IT WOULD TAKE OUR MENTALITY TO DETERMINE THE LIMIT OF OUR FAITH.
UNTIL YOUR MIND IS RENEWED, YOUR LIFE CANNOT BE REVIEWED.
EVERYTHING THAT HAS A PAY AT THE END, HAS A COST AT THE BEGINNING.
THOSE WHO ARE NOT WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE FOR THE RACE SHOULD NOT LOOK FORWARD TO A PRIZE FROM THE RACE.
THIS IS THE KEY – DISCIPLINE, DEDICATION AND SACRIFICE.
EVERYONE ON THIS KINGDOM JOURNEY IS IN A RACE. LIFE IS A RACE!
- Pastor David Oyedepo JNR at Covenant Hour of Prayer || 22nd October 2022.
For those awesome testimonies this morning, will you lift your hand to heaven and give God the glory, from the depth of your heart. He is worthy of all the praise and worthy of all the glory.
Are you thanking God this morning? Let your voice of appreciation be lifted on high this morning. Give Him the praise, give Him the glory, give Him the honour, give Him the adoration. He is worthy. Father thank you, Father thank you. I thought somebody was giving Him thanks. As we are appreciating Him for what He has done, we are securing His mighty hand for what we desire.
Therefore, give Him the glory. What a God we serve! Shattering barrenness, making timely provision. Will you appreciate Him, Father thank you.
Now thank Him also for the answers He has given to your prayers this morning. Particularly, knowing that He has heard you and being assured that He has granted you, your requests. Church Gist. Both corporate and personal. Thank Him for all that He has done.
Father we give you the praise, Father we give you the glory, Father we give you the honour and Father we give you the adoration. You are worthy of all the praise.
And now, begin to ask Him right now to speak to you this morning. Lord I have come today to hear your voice, I have come here today to receive your word. Speak directly to me this morning in Jesus’ precious name we have prayed.
Prayer – Our Father this morning, we have come to thank you for your goodness and faithfulness. Church Gist. Thank you for hearing us and for granting all of our requests. This morning our eyes are upon you. We ask that you’ll speak to us yet again. That your word would transform each one of our lives.
We give all the praise and the glory to your Holy name. In Jesus’ precious name we have prayed.
Somebody believe it, say a loud’Amen’. Give Jesus a big hand and please, you may be seated in His presence.
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord, I am more than a conqueror. Congratulations, amen and amen.
Our line of exhortations for this week has been – ENGAGING BIBLICAL MENTALITY IN STEWARDSHIP.
We have come to recognize in the course of the week, that in this kingdom, our destinies are largely a product of our mentality.
In the book of Proverbs 23:7, the word of God declares to us there, it says; As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. So according to God’s word, our thinking determines our living. Church Gist. Even faith, which is a fundamental force in the journey of destiny works only according to our expectation.
In Matthew 9:29. Jesus speaking, He said; According to your faith, be it unto you.
But in Hebrews 11:1. It says; Faith is the substance of things hoped for, and hope has to do with expectation.
Expectation is a force that is generated from man’s mentality. In other words, without your mind, it is impossible for your faith to work. While it is true that faith must be heart-rooted. Church Gist.
It’s also important that we are reminded that faith must be mind-motivated.
So it means therefore, that it would take our mentality to determine the limit of our faith.
That is why when it comes to spiritual journey, our mentality cannot be neglected.
Romans 12:2. The Bible tells us there, it says; Be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Until your mind is renewed, your life cannot be reviewed. Church Gist. It is the changing as it were of our mentality, that determines the change of our reality. So it means that, we cannot neglect the necessary mindset required to make the most of our christian adventure.
And in the course of this week, we have been looking at various mindsets that are required to make the most of our journey.
And this morning, we are going to look at one more:
That is the fact that; WE MUST POSSESS A RUNNER’S MENTALITY.
I will begin this morning by realizing that life in the kingdom is a race. Say with me; Life is a race.
In Hebrews 12:1. Church Gist. The Bible tells us, it says; Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, it says, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset us and let us run this race with patience.
So everyone that is on this kingdom journey is in a race. Life is a race!
When Paul was getting towards the end of his journey in the Book of 2Timothy 4:7. Look at what he said there, he said; I have fought a good fight. We all know that life like we have heard, is a battle field. But he said; I have finished my course. That’s talking about a race. He said; I have kept the faith.
And then verse 8; There is now a crown. Church Gist. You know, at the end of every race, there is a crowning. In other words, we recognize that life is a prize-leading race.
That is why Paul said; I press towards the mark. The mark is the finishing line. And why am I pressing like this? For the prize!
So it is a prize-leading race. There is a prize ahead of it. And that is why each one of us must be adequately motivated.
You and I both know, that the effort that is usually put in a race, is usually motivated by the kind of prize behind the race. Church Gist.
If you go around our various neighborhoods you will see children for example; I will race you, I will race you. One running against the other and they run but their speed is not olympic speed. They are running fast among themselves because at the end of that race there is no prize. But the moment the prize begins to rise, the seriousness of the race begins to change.
We are running a prize-leading race and the prize of this race is the prize without natural comparison.
In 1Corinthians 9:24. Look at what the Bible tells us, it says; Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?
So the prize of the race is not for all. Church Gist. The prize of the race is for the winners of the race. He said; they run all, but one receiveth the prize. So run that ye may obtain.
Now look at what he said in verse 25. He says; Every man that striveth for mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown. A temporary crown but we are doing it for something that is incorruptible. Something that is eternal, something that is incomparable. So we are running a race with a higher prize.
