Patience and Individuality

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. (Heb 12:1). One important thing that can be seen from this scripture is that when you exercise faith you get into the gear of patience. What you are doing in effect is that as an individual you are running the race that is set before you. You are not running in a race that is set before others or the race that other people are running. Instead you are running your own race. A patient person runs his/her own race. Through patience he has found his track, stayed on it and is running his race. The real test is whether you are going to follow through on the race that is set before you as an individual or if you are going to get involved in other things because of the pressure and distractions of seemingly lucrative opportunities that violate your conscience. The primary point in this issue of patience is that you must possess your own soul.

If at any point in time you start falling short in that race, two things will happen. The first is that the root of bitterness and resentment will spring up inside you because of what is happening in your environment. Many times resentment and bitterness develop from the fact that people compare themselves with others (i.e. the way they are treated etc) and if they think it falls short in any way they develop a sense of resentment. What we must understand is that in our individual walk with God that He will bring the challenges and situations that we require into our lives. God in His faithfulness will allow us to experience them so that our weakness (es) can be converted. God will give us the grace and opportunity to overcome them.

For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me (2Corth12:8 KJV). In this scripture we find Paul asking God to remove a certain challenge from his life. In answer God had this to say,’ my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ (2Cor12: 9). When Paul heard this reply from God he started rejoicing realising that it is in those areas of weakness that God’s glory rests and manifests more. (2Cor 12:9b-10) Those are the places that are going to become the strongest areas in your life as an individual, if you allow the entire process to work out in your life (i.e. let patience have her perfect work in you).

If a person starts a business and is struggling, he needs to understand the grace of God. When other people are moving ahead and growing fast if he takes pleasure in that current state and allows God to work, he will discover that the temporary set back and weakness that he has been exposed to will become the area through which the strength of God will be perfected in his life. This means that if the person goes through what they are supposed to and learn the lessons then the weakness will be removed and the strength, not just natural strength, but the strength of God will be made manifest.

The Still Small Voice

Text: Acts 12:1-15.
When you pray right about a particular thing you will hear the result before you see the actual manifestation. Remember Jesus said, ‘I will knock, who ever opens the door, I will come in and sup with him (Rev 3:20). What this means is that you will definitely hear a voice. When you respond to that voice by opening the door of your heart, you have walked in obedience in answer to prayer. The Bible tells us not to harden our hearts when we hear the still small voice. Do not look on the outside for results or answers, instead focus on what is going on within because this is where Jesus always begins His work.

He said, go forth, and stand upon the mount before the lord. And, behold, the lord passed by… (1King 19:9) this means that the answer to your problem is passing by in physical manifestation. This is part of the lesson God is teaching some of us. You can start a business a massive investor comes by and shakes the bank, and then you say the Lord has come, but God may not be behind it. That is why you can be talented and gifted but it takes experience to get certain things done. If you do not have experience there are some things you can not learn and as a result, you can not do them. That is why you have to learn in order to have experience, so that as things come your way, you learn. Do not get angry before the lesson is over. You can be gifted or talented but you still need experience. Don’t get angry instead learn.

According to 1 Kings 9:19 God was not found in the wind or earth quake but in the still small voice. In Acts 12:13-14 after Peter had been delivered, he stood at the gate and Rhoda heard the still small voice. The Bible exhorts that in the day of temptation that we should not harden our heart (Psalm 95:8). You will get to a place of temptation where it looks like nothing is working. At such a time the Bible tells us to come and bow before the Lord because it is at this point in time that revelation starts getting unfolded. You will start hearing the still small voice instructing you to make certain adjustments telling you this is the way to go, walk in it. (Isaiah 30:21) When you hear that small voice, even when people say you are illogical at what you are doing, you will constantly affirm that it is so because now you have something(one) within, giving you instructions.

The Word of God that you are confessing is transformed into the voice of God inside your heart. One step after another the still small voice instructs you in the way to go. It tells you what you should change and you must be sensitive enough to hear the voice and make the necessary adjustments. You must hearken to that voice because it will make you a steward forever.

