IF THE CALLER MUST COME TO YOUR AID WHEN YOU ARE CHALLENGED, THE CALLING MUST COME FROM THE CALLER!
NEVER WALK ACCORDING TO THE TIMING OF YOUR FRIEND!- THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST EDGE THAT I HAVE IN LIFE!
IF IT IS NOT HIS TIME, IT CANNOT BE BEAUTIFUL!
MANY HAVE VISIONS, BUT ONLY A FEW HAVE MANIFESTATIONS!
VISION WITHOUT MANIFESTATION EQUALS FRUSTRATION AND STAGNATION WITHOUT KNOWING!
AND ANY PERSON THAT CANNOT BE REBUKED CANNOT BE REBUILT! AND ANY PERSON THAT CANNOT BE REPROVED CANNOT IMPROVE!
TO RUN WITHOUT A VISION IS TO BE RUINED IN YOUR GENERATION!
AT THE BEGINNING, THE VISIONARY SPEAKS FOR THE VISION AND AT THE END, THE VISION SPEAKS FOR THE VISIONARY!
THE FIRST FIVE MILLION NAIRA THAT WE USED TO START ANSWERS ASSEMBLY CAME FROM ME AND MY WIFE, WE DIDN’T BEG FOR IT!
ANYWHERE YOU SEE TRAGEDY, STRATEGY IS MISSING!
ANY KINGDOM YOU SEE UNDER STRESS, SENSE IS MISSING!
TO BE FOOLISH IS TO BE FINISHED!
PAY TODAY AND YOU WILL PLAY TOMORROW BUT PLAY TODAY AND PAY TOMORROW!
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO DESTINY AND VISION, YOU DON’T FOLLOW THE EASIER ROAD, YOU FOLLOW THE REVEALED ROAD!
IF GOD IS NOT AHEAD OF YOU, A HEADACHE IS AHEAD OF YOUR HEAD!
WAITING TIME IS NOT WASTING TIME!
IF YOU ARRIVE TOO SOON, YOU WILL ARRIVE TOO SMALL! YOU CAN ARRIVE LATE AND BE THE LATEST!
ANYDAY YOU SEE CONTINUITY OF VISION, THERE IS CONSISTENCY IN PRAYER!
THE BURIAL OF A PRAYER ALTAR IS THE BURIAL OF THE PRAYER WARRIOR!
IF YOU ARE WAITING FOR ME TO HELP YOU, YOU WILL DIE HELPLESS!
MY MONEY AND OIL CANNOT RAISE YOU! IT IS MY GRACE THAT WILL RAISE YOU!
WHEN MAN HELPS YOU, YOU WILL STOP WHERE MAN STOPS!
SO INSTEAD OF PAYING A HUGE SUM OF MONEY, I DIDN’T PAY ‘SHISHI’- THE PETER OBI SPIRIT OF ‘NO SHISHI’ CAME UPON ME!
IF YOU CANNOT LEAD YOURSELF, YOU CANNOT LEAD OTHERS!
YOUR VISION IS GENUINE BUT YOU NEED VISION HELPERS!
HEAR ME! YOUR BEING WRONG IS NOT THE ISSUE, YOU LACK HELPERS!
THIS BEGGING SPIRIT IS EVIDENCE OF A VISION WITHOUT HELPERS!
TO BE LAWLESS IS TO BE USELESS!
LORD! HELP ME NOT TO CRASH BY INDISCIPLINE!
-Bishop Wisdom Irabor on “PRINCIPLES AND PRICE OF VISION” || Answers Assembly, Warri || First Service.
Please, don’t be carried away! I want to give you the secret of this journey- This is my anniversary gift to you! As you go through this life, you will discover that life is a journey which we can call ‘a vision’! If you don’t understand these things, you will not be able to fulfill the vision of the journey of your life!
And that way, it will be as good as saying, ‘You came to this earth, you finished but you didn’t fulfill anything! Church Gist. So in this first and second service as we cover it in a short time, you will be able to know the ‘Principles and the price of vision’!
