OUR CHURCH WAS AROUND 30, 40 PEOPLE AND I SAW MYSELF ON TOP OF THE WORLD IF I WILL KEEP DOING WHAT GOD SAYS TO DO
IT IS NOT WHO YOU KNOW OR WHO YOU DON’T KNOW; IT’S HOW YOU ALIGN WITH THE TRUTH THAT DETERMINES WHERE YOU FIND YOURSELF TOMORROW
A SEASON OF GLORY IS A SEASON OF RESPONSIBILITY
THERE IS A COVENANT SHIFT FROM “PRAY FOR ME” TO “LORD, WHAT SHOULD I DO?”
YOU DO NOT NEED A PRAYER CONTRACTOR TO REACH GOD. IF YOU HAVE A FATHER IN HEAVEN YOU HAVE DIRECT ACCESS TO HIM
SERVING GOD PROLONGS DAYS. IT IS THE CURE FOR UNTIMELY DEATH.
AFTER LIGHT BROKE OUT FOR ME WHILE READING THE BOOK ‘THE MAN GOD USES’ BY OSWALD J. SMITH, MATTHEW 6:33 CAME ALIVE.
I SAT DOWN AND WROTE A COVENANT BASED ON MATTHEW 6:33 TO MAKE THAT MY LIFESTYLE. IT IS THE GREATEST WORD GIFT AFTER SALVATION THAT I GOT.
IT GAVE MY LIFE BEARING. I CALL IT ‘THE JACKPOT OF LIFE’.
I WASN’T CALLED TO MINISTRY BUT MY PASSION FOR GOD AROSE.
SERVING GOD IN OUR TIME WAS SUFFERING WITH CHRIST SO YOU CAN MAKE HEAVEN.
PASSION IS THE SPIRITUAL FUEL THAT KEEPS A BELIEVER GOING AFTER GOD AND THE INTERESTS OF HIS KINGDOM
– Bishop David Oyedepo on “ENGAGING THE POWER OF PASSION IN STEWARDSHIP” at LFC Midweek Communion Service || Canaanland
Serving God prolongs days. Serving God is the cure for untimely death. Church Gist. The case of everyone serving God is different.
– May this coming month be a season of glory indeed for everyone!
– May the month of June be a season of glory indeed for everyone!
Speak to us tonight and let your name be glorified.
Everything God is doing in our midst this year is to get us on that Covenant Highway and how to stay on that Covenant Highway and not get back to the street corners, the by ways. Church Gist. The simple way to get that done: whatever he tells you to do, do it.
The Lord spoke to me very early in this Ministry from Deuteronomy 28:1 – “there’s a place for you on top if you’re interested.” I’ve shared this several times, I am not tired of sharing it because it gave my life a new orientation. Church Gist. That it is not who you know, it’s not who you don’t know; it’s how you align with the truth that determines where you find yourself tomorrow. “there’s a place for you on top if you’re interested.” I said, Lord I am. He said whatever I tell you to do, do it. Nobody is responsible for where you find yourself tomorrow but how you respond to his instructions is what defines your destination. Deuteronomy 28:1.
That was back in 1984; our Church was around 30, 40 people and I saw myself on top of the world if I will keep doing what he says to do. 1984 is some 39 years back (if I’m right). It’s not just knowing it but doing it.
Our teaching series for our Midweek services which begins today is, “ENGAGING THE POWER OF PASSION IN STEWARDSHIP.” A season of glory is a season of responsibility. Proverbs 11:30; Proverbs 3:35. A season of glory is a season of responsibility. Church Gist. Daniel 12:3. So, you don’t sit down to experience a season of glory, you wake up to take responsibility. You don’t sit down to wait for a season of glory, you rise up to take responsibility. A season of glory is a product of qualitative stewardship. Luke 19:16-21. He gave them one talent each but they made different things out of it and what each one made out of it determines the level of glory that answers to him.
Sir, I can’t change your story and no anointed man can. Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. No transference of labour. (1 Corinthians 3:8) All daily paid people have to be on duty to secure their daily pay. Therefore, are you interested in the season of glory that has come out way right now? You wont work, it won’t work. Church Gist. There is a shift right now; not a paradigm shift, it’s a covenant shift. A shift from “pray for me” to “Lord, what should I do?” It’s a shift; if you can’t see it now you will be behind schedule. All those looking for prayer contractors – (they say) ‘You know, I’ve been to 5 different places, they’ve prayed for me, one saw a vision that I am in trouble; the other one saw a vision that I may be out of it if I do the following nasty things.’ So they carry a born again Christian to Bar Beach and he’s following. If you won’t take responsibility you end up a liability.
You don’t need a prayer contractor to reach God. No! Church Gist. Every one with a father in Heaven has direct access to him. Matthew 6:9.
