YOUR IMMUNITY AND RELEVANCE IS IN THE WILL OF GOD.
YOU CANNOT EXCEL IN LIFE WITHOUT A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURE OF GOD.
YOU COMMAND POWER IN THIS KINGDOM TO THE DEGREE TO WHICH YOU UNDERSTAND AND WALK IN THE WILL OF GOD.
- Apostle Joshua Selman at Koinonia on ‘DISCERNING THE WILL OF GOD’
(PART A).
PRAYER:
Pray and cry to the God of Heaven; I need You as a matter of life and death. Lord, we need You. Lord, we want You.
Father, we declare afresh again that we need You in our lives. We admit that without You, our lives are empty; we admit that without You, there is no future, we admit that without You, there is nothing we are able to do, for vain is the help and the strength of man. They looked unto Him the Bible declares and their faces were lightened.
Help us tonight oh God, change our lives even by the power of Your Spirit. Let no one return the way we came in the name of Jesus and whilst the Word of God comes forth, let there be healings, deliverances, supernatural manifestations of the power of God in the name of Jesus Christ!
Hallelujah!
Welcome to the house of God, this is Koinonia. It is not just the name of a ministry; it captures everything that we represent. This is the house of God, the place of bread, power, wisdom and His presence and I pray that God will do us good tonight in the name of Jesus Christ.
Koinonia is a global vision, this is not just the invention and idea of a man who seeks to do something with his life. If that is your understanding, you will miss a lot of things. This is not only an apostolic and a prophetic vision, but it is a global vision; it is global in scope. Church Gist. This is the reason why God does all the things that He does around the world. Why am I saying this? Because you see, in every church, ministry and in every vision, there are three kinds of people:
1). General participants – This includes well-wishers, fans and those who have and communicate goodwill towards the man of God and towards the vision. There is no commitment whatsoever but they like the idea that is being proposed by that ministry or that vision and if and when situation provides the opportunity, they do not mind receiving from that vision. There is no commitment whatsoever, they like the idea, they celebrate from afar what God is doing and they wish the vision and the visioner well.
2). Connected by covenant revelation – They include members and all those who are domiciled within the territory. There is a deeper level of commitment from this group of people, they are very intentional about receiving; they are international about seeing to it that they do not miss out on anything that God is doing.
Every time these sets of people come, they are coming for a meeting organized by a man of God and by a ministry. They are coming to be blessed but they do not really see themselves as part of the vision necessarily. They just know that they are principal beneficiaries of that vision, they are connected but they are largely connected only to receive. Church Gist. The scope of their connection and the scope of their participation is purely based on the fact that there is something to receive and there is nothing wrong with that. It is a solution center, that’s why God brings people.
3). Pillars – They are pillars behind the vision and the man of God. Their participation is not just to receive; when you mention the name of the ministry, they will answer because, for them they are not coming to church, they are not coming to hear from a man of God; they believe that they are active participants of that vision. So, when you say, Koinonia, they will answer you. They won’t say, “Apostle will answer.” They believe that, this is a vision God has planted them in the house of God and they are committed not only to receive but to make everything possible for that vision to stand, thrive and remain.
My assignment and my proposition for bringing this is to encourage us to move past the realm of just being general participants. The value that you derive from your life will not just depend on the job that you do, all of the personal plans that you have; the relevance and the fulfillment to your life will be derived principally from the degree to which your life participated actively in ‘Kingdom Come.’ Nothing else will give you the kind of satisfaction that participating in this ‘Kingdom Come’ project provides; not money, fame, promotion or education. These things are right but none of them sustain the power to give you the fulfillment that comes in knowing that you are actively part of it, you are a pillar in what God is doing.
Generally, as a person, I don’t commit myself in anything that will not provide me an opportunity to play an active roles serving, not necessarily leading, but serving. That’s why you don’t find me in many groups and associations. Church Gist. No, I don’t commit myself to anything from afar. It is either I am not there or if and when I am there, I am there with all my heart, not just intending to receive, but intending to be part of the reason why it works.
- My prayer for you is that, somewhere in the journey of your life, you will find something and you will find somewhere that is worth giving your heart and your all!
