The decision to contend for superior belief system through renewal and transformation. Church Gist. You will never rise above and beyond your belief system. Your belief system represents your paradigm, your viewpoint (Jeremiah 1:10-12, Proverbs 23:7, Proverbs 4:23, Psalm 78:41). The Bible equates your destiny to the quality of your thoughts. Every one of us comes from different backgrounds; sociological, spiritually, economically and these contexts, they have a way of conditioning our minds. Was it not Nathanael that said about Jesus, can anything good come out from Nazareth? You may have come from a background where no one has risen, you have never seen favour and speed in display and chances are when God wants to favour you, when God wants to bring speed, there is no provision in your mindset to allow that to happen.
A man can limit God (Psalm 78:41). As powerful as God is, the mindset of an individual can limit His performance in the life of that person.
I told you that everything you are looking for is also looking for you but not this version of you. Church Gist. There is a version of you your future is looking for, you have to evolve into that version. You have to grow through renewal and transformation; mentality can decide the quality of destiny.
The decision to discover and fulfill your God-given assignment – the decision to live a purpose driven life (John 4:34, Hebrews 10:7). Make up your mind to discover and to fulfill your assignment.
Now watch this; this is a baton and God has given it to this young man. This man, if he runs his destiny well, he will be able to hand it over to the next man. His efficiency will make another person to fulfill destiny but if the next man refuses to discover his place and run with the baton, he is wasting the destiny of another person because he has refused to run. Every time you refused to find your place in life (it is a relay; you are not the only one running). If God has raised you to be a man of God, all the pastors that were supposed to come up after you and under you; because of your inability to answer the call, you are punishing another man’s destiny. If God has raised you to be a kingdom financier, He raised you to be a financier so that that church will be built, because of your refusal to obey your assignment, that church is never built and the souls that should be saved in that church never come to Jesus. There are implications when you do not fulfill destiny.
The first man represents the generation of our fathers and forefathers in the faith; they handed it over and there is a generation running with this now but most of our generation are doing this; refusing to collect the mantle. We are saying no! Busy type phones, internet, making all kinds of things. “Collect this, this is going, destinies are suffering” and we are refusing, walking away. Church Gist. Our fathers are passing this baton and saying young people, a time will come you will be the one on the stage, prepare and collect this mantle, this baton in business, in ministry but you are refusing.
Lift Your voice in one minute and declare:
“I must fulfill destiny. I must find my place in life and destiny and fulfill the same in Jesus’ name.”
The decision to be healthy (3 John 1:2). This may look like a simple decision but it is a very serious decision. Church Gist. Your physical well-being is important for the fulfillment of your destiny because, no spirit is a legal occupant in the earth without a body. You need a healthy body.
Can I tell you this? There are many people today who are forty years but respectfully speaking, they are looking eighty years because they have spent their lives deteriorating their health; carelessness over their bodies, eating anything, drinking anything. Church Gist. I myself did not used to pay much attention to my health. I was not careless with my health but I didn’t give it that level of intention. Especially those who work in miracles, signs and wonders; usually they ignore their health just because the anointing flows through them to others. You must be careful. You have a responsibility under God to walk in health. It is the reason why vices like smoking and drinking and all these kinds of things are dangerous because it is a way of mismanaging your health.
“A body has thou prepared for me”. If you do not have a body even if you have a vision, it will not come to pass. Your vision needs a body to find expression. That means from today, you must make a decision that, “I am going to be healthy”. Part of the ways that you choose life is to choose to be healthy.
I’m not a medical doctor but I can tell you this; your health starts from the discipline to take clean water; clean water alone can save you many, many years of degrading your health. Church Gist. The moment God begins to bless you, you get a job or money begins to come, don’t just invest in clothes, invest in your health. If you buy a nice clothes, a nice designer in a body that is dying, soon people will come and carry it away because you will be dead.
Hear me, one time I went to minister in this nation and one of the fathers of faith drew me into His office and he made a statement that I would never forget. It was a powerful conference and he drew me into his office and he said; “my son, let me teach you something; pay attention to your health. He said, Africans kill their prophets”. And it made such an impact in my life. It’s good to stretch yourself, don’t be lazy but you must know when you stretch yourself beyond limit.
There are many people today, it is not demons that are destroying their health, it is just because they do not pay attention to their health. Let me be sincere with you, when you are tired, rest. When you are hungry, eat. Church Gist. Learn this especially for young people because we are surrounded by so many people who want to show that you can stretch in the spirit; we derive a lot of pride from showing that you have stamina in the spirit. There are people today who have ulcer and it is because they did not know how to fast with wisdom. There is a balance to everything. The Bible says to do everything with moderation.
Pay attention to your health, invest in your health. When Jesus was hungry, he ate. When Jesus was tired, He slept.
Please eat and rest. In this Kingdom, we live by bread and Words.
The decision to be financially independent. Many people shy away from the reality of this and I know why; usually when it has to do with the issue of finances, there are two groups in the body of Christ; there are those who ignore it and say it is not important, don’t worry. You just serve God, He will sort your life and then there are those, it’s like an extension of lust and carnality; everything is money, money, money, from start to finish. Both are wrong.
