OUR PROFIT IN THIS KINGDOM IS TRACEABLE TO OUR ENGAGEMENT IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE KINGDOM.
THE MOMENT YOU STOP PRAYING FOR THE KINGDOM, YOU STOP PROFITING FROM THE KINGDOM.
YOUR STARTING POINT IS NOT THE MATTER, YOUR ENGAGING POINT IS THE MATTER.
WHEN YOU BECOME A KINGDOM ADDICT, YOU BECOME A CANDIDATE FOR GOD’S FAVOUR.
- Pastor David Oyedepo Jnr at Operation Change of Story, Prayer and Fasting,
Faith Tabernacle Ota.
Hallelujah!
Shall we lift our hands to Heaven and give thanks to God this evening, the prayer answering God, the One who always respond when we call upon Him; give Him the glory, honour and adoration. Celebrate Him from the depth of your heart; give Him the praise, He’s worthy of all praise, glory, honour and adoration. Father, thank You. We bless Your name, we celebrate You. You are worthy of all the praise, accept our thanksgiving in Jesus’ name.
Ask Him to speak to you tonight; Lord, I’ve come here for an encounter with You, speak directly to me by Your Word. Thank You mighty God, in Jesus precious name we have prayed.
Our Father, we thank You tonight for the blessing of Your presence. Thank You for the answers You have been granting to us from the start of this fast to this point; we give all the praise and glory to You. Lord, tonight our eyes are on You again, we ask that You’ll speak to us by Your Word and that Your light will transform our lives. Thank You Father for it, in Jesus precious name we have prayed.
Our line of exhortation for our evening Operation Change of Story Prayer Session has been:
KINGDOM ADVANCEMENT PRAYER IS EVERY BELIEVER’S RESPONSIBILITY.
From God’s Word, it is made clear to us that prayer is ordained to be the believer’s consistent lifestyle (Luke 18:1, 1 Thessalonians 5:17). But the prayer life of the believer is expected to reflect Kingdom priority (Matthew 6:9-10). Church Gist. So, the Word of God makes it clear that the priority that God has set for us in the pattern of prayer is the priority of the Kingdom first. Making the advancement of the Kingdom a priority is God’s design for our prayer lives. In fact, the believer is referred to in scripture as a lively stone built up into a spiritual house, to offer spiritual sacrifices to God (1 Peter 2:5).
What is a sacrifice?
A sacrifice is something offered at a cost to yourself. That means that, if the believer is a spiritual house and he’s to offer spiritual sacrifices to God, then what he offers spiritually must be at a cost to himself or to herself. It means that, our spiritual engagement is not expected to be focused on personal benefits, but rather Kingdom advancement. Church Gist. When the Kingdom becomes your priority, then God begins to decorate every department of your destiny.
- For somebody here today, the grace to remain consistent as a Kingdom advancement addict on the altar of prayer, I see that grace coming afresh upon you!
That’s why we have been told in the course of this week, that every believer is expected to be a prayer house; a house of prayer, a life that is continuously oozing forth with prayers and prayers in particular for the Kingdom (Romans 12:11-12). It is Kingdom prayer that can be referred to as Kingdom business and only when it becomes business-like in our pursuit does it profit us ultimately. Church Gist. That is why it is important for us therefore to recognize that this prayer priority for the Kingdom must be consistent and continuous. Anyone in business knows that the moment you stop trading, you stop profiting. In the same vein in the Kingdom, the moment you stop praying for the Kingdom, you stop profiting from the Kingdom. Our profit in this Kingdom is traceable to our engagement in the advancement of the Kingdom.
- For somebody here today, I see fresh grace coming upon each one of us for effective engagement in advancement of the Kingdom!
It is important to know that it is not just praying for the Kingdom but doing so with all of our hearts. The engagement of the heart in the advancement of the Kingdom is what count with God. Until your heart is involved, God is not interested (Psalm 27:8). It is a matter that must emanate from the heart (Jeremiah 29:13, 2 Chronicles 15:12-15). Church Gist. When your heart is involved, the hand of God’s blessing is released in your direction. So, it means that our heart engagement is vital (James 5:16). So the prayer that works is the prayer from the heart and that is why our heart engagement becomes a non-negotiable factor in the school of Kingdom prayer.