There are many of us here, you are involved in so many things in your life but you are not committed in anything. You are in this club, this group, association – everywhere; little but you don’t give any full commitment to any. Part of you is in your family, ministry, God, satan, men, culture and several things. It is better to be doggedly committed in a wrong thing, it will be easy for God to rescue you. It was very easy for God to save sinners because they were completely anti-Christ, there was no standing in the line and so, it was easy. Let me challenge you; you must begin to integrate your mind into this vision, that every time you come, don’t come as a fan; fans don’t receive anything. Don’t come as a well-wisher; well-wishers have no inheritance; inheritance is for those who are in the family, connected indeed by revelation from God (Psalm 133:1-3). When you come and open up your heart sincerely, primarily unto Jesus, but in honour to the structure that He has put, there is no limit to what God can do in your life.
The Church of God is not a place where people come to show titles, experience or bully people psychologically and spiritually with revelation and anointing. The Church of God is a serious place where God makes men, builds men, trains men and releases people with power and fire. When you are connected and go beyond the realm of a fan, well-wisher and somebody who just wants to carelessly receive, it will tell on your attitude as far as the ministry of the Word and the Spirit is concerned. Church Gist. So, when you come to the house of God, you give your attention, time and lend your destiny that undivided attention because God is about to speak. He speaks through men but believe me, He is the one speaking. You are listening for your word, the move of the spirit, wisdom coming to you and for impartation. At the end of it, by the time you are sharing the grace, you leave happy, knowing that your time invested in His presence was so worth it.
The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Church must be cultured to understand the modus operandi of the house of God and then, how to receive from God. Coming to the presence of God is wonderful but it is not enough. Your attitude determines to a very large extent, the degree to which the Spirit of God reaches and blesses you.
PRAYER:
- Lord, grant me the grace to be connected in truth and to be connected indeed by revelation. I obtain grace to not be casual with Your presence; You have planted me by Your Spirit, I submit to Your wisdom to change me, to build me, to make me, to raise me and to heal me. I submit to Your power in the name of Jesus Christ.
‘DISCERNING THE WILL OF GOD’
Ephesians 5:15-17
Not understanding what the will of God is, is foolishness, it is lack of wisdom. When an individual finds himself or herself in a state where you are unable to understand and walk in the will of God for your life, the Bible says that it is not a wise way to live. Church Gist. God has been dealing with me on many things and one of them is, He’s been putting a burden in my heart like never before, to really help the Body of Christ come out of a life of powerlessness and lack of result; an absence of genuine, consistent and ever increasing results. I am a firm believer in results; results validate that God is at work in the midst of His people, results bring glory to the name of the Lord, results are also evangelists, they can preach to a territory.
It takes understanding to cure the powerlessness of the Church. The average believer is still in confusion and even in frustration as to why we do not see certain levels of commitment from God and by God over our lives.
Daniel 11:32
“…the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits.” The people that do know their God, it never said the people that know God, it is their God. That means, it has to do with a personal revelation, it has to be your God, not their neighbour’s God, not their man of God’s God. As wonderful as that is, He must become your God – a personal revelation and encounter. So, the people that do know their God, they shall be strong and do exploits.
There are two things about God you need to know. The Bible says we should know God, but the desire to know God alone does not make you know Him; you have to understand the aspect of God that you should know. There are two principal dimensions of God you must know:
1). His Nature – If you do not know the nature of God, the devil will deceive and cheat you on many fronts and on many grounds. For instance, the Bible says, the Lord is gracious and compassionate, He is slow to anger and He is rich in love. Church Gist. That awareness about the nature of God will help you in relating with God without fear, that even though He is a warrior, lion and mighty God, you have to realize that all of those supposedly fierce attributes are not just for you. When it has to do with your relationship with God, there are names you should know about God that He is Father, He loves you; you are part of that family, He is responsible over you.
You cannot excel in life without a thorough understanding of the nature of God. There’s something about the nature of God that gives you security, even with the manifestation of the gift of the Spirit, there is something about the nature of God. Why are we not afraid of the arrows that fly by day, the noisome pestilence, the destruction that waste in noon day? There’s something about God that we know. There is something about the nature of God that if you do not know, you will accept anything satan and men bring to you about God.
