- While a lot of people are looking for God, God is looking for those who will sacrifice.
- Anything that you are holding on to, that doesn’t make you sacrifice, will become the sacrifice, when you don’t sacrifice. God will take out anything that takes His place in your life.
Psalm 50: 5 is my deliberation this evening, but before I get there, let me start from a safe place, Deuteronomy 28:13. If you are behind, you are out of covenant. We all go through processes but God’s ultimate intention for you and I is that we should be in charge. Now, God is reiterating it here because man fell, but from the beginning, man was made to be in charge. If you look at Genesis 1:26, in the amplified version, the Bible says, let him have complete authority, in other words, let him be in charge of the fish of the sea, of the beast of the earth. No human being was mentioned because no human was made to dominate another human, everyone has a territory that God has called them to be the head over.
God uses the word ‘make’ because, ‘If even it doesn’t exist, I will fabricate it, I will pull strings, I will move things around to make sure that my intention concerning you, comes to pass’. He doesn’t say alone that I will make you the head and not the tail. I have told you many times, that I have seen people rise and fall. ChurchGist. As the son of a politician, our position gives us privileged information to what people deal with. I’m not talking them down but I’m telling you how life is. However, there is another side of life, a life without stealing, a life without killing, a life without destruction. Jesus looked at the people and said, ‘I have come that you may have life’, He says this kind of life will keep you above only. If you allow this statement, this phrase, to be in your spirit, it can lock up strongholds of many years. Hustle and bustle, breaking biblical standards just to get money, will be out of your way if you know that God’s intent for you is not to take you up and bring you down, but to keep you up.
We looked up the Hebrew word for ‘above’ and we found out that it’s something that is advancing. So, we looked at Proverbs 4:18 that the path of the just is like the shining light, that shines ever brighter until the perfect day. But you know, Christianity is the lifestyle of responsibility. If God says, ‘I will make you’, the next thing He says is, ‘If you yield to my instructions’. So, as a Pastor who is not a visiting teacher, I’m here with you, and I want the words which I prophesy to come to pass, I’m looking under every rug to see our parts to play. Every time you as a child of God starts asking questions, ‘Lord, what should I do?’, you are a serious-minded Christian and your results will be different from everybody’s.
Today, I’m picking on sacrifice. Sacrifice is a dangerous weapon for an ever-rising life. We live in a dangerous generation that once something is not convenient, we are not part of it. If not for my children, I don’t shop online. ChurchGist. I was raised in a generation that you don’t trust Nigeria, you don’t trust people here, I don’t want my card information online, I don’t trust that I would give you my money and you would deliver it, I don’t understand it. My daughter would be like, ‘No Daddy, just order it’, and I would be like, ‘Order what?’. Till today, as I speak with you, despite the fact that they order for me, I don’t release my card. Their generation has been raised to order this, order that. If it’s stressful, if you have to go through a process, they don’t like it. While it works, while it has some good sides, you see some people who are depressed, who want to commit suicide because they don’t understand processes. And now that they are Christians, they don’t understand that God created time and stepped out of time, anything that must endure has to go through time.
You switch on the best phone with the best operating system, it takes time to boot. Anytime you grow up, you stay there, it takes time to grow. You have the best recipe for cake, it still needs to stay for a while in the oven. So, they say, ‘Lord, I’m giving you 7 Days of Glory, if it doesn’t happen in 7 days, I’m out’. Such people are preys to the devil. The devil puts demons around him, ‘The guy says 7 days. Stay, frustrate him for 7 days’. Kenneth Hagin of blessed memory said if you have made up your mind to stand forever, you would not stand for too long.
We raised a prayer point on Saturday, and I noticed that when we raise a prayer point for a branch of this church, your voices go down, but when we raise a prayer point for you, your voices go up. It’s because you don’t know God, if you know God, you would know that the first one which your voices went down for, was what your voices was supposed to go up for. Whoever blesses Zion is blessed, there are some prayer points you don’t need to pray, once you understand how God operates. Not only for the church, pray for the leaders, pray for those in authority, prayers for youself should be the last, by the time you are praying it, it is already answered. If anything would be gigantic, it has to endure.
I was talking to someone who came from our Ilorin church, the individual was talking to me about process and all of that. I said, you are a Chinese Bamboo, the Chinese Bamboo goes down for months. You plant it, it doesn’t show anything. In 3 months, it goes 90 metres high. Every one who started rising before it, it outruns them. The Bible says the remnant of the Children of Israel would take root downward, first of all, before they bear fruits upward. So, God is making your foundation solid, but Satan tries to outsmart a lot of people. While a lot of people are looking for God, God is looking for those who will sacrifice, God is looking for Christians who have understood the power of sacrifice. Even the devil likes sacrifice, Satan is angry, killing a lot of people. They say ‘Sir, what do you want?’ He says, ‘I want a sacrifice’. They give it to him, he stops. Everything that would touch on grace and power has to go the route of sacrifice. God, The sovereign God, wanted all of us, He saved us by sacrifice. The Son was negotiating with Him in the garden of Gethsemane, ‘Is there any other way?’, The Father said, ‘There’s no other way, they way to this thing is sacrifice, and it’s your blood, and I would be the one to kill you’. Now, no more blood sacrifice to be offered on your behalf. The Bible days, if you suffer with him, then you will glory with him. The suffering is not poverty, the suffering is not sickness, it’s a life. When you know what you should have done but you chose to hold back. ChurchGist. The Bible says, the love we have for God constrains us. You have to know how to say to God, ‘Lord, what do you want? For this new level, what are the demands?’. The demand is not always money, it could be some relationships, take some phone numbers out of your phone book, delete or block people who are introducing you to unscrupulous businesses, because when you hold on to something, you cannot collect another thing. Until you let go, your hand cannot be free to collect another thing.
