PRESERVING POSTERITY 3 – Transfer of the Blessing

“And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:29

God  blessed Abram and Abraham sowed and prospered in wealth,he was the wealthiest man in the middle east,he maximised the blessing and worked and prospered.We see the continuity of this wealth in Abraham’s lineage,and his seed Isaac was also blessed,he received the blessing and he sowed in the land that he was in and prospered in a hundred fold.
He received from God what made Abraham thick,the blessing.Also in the life of Jacob also received the blessing in his life and he was a prosperous man,such that whatsoever the put their hands to do they were blessed,it was a transfer that changed their lifes entirely,they were also blessed.

THE BLESSING
When God called Abraham he told him I will bless you and make you a blessing and I will bless everyone that comes from your lineage.We need to understand the difference between the blessing and blessings or a blessing.
The word blessings speaks of the result of been blessed,we must not confuse it for the blessing,the blessings are what follows a blessed man.
Abraham was blessed,the word translated Bless in the old testament in Hebrew is Barak meaning to knee before,to bless,to Adore,so when the bible says and God blessed Abraham it means that God adored Abraham,knelt before him,that would imply that God must have put in Abraham a quality that only God possessed,that made the difference in Abraham’s life,that is what resulted in the wealth that Abraham enjoyed why here on earth,that there was no record of Abraham ever broke,no his lineage.
That same quality was transferred to Isaac and Jacob that they lived in wealth all their lives,they were never broke.When we talk about the transfer of wealth,I don’t mean money,houses,land and all of that but the transference of what makes you thick,a quality that can make the difference in the life of those that will come after you,it’s a spiritual activity.
If it was all about physical transfer,why did Isaac still have to sow in the land,he could have lived on what his father gave to him without stress,but he sowed and he prospered even more,he had what made his father thick,I would like to call it the transfer of an anointing,the transfer of the Spirit.It totally changed his life,such that when he dug wells and the well was stolen he never struggled with the people he knew what he had on the inside it was able to produce more wells.
We see in the life of Jacob that he propered also,because of the same anointing on his life,even if he had flaws yet he prospered in whatever he did,yes he got the birth-right of Esau because of Esaus carelessness but he didn’t steal the blessing,we need to understand the difference between the blessing of the first born that came with the law and the blessing on Abraham.

THE BIRTHRIGHT AND THE BLESSING OF ABRAHAM
The birthright was a blessing you receive as a result of been first son and this had nothing to be in the lineage of Abraham,but Jacob got Abrahams blessing and the blessing of the first son,Esau lost his birthright,people say he was cheated,I don’t agree,Jacob didn’t cheat Esau,but Esau had no value for that birth-right,he valued more the immediate satisfaction of his belly,to the eternal blessing he would receive as first child,but he lost it forever,he chose his belly over the blessing and a lot of us do that even today by the choices we make.
Though the bible records in Hebrews that he sort for it with tears but he never got it back,it was irrevocable Jacob told him,but he still sort for it,there are some things once we loose we would never get it back,ever again,some of us are restricted because we lost some opportunities and we can never get it till we die.
Jacob prospered,to prove to you that even Esau didn’t loose the blessing the bible recorded that he was a very prosperous man,when Jacob met with him to make peace he was already a prosperous man and didn’t need Jacobs gifts.So we a flow of this blessing that produced blessings on their lives.
But we read in scriptures that God told Abraham that through his seed not seeds shall all nations of the earth be blessed,that spoke of Jesus being his seed,Jesus became the extension of that blessing that made Abraham thick and even more to us,if Jesus had not come,we would not be able to access that blessing on Abraham,it would have ended with those in his lineage,but the Bible says that in christ we can enjoy the blessing not blessings of Abraham.
Reuben Jacobs first son lost the second portion of his birth-right to Joseph because he despised his father by sleeping with Jacobs concubine,Jacob took it and gave it to Joseph.
Joseph was favored and blessed such that even what he went through the bible records that the lord was with him and he enjoyed the blessing of God o his life,though he was a great grand son of Abraham,we see him prospering in all he did and those he had contact with saw the blessing of God on his life,that he became a ruler in a foreign land,he was blessed.

IN CHRIST THE TRANSFER TO US.
So what made Abraham thick and rich in all ramification is ours when we receive Jesus as lord and personal saviour.We areceive the blessing of Abraham through christ in the form of the anointing,the holy spirit.
Anyman who is in Christ is blessed in the same way and more than our father Abraham,through Christ we have access to the blessing and the gift of the Holyspirit that they never had,this gives us access to all of God.
Jesus had to give his life for this to be possible,he became poor so that we can be rich,all we need to do is to walk into this through the faith we receive when we accept Jesus as lord and saviour,you access the blessing and the power to make wealth.The believer is blessed,with all blessing,we don’t need anything else,all you have to do is put your hands to work and you will see the manifestation of the blessing in your life.
The blessing is in us already as a seed,imagine that you should never be broke again in your life,there is so much in you than you could ever imagine,there was no record of Abraham or Isaac or Jacob or Joseph broke and begging,nor do we ever see Jesus,who is the exact reporesentaion of God broke or begging,put your hands to work by faith,it should flow,its natural,you don’t struggle for it to flow,it’s a natural flow,through Christ Jesus.
The blessing of Abraham through Christ Jesus,is yours already,this is the cure for poverty and been broke,you can never be broke another day of your life,it’s a reality if we follow God,the world has a system,but this is a spiritual transfer that takes place once you receive christ Jesus.The blessing of Abraham is yours and much more through christ Jesus.
The blessing is accessed through faith in Christ Jesus but the blessings can only come when we apply some work to our faith.