That is why Paul called it, ‘the high calling’. We are running a race with a higher prize. Church Gist. So it means that we must be willing to pay a higher price for that race.
The prize is higher so the price that we are willing to pay must be higher.
And is why it becomes important for us to know what it would take in order to win this race.
Now before we go further, it’s important that we are reminded that according to scriptures, we are meant to see that every vision demands a run for it to be fulfilled. So every purpose, every vision, every agenda of God requires a run.
Habakkuk 2:1-3. So at the end of it, it must speak. Church Gist.
So we are running a race when we are pursuing His agenda, we are running a race when we are pursuing His purpose.
But what are the demands of this race?
There are three critical demands of this race that we are going to look at this morning.
1: Discipline.
Say with me, Discipline. Say it louder, Discipline.
Discipline talks about control. Self-control, developing beneficial habits, self-control. Church Gist.
Discipline. If you check it, you will discover that every athletes must display control, they must have certain boundaries, they must have certain beneficial habits that they develop.
If we are going to win this race, then we must develop discipline. Church Gist. Spiritual discipline.
That is why the scripture says in 1 Corinthians 9:25 that; Now every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate or disciplined in all things. He’s disciplined in all things. They discipline themselves.
So it means that if you and I are going to win this race, we must be disciplined and our discipline is in every areas: Spiritual discipline, Mental discipline, Physical discipline.
These are all required for us to win the race. For example, we are told the Bible tells us in the Book of 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. So we must discipline our minds. Church Gist. Not every thoughts is permissible. The Bible tells us, it says; think on these things. We must discipline our minds, we must discipline our spiritual lives, develop spiritual exercises that you are engaging in.
We must discipline our bodies.
Those who run races knows that when you run a long distanced race, it gets to a point that strength is finishing and then, they have what we call the second wind. Church Gist. Wind is as if, you get to the end of your first dimension of strength and the next one kicks in.
You must learn how to push beyond the place of comfort if you are going to win the race.
These are all disciplines that are required. So we must engage in discipline.
He said; He’s temperate in all things: spiritually, physically, mentally. Every aspects, he’s disciplined in order to win the race.
Shout hallelujah!
2: Dedication.
Dedication talks about commitment. Commitment is usually displayed, a fast time as far as energy is concerned. Church Gist. You commit yourself to a particular course. That is dedication!
And we will talk about this dimension of commitment like God’s servant would say; it’s a deadly commitment, it’s a commitment that is winning to go the extra mile. Dedication!
John 12:23-24. So there is a dimension that cannot be experienced without our dedication, our commitment, our time, our energy, being put into our pursuit of God. Church Gist.
Please hear this; Following God would cost you time and Following God would cost you energy. If you are not willing to push those two into your pursuit of God, you can’t go far with Him.
It would cost you time. Prayer takes time, going for souls takes time, following them up takes time, following them up takes energy, going out on outreach takes energy. It would cost you time, it would cost you energy. But there is nothing that would pay you that will not first cost you.
Everything that has a pay at the end, has a cost at the beginning. Church Gist. That is why before a person enters into a business, they would tell you, they are looking for capital. Church Gist. Capital is a cost for the profit. You must be willing to pay a cost if you are going to secure a profit.
3: SACRIFICE.
Sacrifice talks about giving up something that is dear for something that is more important. That is sacrifice!
Romans 12:1. It says; present your bodies as a living sacrifice. So there is a dimension of this race that cannot be won without sacrifice.
Sacrificing yourself, giving yourself in order to get God.
Sacrifice! Church Gist. These are vital necessities, check every physical runner, you would see in them – Discipline, Dedication, Sacrifice.
Those who are not willing to pay those three, are not willing to win the race.
I was told a story some years ago that a particular nation decided that, they were going to create a swimming team for the Olympics. So they made a Recall on the radio for anybody that knows how to swim. And when the call was made, they said; Go to a particular hotel with a swimming pool. And when they got there, only one person came. So there was nobody to compete against. So they said they would take him to the Olympics. And when he got to the practice pool at that Olympics, he was the only one with his coach and then, he saw other nations were practicing. From the practice, he knew that he has failed. Church Gist. So when the day of the race came, he entered the pool and just went from one end to the other. There was no need racing with the others because he knew that he has already failed.
Why? The discipline required has not been carried out, the dedication required has not been engaged with, the sacrifice that others have paid, he has not paid it. So he was a part of the race but could not win a prize in the race.
Those who are not willing to pay the price for the race should not look forward to a prize from the race. Church Gist. This is the key!
Discipline, Dedication, and Sacrifice.
Stand on your feet to me this morning and call upon God. Ask Him for grace.
Lord, give me grace to pay the price in order to win the prize. I don’t just want to be a race participator, I want to be a prize-winner. Church Gist. Give me the grace to pay the price of discipline, the price of dedication, the price of sacrifice. Give me that grace this morning.
Lift your voice and pray from the depth of your heart. I receive this morning, grace. Grace to pay the price of discipline; physical, spiritual, mental. I receive that grace.
Grace to pay the price of dedication. Committing my self, my time, my energy, to your course. Give me the grace to pay the price of sacrifice, giving myself up in order to pursue your calls. Church Gist.
Lord, I that grace. Lift your voice and pray, pray that prayer both in the spirit and also in your understanding.
(Speaking in tongues). Lord, I receive grace. Let it be made available.
Thank you mighty God and blessed be your name, in Jesus’precious name we have prayed.
Prayer – As you have called on Him for grace, that grace shall be made available in your life. Church Gist. You will not just run this race, you will win the prize. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Somebody believe it, say a loud ‘Amen’. It is done in Jesus’ precious name.
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