I pray that this gift will keep you as you journey through life, despite the vicissitudes, realities and challenges of life. Church Gist. May it become a compass that will ensure that God’s plans for you come to pass! In Jesus Name!
-Father, bless your Word! Use Your Word to change and touch lives. Let Jesus be glorified in Jesus Mighty Name!
‘The principles and price of vision’ is the topic. Habakkuk 2:1-4. How do I see what somebody is saying and know what to answer when I am rebuked- The eyes of vision! Church Gist. You will be reproved and rebuked! And any person that cannot be rebuked cannot be rebuilt! And any person that cannot be reproved cannot improve!
We need to write the vision, it is important! Most of us are running without vision, that is why we are ruined! Church Gist. To run without a vision is to be ruined in your generation! Everything is for an appointed time and at the end, it shall speak! At the beginning, you will be speaking for it but at the end, it will be speaking for you!
At the beginning, the visionary speaks for the vision and at the end, the vision speaks for the visionary! Church Gist. And most of you are afraid to speak on behalf of your vision- Nobody will do it for you! That book of Habakkuk is the expression of the visionary age of the Church!- How to encounter, receive and position yourself for the vision!
There is power in a visionary living! Answers Assembly did not start by emotions, emotions cannot take you to your destiny! Answers Assembly started by vision! Church Gist. Answers Assembly does not start by association, association can’t take you to where God is taking you to! It is one thing to have a vision and it is an entire thing to fulfill the vision!
Between having a vision and the fulfilment of that vision, you must understand the principles and price guiding visions! I have said in my own language that, ‘Principle is anything that makes a thing simple’. That is to say, if it is not simple, you are not following the principles guiding it.
Many have vision, but only a few have manifestations! Church Gist. Vision without manifestation equals frustration and stagnation without knowing!
What is Principle?
From the dictionary, ‘Principles are guiding rules in achieving a thing’. So when we talk about the principles and the price of vision, we are talking about the guiding rules for the fulfillment of God’s Vision for your life.
What is Vision?
Vision is the discovery of God’s plans for your life! Vision is seeing the unseen!- I am seeing it, others cannot know it, but I know what I am seeing! And since they can’t see it, they may not support what I am seeing! Church Gist. But myself who can see it, I will follow it because there is something that I am seeing that they cannot see! You know the vision for your life? But you must also know the price for you to pay for the vision to see the light of the day! That becomes the crux of the matter and aspect of this meeting- Paying the price for the vision!
We will be establishing the fourteen prices to pay, to see vision come to manifestation! Church Gist. I will take seven in this service and the other seven in the second service so that we can go ahead to celebrate the anniversary and thanksgiving which is the major aspect of our meeting today.
1.The price of receiving the vision from God Habakkuk 2:1-4. If the vision is not from God, the momentum and zeal will not also be from God. Church Gist. I have never been in need of encouragement to do this Work! It is a vision from God, not an ambition or impression! Not a confirmation or consensus, not a reaction or association! For a vision to be realised, you must be sure that it is coming from God!
Now let me shock you, if the one that the Holy Ghost said still came under attack! It means that for the Holy Ghost to say it does not mean that it will go well, it will still come under trial. Church Gist. Because it was the Holy Ghost who separated Paul and Barnabas, yet in the course of the Ministry, they still fought and separated. Acts 13:1 and 2.
It came to a point in the Ministry journey, they had a strong quarrel, and this one said, “Go your own way, while I go my own way”- The Holy Ghost said it, yet they still quarrelled, separated, fought and got prevailed by the enemy. Imagine if the Holy Ghost did not say anything, ‘they will die’!
Peter said, ” Jesus! If you are the one, ask me to come out of the boat!” Jesus said, “I am the one”, and Peter stepped out! His Calling came directly from the mouth of Christ! Peter stepped out of the water and began to look at the wave and he started to sink- The man who Jesus called by Himself! Imagine you who called yourself, the shark will finish you, you will die inside the river! Church Gist. That’s why you must pay the price, and know that this thing was received from Jesus! I didn’t form it! The one who Jesus called, he sank! Imagine the one who called Jesus! As he was going inside the water to die, it was the Caller that came to rescue him!