I can tell you based on the authority of scripture, the decision to be financially independent is a noble decision and it is also a spiritual decision (Proverbs 22:7). Why do you need to contend for financial independence?
a). The Bible says the rich ruleth over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender. Church Gist. A rich man will rule over the poor, even if he is a poor prayer warrior or a poor fasting giant. For as long as you are poor, you will never be able to taste the corridors of power and influence. It takes economic empowerment to lift the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus is very heavy, it takes resources to lift it up.
Do not join the ignorant where people find comfort in believing that everything will be alright if you are not financially empowered. What we challenge in the body of Christ is lust and affinity towards material things, not the availability of resources. Church Gist. By the time money becomes a god to you to the detriment of your relationship with Jesus, there is a problem.
Materialism is not having materials; materialism is the influence of materials on your relationship with Jesus and you don’t need to have money to be materialistic: there are many poor people who are materialistic; they just don’t have the money to manifest it yet.
This Conference right now is happening because they’re financial resources to drive the Conference. It is not only because Jesus is here, Jesus is here and we are grateful but what if the generator and the sound system goes off and you cannot hear? What If the lights are out? This magnificent ground that we all are sitting here, it took resources to make it happen. If you embrace poverty, you will also embrace weakness.
Make up your mind that what my parent could not give me, they may be sincere people, they did their best with what they knew to do but in the name of Jesus, I will be able to give my children what I did not receive. Don’t transfer the same pain and hardship to your children. Church Gist. Make up your mind that under my watch, the house of the Lord will never suffer because this hand will bring resources for the lifting of the name of Jesus.
Ecclesiastes 9:13-16
It takes wisdom and wealth to be heard. Make up your mind that you are going to walk in the reality of the blessings of the Lord, not for some competitive selfish carnal reasons.
We are not teaching on finances here but many of the people who talk on finances, with all due respect, many people are not getting it the way it should be taught. This is why it keeps fueling carnality and lust in people. When there is anything wrong with your soul, everything you have gathered or acquired is nonsense.
There are only two assignments of money in the life of an individual:
a). A tool for time redemption. The unit of destiny is time. You can use money to buy time.
b). For efficiency. If God grants you resources and you buy a car, what is that car doing? Redeeming time – that’s it. Church Gist. If God grants you an opportunity and you move from a tenant to a landlord, it has only helped your life to be efficient. Instead of smuggling 6 children in one room, now you have a three-bedroom flat, you can even create a prayer room – it gives you the convenience to live an efficient life.
If you are able to pay the school fees of your children without thinking about it and you can send them to any school without the psychological stress of raising school fees, it has helped your life to be efficient so you can focus on the things of God.
When people are taught prosperity from a correct kingdom perceptive, they become blessed and their hearts are never connected to those things.
The decision to build quality destiny relationships (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). Church Gist. The command; be fruitful also means be relational because the only way to be fruitful is through relationships. It takes a husband and his wife to have a child.
One of the greatest things that you can do with your life and the time that God has given you is to invest in building quality relationships. Many people do not have the relationship that were intentionally built. Many people have circumstantial relationships. There are three levels of relationships:
a). General relationship – you meet people every day.
b). Seasonal relationship. For instance, your class mate, school mate. Within the time you were together in that institution or that training, you may be friends for that period.
c). Destiny or covenant relationship. These are people who believe in what you believe; the foundational pillars of your convictions are also what they believe in and you have a covenant of fellowship that you are going to be there for one another through the thick and thin.
Woe betides a man if every body around you is a sycophant; just looking for your money or your titles or anointing. Church Gist. If you can find five of these people in your life time, you are about the luckiest person on earth today. Men are intrinsically selfish, however there are still sincere people and my prayer is not just that you’ll pray and say God give me one. Be one first.
When Jesus was upon the earth, for as long as He was a celebrity Jesus, there were crowds looking for him; for food, some for a different motive but when Jesus handed Himself to die, all of them ran away. When Jesus was going to Golgotha, my question is: where was blind Bartimaeus,? Where was the woman with the issue of blood? Everybody ran away.
You must obtain the grace and the courage at this level in life to edit your relationship. Don’t treat everybody the same, they are not the same. Categorize your relationship into outer court, inner court and the most Holy place. Not everybody should have that kind of access to your life. Church Gist. Someone comes into your life and in five minutes, you’ve told him everything about your destiny, your past, your dad had a problem with your mom and tomorrow, they go around and betrayed you and backstabbed you. You need wisdom.
It is not every visitor that comes to your house that you take to your bedroom. No! There are visitors who will stand at the gate, there are others who will come to the living room but there are others you can literally take them to your bedroom and sit down because you know that even if you are in prison, they will come and stand with you and say, we die together.
This is one of the lessons that I have learnt respectfully speaking in the lives of our fathers of faith. Church Gist. They may not have many people around their lives but my goodness, God has given them the gifts of men. There are men who will stay like the mighty men of David in the cave of Adullam.
