YOUR DECISION, MORE THAN YOUR CONDITION DECIDES THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE.
YOUR DECISION IS THE VEHICLE THAT MOVES YOU FROM WHERE YOU ARE TO THE PLACE OF DESTINY.
EVERYTHING YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS LOOKING FOR YOU. THE PROSPERITY YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS ALSO LOOKING FOR YOU BUT THERE ARE CONDITIONS TO IT.
THE DECISION TO BE SERIOUS WITH GOD IS NOT FOR MEN OF GOD; THE DECISION TO BE SERIOUS WITH GOD IS FOR SAVIOURS
-Apostle Joshua Selman at RCCG Youth Convention Tagged ‘Exceeding Expectations’
(Day 3, Morning Session)
Prophesy like the prophet that you are, from left to right tell someone: your life is about to change; your destiny is about to be transformed.
Hallelujah!
Good Morning Everybody. It’s a joy again to be here, I will like us to please honour our Intercontinental Youth Pastor, the Lord bless you Sir. It’s such an honour again to be here. I truly believe with all my heart that your life is about to change this morning. Church Gist. The Bible says they go from strength to strength as many as appear before the Lord in Zion. You have come and He will not disappoint you in Jesus’ name.
There are three things that will happen here in this session:
- I’m going to share with you something very powerful. Church Gist. I believe this is a secret that in addition to what you learnt yesterday, will put you in a position for perpetual victory in your life.
- Somewhere in the course of the meeting and it will be a brief one, I am going to be praying for those who are sick and those who are trusting the Lord to lift all kinds of burdens from their lives.
- I truly believe in the power of impartation. I believe there are many of you who have come with hunger in your hearts and I’m just going to stretch my hands and pray for you that something will come upon your destiny from Heaven and will change your life forever.
If you believe that, I’ll like you to find a neighbor and passionately pray in the next one minute:
- Father, give us visitation, I am agreeing with my neighbor and we declare that this morning’s session will indeed be a lifetime encounter.
- Open my eyes, open my spirit; the entrance of Your word gives light and understanding to the simple. Church Gist. We have come to learn, to grow and to rise in the name of Jesus.
Father again we pray that You will visit us this morning. We have come with our hearts; hungry with our hearts, desperate to receive. Let there be the hearing of faith and even the working of miracles and I pray Oh God that everyone under the sound of my voice will be mightily impacted this morning. That at the end of this session, indeed we will say we have received a visitation. May the Lord bless you, in Jesus we have prayed.
Celebrate Jesus and please you may be seated.
Hallelujah!
Yesterday we began to talk about the power of the Word according to Joshua 1:8 and its ability to set a man on course for a great and an enviable destiny. Church Gist. We did established yesterday how that it is in our destiny in Christ to be great; to move from one dimension of glory even to another, that in Christ, there are no low callings, everyone is called into not only a holy calling but a high calling; a calling of nobility and greatness. But we also established that greatness does not just happen by default, principally the Word of God is instrument for the making of the great. In this Kingdom, great men and women whether in ministry, business, politics, career, academics etc everyone who is made in this Kingdom is made by the Word. Jesus who is the Word said; “come, follow me and I will make you”. So when you follow the Word, the Word makes you.
We also established yesterday by way of recap that essentially, when we open scriptures to learn, we are interacting with three basic realities and that every time you open up your Bible, you are searching for three things:
a) Promises – this is a representation of God’s boundary and His commitment to you
b). Principles – this is the modus operandi of the Kingdom, God’s system of operations.
c). Prophecies – this reveals to us the future of our destinies, the future of the Church and the world that we live in and that we live without fear
This morning I’ll like us to take it from there by reading Deuteronomy 30:19
What you would be learning this morning has changed the lives of many people. Church Gist. It is also responsible for the enviable lifting of the great in this Kingdom. Businessmen have applied this principle and they have risen, men and women of God have applied this principle and they have risen, now that you are about to hear it, you will apply and also rise beyond imagination in the name of Jesus.
