPLY IT.
- Bishop David Oyedepo
International Youth Convention 2021: In Pursuit of Excellence
Day 4, Evening Session
*Your parents’ accomplishments are not transferrable to you. That is how worthless inheritance can be.
*Wealth must be produced, not received, by taking covenant and practical responsibility.
*Excellence is a function of performance.
- Excellence, a raw product of tireless commitment to improvement.
*Wisdom does not wait for solutions, wisdom creates solutions.
The world is a marketplace. It has a place for all and sundry. You are either buying or selling, or helping to carry the luggage of those who buy. Everybody is doing something that is adding value to his life. So to sit down and do nothing is an insult on your intelligence. Even those who are not graduates are starting lesson schools: lessons to teach students. One of our young graduates from Covenant (University) went to a place and was teaching Economics, he made 2 million (Naira) during Service year. You look at the village, you won’t believe anybody can generate 2 million. They wanted to pass the subject, that is his area of study, so he organized teaching these people and they were paying the charges. He left the place with 2 million. Somebody is sending text for his mother to send him recharge card. 2 million. There is nothing in doing nothing. Church Gist. Excellence only applies to performing hands, productive lives.
Excellence is a function of performance, so when we evaluate and appraise people, they say: good, very good, excellent on the job. There is a job to do that earns excellent output.
But there is something in doing nothing, it is called decadence. “Through idleness, a building decays” – Ecclesiastes 10:18
People just rot away with their eyes opened. You will always go down doing nothing. There is always a stench in doing nothing.
But you say, “there is something in doing nothing”: Yes, there is a stench, there is a dropping. There is a crashing.
Somebody here was carrying waste bottles: pure water bottles and those stuff and selling. Made her way to US, earned her degree in her old age, sent all her children to school. From waste bottles.
Then you are a believer, the vineyard is an open-ended platform for productive service. He that reapeth receiveth wages – John 4:36.
So you don’t have any excuse. You are either involved in literal practical, productive business or in Kingdom advancement as a business. Which ever way, you are not permitted to be somewhere doing nothing, being pitied by people. No. All the children I taught in Primary School were saved. All of them. Because that is my mission. They were saved one by one, I loved them with passion. I was teaching them and ministering to them the salvation of Christ.
One time, we were on vacation and my old man said, “what are you doing during this vacation?” I said, “Preaching.”
He said: What? Preaching! He said, “That is what you will eat.”
We were all eating it before he passed. I had a schedule for myself: this period, I am going to cover this and this. I am still covering up till now.
Down time is a risk. Doing nothing is a risk. If Joseph could find something doing as a slave, find something doing where you are. If he could find something doing in the Prison, there is something around you, if you are interested.
Therefore, let nobody say, “I am waiting for a job”. You have the mind of Christ: create, innovate and invent, taking advantage of the things around you for legitimate earning. Legitimate earning!
Somebody’s story is changing.
That is where the making of your eternal excellence begins. There must be something you are engaging with, from where you command results in succession, until your result is adjudged excellent. It is not excellence by title, excellence by output.
One of my friends came here, he said, “You know what amazed in Church, everybody operates as a computer system. It is your turn, you go there, nobody has to remind you when your turn is over to come down.” He said, “No, I don’t understand this.”
You close service and under one hour, you don’t know anybody came here to worship.
Somebody came here, we were going to serve Communion, he looked around and said, “we are in trouble here today. When are we going to leave here?” He discovered that in 11 minutes, everything was over. 11 minutes, everybody had partaken. He said, “you mean everybody has partaken?”
We had some visitors in December, when they saw the crowd coming in for Shiloh, “My God, there will be stampede here today.” So they stood there and they saw everybody was going like soldier ants, just going to where you should go and going out to where you should go back to. What kind of place is this?
We talk of excellence where there is output. No performance, you don’t talk of excellence. It is performance that graduates into excellence. Excellence is a function of performance. You are not performing nothing, you are not a candidate.