scriptures : Genesis 12:1-3;Genesis 25:29-34; Genesis 26:13;Genesis 30:43;Genesis 33:11;Deuteronomy 21:17;1Chronicles 5:1-2;Galatians 3:16,29;Hebrews 12:17KJV(king James version)

THE JOURNEY CALLED LIFE

Life is a journey,a journey we must all embark on,its not a journey we choose to take,but one we must take.The journey of life is sometimes rough and tough and sometimes very sweet and enjoyable.We are young today as we embark on the journey we grow and get older.In this journey me make friends and loose them,we also make some enemies.Some die on the way,some grow old with us and continue in this journey.
Life is a continuous journey,it never really ends,even after we die we continue in another life.Life is full of laughter and tears,today we are happy and the next we are sad.In this journey we fall in love and out of love,we make mistakes and have some success,we have accidents and we are safe and protected.
This life, full of fun,faith and fear,this life full of hurts and happiness,this life full of smiles and sadness,what a life.But I have learnt in this journey that people come in your life and suddenly they are no more,maybe they have fights with you and don’t want to be with you any more or death takes them away.
Death is a part of life,we have all come into this world and we will all leave it,today you are young and you never think you will get old and then suddenly you notice one gray hair and you are not as strong as you used to be,before you know it the back aches appear,your strength starts to fade away,soon the ones you love die and you are all alone,what a life.
I am awakened with the awareness that I am not getting younger,I realise that I don’t have much time in this journey,I have so much to do and need to increase my speed,I have no time to waste,now is the time to do all you ever want to do.
You choose to be happy or sad,we sometimes put our happiness on some event or on people,we allow people to determine whether we are happy or not,but I have learnt that life will not always be sweet but our happiness is a choice we must make,you can depend on others to make you happy,or you choose to be happy.
Life is not as long as we make it seem,life is so short and time waits for no man,no matter your state or situation be determined to be happy,as you live this short life here on earth,don’t wait for others to be the source of your happiness,but find happiness in your self.
Live your life fulfilling your God given purpose,make the most out of all your potentials,stay happy with your family and love your own wife,don’t complicate your life with lust for things and don’t be covetous,make a life with what you have,affect those people around you and put smiles on the faces of others,give more to others than you gather,because when you finally die,you will not take anything out of this world.
A mans life does not consist of the things that he possess,yes work hard and create wealth for you and your family,but don’t build your family's happiness on things that can be seen but build it on those things that can’t be seen,when they think of you they should remenber the joy and laughter you brought to them,spend time with your family,quality time.
Finally you have just one life,live it to the fullest,be happy,please God,serve humanity,love your family,love your wife,be a blessing to others and help make this world a better place,so that when you are finally gone,you will be remenbered for good and you would have left a name and a legacy for your children that money can’t buy.