Instinct and You

The real key to success is following that compass inside you. It is not about anything that anyone tells you on the outside that produces success. A lot of people are stuck in life because the system that tells them what to do and where to go has not been awakened as a result they look on the outside and copy what others are doing. If you happen to have a GPS system in your car and have already put in your destination it would be foolish to take any other route other than obeying the instructions of the GPS system. All you have to do is to listen to what that system is saying to you and then follow the instructions. The issue is to listen to the voice that is speaking within and follow the specific instruction for that particular situation. It may mean that He might tell you to get closer to one person, whilst He asks you to withdraw from another all this is dependent on the individual.

If you have not reached that point in your life where you have discovered the compass then one can say you are living your life based on external trends and formulas. The chastisement of God according to the Bible is to withdraw you from your own purpose and to put the plan and purpose of God inside your heart for a particular purpose/thing.

So once you start making the confession and warfare seems to break out on the out side, the key is to run the race that is set before you. You must find your true north and follow it. Like the shepherds that saw the morning star and decided to follow it it led them to the place where Christ was born. As an individual you need to learn to follow that true north. If you want to get out of the position of stagnancy you have got to be making your confessions, exercising patience (i.e. consistency) with a deep sense of expectation. The minute you connect and decide to live this way (i.e. to hearken to the voice of the Spirit) He starts speaking to you.

Learning for Growth

One of the speakers at the October Platform, Mr. ‘Demola Aladekomo made a very powerful statement i.e. ‘Start small, but grow fast.’ For him to say that, he knows that you can grow either fast or slow. He also knows the difference between people that grow fast and slow. In the wild it is not the strongest animal that survives, but the one that adapts to change the most. In line with this the person that starts small and grows fast, adapts to change. An individual who understands that his current smallness is because he does not know how to be big (not vice-versa) will learn and grow through the practise of what he learns.

This individual has understood that growth means fast-track learning and also implies that changes are going to be made. One thing about learning is that once there is new information that you need to learn, your spirit tries to communicate it to your mind. If your mind does not pick it or you are not listening you will start experiencing disturbances in your environment. Sometimes even your physical being, your muscle start getting tense. You may even find it difficult to sleep because the Bible says the spirit of a man sustains its body (Prov18:14). What happens is that it brings all these signals into your body and communicates certain information into your spirit, trying to tell you something about change that you only have to listen to in order to make the necessary adjustment.

That is why it is only the meek that can inherit the earth (Matt 5:5). There are changes that have to be made. This means the way in which you are doing things is not right it is time to adjust. This is the law of change. Once you learn (i.e. make the needed changes) the path of growth is assured and you will discover that the environment itself will seemingly propel you on the path to success..Pastor Poju Oyemade

Talk Right and be Rewarded

Any man that does not talk right, cannot pray right. Don’t bother praying if your words are wrong it is a waste of your time. That is why it is called the prayer of faith. Jesus said whosoever shall say to this mountain…(he shall have) whether in or out of prayer whatsoever he is saying (Mark11:23). God will never do anything through you without your faith. So if you want to involve yourself with God then your words must be right so that in the day of judgement - every idle word that you have spoken will not be used against you (Matt12:36). If you will consistently say it, you will find the seed that will get you there. You must protect, grow and develop your seed. Every successful man on earth has a seed that they grew from, but there has to be a life long commitment to that seed through your confession (daily conversations).

We know that the word is choked by what you say consistently i.e. things you desire of the seed. You need to spend more time talking to God. Start declaring those things and your heart will focus on them. Don’t let your environment deceive you. Don’t go around visiting, stay in one place and build your seed. If you build and focus on your seed you will stand out. When you are chasing other things, what it amounts to is simple disobedience. When God is involved with you there is one central relationship that is required to take you to your destiny, not many. One central relationship and connection that will propel you Joseph did not get to the throne by knowing many people. It is the seed that God gives you that should be the confession your lips. Put God’s Word on your lips.

