NOTHING IN ITSELF BRINGS SATISFACTION EXCEPT AND UNLESS IT IS CONNECTED TO A BIGGER PURPOSE OTHER THAN ITSELF.
MY GREATEST DESIRE IN LIFE IS NOT TO BE A GOOD PREACHER OR A CELEBRITY.
MY GREATEST DESIRE IN LIFE IS NOT TO HAVE THE LARGEST CHURCH OR MINISTRY.
MY GREATEST DESIRE IS THAT I AM ABLE TO USE MY LIFE AND EVEN MY LIFETIME, AS A DRINK OFFERING TO BE ABLE TO REVEAL JESUS TO MY GENERATION AND TO BRING HIM GLORY AND THEN, TO ALSO INSPIRE A GENERATION TO LOVE, TO SERVE, TO SEEK AND TO PURSUE JESUS.
DO NOT WISH FOR, ANTICIPATE AND EVEN SUPPORT THE DOWNFALL OR DESTRUCTION OF ANYONE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST.
GENUINELY DESIRE THE GOOD OF ALL AND THE GOOD OF THE BODY.
-Apostle Joshua Selman on Unity of Faith || Birthday Broadcast || Koinonia || 25th June, 2022. (Part A)
Hallelujah!
Praise the name of the Lord!
Good Morning Everybody, thank you, the Lord bless you in Jesus’ name.
Father, we honour You and we thank You for the privilege of life. The Word of God declares that You teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Thank You for this day, thank You for this beautiful family. Lord, we thank You for all who have connected by way of Television, by way of internet. I declare oh God that the times that we have to share together will be most profitable. Let the name of the Lord be praised, for in Jesus name I pray.
God bless you!
Greetings and blessings of God to all of us and to our global family, thank you so much. My birthdays are usually uncomfortable times for me; I’m a very quiet, private person. So, birthdays give people the legitimacy to just come into your space and I have been very blessed and honoured. Thank you!
I will start this broadcast with my appreciation and I will also end it with my appreciation. I want to thank everyone, honestly, God has given me unique acceptance among all kinds of people, from every nation and territory; Christians, Muslims and every age range; the young, the old and all of that. Church Gist. I want to specially honour many of our fathers of faith in this nation who called, sent their prayers; many of them spoke from the depth of their spirits, from a father to a son, blessing me and this for me was the highlight of everything this morning. So, I am deeply grateful and then, off course to all of you, thank you so much. I can only imagine the things that you have to go through into this preparation. Thank you for all that you have done.
To our global family, the Lord will honour you in Jesus’ name. I have taught you and you have heard me say it again that, not everybody believes that you are such a big deal. There are people who Jesus Christ to them, is the Son of the Living God. There are people who Jesus Christ to them, is the Son of Mary. There are people who Jesus Christ to them, is one partnership with demons. Church Gist. There are people who Jesus Christ to them, is just a threat to their relevance. But in any case, when He found people who loved him sincerely, whether it was the woman at the well, whether it was Mary or John, he communicated love and honour, and this is what I want to start this broadcast with.
Thank you to kings, nobles, gate keepers, our global family, believers, pastors, mentors, fathers, contemporaries, sons, daughters; thank you for this opportunity. My prayer for you upfront is found in Philippians 1:3-6. May that be so for you in Jesus’ name.
I want to thank God for the impact that He’s granted me the privilege to be part of, to sponsor even in the lives of many and to be able to help lead and teach and raise people who are doing, perpetuating the same across the globe. Impact is very important when you become a solution and this is what this ministry today has come to represent. Church Gist. I am truly honoured; I cannot begin to tell you the testimonies from people. Do you know that what we share on stage here without exaggeration, is not near, I will say, one-tenth of the mighty and the marvelous things that God is doing through this ministry across the globe and it is only thoughtful and it is only spiritual that we take the time to thank Jesus, who is the Son of the Living God, the One behind us.
He came to Nicodemus by night and said, John 3:2, Nicodemus came to Jesus by night and he said, Rabbi, we know that thou art a man sent from God. There are results that cannot be produced just intellectually or mechanically; it would take the power of God and we thank God for the souls that continue to be saved, for the lives transformed, nations and contributing to the development of nations and kings and we thank God for that, we give Him all the glory in the name of Jesus Christ.
I will go straight to the teaching and the charge. This for me has been a culture for many years, that during my birthday, I take the time to just share a few thought and contemplation with the Body of Christ and then, get to speak first, over our global family and then by extension, to the Body.
PRAYER:
- Ask the Lord to grant us the ability to understand and then to receive.
For this teaching, there are four major contemplations that the Lord has put in my heart, first for us here and then, it extends as a contribution to the Body of Christ. I am sent to the Body of Christ and it is an honour to be able to provide that contribution to the strengthening and the building of the Body. This off course is my principal and primary consistency, but then, it extends to the entire Body.