PRESERVING A POSTERITY 2

“For, is there a posterity? Then thy hope is not cut off.” (YLT)Proverbs 23:18





lets just briefly see men who gave themselves to preserve posterity,they gave all for the future to be preserved,because without a posterity,no hope for us.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Men have given their lives for posterity to be preserved,sacrificed their families and relationships just for the future to be secured.The late Martin Luther King Jr. gave all for the black Americans to have some dignity,today because of the sacrifices of Martin Luther King and other patriachs blacks and whites have equal rights,today a black man sits in the white house as president,posterity was presrved.
Nelson Mandela
The great Nelson Mandela,was willing to give his life,so that south Africa will be free of black supremacy,he and others gave themselves and families just to secure the future and freedom of the Black africans of south Africa,he was tortured and arrested many times,but today all south Africa is free,whether white or black,they stand equal.
Joseph – Genesis 37
Joseph as we read in the book of Genesis,was betrayed by his own brothers,who felt that his dreams was a threat to their ambitions, not knowing that his dreams will be what will secure their future and their childrens future,they tried to kill him,because they felt he was a threat,they sold him to marchants who took him to Egypt and traded him to portipher a rich egyptian,not knowing all this was in Gods plan and purpose for him.
He was accused and jailed because he refused to sleep with the wife of his master,but in the prison he met with what would change his life forever,he interpreted the dreams of a fellow prisoner,that prisoner was released back to office as pharoah the kings servant,that same servant God used to create the opportunity that brought Joseph before pharoah.
The problems you solve will be the means by which God will bring you to fame and wealth.If Joseph had refused to help,he would have missed it totally.He helped a prisoner,not a great man,sometimes its those things and people that we consider as nothing that God will use to bring us to fame.
He solved pharoahs problem,he interpreted his dream and he interpreted his way to greatness,who would have imagined that his brothers would meet with him again,Joseph that they thought was dead,but there was a divine hand orchestrating all this,suddenly there was famine in the land of Israel,they had to go to egypt for food,not knowing they would meet their lost brother there,the same Joseph they tried to kill,turned to be the same guy who helped them in egypt,like he said “don’t be afriad,God sent me ahead to preserve a posterity for you.”
They would never have imagined that this was Gods plan,they thought they had gotten rid of him,but he went into their future and was waiting for them,it was all of Gods divine plan.But Joseph kept his attitude,kept his faith in God in the midst of all the years of pain,he understood Gods purpose and had no room for hurt,he forgave his brothers already.
Jesus the Christ
Jesus came to this world to bring us back to God,to save us from the pending destruction that was hanging over our heads.He left all of glory,dropped all the royalty and took the form of a man,because humanity had to be saved and posterity had to be preserved.
He came as a man,flesh and blood like us,was born to a simple family,to the family of Joseph a carpenter,Jesus grew to be called the carpenters son,anointed by God to carry out Gods purpose to save humanity.
He was accused by those he called his own,he was insulted,they tried to murder him sevearl times but he escaped,he brought good but he was rejected,just like Joseph whose brothers rejected him because of jealousy,they said,”is this not the carpenters son,how come he is this anointed” they couldn’t accept him.
He was betrayed by his disciple Judas Iscariot,denied by peter and was arrested,beaten,spat on,mocked and finally hung on the cross,all this was also in Gods plan,because only through his death would humanity be saved.
Amazing the death of one the life of another.Jesus is the reason,why we have life today,he died and rose again on the third day,for if he had not risen from the grave,the whole plan would have been a failed one.He gave all,so that we could have the opportunity to return to God and be accepted,because of the shedding of his blood.
All of this shows to us that in preserving posterity,there is sacrifice to be made.You can not make any difference without loosing something.You loose something to gain another.Preserving posterity is Gods total plan for humanity,he is a posterity conscious God.
We must make deliberate effort in other to leave a legacy for others,realise that you will not remain in this world forever,some day we will grow old and die,but what legacy would you have left for generations to come,when your childrens children see your picture,after you have long gone, will they look at it and kiss it and hold it to themselves in joyous appreciation or spit on it and say shame?,the choice is yours.
We are living not for our selves only but for others,we are blessed not for us only but for others,blessed to be a blessing.
watch out for part 3.

PRESERVING A POSTERITY PART 1.

 

And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.Genesis 45:7

 

When we talk of posterity,we speak of future generations or a persons descendants.Leadership that does not have posterity in mind is a failed leadership.Preserving Posterity is the basis for todays leadership.Posterity prepares the future today.There can not be success without a succession.A leadership or government would be called a failed one without a succession.

Marriage is Gods idea to bring about reproduction,and the reason of reproduction is for continuity.God is a God that works with posterity in mind.Families work so hard to raise good children because the parents think about the future of their children,we work hard,try to build a fortune,not just for us but for our children.

A wealth without Posterity is actually failure in it self.Every king wants to have a son,so that they can have someone to hand the throne over to for continuity sake,and even if a man has all the wealth of the world and has no child to continue from where he stops,he is totally an unhappy man,the question is who will take over?

That’s why I teach that God gives a vision and puts a passion in the heart of a man for posterity’s sake,our vision and purpose in life is bigger than us,if we can see the big picture,generations after should be involved in the discovery of your purpose,there is a generation that will be saved when you discover your purpose.”The creation waits eagerly for the manifestation of the sons of God” Romans 8:19.

Gods call toward posterity

God called Abram out of his fathers house and kindred and tribe to a land that will be shown to him.Genesis ,with a promise that he will bless him and make him a blessing,that Abrams name will be great and that his covering is on him.Genesis 12:1-3.

Abraham obeyed God being a faithful man without asking any questions.God called him to a higher call,a call that was certainly higher than him,he obeyed God without asking questions,at this point he didn’t have a very clear picture of the call,he just knew he was called by God and he had to obey him.Genesis 1:4.

Only as he took the first step did God further explain to him the content of the call.Sometimes as a result of fear we ask too many questions,but until you take the first step in obedience,he may not give you the next instruction.

Again in  Genesis 12:7,God told Abram,making the call clearer “To your offspring(seed) I will give this land”.Making it clearer,when God spoke to Abram first,it was about Abram,but now he begins to make it clearer,your Seed.Now its beginning clearer that God had a long term plan,that doesn’t concern only Abram but also his seed.

The hebrew for the word seed is Zera,meaning offspring,descendants posterity.So what God was saying is that he will give Abrams posterity the land.Now Abram is getting to understand bit by bit what God is up to,he followed God because he knew God was the master planner.To confirm Abrams confidence in God,”he built an altar there unto the lord,he worshipped God there,even before it was fulfilled.

Then Abram continued his journey,the next time God spoke to him again was in Bethel,Abram had become wealthy and his herdsmen and lots herdsmen had a confusion,so for peace to come,he asked lot that they separate,lot also had become wealthy,when you associate on a man called,whats on him will certainly rob off on you,positive or negative.

Abram asked lot to choose where he would like to go and lot made his choice and left.Now Abram was alone,in the land of canaan,but God only spoke to him after he was seperated from lot,there are somethings we must drop,before the next level,every experience with God breeds a new level,so for level three to occur Abram had to be seperated from lot.