2). The will of God – If you understand the nature of God and you understand the will of God, then indeed, you’re fortified with power, capacity and you are ready for exploits.
You command power in this Kingdom to the degree to which you understand and walk in the will of God. The administration of the power of God is not haphazard; just because you are a Christian does not mean you will see the power of God at work in your life. The administration of the power of God and the authority of the Kingdom is defined within the circumference of His will. Church Gist. That means, outside of the will of God, there is no guarantee for the power of God to work for you. So, when you see certain people in the Body of Christ and when you see certain people in the Kingdom, look fearfully powerful in deeds, results and words; it is not that they are intrinsically powerful; it is because the power they derived, is because they have been able to find the will of God and they have pegged themselves at the center of His will for them.
Colossians 4:12
Many believers continue to live defeated lives because they do not understand the concept of the will of God, nor have they placed value on what can happen to a life when you are at the center of His will. In this Kingdom, your immunity, relevance and longevity is in the will of God. Church Gist. If satan really wants to attack you, he finds a way of drifting you away outside of the will of God. The moment satan brings you out of the will of God, he does not need to fight you again. Your misalignment becomes a weapon against you.
Hebrews 10:36 – the promise that you receive is connected to your understanding and doing the will of God (Hebrews 13:20). On account of your determination to do the will of God, God will provide everything it takes; provided it His will you are going to do. No wonder in His will supply and help comes. If you are in His will, even a raven will be used to feed you. The most important thing is that you are in His will. God’s commitment to you is to the degree to which you are prepared to understand and do His will. (John 4:34, Matthew 6:10, Luke 22:42, Matthew 22:49-50). There are many people unfortunately who have found themselves in terrains, in life where it was inconsistent with the will of God. Many people drove themselves into various shapes of disaster. Let me tell you this; every time you are found in a place or doing a thing that has not been commanded by God, satan has legitimate access, because I told you, your fortification and your security is within the boundary of the will of God.
In the book of Genesis chapter 1, 2 and 3, the Bible says, satan was coming through the serpent to Adam because Adam was at the epicenter of God’s will; he was created and kept in Eden, the Garden of God. Satan was coming to Adam and yet, he could not touch Adam because the will of God was his fortification. Church Gist. Satan’s assignment was to cause Adam to deviate out of the will of God, in fact, there are a class of spirit today that the Bible says, their crime was that, they did not keep their original estate, they did not stay within the jurisdiction given to them. The jurisdiction of authority and power for a believer is the will of God. The moment you are within the will of God, let satan barks, make noise and do anything, he will not come near you, but the moment you are outside of the will of God, you are not safe.
John 5:30
It is risky and it is dangerous to be outside of the will of God. Your immunity and relevance is in the will of God. There are four keys that will help any believer to discern and to walk in the will of God:
1). A life of total surrender (Luke 22:42). God is not going to waste His time revealing His will to you until He knows that your heart is already prepared to accept what He brings. There are many people who go to God in prayer and they are not going to God in prayer to really ask of the will of God; they are going with their will already prepared and forcing Him to stamp it.
It is alright to have your plans and you desires, the things that you want to do but when you come to God, you must be willing; your heart must be malleable to say, “Lord, I am coming to you, frail in understanding. I do not know so much about my destiny. I can only stand to depend on Your wisdom; it is in Your light that I see light. Therefore Lord, reveal Your will.” When He finds out that your heart is ready, His Word will come. Church Gist. More than your prayer and more than all of these things, the state of your heart; if your heart is genuinely surrendered; what is the basis of your confidence that God’s will will not destroy you? (Jeremiah 29:11) – In the thought of God for you, there is an expected end. Because we are largely in the flesh, our desires and expectations are usually drawn from our carnal state and so, when the will of God comes, the will of God is connected to His purpose and His eternal plan even for you. It may not make sense in the short term but that is why it is God bringing it.
There are men of God who will tell you, they cried when God told them that they were called into ministry. Some of them, God gave them instructions and they cried as if they were returning from funerals and with tears from their eyes, they began to sing songs of surrender and they started; ten years, twenty years, thirty years and they are great people, celebrating the name of the Lord across the nations and people look at them and say, “You are so lucky.” Let me tell you this; walking with God is a risk. When God calls you, the assignment is ‘follow me.’ ‘Follow me’ means, trust me. You cannot follow who you don’t trust (Genesis 12:1). When God is revealing His will, He will never tell you everything. There must be a part of your followership that will necessitate faith.