Psalm 50:5 says, separate to me, gather to me my saints. When other people are looking for God, God says, I’m looking for some saints. These saints have come into an agreement with God by their sacrifice. Let me tell you something powerful, anything that you are holding on to, that doesn’t make you sacrifice, will become the sacrifice when you don’t sacrifice. Ah my job, ah my relationship. That thing that is not making you to sacrifice when God is asking for a sacrifice, will become the sacrifice. God will take out anything that takes His place in your life. He will take that thing out, I tell you, except He has not invested in you. God will take anything out that you rest on, and that is standing in the way of His relationship with you.
Many of us don’t understand John 3:16, for God so loved the world. ‘So’ means you so much love that thing that you are willing to go to any length, you are willing to bend backwards for that thing, that is how much God loves you and I, that He did not release angels, He released His only begotten son, not for two days, 33 years, that is how much He loves us. I’ve told this story severally, but I want to reiterate it. In 1999, we were preaching to a lady in our church, and she was honest to tell us that her boyfriend in the University of Ilorin is a fine boy, and she doesn’t want to be born again. She went to Lagos for a weekend, she had an accident and died, the boyfriend out of fear, ran to the fellowship and gave his life to Christ. That thing you are not willing to sacrifice, becomes the sacrifice. If you want to walk in grace and power, there are no two ways.
There’s no way we can talk about sacrifice, defining moments, turning points, without talking about Moses. Hebrews 11:23. The oracle at Pharaoh’s palace picked it that a child had been born, ‘This guy would be a deliverer, all these slaves working for you, this guy would deliver them and torpedo your kingdom, and there would be no Pharaoh anymore’. ChurchGist. Remember, before this time, Abraham had sacrificed unto God and God started talking to him about his descendants, ‘That your descendant shall be slaves for 430 years and I would send a deliverer’. God knew that if this child was born a slave, he won’t be able to be the deliverer. Listen to me, let the devil take your money, but don’t let him take your paradigm, let the devil mess up with anything around you, but don’t let him mess up with your mind, because if your paradigm is messed up, God can’t help you. If you allow the devil to confuse what you believe, if you allow the devil to confuse your mindset, there is no apostle or prophet that can help you.
How can you say you don’t love God, and you are here on a Tuesday, you love God, but what happens to you is your perspective and the platform on which that love you claim you have for God sits. It’s still on a secular mindset. You love God in this room, but once you go out, it shrinks in. Every once in a while, the Lord will demand a new level of sacrifice because there is something He brought you to the earth for. God is invisible, He depends on us. The 2 kingdoms are fighting for prominence and fighting for people, you cannot say you are a Christian and not reach out to people, you can’t pretend and say you don’t know. If your Christianity is all about you and what you will take from God, you won’t go far with God. You need to understand that He has blessed you to be a blessing, He has saved you to become a saviour. We are here on a purpose for a purpose, we are here on time and in time. You can’t allow social media to bounce you off God, all those things are passing pleasures.
The first defining moment was that the parents of Moses made up their mind that they were going to keep that child. Where did that thought come from? ChurchGist. What did God put in your mind right now that looks odd? What is heaven demanding from you? These people made up their minds. Bible revealed that there was Mariam, Bible revealed that there was Aaron, then Moses. You know how they kept Moses quiet; the woman had to breastfeed him. To breastfeed, do you know your back aches you? There are special chairs you have to buy for your wife when she is breastfeeding, a rocking chair so she can lean a little bit, you also need a pillow, and all of that. Their lives changed, Mariam, Aaron, all of them were involved. If keep this microphone here, when you come back tomorrow, that’s where you will meet it. If you keep this offering bowl here, when you come back next month, that’s where you will meet it. You can’t keep anything that is growing. There were sacrifices. Where you are today, some people paid the price that brought you there. It’s good to look good, it’s good to drive a nice car, but make sure that you live a life of sacrifice as the Lord demands from you. Make sure nothing owns you, you own things.