The first thing I want to talk about that the Lord put in my heart is: ‘THE POWER OF PURPOSE.’ Tomorrow is miracle service and by the grace of God we are going to be having thousands and potentially, millions of people connecting from across the globe and the high point of the Miracle Service is usually when we have the opportunity to bring before the Lord, our requests and cry before the Lord to visit us and give us testimonies. But I have learnt that desires and pursuits only become profitable to us when they are connected to purpose.
Nothing in itself brings satisfaction except and unless it is connected to a bigger purpose bigger other than itself. So, purpose attempts to answer the question “Why”? Why do you want the power, money, anointing fame, political office and promotion. Our lives are full of request and designs and petitions, both secret and open and let me tell you this: Motive is a principal determinant as far as answered prayers is concerned in the Kingdom. Church Gist. I vet my life and I vet my desires every once and again as an individual and then by the privilege of God’s grace, as a man of God, to find out that if my desires are just blind pursuit, just for self-aggrandisement or they are connected to Kingdom Come.
Many people do not understand the power of purpose, so we pursue desires disconnected from purpose and when we do obtain those desires, you will find out that the satisfaction and the fulfillment we thought they will bring, they are unable to bring. Church Gist. For instance, there are people who want cars and they hope that a car in itself will bring them joy. They want houses, children, great lives, pastors and ministers, fame, celebrities and all those kinds of things.
By reason of God’s grace and what He’s done and what He’s doing through my life, every time people reach me and try to give an impression like, “Apostle, you are so fortunate, you are so lucky, the world loves you, people love you.” I look at them most times and especially, when they now begin to covet that kind of thing. Church Gist. I know they are sincere, but then, I tell them that nothing in itself brings satisfaction, until and unless it is connected to purpose. So, this is my first message to all of us, our global family and then, to the Body of Christ. We must get back to the place of purpose, more than desires.
We cannot just camp around the realm of desires in terms of our want for achievements and so on and so forth. More than desires and pursuits, we must return to the place of purpose. Let me propose for us one theme and the central purpose for our lives as believers:
Beyond personal ambitions, beyond the desire to outshine, beyond the desire to be successful and celebrated, we must seek to see Jesus revealed and Jesus glorified as our highest and our greatest purpose.
John 3:30
It does not mean to lose relevance. It means that, with respect to Jesus, I am satisfied of nobody sees me, if my life can become a ladder for people to see Jesus, I do not mind, even if I go out of relevance. He must increase, buy I must decrease. We live in a celebrity driven world, where there is such an obsession for fame, we want to be seen, we want to be known. But let me tell you sincerely from the integrity of scripture, if you ever want to live a meaningful life, a life that counts, more than your fame and ambition and all of those things, you must desire to see Jesus lifted and glorified (John 17:1).
In the Kingdom, the only reason why God lifts people, brings you to what you know to be celebrity status is that, He is giving you an opportunity that if and when you arrive there, you don’t just stop there and become the central focus, that you allow yourself to be a ladder for Jesus to be seen. You’ve heard me say it countless times that, years ago, the Lord told me and said, “Son, if you will let men see me, there is nothing I will not give you.” Very simple condition, “to let men see me”
My one desire, my greatest purpose in life is not to be a good Preacher. My greatest desire in life is not to be a celebrity, no! My greatest desire in life is not to have the largest church or ministry. In all fairness, my greatest desire is that I am able to use my life and even my lifetime, as a drink offering to be able to reveal Jesus to my generation and to bring Him glory and then, to also inspire a generation to love, to serve, to seek and to pursue Jesus. No matter what else works in my life, if this fails, I failed. But no matter what fails in my life, if this works, I won. Church Gist. This is the template that governs my life, more than some of the things that drive us, it is the reason why you will notice that respectfully speaking, I am very disconnected to several things that seem to itch people in our generation. It is the extent of my determination to live a life that allows Jesus to be revealed and glorified. God has so worked in me honouring that desire and disconnected me from several things that seem to be an obsession for people.
So, my first message today to our global family and then, to the family of believers and as many who are connecting, this has no prejudice or bias, whether you are a Christian or Muslim, these are truths that will improve any life at all, that cares to listen. Connect your desire for wealth to purpose; use purpose to vet your desire, use purpose to prune your desire, use purpose to prune your pursuit. Church Gist. Ask yourself that question, why am I doing the things I am doing? Because you see, the way we live our lives and the way we make it a ‘do or die affair’ for everything, it is because the motivation may be wrong. When you connect your life to purpose and if that purpose is to reveal and to glorify Jesus, I assure you that many things in your life will no longer be a ‘do or die affair’.