Psalm 69:9. It keeps one in motion in stewardship. It keeps one going in stewardship. It is our perfect example. Without the zeal of the Lord, you will be weary over time. Every passionate believer is an ever self motivated individual in stewardship. Anybody you see dragging, can you push a car without fuel to start? You can’t. 1 Corinthians 9:16. That is passion in expression. That is a demonstration of Passion. 2 Corinthians 9:20-21. So salvation is not just a liberty from the law of Moses, it is access to the law of Christ which is higher. You are angry with your neighbour with cause, you are a murderer. In the law of Moses, you have to cut somebody’s head before you are a murderer. If you look at a woman lustfully in the law of Christ, you have committed adultery. You did not read that in Matthew 5. So they don’t say we are free from the law. You are free from the law of Moses to enter the law of Christ. It is not living anyhow. 1 Corinthians 9:22. What are you doing for the Gospel’s sake? is what defines your level of zeal and passion. What is the gospel taking from you? When the zeal of God consumed Jesus, watch what happened in Philippians 2:5-9. Church Gist. He made himself of no reputation. People are so overwhelmed and overrun by self esteem. They look down on everybody. How can I be under the bridge talking to somebody? Why are you not the one under the bridge, is it not grace? Did you bring a certificate from heaven? Did you bring a tie when you were born? Did you wear a suit? You better wake up and take position. Take it early.
Passion is what fuels our consistency and steadfastness in stewardship. Acts 26:22. Passion is not a gift, it is a decision stirred by one’s unreserved love for God and the interest of His kingdom. Passion is a decision made based on one’s burning love for God. Elijah said “I have been very jealous for the Lord my God. Church Gist. The people have turned their backs against you. They have broken down your altars and gone after Baal.” First Kings 19:10-14.
What is passion? Passion is the spiritual fuel that keeps a believer going after God and the interest of His kingdom. Jeremiah 20:9. The fire of His Word is what keeps us in motion in season and out of season. What is passion? It is a product of one’s decision based on personal conviction in the pursuit of a given task. After light broke out for me through the reading of that book ‘The Man God Uses’ by Oswald J. Smith, Matthew 6:33 came alive. I sat down and wrote my covenant based on Matthew 6:33 to make that my lifestyle. September 12th 1976. It is the greatest Word gift after salvation that I got. It gave a bearing to my life. I wasn’t called to ministry but my passion arose for God. Matthew 6:33. He said to me seek ye first the kingdom and all these things that others are dying to get shall be added unto you. Serving God in our time was suffering with Christ so you can make heaven. Here is Jesus coming around to say to me ‘forget about what they are dying for. Church Gist. They will be cheaply added to you as you seek the interests of my kingdom first. We are talking about priority, not about subsidiaries. In case you have never heard that before. It is seeking the interest of the kingdom as a priority that qualifies you and I to enjoy such supernatural addition. It fills your mind, feeds your thoughts and defines your actions. It was a decision that I made not that God said come and make a decision, I made the decision myself when light broke out. I saw it as the jackpot of life. It was not somebody trying to use me, it was God speaking to me of how to make my life meaningful.
What fuel is to a vehicle is what passion is to a believer in the pursuit of God and the interest of His kingdom. Jesus said when his disciples asked him “Oga you have not eaten and you are still active like this?” he said “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His work” John 4:32-34. Doing what God says to do was like food. There is a fueling in that engagement. Mark 3:20-21. He had no time to eat, it was just passion keeping Him in motion. Paul, the passionate Apostle said, “For me to live is Christ, for me to die is gain”. Church Gist. If they touch me, I know where I am going. He is a bad man, that is his view. He has a right to it. I have been overcoming ever since because passion has kept me going. I know where I am going. Passion has kept us going as a commission, every bad government that ever reigned in this country has never affected us. No! We are living in different realms. You can live beyond what happens around you by going after God with all the passion you can master.
One cannot be passionate for God without it showing. Only you can not know it. Everybody around you will know it. This man, you can’t stop him. This woman, you can’t stop her. The passion that nobody sees around you is not genuine. People in your environment should know. Church Gist. You can’t be passionate without knowing and you can’t be passionate for God without people around you knowing. So it is not a hidden virtue. It is a virtue that shows. I pray that this month of June will move every one of us to the next levels of passion in our pursuit of God. 2 Kings 10:16. That King said “Come with me and see my passion for the Lord.“
We have two examples of passion-made giants in scriptures for tonight’s service. The first one is Abraham. Passion turned him into a generational blessing. Genesis 12:1-4. Abraham, where are you going? He will show me as I go. Where are you going through? He will show me as I go. That is how God’s Word stirs passion. He heard from God passion rose in him to go in that direction. I want to establish my covenant with you but you will need to circumcise the foreskin of every male born in your house. As soon as God left off speaking with him, he rose up and began with himself at 90. Genesis 17:17-20. Everything God said suited him, that is what they call passion. Church Gist. No negotiation “as soon…”. Passion keeps a believer in motion in pursuit of God. Then we have the big one in Genesis 22, the biggest demand anybody can make of another. Genesis 22:1-3. His most sensitive part was touched and yet he rose up early in the morning. Passion! He went to a mountain He will show him and there he encountered a sworn blessing. That is what passion does. It drives you to an enviable end. If you keep doing what God says to do with utmost delight without coercion, He is driving you towards an enviable end. You will get there. John 8:39. No guesswork. If you be as passionate as Abraham, you will get to where Abraham was.