We are shutting down now and my purpose is to release the blessing of tireless pursuit of excellence. Let me conclude by saying there is nothing magical or mystical about excellence. It is simply a product of one’s tireless commitment to improvement. Excellence is simply a product of your tireless commitment to improvement.
Improvement: there are better ways of doing the things you are doing, find out and apply it. There is always a better way forward. Church Gist. There is a better way for your output. Don’t stay down somewhere and say, “it is over.” There is always a better way of getting things done and it is accessible to all of us that have the mind of Christ. It is accessible to every child of God who possess the creative capacity of God within them, so we can create it. Wisdom does not wait for solution, it creates them. You create the stuff. Tireless commitment to improvement is what results in excellence. Excellence, a raw product of tireless commitment to improvement.
The good news is this, everyone here is ordained an eternal excellency and that becomes a reality by walking in the light of God’s Word.
“Arise, shine for your light is come” – Isaiah 60:1
We are in here tomorrow morning for a great time in God’s presence and you shall be imparted with grace required to pursue the path of excellence all the days of your life:
-Excellent family life.
-Excellence in your business and career.
-Very importantly, excellence in your spiritual life, where you represent Jesus bodily. They look at you and they see Jesus. You utter words and they see Jesus in the words. Your look radiates Jesus, your smile radiates Jesus and that shall be your portion.
Jesus said to those folks, “Why stand ye idle all the day” – Matthew 20:3
This is not acceptable. This is not the way to live. You are here in the marketplace where there is opportunity for everybody and you are laying about. This is an eyesore. Somebody was a sales fellow and carried his product on his shoulder, walking through the marketplace, then a top official of the company producing that good came by:
“Excuse me, how are you doing with these products?” he marketed the products very well. The man said, “see me in the office tomorrow, I work in this company.” From there he became a sales manager. He carried that thing. He couldn’t have become a sales manager, he carried that on his shoulder in the marketplace, a graduate and favour met him. Favour met him!
You must not be found on your mother’s lap upon leaving school. It is an insult to your training; it is an insult to your redemption. You must not stay somewhere where they are asking, “have you eaten?” or where you are determining what to eat when you are not working. It is not normal. That is an abnormality, don’t try it.
-None of your parents here will regret over you.
“Dash me, dash me” is what dashes destiny. Church Gist. Wealth gotten by vanity shall diminish, but he that gathers by labour shall increase – Proverbs 13:11
No matter what parents leave for their children, it does not add to their worth. It is the product of the work of their hands that enhances their value. That is why many great names left great wealth behind and they were wrecked in a moment, can’t find them anymore because wealth must be produced, not received, by taking responsibility, covenant responsibility, practical responsibility.
Your parents’ accomplishments are not transferrable to you, they are not. If your dad is a Professor of Mathematics and he wills his certificate to you and you try to apply somewhere with that certificate, you will end up in jail. You can even produce the paper, the affidavit that your father used to transfer it to you and they ask you, “do you think qualification and experience is transferable?”
“Well I don’t know. My father gave me.”
You and your father, you will answer in the Prison. When you get to the prison, tell your father in heaven that you are in prison by the inheritance he gave you. It doesn’t add up.
If your father was a wrestler, a world class wrestler, a world champion wrestler and then he left his belt for you as your heritage. Somebody invites you to challenge your title and you try to go there. When he takes you up, he will ask you, “where do you want to die? Outside the court or in the court. Speak now because I am going to break you into pieces now.” Then he throws you down, your hand will go one way, your leg will go one way, because you are not equipped for it. That is how worthless inheritance can be. Church Gist. It does not add up, it doesn’t enhance value, it doesn’t enhance worth.
Prayers: Ask God to take responsibility and not be an onlooker in the marketplace. I refuse to be an onlooker in the marketplace. I refuse to be a playboy in the marketplace. Marketplace is not a playground; it is business ground.
So help me Jesus, help me Lord.
#BishopDavidOyedepo
#InPursuitOfExcellence
#IYAC2021
#DayFour17Sept21
#ChurchGist