In Genesis 13:14-18,God spoke to Abram and said,”Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south,east and west.All the land that you see,I will give to you and your offspring,forever.I will make your offspring like the dust of the sea,so that if anyone can count the dust,then your offspring could be counted.Go walk through the breath and length of the land and I will give it to you”

I notice a progression here,at first he blessed Abram and then he told Abram about his promise for his seed and now he lets Abram sees how his actions today will affect his posterity.He told Abram “look up as far as your eyes can see,will I give to your offspring as inheritance”.

We need to understand that our actions today affects our posterity,the foundations we lay today will affect our children to be born,we must be careful,our choices goes beyond us but will affect the lives of others,our posterity.God pinned the prosperity of his posterity on how far he can see,here he was talking about physical sight,he was talking about having a vision for posterity.

The Bible says a good man leaves an inheritance for his childrens children Proverbs 13:22.That means only a bad man will plan not to leave an inheritance for his childrens children,that is two generations after him,what is your plan for posterity,how do you lives your life,just for you and you alone,only for now and you don’t think about tomorrow.

I had a teacher,who taught me mathematics,I remenber he used to say,you only have one life,enjoy all you got cause you might die today,he doesn’t think about anyone else but himself,he has no savings,once he receives his salary he spends it all on alcohol and gets drunk,that is a man without any plan for posterity.

The decisions you make today,affects not only you but your posterity,what are your plans,do you have a vision for today and tomorrow,what are you doing now to secure a future for your children children?

The father of the prodigal son was a good man,because he already had an inheritance for his children,but his son who was careless,took all he had and squandered it,and that’s how some of us leave our lives,we are squandering our future today,you live life without a plan or a vision for your life or plans for your children yet unborn.

What seeds are you sowing for your children yet unborn,God told Abram as far as you eyes can see,now Abram had to stand up and look very far,because he knew God was able to do just what he said.Notice at this time Abram and his wife Serah was childless and past the age of child bearing,but they acted on faith,on what God had said.

You don’t have to be with child first before you sow ,start palnning and sowing now before you have them,because a man without a plan has set the stage to fail,get that language of when we get to that bridge we will cross it,be smart,you are to prepare a place for posterity now,take hold of the future now,don’t wait and stop the procrastination.

After many years Abram was tested by God,and he passed the test,he obeyed God again,this was the test that broke the carmels back,the sacrifice of his only son,Isaac.which was a pointer to what was going to happen in the future,God was pointing to the fact that he was going to give his only begotten son Jesus as a sacrifice to save mankind.

Because of Abrams obedience and willingness to sacrifice all.God was moved to do something he had not done before in all the encounters with Abram,he swore by himself,confirming the promise.But he didn’t only re-assure Abram of his promise but gave him an insight of the big picture which is “and through your offspring shall all nations of the earth be blessed”Genesis 22:18,he wasn’t speaking of Isaac or jacob or Joseph or the others but he was speaking of Christ Jesus,through whom all nations of the earth will be blessed.

In Pauls letter to the Galatians he explained further, “the promises where spoken to Abram and to his seed,the scripture does not say, “and to seeds”, meaning many people,but to your seed,” meaning one person,who is Christ” Galatians 3:16,God already had in mind the coming of Christ Jesus to save humanity,but he had a plan and he followed the plan accordingly.

Every step of the way he had a plan,and everything that took place lead Abraham to fulfillment of that plan.If our God who is sovereign can do this,who are we not to follow suit,we live life without a plan,without a focus,where are we heading for?

Today we are enjoying the fruits that the actions of Abraham produced,that the bible says that,the blessing is ours today because of Abrahams faith and belief in God.Imagined if Abraham had done otherwise.

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written,  “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” ),that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.Galatians 3:13-15

We can now be partakers of the blessing of Abraham,that we might receive the promise of the Holy Spirit by faith,without working for it,but the sacrifices of men before us.

watch out for Part 2.

OUR LIVES GODS BUILDING

A traveler comes across three bricklayers on a scaffold. The traveler asks the first one, "What are you doing?"

The first responds, "I am earning a wage."

The traveler then asks the second one, "What are you doing?"

The second responds, "I am building a wall."

They are doing the same "work." Which of the two is laying the better brick?

The traveler then asks the third one, "What are you doing?"

The third responds, "I am building a cathedral." Harris Kern

The story illustrates to us the power behind understanding the big picture on the everyday of laying bricks.But how does this story affects us.Its important that we understand that our lives is like a building in progress but no building is ever completed by one man,it’s a combination of the efforts of each worker that will bring about the completion of the building.

The bible makes it clear to us that we are Gods building,and that he is building us for his habitation.

The Blueprint

Before anyone starts a building he must first have a mental picture of the structure, from that mental picture , the architect can make the blueprint that will be used as guide for the building.No building is built without a blueprint,the blueprint gives you the whole idea of the building,how it is supposed to be layed out and how each room is supposed to be built.

The blueprint gives a clear picture or photo of the building,the blue print gives the big picture.Without an idea of where you are going,or where God wants you to be,you will certainly not get there.Its so important for your life that we understand the big picture of Gods plan and purpose of our life.

It is said to have success in movie production,its important that tedious planning is put into producing the end of the movie,so the end of the movie is rehersed first before the start.movie producers already know the end before they act the beginning.The same way God deals with us,he makes the end before he starts the beginning.

The end of our lives is already created but we determine largely if we will get to that end or not,but how we play out from the beginning determines whether we will get there.