Topic: CHOOSE LIFE
The first thing that we see from this scripture is that, the implication of your decisions and your choices move past and they go beyond you. The Bible tells us that you are not the only one affected by your choices and your decisions. Church Gist. Your choices and your decisions; good or bad affect you and your seeds. Your seed here does not just mean your biological children alone, it also refers to those who look up to you and draw inspiration from you.
There are many people who seek to be marvelously used by God, who seek to have enviable destinies, who seek to become influences and influencers as far as a context of a generation is concerned. But then, many have ignored this principle that I want to teach, sadly to their detriments. Church Gist. What I’m about to teach you is the reason why there are millionaires today and there are poor people; intelligent people and those who are supposedly nonentities, some have risen from nothing to positions of authority and also the reason why people have dropped from positions of authority to nothingness. I’m teaching you this with passion from my heart as a contribution to your growth and your excelling in live and I am praying and hoping that these words will not fall on deaf ears. They will come upon hearts that are malleable, ready to rise, to grow, to thrive and to excel.
Your decisions, more than your conditions decides the quality of your life. More than the conditions of a man, the principal factor of the kind and the quality of destiny that you and I will be able to be featured in is our decisions. Indecision is a decision to fail.
Decisions; not wishes, not intentions decide destiny. The quality of a man’s destiny is not decided by His wishes, intentions or by the wishes that others have for men. Church Gist. Your destiny is primarily and principally decided by the decisions that you make. I learned this many years ago when I read a book by Dr Myles Munroe, called discovering your potentials. It was a book that had such a profound impact upon my life and it was from that book, alongside many other teachings I found out that there is a responsibility dimension to an enviable destiny. More than a prophetic dimension, more than the speaking of God over the life and destiny of an individual, there is a responsibility dimension; a responsibility component to your destiny. That means, if you must excel in life, as much as God’s desire for to you to excel; it does not just take God alone, as powerful as He is, it will take your partnership through the ability to make quality choices and decisions.
You are seated here this morning because you decided to be here. There are probably a number of things you would have been doing right now that may also hold some level of importance in your life but based on your perception of the value and the importance of this Conference, you left everything and many of you inconvenience yourself in a very great way to be here – It is a decision. Church Gist. You are hearing what you are hearing and siting directly under this anointing and ministration because you decided to.
Decisions are powerful, even at the extent of your eternal destiny, God leaves you to decide. God will not force salvation on you, He will not force success on you. There are many people today going to hell even though the price for victory and reconciliation with God has been fully paid. There are many people who are living poor and beggarly lives even in the wealthiest of nations, primarily because of their decisions.
When I found out the place and the role that discussions play in actualizing destiny, I made up my mind that I will intentionally make quality decisions that advance my life.
Destiny is measured in time. That means that the unit of destiny is time. Whatever you give your time to, you are giving a portion of your life and a portion of your destiny to it. Church Gist. Our Father in the Lord today has become a global phenomenon and a voice, a force to reckon with and a personality to be studied by individuals, institutions, government of nations; not just because God called him but because he made a decision with his life that this was the cost of destiny he was going to pursue and he obtained grace from God and even in old age, he continues to pursue diligently.
All of the people you see today that you admire, whether in business, ministry, politics etc. They are individuals who at one point or the other decided that they were going to make a quality decision to advance their lives. Church Gist. A very interesting scripture in the Bible, I will just quote it for the sake of time. That scripture for me is the most graphic representation of the power of decision. It is a story that Jesus Himself gave, a parable of the prodigal son.
By way of summary, the Bible starts that story by letting us know that a man had two sons and he was a responsible man who took care of his children and then one day, the younger son made up his mind that he did not want to be under the influence of his father again. He made that decision and he said; “father, I am tired of your influence, give me that which is due as your son” and the father respected his decision.
The Bible says when he was given his own portion of the inheritance, he departed and the next thing the Bible told us was that he spent his money on riotous life with friends and that man began to deplete for every decision he took out of the influence of his father; it began to lead him and launch him further and further to a life of shame, embarrassment, degradation until he got to a point where he was completely bankrupt.