The next one is Nehemiah. Passion brought forth the giant in him. He was a cupbearer, a steward in the king’s palace. His job was to serve the king wine. He had no official title but when he heard that the people who left of the captivity were in great distress, he went in to fast. He was in the comfort of the palace, he shouldn’t bother but he went into fast for certain and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven for certain and began to plead to God for mercy. Then we now saw passion demonstrated when the king called for him to serve and they saw he was sorrowful. Nehemiah 2:1-5. Genuinely passionate people always end up with favour, not make up people. Genuinely passionate people will end up with favour. He wanted to give Nehemiah half of his kingdom. He demanded for 200 soldiers, they gave him. He demanded for free wood and materials to build the broken walls, they gave him. Church Gist. He had never been on a horse before, suddenly he had a chariot. The king granted him according to all that he asked because of the good hand of God upon Him. Nehemiah 2:8-9. Then passion began to manifest in different dimensions, working night and day putting off his clothes except for washing. By Chapter 5, passion had its full expression. He was appointed governor over Judea. How much future has a believer without passion, I can never tell. So it is time to be awake and do the needful.
In conclusion, nothing stirs passion like revelation. Revelation is the root for the virtue of passion. Jeremiah 20:9. Jeremiah 23:29. You know what the Yorubas call passion? Church Gist. ‘Itara’ means something is stirring you. Something burning you. Haggai 1:13-14. Nothing stirs passion and sustains passion like revelation.
Let me narrate some of my passion stirred Word encounters:
– 1976: Matthew 6:33 repositioned my Christian life showing me what makes Christian adventure most profitable.
The Holy Ghost showed up as a person and you want to know what passion is? I got to that town and I said, ‘Holy Spirit I don’t want to ask anybody. If truly you’re a person and you speak and guide, for you guide us to all truth, lead me to where these fellows are.’ Church Gist. I heard him for the first time, ‘go forward.’ I’ve shared that several times. These encounters were Word stirred. It was the book of T. L. Osborn, “The purpose of Pentecost” that showed me the person of the Holy Ghost. Even though it’s written on Evangelism, I read that book in one sitting. It is what you seek that you find, what you don’t seek you can’t find. From that day, I’ve been hearing the voice of the Lord till now. Nothing stirs passion like revelation.
– 1981: I had these series of encounters. Life is not designed for ups and downs but for ups and ups. Proverbs 4:18. I decided I am not ready for a better last year all through my life and he has made it so. Church Gist. There is always something very unique about every year above the previous.
– From today, your life will never be stranded anymore!
– “But thou shall not borrow” my God, what a blessing! Before I will get into it, we would have been tempted to it. Deuteronomy 15:6. Satisfied with wherever we are per time, enjoying it with everything inside it.
– You don’t need to know anybody to scale any height in life just know me. Deuteronomy 11:32. That destroyed any tendency of looking for who to know. That’s was October 4, 1981. Daniel 11:32. Somebody asked me, ‘how did you get to know all these people?’ Church Gist. I said, ‘no, ask how they got to know me.’ From October 4, 1981, I was already told that you can scale any utmost height by knowing your God.
In Nigeria they say it’s who you know that matters – Nonsense! It’s the God you know that matters. Church Gist. When you know God they will look for you. Those who know God don’t beg men. Daniel 11:32.
What keeps me going in the Ministry?
I’m on God’s employment and I am on his pay roll as long as I stay on duty – 1982. Who pays me? He said, you’re in my appointment. I am responsible; just stay on duty for the labourer that is on duty is worthy of his hire. Church Gist. (Luke 10:1, 7) I’ve never been to anybody’s dwelling place in my life or call on a phone – ‘Can you please help?’ God’s Word is the fuel that keeps us in motion yet he has never failed once. His Word will neve lose value. An encounter with his Word will keep us in motion all the days of our lives.
– ‘My son you have 2 eyes; can you make one to look up and one to look down? Any time you are looking up to man, never claim to be looking up to me but if you fix your eyes on me, you never be ashamed.’ 40 years ago – 1983 from Psalm 34:5. Church Gist. So all the happenings in the ministry worldwide, no human hand Sir! Ask if anybody got a call or a letter from here to make anything happen.
God wants to decorate your life. That’s what they call, ‘Covenant Highways of life.’ Isaiah 55:8-9. Church Gist. When this Word gets fired in you, going after God becomes so natural. You’re not depressed, not oppressed, you’re just going.
– May no one here lack access to passion stirring word from now!
One of us gave a testimony last Sunday: they were going to give him 3 injections on his spinal area. He said, ‘no, they didn’t need injection. God did not need injections to gather the bones in the Ezekiel valley of dry bones. Church Gist. The bones came together at the commandment of the Lord.’ So he got the Word into himself and the bones came together. He stood on that platform.
When you find somebody saying something you can’t say, he has seen something you have not seen.
– My prayer is that this month of glory will answer to everyone of us!
Your decision that is based on revelation will always stand the test of time. So the revelation is not enough, your decision that is based on that revelation is what keeps you going. Church Gist. There must be a decision. When I heard, “thou shall not borrow,’ I decided against borrowing based on his Word.
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