We are taught to always start any project with the end in mind,that stands as a motivation for the finishing of the building,without a picture of the end in mind,we will always not build accordingly.

In football or any game,if you don’t know where the goal post is you cannot score.We must have the end in mind.The builder has the end in mind,as he builds he has a mental picture of the end in his mind.

The blueprint of a building or any product should be with the owner or architect,so how can our lives be built without the blueprint.The blueprint for the building of our lives is right here with us not in heaven,it is the bible that contains the word of God our maker.He created us with a purpose and for a purpose,and he gave us the word as a blueprint and when we build according to the blueprint,then we will be fulfilling his purpose for our lives.

Build according to the blueprint – Exodus 25:8-9;Hebrews 8:5

God called Moses to build for him a sanctuary that he may dwell in it,imagine God asking you to do that,what a huge responsibility,to build a house for God.Where God himself will live in.The same thing applies to us,we are been built for Gods habitation,Gods purpose is to use us,to bring glory to himself.We are created for his pleasure,God created us for himself,that’s the number one reason we were made.

He asked moses to build the sanctuary according to the pattern that,that he will show him.This is so interesting,God has a pattern he wants your life to be built,a specific pattern and its accorsding to his will,his word.

When you read from Exodus 25 down,you will see how God himself,clearly and precisely told moses how and what he is to use in the building of the sanctuary,who was to be involved and to what level,even as to the furnishings and materials that will be used in details.

That was for the building of a physical temple made with human hands,if God was so concerned about that sanctuary how much more do you think he will demand for the building of our lives,that is now Gods temple,the abode of the Holy Spirit.

Apostle Paul further explains that we should be careful how we build,we must also be careful the materials used in the building of our lives,not quatity but quality,the quality of materials you use for the building of your life will determine the quality of life you will have and live.But our focus is to build according to the blueprint given,shown.

Most times in our lives God gives us a mental picture of his purpose for our life,and as we walk with him he begins to give us a step by step plan on what and how to go about the building,he is our architect,our supervisor in the building of our lives and he showed us in his word how we should build and I would like to share how;

THE LAID FOUNDATION – 1CORINTHIANS 3:11

Paul emphasized that no one should lay another foundation,than the one already laid which is Christ Jesus.We cannot over-emphasize the importance of the foundation of a building,the foundation determines the structure of that building,the size and also how high the building can stand.Different structures are determined by their foundation.So is our lives,the kind of foundation will determine how far we will go in life.

Jesus in luke 6:46-49,illustrates this better,relating this to the word of God,as I earlier said your life without the word is hanging on a balance.He emphasized the importance of hearing and doing the word of God as a man who builds a house and digs deep down and laid the foundation on the rock,when the flood came ,the torrent struck the house but could not shake it and another man who hears the word and does nothing about it,is like a man who builds his house on the ground without a foundation and the moment the torrent comes and struck that house it collapsed and its destruction was complete.

This shows clearly how the hearing of the word of God and not just reading it,but hearing and putting it to practice,determines the strength of our foundation and the quality of our building.We can not have sure and good success without the hearing and practicing of Gods word.

The strength of our foundation will be tested,both men had the torrent come against their houses but the one with a solid foundation stood the test of times and the one with no foundation did not.

Jesus is our foundation the solid foundation that holds our building together,without him we would have a shaky building.The bible calls him the stone that the builders rejected “the chief corner stone”. The chief cornerstone is largely an important part of a structure. It was almost like a blue-print stone that was the determining factor in the shape, size, dimensions and ratios of the structure which it supports. It was the most expensive and most valuable stone in the whole house, temple or other building. It was crafted specifically for these purposes.

Jesus is our Chief Cornerstone in the Church, by which we all measure ourselves in spiritual growth a placement. With the chief cornerstone, the walls and entire building were structured in relationship to this precious stone. It was the largest stone, baring the greatest burden of all the stones in the structure. There would be other stones that were cornerstones, but only one chief cornerstone, by which even the other cornerstones were oriented

THE FOUNDATION OF THE FIVEFOLD – Ephesians 2:19-22

We also must understand the importance of the five fold ministry in the building of our lives,since we are building according to blueprint.When we talk of the fivefold,we speak of the Apostles,Prophets,Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers,not necessarily according to an order of importance but as they appeared according to a chronological order.

Ephesians 4:12-14;

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive

The purpose of the fivefold is to prepare Gods people works of service,so that the body of christ may be built up,until we all reach the unity of the faith,taking us to maturity,till we attain the fulness of the measure of christ,still following after the pattern.We are been built and patterned after Christ Jesus,the first purpose of God is that we attain to the meausure of the stature of christ.

So the fivefold is very important in this building,they are called and are building according to the pattern God has given them till we achieve God’s number one purpose which is attaining to the full meausre of the stature of christ.

We must be planted in a local denomination if this is to be achieved,you can not grow to that height until you are part of a local church,were the word of God is taught and preached to your hearing and as you hear the word and participate and practice it you grow to that stature of christ.

THE MATERIALS FOR THE BUILDING –

When God listed the materials for the building he was very particular about what was used and when you study Exodus 25,26.

you will not find anything of low quality in the building of the sanctuary,even as far as to the kind of builders,men that were renouned in their skill were men he chose by himself for the building.