Imagine the one who out of zeal, just jumped out of the boat, jumped out of the Church! He won’t survive it! If the Caller must come to your aid when you are challenged, the Calling must come from the Caller! Church Gist. My Printer has been printing for this Church for the past nine years. He had also seen the things that I have seen in the past nine years.
Sometimes, he will call me and say, “Papa, Answers Assembly is of God oo”. You know when you produce a calendar, and you put twelve Pastors and the following year, you want to print another calendar and the Pastors have disappeared but the visionary is still moving! Church Gist. He said, “Your life and Ministry is a testimony of somebody whose vision is of the Lord!”
2.The price of the right timing Habakkuk 2:3, Ecclesiastes 3:1- The vision is for an appointed time. If it is not His time, it cannot be beautiful! Church Gist. For you to see the beauty of life and destiny, you must walk according to divine timing! Never walk according to the timing of your friend!- This is one of the greatest edge that I have in life!
Somebody travelled to a particular country and was making jest of the people who cannot travel. I have received nine visas to travel to that particular country that had expired- No time to travel! Church Gist.If I was not sure of myself and did not have this understanding of timing, I would have struggled!
Most of the things that you did and failed, you only emulated somebody, you were moved by envy and jealousy, it was not a vision. Every genuine vision is tied to Divine timing. Don’t go ahead, if God is not ahead of you! Church Gist. If God is not ahead of you, a headache is ahead of your head! Waiting time is not wasting time!
It is better to go late than to go too early! If you arrive too soon, you will arrive too small! You can arrive late and be the latest! Church Gist. Most of you are rushing to go and pray for your Lazarus, if He is not the one sending you to go and pray for Lazarus. After praying, he will still die! But if He is the one sending you, even if you met a dead Lazarus, he will come back to life.
They told Him, “Your friend, Lazarus is dead!” And He paused and said, “I won’t go!” He waited for a while! Which one is easier, to pray for the sick or to raise the dead? The one that is sick is easier! But when it comes to destiny and vision, you don’t follow the easier road, you follow the revealed road! The easy road can ease you off! Church Gist. It can make life difficult for you! The easy road can take away ease from your life!
3. The price of prayer. Every vision is delivered through the womb of prayer! In the last nine years, there is no day that we don’t pray in this Church! Minus prayers, they would have buried the Answers Assembly. Church Gist. We prayed to the point where we now introduce one hundred and twelve prayer books, covering different areas. Anything that you can think of has a prayer book!
Once I see a problem coming, I turn it into a prayer book! Daniel 6:10. That vision that God gave you, when last did you spend some time praying about it? Hebrew 4:16. Church Gist. Vision that came in the place of prayer can only be fulfilled in the place of prayer! Any day you see continuity of a vision, there is consistency in prayer! As busy as I am, I still prayed from 4 am-6 am today!
No matter how busy you are, if you are too busy to pray, your business will not work! The person who wants to kill you, is praying to the devil everyday but you that they want to kill, you are too lazy to pray! Nobody can bury you, until they bury your prayer altar! Church Gist. The burial of a prayer altar is the burial of the prayer warrior! Pray! They can’t kill your vision!
4.The place of the right direction Ecclesiastes 10:15. Bishop! If you have told me that my vision should come from God, why are you stressing me with direction? If I want you to become a Minister of Finance in Delta State- that’s the vision! Church Gist. And the direction is that, you must go to Abraka and read Accountancy, Business Administration or Banking and Finance.
Even if you hate Politics, you must join a political party where you will function as a Politician. And when it is time for them to appoint Commissioners, the vision that I gave you will just manifest. Something will just tell the Governor that this person read Accountancy and is eligible for the position. Church Gist. If you didn’t go through that direction, the vision that I gave you might be genuine but will never come to pass! Proverbs 14:12.