Let’s look at the example of an intercessor in scripture and see what became of his life as he continued to engage. We have the example of Paul the Apostle, who was a servant of Christ and also a great intercessor (Romans 1:1, Philippians 1:2). We are dealing with a man here who was clearly a servant of Christ, but what was the lifestyle of this servant of Christ? It was a lifestyle of consistent Kingdom prayer (Ephesians 1:16, Philippians 1:4, 1 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:4). He was a man addicted to praying for the Church as a whole and addicted to praying for individuals within the Church, souls and what is that he was committed to when he came to this prayer? (Galatians 4:19). So, we see him praying for the Church as a whole, praying for the congregations in various locations and praying for the souls within the Church and his target was to ensure that every one of them become reflective of the image of Christ.
So, Paul the Apostle was a man addicted to the altar of prayer and the prayers of Paul were not personal. He was not a man who was looking and asking God for bread and butter. No, he was a man that was addicted to the advancement of the Kingdom of God. No wonder this man started last but ended first. Your starting point is not the matter, your engaging point is the matter. He began engaging from the back and was catapulted to the front. Church Gist. When Paul was speaking about those who’ve encountered Christ, he began to mention them and he said, “and last of all He was seen of me.” The last to encounter Him, but that was his engagement point from there and he ended at the first. He engaged tirelessly until he became the first (1 Corinthians 15:10, Colossians 4:12).
Paul was a prayer labourer, one that was addicted to the advancement of the Kingdom of God on the altar of prayer. No wonder, Paul the last ended up as Paul the first. No wonder, Paul the small ended up as Paul the great. The greatness in him emerged as a result of his engagement on the altar of prayer and the testimonies we have heard today are very instructive; you heard an individual said that the husband was nowhere to be found, she was left with two children to fend for and it seems like there was no way out but she began engaging and as she began engaging, the engaging point took her from the back to the front. Not only was she confirmed as a star, she said, “now I’ve been able to pay all of my debts, I’ve been able to settle my children in school. I have enough money to pay for them for a year, I have enough money to buy land and build a house.” How did all of these things happen? Engagement on the altar of prayer. A prayer labourer will naturally end up as a high flyer.
- For somebody here today, I see that grace coming afresh upon each one of us to become prayer labourers!
What are we to pray?
We must continue to pray for fresh revelation from our pulpit. The Word of God makes it clear to us in Isaiah 2:1-3, the fundamental instrument of attraction in Zion is the Word and it is the greatest asset that we have because we live in a dark world (Psalm 74:20, Matthew 4:16). Church Gist. So, the answer to darkness is light and the light of God is located in the Word of God. That is why, the greater the revelation, the greater the attraction. There is a natural pull of multitudes when the Word begins to increase (Isaiah 60:1-4). The Goodnews is this; if you can lift up your eyes in the Spirit, you will see, that they will be gathering from everywhere, around Lagos, Ota and its environs, all the villages, all the hamlets and settlements and they will be rushing down to Canaanland within these seven weeks that is coming forth!
But what is the pulling force? What is that magnetizing attraction to them?
The light of God’s Word that decorates the saints will become an attraction to the World (Matthew 24:28). Anywhere the Word is, there will be the gathering of the multitudes (Acts 6:7, Acts 19:20). For us, increasing in revelation will require the engagement of the altar of prayer (2 Thessalonians 3:1).
As we begin to conclude this evening, let’s take note of this: no one serves God for nothing. Every engagement in serving God always procure returns and one of the things we must recognize is seeking first the Kingdom of God, endears us to God for favour. Church Gist. When you become an addict of the Kingdom, you become a candidate for His favour, God’s favour begins to decorate you and the favour of God is the answer to the slavery of man. When God’s favour comes upon your life, man’s slavery is terminated and that’s what happens as we serve him (Psalm 102:13-15).
- For somebody here today, I see fresh grace coming upon you to live a Kingdom priority lifestyle!
When you forget about your matters, God begins to call up your matters on His behalf. You see, what you forget about concerning you is what God remembers concerning you. When you forget about yourself and remember Him, He then remembers all that concerns you.
- In this season, God will remember you!
Lift up your right hand to Heaven and give thanks to God for His Word that you have received tonight. Lord, thank You for Your Word that has come my way, thank You for the light of Your Word that has come my way. I give You all the praise, thank You Master, in Jesus precious name we have prayed.
(Altar Call).
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