My first message, the power of purpose, you must answer the question, Why? Why am I obsessed about wanting to be rich? Why am I obsessed about wanting to be the man of God that everybody sees? Why am I obsessed about having the largest or greatest or most impactful ministry? Why do I want to become the businessman that everybody sees? Why do I want to become the politician that everybody sees? Church Gist. What is the obsession behind becoming a celebrity? Our world is full of great people who killed themselves, commited suicide, even at the height of supposed successes. Why? Because they do not connect their pursuit to purpose: Jesus revealed and Jesus glorified remains the anthem for my life and the anthem for this ministry in the name of Jesus Christ.
2). The second thing I want to talk about in this broadcast, that the Lord placed so strongly in my heart, I have to pray this for my own self, even before bringing this; it is the purity of heart. These are not the kind of messages that you easily hear in the Body of Christ again, sadly, the purity of heart (Matthew 5:8).
There is a powerful blessing that is connected according to scripture to purity of heart (Matthew 5:8) . You know the blessing? For they shall see God. Very powerful scripture, not blessed are the believers, not blessed are those who fast, not blessed are those who pray, not blessed are those who go to church, not blessed are those who preach; this very blessing is connected to those who are pure in heart. Church Gist. What does it mean to be pure in heart?
Jesus looked at a man called Nathaniel and He said, Nathaniel, this was a man who was even doubting the ministry of Jesus and yet, Jesus said, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile. That is the definition of being pure in heart.
To be pure in heart is not about perfection and blamelessness. To be pure in heart is that, intrinsically, you are void and free of guile, falsehood deception and wickedness. That is what it means to be pure in heart and the Bible says, the blessing is; they shall see God. It doesn’t just mean, they shall have visionary encounters of God. Church Gist. They will always see God manifest in their situations because whether they are right or wrong, the purity of their hearts sustains and attracts power. So, you can find people who doctrinally are wrong, as far as the pursuit of purpose are wrong, and yet, God seem to show up in their lives because there is a blessing that, those who are pure in heart will see God. They will see God show up, they will see God step in, they will see God arise for them. That means, they will never be left in shame, because of the purity of heart.
Proverbs 16:16-19
You can be a Believer and still have this kind of heart. You can be a preacher and still have this kind of heart; a heart that intrinsically devices wicked imagination. One of the reasons why God judged the earth in the days of Noah, it was more than just that they were sinners; it was that the heart of man was perpetually devising wickedness and imagination. Church Gist. We can have good and even godly activities, but are inspired by wrong or corrupt motives and it was will not bring the blessings that should come with it.
John 12:1-6
Very classic scripture that reveals to us the corruption that is within the heart of man. Unfortunately, there are so many in the Body of Christ today, if you judge by what they are saying, if you judge by what they are doing, you will say it is true, but behind the scene is the corrupt and a wicked heart that is not pure at all. I have met some of the worst of the worst people you can think and I have the honour of sitting down with some of them; smokers, liars, all kinds of terrible people and I am amazed some times at the depth and the extent of purity that is in their hearts. In the height of the supposed decadence around their lives, once you shift beyond that veil, you will find out that this is a sincere person.
I have met idol worshippers, I have met supposedly wicked people and then, when you sit with them and vet them, you will even use their own lives to repent. Church Gist But I have met people who are masters of communication, as minsters, business people; I have met powerful people, great people and all kinds of honourable people and yet, in the midst of it, you find out that, there is corruption.
There were a group of people in the Bible, that every time Jesus met, He always reach out to them, because although they were sinners, they were pure in heart. He met the woman at the well, he saw a woman with a terrible life, but beyond that lane, she was pure in heart. He met Nicodemus and he saw that he was pure in heart, but there were a few people who were always at His crusades and yet because they were not pure in heart, they never receive anything.
My second message to the Body of Christ is that, we must return to the purity of heart. Genuinely desire the good of all and the good of the Body. Do not wish for, anticipate and even support the downfall or destruction of anyone in the Body of Christ (Luke 2:14, Galatians 6:10). Don’t sit down and wish for any church, any man of God, any ministry and assembly you anticipate evil and rejoice when it happens, that is lack of purity of heart.
Once upon a time, Jesus sent the disciples towards Jerusalem (says the Bible) and when they went there, they were not received and Jesus was surprised and the disciples came and said: Should we call down fire on them as Elijah did? Church Gist. Remember Elijah was a no nonsense man and Jesus turned to them and He rebuked them, He said do you not know what spirit you are of, that means what is the meaning of that, purity of heart. Every time I pray, I ask the Lord that beyond being a preacher, may my heart be sincere towards you and towards men. Because there is a growing absence of the purity of heart, sadly even within the Body of Christ. The degree to which we enjoy, celebrate and even promote the pain of others is becoming alarming and there has to be a system of managing and curbing this, it’s an attack on the Body of Christ by the devil.
Wish for the good of all, wish for the good of everyone in the Body; do not wish for, anticipate or even support the downfall or destruction of anyone in the Body.
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