Your vision might be of God but if your day-to-day direction is not of God, it will affect your vision from God! For some of you, your vision is real but the direction that you take for the fulfillment of that vision is wrong! I have called you to start Answers Assembly but the direction is that you must go through Winners Chapel, you must serve! Ecclesiastes 10:15. You must know the step to take for the actualisation of your vision. Church Gist. Vision tells you where you are going to, but direction tells you how to get there without delay!
5.The price of the right strategy Luke 14:28. The first five million naira that we used to start Answers Assembly came from me and my wife, we didn’t beg for it! You know why? Strategy! Strategy talks about wisdom!- The idea and inspiration for the fulfillment of the vision. To buy this land was thirty million naira, the first fifteen million naira came from me and my wife before other people started to give. For 26 years as a Pastor, I have never worked anywhere in my life, I have not added anything to The Bible, I have only carried The Bible!
You know what? My strategy is failure proof! I knew too well that the target was the Answers Assembly, so I said to my wife, “We only eat salary, we save the Prophet’s offering!” Anytime salary comes, we feed the house, and put foodstuff everywhere! Church Gist. Even tithe for salary, we pay it aside from the Prophet’s offering. So for the Prophet’s offering, we save it for the future! Vision and Answers Assembly!
If you eat everything, you are not a visionary leader! And there is no future for you! If you said that God has told you something, what is the plan? Failure to plan is planning to fail! We paid for the hall and our house but we didn’t beg because the plan was there. It is either you suffer today and enjoy later or you enjoy today and suffer later! Pay today and you will play tomorrow but play today and pay tomorrow! Church Gist. I chose to suffer then as a branch Pastor! Imagine if we keep telling you about our house rent after nine years! You can imagine that!
Anywhere you see tragedy, strategy is missing! Any Kingdom you see under stress, the sense is missing! I said very humorously, to be ‘foolished is to be finished’. If you are foolish, you have finished! Church Gist. No foolish man had a future in this Kingdom! Wisdom is the builder of every Kingdom Proverb 24:3-4, Proverb 4:7.
I know the vision is from God, you saw The Light, you saw the moon and the storm, I know that everything God showed you is correct but I’m telling you the things that you must do for that vision not to be fake!
6.The price of discipline. You must be disciplined enough to fulfill your vision 1 Corinthians 9:25-27. I saw Proverb 25:28 many years ago and I was humbled, never forget this in your lifetime! When you see a city without walls, anything can penetrate and break down the city. If you cannot lead yourself, you cannot lead others! Business men, hear me! Church Gist. How do you lead yourself? By working under yourself! By putting rules that will punish you if you misbehave.
Who is telling me to fast? I fast all through this anniversary! Is it Bishop Oyedepo that told me to fast? Am I a branch Pastor? No! It’s a ‘Leadership Spirit’! If you don’t have this Spirit and you become a leader, you will crash! I iron my son’s clothes! Me as a Bishop! Church Gist. There are still some irresponsible fathers here who give birth to children as if they force you to give birth to them. That’s not where I am going to, but the angel just opened your file!
There are clothes at home that when your children wear them they appear as monkeys and as if they are the son of a mad person, because you can’t wash! You are angry with your spouse yet you are giving birth to children every year. Never take the quarrel of people that have children seriously! How una take born children? Did you rape yourself? You will say that you are not happy with that marriage. Church Gist. No! You are happy with your foolishness! That’s why the marriage is getting dead by the day but children are coming year after year! Do you pregnant your wife on the rooftop?
If you are not a leader, you will be making regrettable mistakes. Even mama knows that I operate a kingdom and palace where everyone knows that contentment is the rule of the game. I slept in darkness last night because I did not want to convert the Church’s fuel to a fuel for personal use. It is called discipline! I said to myself that I would rather sleep in darkness for a day than to sleep in disobedience for the rest of my life. Christ Gist. God must withdraw Himself from me because I don’t know the difference between my own property and His own.
-I pray that the Spirit of discipline rests upon you now!
7.The price of the right relationship Proverb 29:18. That your vision requires a team to be fulfilled. Your vision is genuine but you need vision helpers! Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. Church Gist. The reason why you suffer so much in the pursuit of your vision is because you lack the right helpers!
-Every vision that God gave you, may you not lack the right vision helpers!