Even paul when he listed,he spoke about gold,silver,costly stones,wood,hay or straw,we determine the quality of material we build with,the quality of material we put into the building will determine the quality of house and the longevity of the building when the season of trial will come.The building will be passed through fire and it kind of materials will be exposed,if it survives you will be rewarded but if its burned up,he will suffer loss,1Corithians 3:12-15

What materials are you using in building your life,I remenber a story of a man,a builder who was given a contract by his friend to build a house for him befitting for a king,and he was given more than enough money so he would be able to buy the very best of material for the building,but been a greedy man,he bought very low quality materials,and finished the building,on the day of the opening of the building,everyone was invited least did he know that it was meant to be a gift to him from the friend who gave him the contract.

That is some of us,God has provided all we need for the building of our lives,including the blueprint but we have decided to use low quality materials,thinking we can get the best by settling for less.You will only get what you put in,you can not give what you don’t have,you will only produce what you are.

How can you build without the big picture,do you have the big picture for your life,God is the owner of our lives and he has set out a structure on how and who should be a part of this building.There are so many people building on sand,building with very low quality material.

You have a vision of what you want to be in life but how much time are you giving daily to it.Success is achieved by the little things we do daily,every successful person has a routine.we must have and follow the picture of the future we want to have in this world.Not all that have dreams fulfill them,but if you must achieve your dreams you must have a blueprint of the building and begin to work with the architect till you achieve that building.

But we must build according to the blueprint.Permit me to say,if you don’t know Jesus as your lord and saviour,you are off track entirely,because the first step to knowing your God given purpose and be in it,is to accept Jesus as your lord and personal saviour and ask him to forgive your sins and come into your life,that is the first step,you can do that right now,and then put yourself in the track that is meant for you.

The next thing is to be part of a local church where you can hear the word of God and be taught,so that you can be built in faith to grow to the fulness of the stature of christ as you associate with other belivers and put to use what you hear.

WHAT TRULY IS SUCCESS?

WHAT TRULY IS SUCCESS?

SERVICE KEY TO GREATNESS

“Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.... You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. ” Martin Luther King Jr.

Service is not just a one time act of helping others but a life time of acts to help others.We are called to a life time of service to one another and to humanity.
Everybody can be great and everybody wants to be great,but we all define greatness from different perspectives.
When a man has acquired so much material wealth we call him great,but that is not what greatness is.
Jesus said a man's life does not consist of the things he has,so if you are perceived great because of the material wealth you possess,then that is a wrong picture of greatness.
We need to understand that our life is worth more than material wealth,if all we live for is just to work and make money,eat and be fat,sleep and eventually die,then our life is not worth living.
There is a bigger picture for our existence here on earth and until you discover that picture,you will live unfulfilled life.
It is in our search for that reason that we work so hard to try and find a meaning for our life,the reason for our existence.
There is a higher call to our life than just making money,getting married and having children,there is a deeper call and purpose to our life than all of that.
A deeper call and sense of purpose,that can entirely change the direction of our lives,a call higher and stronger than our wants.
A call that can take you from family and friends,a call that will make others call you crazy,but its a call to the fulfillment of purpose,it is called "A call to Serve."
True satisfaction can be found only when i am living a life fulfilling my purpose,we work so hard and make so much money,and become so rich but we are still not satisfied,because our life is worth more,there is a bigger reason.
What am i living for? why am i here? These are some the questions we ask ourselves daily,what can i do to make my life have more meaning,how can i give back to society and humanity?
“There is no greater calling than to serve your fellow men. There is no greater contribution than to help the weak. There is no greater satisfaction than to have done it well.” Walter Reuther
There is a deep desire in us to be used to do something greater than us,we all want to be remembered for something greater than us,we all want to be outlived by our good works.
Your real wealth is not what you have acquired but what you have given out to help humanity.
When some men speak of how much they have given to help humanity,others speak of how much they have acquired.
Why are we blessed? We must understand that you are not so blessed because of your intelligence,but God wants to use you to be a blessing to someone,to humanity.
Wealth that is all about you only,is not real wealth.God told Abraham
"I will bless you and make you a blessing" you are blessed,to be a blessing.
Stop bragging about how much you have made,the question is how much have you given?
You will be rewarded not by how much you have but how much you gave to better the lives of others.
We are called to serve a purpose higher than us.
Jesus told James and John in mark 10:43 "whosoever want to be great,must be a servant"
Jesus further said "For even the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many"
Its okay to desire greatness but you must be ready to serve first and give your life for a course and make sure that course is for the betterment of humanity.
Service to others is a key to greatness but a route to discovering what your God given purpose is, in fact your God given purpose is to serve,no matter your field or profession.
Its not the big things that make us great but little acts to better the lives of others.Your small acts of love and care for others,support for the widows and less privilege,and so on.
“Many small people, in many small places, do many small things, that can alter the face of the world.”
Its funny,the easiest way to add meaning to your life is to add meaning to someone else life,our lives and destinies are so connected.
“In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us.” Flora Edwards

Talk your way to the top

Talk your way to the top

TURNING YOUR SEED TO SURPLUS

Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream.