Challenges in Growth

In order to grow, one of the laws is to avoid strife at all cost. The major key in getting things done or in fulfilling a goal is found in sowing. This is because there is nothing that is in existence that didn’t come out of a seed, nothing at all. Everything that lives today came out of a seed. You cannot have a physical manifestation of any answered prayer without first sowing the seed to bring about that form on the earth. The kingdom of God is as if a man (not God), will cast the seed into the ground and then God will cause it to grow (Mark 4:26). But the man knows that the first thing he has to do is cast the seed into the ground.

The worst you can do for yourself in the New Year is to surround yourself with hidden enemies to your personal progress. Try to separate yourself from them. You are not going to get anywhere if you hang around such people. It has nothing to do with sentiment, you must detach yourself from competitive people, who feel that they are in competition with you for anything. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herd men and thy herd men for we be brethren (Gen 13:8). In order to maintain the blood covenant, they had to go their separate ways. It is required that you are separated from some people in order to maintain God’s flow in your life. Abraham didn’t say they should separate because they were enemies, rather he said that if the family bond was to remain the competitive spirit had to go. When Lot and his family were in trouble he went to help him, so it is not that Abraham did not like him but he made it clear that he could not stay in an environment where there was strife.

It was after the separation from Lot that God told Abraham to lift up his eyes (Gen 13:14). Many people are not seeing because they are among people that have strife towards them. These people can be easily identified their body language and disposition towards you, tells you that they are not really happy with your progress. Eventually, your vision and the relationship you have with them will be destroyed. On the other hand these two areas can be maintained if you separate the two from each other. In other words you do not want competitive people around you or in your environment instead you need people that will support you.

This means that their heart attitude towards you is right. You do not know people after the flesh you know them after the spirit. When you are connected with the right people you will see the difference. You must get yourself out of any situation of strife you must surround yourself with people that are supportive and that you are in agreement with. With these people there is always positive energy.

Many people have so many expectations. Expectations that should come from God are coming from men and this is the cause of problem. Thinking people can help you but it is only God that can truly help and he can only help you with people that are rightly connected to you. There is nothing wrong with the desire for an increase the problem is the way and manner in which you go about it. Instead of asking and receiving from God rather you want to go about it by grabbing it from somebody else that has it. The law of peace with all men tells us that God will not take anything away from another person in order to give it to you.

Fulfilling a Goal within your Vision

You need to know and decide on the amount of progress that you want to make in a year. This progress must have an element of breakthrough inside it. An element of breakthrough means, that at a particular point you break into a new realm of life. It is not going to be the fulfillment of the vision, but it is going to be the accomplishment of a goal within that vision. The vision is for an appointed time, but you must know when the goal will be fulfilled. The vision will not come to pass in that year but the goal must come to pass.

God instructed Abraham to start from his current location. This means that you must start from where you are and not from where others are or where they think you should be. Avoid hallucination and face the reality of your current position. From where thou art, then lift up your head and then look as far as you can see, not how any other person can see, but as far as you can see in 2009 as an individual. You have to rejoice with everybody on every achieved goal and don’t feel inferior. But do not, out of a competitive spirit do what you know you cannot see inside, it destroys creativity. So, your vision depends on what can you see.

There is something about the way God created the world that makes the circumstances of life give to you what you have decided in your heart to happen in your life. Follow what you can see deep down in your heart and not someone else’s programme. This is reason you cannot be a financially successful person if you spend money the way other people do. Follow your own financial programme and financial goal. This is how the wisest people behave financially. If you do not have any savings you can not have a financial future. Your financial future is not how much you have spent but how much you have saved. Do not compare yourself with anybody.

The vision is for an appointed time and so there will be increase and during that period there is development and growth. One important thing you need to understand is that if everyone fulfils the demand of faith in the invisible realm, things will begin to happen and there will be more answers to prayers. This is because once that demand is made it sends out a signal, and then people start picking up the thought. Once there is a cry for more, the creative forces go to work and somebody is then raised up with the thought to meet the need.