I give you this gift- I have fought too many battles in this life that I didn’t fight any of them by myself, because people came to fight for me 1 Chronicles 12:22. I told you yesterday that I made a mistake on the road and I was wrong- I was rushing to pick my kids from school and I was in a hurry. Church Gist. There was serious traffic at that time on the road and while I tried to by-pass, they caught me and were about to take me to their office.
As we were going, I told the guy, “Let us settle here! Because where you are taking me to, plus your boss, friends and the street, they will join me to finish you!” He said, “Who are you?” I said, “I am a Bishop”, and he said, ” Even though you are a Bishop, must you do what is wrong? I said, “I have accepted my mistakes that I did something wrong and have asked you for mercy”. He said that he won’t show me mercy.
On our way, when the ‘street’ heard that a visionary leader was about to get into trouble, they came out! They carried the guy and threw him away! Hear me! Your being wrong is not the issue, you lack helpers! Church Gist. Even when you are right, do you have helpers to achieve what is right? I have fought battles in these nine years that minus vision helpers and relationships, I would have crashed! So instead of paying a huge sum of money, I didn’t pay ‘shishi’- The Peter Obi spirit of ‘No shishi’ came upon me! I can’t tell you enough stories of where people showed up and the devil shut up for me!
-In the next twelve months of your life, you will be interpreting the book of 1 Chronicles 12:22 on a daily basis!
They said that we can’t take this land six months after the agreement expired. At that time, we only had fifteen million naira to balance up but we had seven million naira, somebody who has not worshipped with us gave the eight million naira left- vision helpers! Church Gist. This begging spirit is evidence of a vision without helpers!
-For you and whosoever that is connected to you, may God raise helpers for your visions!
God gave you that vision, but as far as you lack vision helpers, you will suffer alone!
-From today, may the Lord give you men that will help your vision!
-Father thank you for the vision that you have given to me and for the men that you will arrange to help me!
——————ALTAR CALL—————–
If you want to know what it means to waste your life, don’t handle your vision very well! Just follow these things that I have told you- Fourteen prices that you must pay to fulfill your vision. Church Gist. I have given you seven of them, maybe I’ll leave the other seven in the course of the week when I have the chance to do it, then you follow it! Hear me, the fuel that I was afraid to take as a General Overseer, I used to have a staff who was stealing it everyday!
-Father help me to put myself under the law that should guide me!
To be lawless is to be useless! Some men will just have money, and that is when they will realise that they married a wrong wife!- That man should bring himself under the price of the right discipline! How does it work? Church Gist. You have to pray and say, ” Lord! Anytime that I have money, help me to love my wife and children!
The day you breakthrough, you break out! Otherwise, the day you start seeing money, you will not have any need for marriage! Somebody said something a few months ago and I love it! He said, “When women make money, men become useless to them! Church Gist. And when men make money, they will want to add a second wife, side chick and third wife!
If you are a woman here, when money is coming, you will tell God that even if I become Folorunsho Alakija, I will still tell my husband, “Good morning, Sir! Babe, how are you doing? Church Gist. I’m going to Aso Rock to sign a contract document, there is food in the freezer, the house help will help you out”- She is still under a man even though she is going to Aso Rock to sign a contract!
-Lord! Help me not to crash by indiscipline!
-For this vision you have given to me, I’ll not suffer alone!
Look at it today, we are doing a Love Feast but we are to feed about two thousand people. Church Gist. But my wife and I could only afford four hundred plates of rice and meat but somebody in the crowd brought the remaining plates of rice and meat! You can’t carry it alone!
-I give you this nine year gift, anywhere you find yourself today, people will gather to help you!
-Receive helpers for the journey of your destiny!
If you are waiting for me to help you, you will die helpless! My money and oil cannot raise you! Church Gist. It is my Grace that will raise you! When man helps you, you will stop where man stops!
#BishopWisdomIrabor
#AnswersAssembly
#FulfillingYourMinistry
#PrinciplesandthePriceofVision
#SupersonicSunday
#6th November 2022
#ChurchGist
