SECRET OF PROGRESS: BE A THINKER (3)

May 16, 2010
Often our first look at any issue does not give us the first picture, rather does not give us the totality, the entire picture but the more we look the more discoveries we make. If you look at a man’s dress the first time you may see one or two colours but when you look closer you discover that they could be more than that. So don’t just give a broad look to issues. Look into the depth of the affairs of your life and you will have amazing discoveries. God delivers your life into your hand and tells you, make discoveries. That’s a whole bundle of success dropped from heaven. Make discoveries. So, man’s problem is not that he doesn’t have gift but he couldn’t make discovery about himself. Every good thing you see on earth here today didn’t drop from heaven. All were deposited in a man as inch of success, he now has to make discoveries by looking well within and without and gradually he will make discoveries by looking well within and without and eventually makes discoveries. God has deposited everything inside man. Man’s greatest job is discoveries for his recovery from his pains, failures, predicaments and stagnation.

Let’s begin to ponder! Let’s begin to accept responsibility, begin to think, to imagine. Look well to your affairs, look well to your going. Don’t be quick to draw conclusions about the issues of your life. Don’t be quick to say it cannot be done. Don’t be quick to say I don’t have time, well; this is an issue bigger than me. There is no temptation, no challenge that will come your way that God has not prepared you for, inside it. He will make a way of escape for you if you care to know the way. As you look well you discover ways of escape. Look well to you social challenges, your physical challenges, your health challenges, your material challenges, your family challenges. Look well. You have to be first convinced that you can find an answer to your personal challenges, accept responsibility. Ponder! The prodigal son pondered, I can’t continue like this, I have to do something, and he came to a conclusion, I have to go back to my father’s house. Something tells him ‘what if he doesn’t accept you?’ He said, well I will just tell him that, old man don’t accept me as your son but at least as a slave. He pondered, he had alternatives. If he doesn’t take me as a son, I will tell him to take me as one of his hired servants. At least I will be earning daily pay! Let’s ponder after alternative solutions to our challenges. If I do it this way and it doesn’t work I will do it the other way. You should even confuse the enemy by letting him know you have answers. While you are praying, be thinking and you will find the answers. It’s a new day for you! This month you shall surely go forward! SHALLOM!

FAMILY CORNER

SHOW THAT YOU CARE

Children need to be loved and cared for also. I have discovered that not only adults have emotional needs, children do too. Their emotions change as fast as their bodies develop. As parent, you need to be available for them, as you are the best person to meet their emotional needs. If these needs are left unmet, the children are likely to look outside for help, which may not be good enough.

You must learn to interact with them, hugging and kissing them often. If you don’t do it to them, some one else will do it, which may be disastrous to their destiny at large. You as a parent must be your children’s best and true friend but unfortunately, the pursuit of other things in life has taken pre-eminent of our attention. That is why it is easy for the devil to manipulate them into all manner of vises. There are many young ones who have questions about issues of life, but do not know who to ask. Make yourself approachable, and give your children the opportunity to ask questions. Also, ask them questions about happenings in their lives. Be interested in everything that pertains to them. Your children shall forever remain as a source of inspiration and joy to you all the days of your life and beyond in Jesus name. Peace!

YOUTH CORNER

BE ADVENTUROUS

The glory of man is revealed by his adventure. The beauty of a bird is not in its perching on a tree but in the air. The usefulness of an aircraft is not in being parked on the tarmac but in the air. The glamour of a ship is not in the harbor but on the sea.

Do what you are created for, to create, to dare new things, to venture.

You never get fulfilled standing on the same spot doing nothing. Your joy is tied to what you are adding to life. Adventure! Be on the move!! Add more to life!!!


PEARLS OF WISDOM

o Every time you give in worship, you give into plenty!

o When you let go, you become a “goal-getter”!




RIDE ON PROPHETIC WINGS

 You shall partake of the goodness of the Lord this week!

 This week, God will connect you to the ‘door opener’ of your destiny!
IN JESUS NAME!