Let me ask you a question: if you are in trouble today (God forbid) is there anybody in your life that you can call by 2:00am and say sincerely, “there is an issue with my rent now. It’s not like I am careless” and the person said over my dead body. “For as long as I am alive, I will not see you go through this”. Hear me, if there is nobody like that in your life, you are sitting on a time bomb. Who is in your life today loves you enough to stake his representation for your sake? Don’t say everybody likes me. You are joking! Everybody likes what you carry, the anointing on your head, your beauty, your English. Don’t confuse liking things around you to loving you sincerely. Even when Saul wanted to kill David and frustrated him, David said is there any man in the house of Saul, that I may show kindness for Jonathan’s sake.
This is an assignment to everyone here; write a list of the five most important men in your life. People you know today who loves you and will sacrifice anything for you, invest in those relationships. Church Gist. Don’t generalize and treat everybody the same way, no! There are people today, if you call and say, I need N500,000. They will tell you and say; well, I will help you. How could you put them in the same category with someone who can stab you with a knife even if they’ll give you?
As you are rising in life and in leadership, you must start praying, not for a crowd but for these men; “Lord from a crowd, select these men. Bring them to my life”. There are many of our parents in old age, they did not spend their days searching for quality destiny relationships and investing in it and you will see some of them move and they will tell you; “I live in USA for ten years, I know this one, I know that one but they are still in a position today where not one of their children can have a job. Anything money can buy; relationships can also buy. Relationships are currencies, don’t use money alone to buy things; use relationship to buy things.
Young man, young woman, hear the Word of the Lord, it is time for you to build quality relationships. Church Gist. This is one of the reasons why God brings a convergence of a conference like this so that you can have men and women. Some of you, your destiny helper is the person seated near you. Be careful when you look down on people, you may be looking down on the next ten years of your life. Learn to honour men, learn to respect people; those above you, your contemporaries and your subordinates.
I set before you, life and death. I cannot force you but my advice this afternoon is to choose life.
Rise up on your feet.
Someday you will listen to this message again but this time you will listen to it with your children all around your table; with millions and billions in your bank account, with mantles upon your head, with congregation of crowds like this listening to you. But I pray for you that someday you will not listen to this message and regret and say why did I not make a decision?
PRAYER:
Father I obtain grace from Heaven. You have given me the keys that can change my life, I obtain grace from Heaven.
PROPHETIC DECLARATIONS:
I speak over your life and destiny; by the power that raised Christ from the dead, that fire; let it come upon you and ignite you and set you on fire to do marvelous things in the name of Jesus. Take that fire right now!!!
I stand upon the grace of our father and I declare to you, let there be that impartation; take that grace, anointing, fire upon your destiny, fire upon your life in the name of Jesus. Church Gist. You will never be the same. I ignite your prayer life, I ignite your destiny by the power that raised Christ from the dead. Step into a new season in the name of Jesus.
There are people here, the call of God is upon your life and God has been working upon you. That fire is coming upon you; apostolic fire, prophetic fire in the name of Jesus.
In this end time, there are women that are rising up after the order of Deborah; they are warriors in the spirit. I pray for you, wherever you are, may this fire come upon you right now!
Some of you are kingdom financiers, you represents the next generation of men and women that God will be trusting with resources. Everywhere you are under the sound of my voice, may that anointing come upon you now!
Every embargo of delay sitting on anyone’s life, saying you will not go forward. By the privilege of the grace of our fathers, in the name of Jesus, may the mantle for speed come on your destiny!
There is a grace for prayer that makes a man’s altar to come on fire. Church Gist. The grace for prayer and intercession; take that grace now! The fire on your altar, let it keep burning day and night!
There is a grace for favour that can make men come to attend to your needs. In the name of Jesus, upon this altar, I prophesy any destiny helper that needs to arise and locate your destiny, may they find you now!
In the name of Jesus, every spirit of infirmity plaguing your body, your destiny. I command that it lets you go right now in Jesus’ name.
I decree and declare in the name of Jesus the Son of the living God, be healed right now!
Nine months from now, you shall return with your miracle children!
Every blood condition, be healed right now in Jesus’ name. Partial or complete blindness, be healed right now in Jesus’ name.
Every ailments in your body, let them bow to the name of Jesus right now.
Every door that has refused to open over your life and destiny, in the name of Jesus, I speak to that door, be opened now!
Every embargo of shame and reproach over anyone’s life and any family, by the mystery of the blood of Jesus, we tear off that veil of shame from your life.
Everything your eyes sees, may your hands handle it in Jesus’ name.
I pray for those of you who are students, in the name that is above all names, the finisher’s anointing; the grace to finish with honour, I impart that grace upon you in Jesus’ name.
I prophesy over the entire youth arm of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, I declare; by this time next year, be ten times better than you are now, spiritually, financially!
Out of the people standing here, may it please the Lord to raise the next generation of leaders in this nation in Jesus name.
LFS - Light Feathers Stories 