The Bible tells us that he got to a point where he was feeding with swine – look at the implication of decisions. Church Gist. This was a man who was excelling under the authority of his father but he made just one decision; “father, I am tired of your influence. I want to manage my life”. A few years down the line, he has become an object of tragedy, a caution and a warning to many. Feeding with swine, whereas he had been dining with royalty. But then the Bible also shows us the power of decisions to reverse a man’s life. One day the Bible says, this young man got tired and he said to himself, the Bible says he came to himself; “how many hired servants does my father have and I am here feeding with the swine” and he made a decision again. So it takes a decision to change a decision.
He made one decision and that decision took him down but he made one other decision; “I will arise and I will go to my father and when I meet him, I will say, father, I have sinned against you and against Heaven and I am not worthy to be called your son, take me as one of your servant”. He made that decision and he began to take steps to honour that decision.
Notice the miracle that happened, he never met the father at home and the father never met him at the place of his wrong decision. Both of them met at the place of action, somewhere in the middle. Church Gist. The father was already leaving to look for him and the son…, Can I be honest with you? Everything you are looking for is also looking for you the great destiny you are looking for, is also looking for you but there is a version of you that destiny is looking for that you have not yet become. The father was not looking for the rebel; the father was looking for the transformed gentle man. Your destiny is not looking for the unserious, careless, lackadaisical individual; it is looking for a determined gentle man, a determined lady.
Everything you are looking for is looking for you. The prosperity you are looking for is also looking for you, the greatness you are looking for is also looking for you. The mantle you are looking for is also looking for you but there are conditions. Church Gist. Midwifing your present condition and your future destiny is a decision. You can make a decision that will reverse your destiny by many, many years and you can take one decision that will fast track your destiny by many decades.
Decisions are powerful. I hope you know that in every territory, there are a group of parliamentarians that are called honourable members of the house or senate members and all that happen in the parliament of every nation is decision; that’s all they do. Decisions that culminate to the wellbeing of the citizens within a territory or decisions that are motivated by self-centeredness that continue to take the nation or the territory backwards. In any case, people move forward or backward through decisions.
Your decision is the vehicle that moves you from where you are to the place of destiny. Your decision is also the vehicle that takes you from where you are back to your yesterday.
You do not have the power to choose consequences; no man has the power to choose consequences. A consequence is an outcome of a decision; the resultant effect of a decision. Church Gist. You cannot choose consequences; good or bad. What you can choose or what you can do is that you can make choices and decisions. It is the decisions that choose your consequences.
For instance, when you say I want to be rich, you are right but technically speaking, you are not exactly right. You don’t just say I want to be rich alone, you make the decision that makes for such a destiny and you naturally evolve into that state in life. “I want to be a visionary and responsible leader”. As good as that is, if it just stops by you speaking and staying there, you may never amount to that which you desire. It will take decisions as the vehicle that moves you. So men do not choose consequences, you make decisions and decisions decide the consequences that come to you.
For the sake of time, I want to give you six decisions. They are major decisions that all champions without exception have made and continue to make in their lives and destinies; whether you want to be a great man of God, a great sportsman, leader, businessman or any visionary leader world over that you seem to admire; these six decisions if understood, if mastered and if you make these decisions consistently, I give you a guarantee based on the integrity of scripture and the formidability of the laws of life, you will not fail.
“…I set before you life and death; blessings and curses. I cannot force you on what to choose but I can advice you; if you want to live, you live by choosing life”. Are you ready for these decisions?
I want you to lay your hand on you head in one minute and pray from the dept of your heart:
“Let my spirit man be opened to understand this truth in the name of Jesus”.
- The first decision in this Conference that I recommend for you to make if you want to surpass ordinary standards, if you want to excel, if you want to become a voice in this generation, if you want to serve the purposes of God effectively is:
The DECISION TO MAKE EXCEPTIONAL SPIRITUAL PROGRESS.
Jeremiah 29:13
There is a way a man can commits himself and make a decision that as far as my spiritual life (Prayer life, word study, passion for God) is concerned, my fire will never go down. Church Gist. “The older I become, the more on fire for God I become” – it is a choice. There are many people today who have chosen not to be serious with God. God respects their choice but you also will not get the destiny of one who is on fire with God.