CELEBRANTS FOR THE WEEK

1. Sis. Ehinlaye Monisade: May 16
2. Adekemi Emmanuel: May 16
3. Sis. Akanbi Bolanle: May 17
4. Sis. Alli Beatrice M: May 19
5. Sis. Ojo-Alabi Abiola: May 20
6. Aderogba Oludayo: May 21
7. Bro. Olayiwola Tunde: May 21
8. Sis. Adedipe Atinuke: May 21
9. Bro. Adeleke John: May 22


NEXT SUNDAY

MAY 23, 2010

 FINANCIAL OVERTAKING!


PRAYER POINT FOR THE WEEK!

FATHER, SETTLE MY CASE THIS WEEK!

DON’T SEEK SIGNIFICANCE!

Isaiah 10:15-16, “Shall the axe boast itself against him that… fire.” One great temptation with the human is to forget the source and begin to commend himself. The strength of the axe is dependent on the user of it. The instrument is at the mercy of the user. The keyboard is here but it can’t play itself. The axe is there, no matter how sharp it is, cannot cut down a branch of a tree. The instrument is at the mercy of the user. Anointed preacher, but the Lord giveth the Word. ‘The Lord gave the Word, great was the company of them that publish it.’ (Psalm 68: 11) He has title; he has degrees, but has no impact! Whenever you see the act of God in your life, remember to give Him the glory. You are just an instrument! I strongly believe that over-commendation leads to condemnation. Commendation is condemnation in disguise! The instrument is there but cannot perform without the user of it. Jesus Himself acknowledged this when He said, ‘I can of myself do nothing.’ (John 5: 30) And if Jesus, as close as He is to God, said He can’t do anything without God, I think I will be stupid to think I can do anything without God. I will be too stupid!

Please learn this secret, that in the secrecy of your heart; never praise yourself. Never let it even cross your mind that you are doing anything tangible. You see the heart of man is very drifty that he tells himself if they don’t praise me, I will praise myself. Never! It is the pathway to the grave. Constantly ask yourself why me oh Lord?

Billy Graham, (the great American Evangelist) said when we get to heaven and he has a chance to ask God a question, all he will ask is: ‘Lord why me? Of all people why me?’ Those are men who count themselves as nothing. He has had the privilege of meeting the most powerful key people all over the world. ‘Why me’ he asked? He understood he’s just an axe in the hand of a hewer of wood. I am just an instrument! I love the song that says ‘if you can use anything Lord you can use me.’ If you care to use anything like me, I am not the best of all men but if it interests you at all, if I ever have any comeliness for you to even look at me talk-less of handling me.

Never let it cross your mind that you are a specialist in any assignment. Never, because that will be your downfall. Never let it cross your mind ‘if it were not for me’. Never enter into the shell of commendation. I believe the greatest gift God can give a man is that of keeping himself humble. Oral Roberts said his grandmother used to tell him, ‘Oral remain small in your eye.’ Never see yourself as a significant man. Live your life as if you are not doing anything significant. Don’t feel as if you are doing anything special, don’t! It will help you maintain a sense of appreciation that somebody is behind you, using you. Those who feel too significant lose relevance because your attraction is dependent on the one using you.

Who knows there is an axe any where? Now after a tree is being cut, do they say an axe cut the tree? Who will they mention? The one who used the axe! Don’t let anybody find out what you are doing; let them know who is doing it through you. That’s how to maintain relevance; that is how to go forward.

A few years ago somebody climbed the altar and with excitement was sharing a testimony, he said ‘when Bro. Steves prayed for me…’ and some fellows were shouting, I said, ‘shut up, don’t shout a man down.’ The greatest of preachers still answer Bro. they call Graham, Bro. Graham. What have I done close to Graham? How many nations have I been to? Those who seek significance will lose relevance. Never seek to be significant, never seek to be popular. Never seek to be known rather seek for people to know ‘Him’ in the open or in the secrecy of your heart. Don’t enter the shell and say ‘well they don’t know my importance but I know I am important.’ You know we all have tendency for that. ‘Now I think they will know me’. That’s what the wife of Jacob said; ‘Now my husband will have recognition for me.’ (Genesis 29: 31-35 Paraphrased) But the hatred continued until she named the child ‘praise be unto God, Judah.’ If you don’t want to lose relevance don’t seek significance. The one using me is the one giving me a name. If you make Him known He will ultimately make you known, if you project Him to the world He will ultimately project you to your world!