After 3 months, another defining moment. This was a defining moment for Moses, his basket was placed near the shrubs, and that was where crocodiles liked to stay. God kept him. Look beyond your shoulders, see what the Lord has done, even when you did not love the Lord. Is it now that the Lord will abandon you? I went to South Africa, I preached a sermon, and a boy gave his life to Christ. The father was so shocked, they’ve had a lot of people preach to him, they’ve had a big denomination preach to him, this guy does not smile, he was a gangster. Then I preached, and he gave his life to Christ? Do you know what his father and mother did? They dashed him to me. The question in the mind of my wife and I was, ‘What would this guy eat in Nigeria?’ Because he was coloured, and they were a little bit privileged. What would he eat? So, I had to strike a deal with them, I commended him to God and to the word of His grace which was able to build him up. Today, he is a pastor in South Africa. If you see a South African who is crazy on my page, that’s him.
So how do you raise that kind of child? If you have done anything for the kingdom, keep it at that. His sister said, do you need a nurse? You know why Mariam was against Moses, because she saw his beginning. Moses’ mother got the job to take care of Moses, another level of sacrifice, now the woman had to leave her home, leave her husband, to live in the palace. She was there and was to pretend he wasn’t her child. ChurchGist. The life you are living today, the privileges you have, some people paid the price. Don’t let anybody deceive you with the doctrine of grace. Once your lifestyle with the Lord is about Him, struggles are over. Everything would be in place but the pathway is the pathway of sacrifice.
Hebrews 11: 23. ‘Beautiful’ here means that they saw he had a bright future. Moses’ mother rang it into his ears, ‘You are not an Egyptian’, that was her ministry. God had an agenda, a generational agenda, and gave them a role to play, they didn’t perform a miracle, they didn’t heal the sick, they didn’t raise the dead, but He gave them an assignment that would save a generation. Without them coming out of Egypt, there is no way Jesus would come and save us. Never evaluate your success by the car you drive, or your salary, or what is happening now. Sometimes, the assignment the Lord gives to you does not make sense, just do it.
I said something that I will not repeat anymore, when we came here in 2008, I was so sure the Lord sent me here. My wife is my witness, I said, ‘Lord, if you give me 20 people, I left 3000 people in Ilorin, I will pastor them faithfully, because I am sure you sent me here’. The Lord said, ‘Don’t say that again, and for what you have said, I will give you more’. That’s what the Lord told me. I said if you give me even 20 people, I would pastor them faithfully. I would never show up before them and not have a word, as you help me, I would try my best in the capacity you give to me to make sure that they will stand out in their Christian walk. That was what I told the Lord.
Some people make decisions based on what food they will eat, even if it’s against the kingdom, they don’t care. Hebrews 11: 24-26. By faith, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. There is no pastor who is genuinely called by God, who is dependent on God directly, who is successful, who has not sacrificed. If he has not sacrificed, he is using voodoo. The pathway to success is sacrifice. I was hearing from somebody very close to Pastor Adeboye and he was sharing with me how he built the Redeemers University, I shook my head and said, ‘Men, people don’t know the kind of sacrifice these people have dropped’. ChurchGist. To hit a rock, the axe head must pay the price. History told us that Moses was a legal person to the throne, next after Pharaoh. Bible tells us that he was skilled in the knowledge of the science of Egypt, history told us that he had his own chariots, he had a city that he built, he was an architect, he went to the best war school, and he was raised to be Pharaoh. Did you see Moses at the Mountain of Transfiguration? He came and represented the Patriarchs. Elijah represented the prophets. Moses would have just been a pharaoh and that would have just been it. Some people here, all you want to do is to just drive a car and that’s the end.
For some people, anything God, they are on a neutral gear. It is the worst situation to be in. In the planes, Muslims pray, some Christians can’t even pray in front of people, they are too tush for God. ChurchGist. The mother must have said, ‘Moses you are losing a big opportunity’. Moses said, ‘Mom, I appreciate you, I love you, but I have a calling. Something tells me there is more to this’. He left with a rod, it was a defining moment, he moved to the rod. Guys, when you see somebody walk in strange power, there’s a sacrifice on the ground, when you see somebody walk in strange favour, there’s a sacrifice on the ground.
I want to show you something that changed my life. Hebrews 11: 27. Everything he endured was because he saw Him who is invisible. The reason you are making that decision is because everything you are seeing is visible. 2Corinthians 4:18. Child of God, why is it that you are not doing what God has asked you to do? Is it because you don’t believe in it? God is demanding you to do something now, don’t pretend like you don’t know. There is something God is demanding from you. You are pretending like He is not talking to you. God is a planner. All the privileges you have, ‘E get why’, and the Lord is placing a demand on you right now and you can’t pretend like you don’t know.
Don’t be the type that dumps anything uncomfortable for you. Whenever there is sacrifice, there is fire. Your passion for God must not be on neutral. I found out that God wants your love for him to go public. Psalm 50:5. There are some of you that feel cool among your unbeliever friends because they tell you, I think I’m going to come to COZA, I like your kind of Christianity, you are not carrying it on your head. Where else will you carry it? When you were an unbeliever, how did you carry it? ChurchGist. Now that you are a Christian, you are now pretending like you are not passionate? One of the first sacrifices you have to make is yourself because you can’t give what you don’t have. God was speaking in the book of Proverbs, He said, ‘My son, give me your heart’. God doesn’t want any other thing because if you give Him your heart, there is nothing that can stand between you and God.
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