There are many of you, you will never step into the experience of that which you desire until your heart is willing to be surrendered. Many of us, your heart is still hardened; “It has to be my way. God leave whatever you are doing and come here. It must be my way.” You must discern and understand the will of God. I remember many years ago, we were preparing, in fact, I was even considering at that time, moving to this same Abuja that we are now. I was tired of Zaria and I was on my way and I remember, I woke up in the morning like every other day happy; “this is the Lord’s day, thank You Jesus for what You are doing” and immediately, the Lord called me for a retreat and I went straight for a retreat and that was when the Lord told me; “That which I have told you, that Koinonia, now is the time to start it.”
Response: Lord, in Zaria? Yes Sir.
That from this place, the nations will come and meet you here.
“Where are the resources, how much do I have oh God? In this place where they can burn you anyday, they can come and ambush you?”
“Yes Sir, that is the place.”
Let me tell you something; you can argue, you can cry but obey. It may not make sense, it is a risk; a greater risk when you disobey. I remember that time, after that retreat, I said, “Lord, so this is it? How long will I be in Zaria?” No answer; “I have told you enough to start. In your obedience, I will meet you later and discuss. Church Gist. This is not the last time you will meet with me” and with the foolishness of obedience; the venue, where we will get the venue, because what I was seeing in my visions; I was seeing an overflow. I said, “Lord, where will this thing come from? The auditorium that we started using at that time, it was small but what I saw in my vision was an expanded one. I said no. I didn’t know that they will later expand that place and so, we took a step of faith; “Lord, if this thing fails, let it fail. At least, let it fail in Your hand.” I remember the first service; my first sermon was ‘Ancient Path’.
Through crisis in Zaria, you will think after crisis in Zaria, you will just pack up and say, “God, I am okay, I’ve tried. You too, You saw that I almost die.” No, right there and true to His Word, from that place, that lonely estate that He brought the nations right to that place; remarkable manifestations of His power and that will only be the beginning.
The destiny speakings of God does not happen every day. Discern the seasons of God’s speaking, there are periods when the angel came and stirred the water; it is not every time. Some of you, it is during your birthday, some of you, it is during the end of the year; you have to discern how God speaks to you. Believer can be so careless, when the season; there are seasons where His voice for your destiny always come.
I remember I returned back from a meeting and I just placed my head to rest in my living room and I started seeing visions of Abuja. I said, “No, God, what is this one again.” I had become so emotionally connected to Zaria, no matter where around the world I am, I will not be satisfied till I return back home. You will see me smiling as though they place a charm on me when I am returning back home. I had found so much satisfaction, I was more than happy to build and settle and serve God and then, the call came; three years, not just struggling in disobedience but verification. Church Gist. If you ask me, I probably will not say it is Abuja that I will come to; “Lord, where will I go?” Maybe Jos or somewhere or another nation somewhere. If you notice the flyer that introduced Koinonia to Abuja, you will see the map of the city. It is because the vision that I saw.
Let me tell you this; if it is the will of God ba, He will go so far to make sure your confidence, once your heart is ready to obey; Gideon kept asking questions, “okay make this wet and make this dry.” The angel did it. “Make this dry and make this wet” and he did it, provided you are going to go and fight.
What is surrender in this case?
The willingness to enthrone His will above yours, as a proof that you trust Him. The next chapter of your destiny will depend on your willingness, not just to hear God but to submit to His will. If anyone told you trusting God is easy, tell them they lied, they don’t know anything. Church Gist. You are not trusting God till you cry; if your tears don’t join you in that trust, it is not God that spoke to you. There are things that God will tell you that it will be like resetting your life again, it is like your entire life’s labour is about to be thrown to the drain. At the other side of surrender is glory, power and grace. Surrender, enthroning His will above yours. When your heart is surrendered, you are ready to do business with God, you will command power and authority in this Kingdom. The will of God is only necessary to those and for those who are surrendered.
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