Derby Boone

God is a God of process,he is not a magician as some would try to make him look.Magicians make things out of nothing but God makes things out of something.God always involves us in the process of fulfilling his word and purpose in our lives.
In the creation of the world,he spoke and it was,his spoken word was the agent for creation.Even when he created man,he didn't speak man into existence,but he made man from the dust of the earth.God is always found connecting with something to create something.
In the creation of our future,God has given us his word which when we believe it,we can have all our desires come to pass.Our faith is based on the word of God.He is a relationship God,he wants fellowship and partnership with you in the building of your life.
At every point in time we must connect with something to achieve something.
There is always an agreement for something to be birth.
A man must connect sexually with a woman to give birth to a child.We see the connection of two at every time.We make better progress when we agree with another.
"When two of you shall agree concerning a thing it shall be established"Matthew 18:19,we must understand that there is great power in two coming together.
God is a God of principle and process,i believe that anything that appears will disappear.
Here in this story in Luke 9:11-17,we see an extraordinary miracle,performed by Jesus,again teaching us the principle of connection and multiplication.
Jesus had just finished teaching the crowd of over five thousand people and healed those that needed healing,but the people had been with him for a while and they where now hungry,the disciples asked Jesus to send them away,but Jesus been a compassionate teacher said,you can,t send them away like that,give them something to eat.
The disciples recognised that,they were in a remote place,a desert place,you certainly can't get anything in a desert place and that was a problem,but Jesus had spoken to them like he didn't recognise that they were in a desert place,"Get them something to eat".
But all they had was five loaves and two fishes,how can you feed over five thousand persons with five loaves and two fish?
 It was impossible to feed over five thousand with five loaves and two fish,but Jesus who understood the principle of multiplication needed to teach his disciples another lesson,and i would like to show us how you can turn your seed to a surplus.
Its Gods will that we have more than enough,its his will we have to overflowing,thats Gods intention,but how can you experience this in a remote place with not enough,but they forgot that Jesus was the more than enough.
Jesus fed over five thousand people,comprising of men and women with children to satisfaction,you should know that we all have different levels of satisfaction and everybody was fed to full and there was leftovers of about twelve full baskets,this is a clear plan of God for us to be fed to overflowing and surplus.
Nothing is wasted in the kingdom Jesus asked them to gather the surplus,because according to scriptures the surplus is for others,we are to give away the surplus,the surplus is not for you.So lets see the principles behind the multiplication of your seed to surplus;

• Principle of the seed

The forest we see today is the product of a seed,every tree came forth from the planting of a seed.The seed is pregnant with your dreams and visions
.The word of God is like a seed,pregnant with revelation that will produce your good success.
The word of God is the seed,the word is pregnant with Gods purpose for you.Luke 8:11;Jeremiah 29:11

The seed is a potential,your gifts your God given abilities.God needs that seed to connect with his word to produce your desired harvest.You must have something in your hand for God to be able to do a miracle in your life.

He asked Moses "Whats that you have in your hand"(Exodus 4:2)
God wants to use the seed in your hand to create your future,the problem we have is that we think that our seed is not enough,we try to compare our seed with others and we feel inferior but God is saying, whats that you have in your hand?

You must have a seed,your seed must connect with the soil of the word of God to produce your harvest,if you must experience multiplication,then you must have a seed.

The woman whose husband the prophet died in debt,told the prophet "i have nothing save a pot of oil" (2Kings 4:1-7). She called her pot of oil nothing,that's how some of us call our seed,nothing,but God has power in that seed to produce your future,you don,t need a huge seed,Jesus said "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed,you can say unto this mountain move and do not doubt in your heart, it will move" (Mark 11:23).
Don,t undermine your seed,it has special power to produce your desired future.

Elisha asked her to go borrow other vessels,he didn't ask her to borrow seed,but he asked her to borrow vessels,and pour into those vessels from her little pot of oil and the bible says as she did it,she filled those borrowed pots from her small pot of oil that was called "Nothing",i tell you those things you consider as nothing God will use to bring your dreams to reality.
He uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise,he uses the weak things to shame the strong,he uses the least likely,what the world rejects and dumps,he can turn your story around for the best. (1Corinthians 1:27)

Jesus said "Except a corn of wheat falls to the ground and dies it abides alone" John 12:24. We need a seed to be able to key into Gods principle of multiplication,what do you have in your hands,everyone has a seed, a talent, a gift in different areas of life,you are born with some sort of ability and that's your key to success,so we need a seed.

• The Principle of Strategy(planning and execution)

Jesus is not a dull person,he told his disciples "Have them sit in groups of about fifty each".

We need to learn from Jesus,he wasnt just a healer he is the master planner, having a seed is not enough,we need to have a strategy.

This is the time where we not just set goals but we have a plan on how we will bring the goals to realization.Jesus obviously had a plan and he was ready to bring it to reality.

So many people are blessed with so much talent and potential but they are in abject poverty.
Just having a talent is not enough, but making your talent produce for you is the main issue.

You need a strategy,a plan on the move.Jesus arranged the crowd to bring some order so that everyone will be properly fed without a rush.

You need to set goals in order of importance not urgency,Firstly you need to know your God given purpose for your life,why has God blessed you with the talents or gifts you possess?
Then you begin to set out goals and a strategy on how to carry out your goals,its important that this be written down as part of your plan.

Every successful person did not become successful by chance but by choice,deliberately making the decision to succeed and doing all they can to achieve it.