Can I tell you the truth? Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. You cannot give God five minutes of your destiny and expect the mantle of one who gave God everything. God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Matthew 22:37). When you give God all and make a decision to seek Him and make quality spiritual progress, I assure you, you have made a noble decision and you have began to sign in for a destiny of greatness.
There are all kinds of distractions in our world today, respectfully speaking; the abuse of social media, all kinds of mundane relationships that may not be pointing us towards destiny and all sorts of things that distract and destroy people.
…I have set before you life and death. Everyone at the sound of my voice and those following, watching by way of internet, I need you to know that the first decision in order of priority that you must make if you want to surpass ordinary standards and live an excelling life is the decision to make exceptional spiritual progress.
Everyone shout this after me;
Say in the name of Jesus, from today, I make up my mind to love Jesus, to seek Jesus, to pursue my spiritual progress without fail.
That means you must obtain grace and the discipline to wake up and pray when it is time to pray. Church Gist. When your body tells you I am sleeping, just hear the generations that you are sent to, begging you and say wake up for our sake. “The healing anointing that must come to you in the place of prayer, don’t let sleep kill us. The child that I am supposede to receive is tied to your spiritual seriousness, don’t let me die barren”. When you hear the voice of those who are calling on you, it gives you the energy to wake up.
Here me, every time you feel lazy to study scripture, just remember that there is a multitude of people saying; “please, if you do not feed us, the witches and wizards and the yokes and the curses in our background will destroy us and God had tied our destiny to your life, do not fail us”.
Can I tell you this? If you do not live with a sense of destiny, you will not have the passion to pursue your spiritual life. Church Gist. You don’t pray as a matter of convenience, you don’t fast as a matter of convenience. Many of us, the enemy to your destiny is slumber, you can sleep by 8 and wake up by 12 as a young man. No! You will not go far. God is not a herbalist, you will not go far. Don’t just keep admiring mantles and anointings; behind mantles and anointings, let me the truth, there is blood dripping on those altars, testaments of prayer, fire, fasting, staying with the Word. The decision to be serious with God is not for men of God, the decision to be serious with God is for saviours, provided you know that there is a destiny connected to you, it will Jack you up to say; “Lord reveal Yourself. That mantle and that auction that must land upon my life for the sake of my generation, I will pay whatever price it will take”.
For some of you, the Holy Ghost is speaking to you and saying, this is what I kept showing you in dreams. This is what I’ve been trying to tell you, that you need to stir your spiritual life because where I’m sending you to, the pace of your spiritual growth cannot build the stamina to stand before Pharaoh. Church Gist. Can I tell you the truth? What some of you called delay is not delay, it is that God has gauge you and seen that you are not strong enough to face what He is sending you to face. So He withdrew your progress to help you so that you do not collapse before Pharaoh because you did not build capacity.
We live in a generation that is obsess with admiring anointed people and just believing that you’ll just bring N1,000 or N5,000 and people just lay hands and transfer everything. Let me be honest with you; there’s a track record in the Spirit that you cannot buy with money. Church Gist. It is a track record you have to pay with God. You want a generation to hear you? It is more than the ability to speak English. There must be a hunger. I’m praying that something will land on someone this morning, that every laziness that will not allow you take God seriously and if there is any spirit fighting your spiritual progress, in the name of Jesus, I declare those altars are scattered right now!
There are many of you; you are the first person to rise in your family to this level, now you want to go down and allow the devil to destroy your family. God is counting on you and saying you are the one mama was praying for, twenty years before your arrival. The decision to make spiritual progress, when it is time to pray, you lock yourself and pray in tongues. Church Gist. Every day you are doing it, you are signing that spiritual register, the realm of the spirit is seeing you, demons are seeing you, principalities are seeing you; they are bearing witness to the fact that you are preparing for destiny.
PRAYER:
Lord every laziness, every laxity in the name of Jesus, let me go. A generation is waiting for me. I obtain grace in the name of Jesus.
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