This is the undoing of many people in ministry today. They forget the user and capitalize on the used and so the used becomes useless. When the used forgets the user it becomes useless. May you not become useless in Jesus name! We are all familiar with the story of how Jesus rode on an ass; after Jesus came down we never heard anything about the ass again. So don’t let THE MAN come down from your back. Keep your back readily available at all time both in the open and in the secret of your heart. If you let Him come down, your case will be worse than King Saul’s. Keep acknowledging Him. It is well with your soul in Jesus name, keep the progress walk on. Shalom!

PROGRESSING IN 2010

INTRODUCTION
You are welcome to a new year, the year The Potter has determined to do something new, glorious and beautiful in your life. I greatly rejoice with you. The potter is taking you forward this year, so read on and be mightily blessed.

Maybe you have been going round the circle all these years, God is set to break that stagnation via this teaching. Life is all about “PERSONAL SINCERITY”. Only the sincere succeeds in life. If you are more sincere with yourself, you will succeed more in life. The major problem of humanity is insincerity. Many are not sincere, that is why they are not progressing, as they should. You can never succeed more than how sincere you are in life. Self-deception is the mother of all deception! You can hide from the Pastor, your friends, husband or wife, but not from yourself.

One of the major criteria for personal sincerity is known as “PERSONAL ASSESSMENT”- What is also known as “SELF EXAMINATION”. Until you assess yourself, you may never gain access to progress in life. Sit yourself down and ask yourself some soul-searching questions about your life. Be open to yourself if the door of progress must open to you. Ask yourself some questions about yourself! Why Was I on the same spot all through last year? PERSONAL ASSESSMENT! Why are things not working for me as they should? What am I doing wrong that needs to be right this year? PERSONAL ASSESSMENT! Personal Assessment determines personal progression. You can never make progress more than how much you assess yourself. As a housewife, maybe your husband is always beating and slapping you, sit down and ask yourself some questions, “Why is this man always slapping me”? Is your mouth over working against your husband? “Why are they always firing me at work”? “Why has no man proposed to me yet despite all my prayers and fasting? May be you are not “marriageable”.

2 CORINTHIANS 13: 5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own self…” Don’t just be living year in and out, sit yourself down and ask yourself some truthful questions. Why have I been going to Church and yet not in touch with God? Put yourself before the mirror of yourself and critically examine yourself. What am I doing wrong that needs to be right in order for God to step right into my case?

There is a boy’s story I love so much in the Bible, many people call him the prodigal son but I call him the smart boy. This is his story according to LUKE 15: 11-23. The father had two of them but one day, he demanded for his own portion of the father’s wealth. He wasted the money and became broke and began to suffer and he sat down and advised himself on how to conquer his lack. His solution did not last, so one day; he called a “world conference” comprising himself and himself. Then he began to examine himself, where he missed it and traced his way back home, where he was welcomed, loved and honoured. He would have died if not for sitting himself down and tracing the genesis of his crises. Friends, critically assess yourself so that your case does not become too critical in 2010. Personal assessment bailed out the prodigal son from his predicaments. Whatever you don’t constantly assess will progressively decay.
You are the first accuse of your fortune or misfortune in life. People are fast in blaming others for whatever happens to them, when basically man is the architect of his fortune or misfortune. Please take your life very serious, whatever you have been doing all through for years and there is no positive result, sit down and think. Before you look upward in prayers, look inward! Before you call down fire on the source of your misfortune, be sure you are not the source.

PSALMS 90: 12 (Paraphrased) “Help us to weigh our progress with the number of years we have lived and if not balanced, give us wisdom to do better”. Those who are quick to accept blame easily find solution but those who shift blame, get blind to solution. The purpose of personal assessment is not for self-condemnation, but for positive motivation. This year, you shall go forward from glory to glory in Jesus name.