Even God has a plan,we find that in Jeremiah 29:11
 God is sure to fellow up on his plan to come to reality,we read that he said,"the word i have sent will not return to me void but it will accomplish that which it was sent to"Isaiah 55:11

That should also be our attitude,have a strategy,prayerfully develop a strategy,set out your goals toward achieving your God given vision for your life.

• The principle of Thanksgiving

Jesus took the bread and gave thanks,why would he give thanks first,because he understood the principle of thanksgiving.The bible teaches us that our prayers and supplication should be with thanksgiving.David in the psalms further said "i will enter his gates with thanks giving in my heart and his courts with praise."Philippians 4:6;Psalm 100:4

The bible further said that"we should give thanks in everything and for everything".1Thessalonians 5:18.
Thanksgiving should be the attitude of the christian,we should not only thank God when its all good but at all times,let his praise be in our mouth .

If we must see increase in our lives we must learn to be thankful to God for what he has done and what he will do.We see Jesus before he called lazarus forth he first of all gave thanks to the father,for always answering him when he calls,lets not take God for granted,make it an attitude to be thankful for the gifts he has given you and for what he will do in your life.

Thanksgiving opens doors and creates opportunities.You can cause God to move when you praise him,your praise and worship is part of your thanksgiving to God.

If you can understand this priciple of thanksgiving you will see the miraculous in your life,you will see God move tremendously.

• The principle of service/work

Jesus broke the bread then gave it to his disciples to give out.here we see the disciples ready to serve the people,we need to understand the big picture behind our talents,we are so blessed to be a blessing to the people.

God told Abraham i will bless you and make you a blessing.You are not gifted just for you but that through you use of your gifts you might bring life to others.

What is that ability you have,until you put it to use for the kingdom of God you will not experience multiplication.

Service,if you must be great in the kingdom you got to learn to be the servant of all.Jesus one time washed the feet of the disciples just to teach them the importance of servanthood.We are stewards,we are blessed with talents for the purpose of God to be fulfilled.John 13:1-17

You are not blessed to enrich yourself,as some do,but your life is more than material gains,God gave you that talent to achieve a higher call and purpose.We must learn to hemble ourselves so that God can life us up in due time.Theres a due time for our lifting but we must serve first,in service you wait on others,when you serve others God will cause men to serve you,but it starts from you.1Corinthians 4:1-2

So that be carried away with what you want to gain,focus on serving others,start from somewhere,donot neglect the days of small beginnings you must start from somewhere.

Our call is to serve others,until you realise that you may never achieve increase and multiplication.
Faithfulness is required of stewards,at every point of our service,we need to strive to be faithful.God rewards faithfulness and not activity.Stewards must be found faithful,whatever has been handed to you,guard with all your heart.Luke 16:10

• The principle of satisfaction

Satisfaction is the fulfillment or gratification of a desire,need or appetite.But what we need to understand is that,in Gods plan for multiplication is that we should find pleasure in bringing satisfaction to others.we should find satisfaction when we satisfy others.

Money is not everything, until you first discover your God given purpose,you will never experience true satisfaction.
when you can find satisfaction doing something without getting paid for it,that is a key to finding your purpose.Its important that we understand that our satisfaction is tied to the satisfaction of others.
The bible says they ate and where satisfied,Jesus fed them to satisfaction,there was no record that Jesus ate but he fed them.

In business to be a success you need to find a problem to solve,people who solve other peoples problems receive pay for it,but first you must solve a problem.
We must realise that there is no two of you in this world,there is a problem that you where born to solve.

Any great man today,solved a problem at one time,you must be focused and be ready to solve the problem of others thereby giving them satisfaction.

The principle of satisfaction is satisfy someone else and be satisfied.What problem can your gift solve? You are not far from surplus,once you discover what problem you can solve,then begin to do something about it,you are definitely going to be satisfied and you will satisfy others and gains will flow.

Your success is connected to the success of others,don't worry about problems be an agent of solution,solve problems.If God must bring you out to the place where he wants you to be he creates a problem,read the story of Joseph or david.

David needed to solve the problem of goliath to be recognised,Joseph had to interpret a dream to get recognised by pharoah,there is a problem waiting for you to solve.

• The principle of surplus

The bible says Jesus asked the disciples to gather together the broken pieces that where left over.that i would like to refer to as surplus,you cannot get surplus first without your container been full.The cup has to be full first before it can overflow.

Gods will is that you will have "Good measure,pressed down shaken together and running over"

When the disciples followed the instructions of Jesus,after they had toiled all night and caught nothing,they had a net breaking,boak sinking blessing,that they had to call others to help them.

When he spoke about the tithes,he said you will not have room enough to contain the blessing,any blessing from God always grows to overflowing.

We must realise that the surplus is not for you,dont keep the surplus its for others.

Give it out,after you are satisfied don,t keep the surplus give it out,sow it out,invest it back into the work,when you withhold the surplus you withhold your further increase.

Surplus is amount beyond the needed,excess.

God wants us to always have excess,he always gives us more than enough.

God has the ability to multiply what you have in your hand to produce more than enough,your seed has the ability to produce more than what you need,put your seed to work,put your talent to work and see how God will multiply it.

God was able to multiply the little oil of the widow of the prophet to fill other pots and they had excess,the bible said the oil only stop flowing because there were no containers left,God's power of multiplication will not stop as far as we are in line,using our gift for the progress of his kingdom.