Success

There is story about a man travelling from England to America in a ship many years ago before we have airplane. He’ d saved money to buy the ticket for the journey but reckon that because he does not have money for food, he will survive with some fruit and snacks he brought with him on board for the long journey to America. So on the way in the ship, he will look into the  dining room with the sumptuous food available and go back into his cabin to eat his fruit and biscuits. This, he did throughout the journey. At the the end, everyone was disembarking the ship and, as this man was about to leave the ship, the captain of the ship approached him and asked him, whether  he did not like their food because he did not come to the dining table throughout the journey. The man said that he loves the food very much but did not have the money to purchase the food , hence his absence from the dining room. The captain was surprised and told him that his meals had been paid for already when he bought the ticket. So, this man could have had those lovely food, enjoying his journey rather than feasting on crackers and fruits. What a miss!

There is wonderful life available

This, sadly is the tale of many believers in the world today, we have by grace been provided with all things but we have not  received it. Many live all their life in sin, poverty, sickness and disease and never really maximise the abundant life God has given them. The bible tells us that the wonderful life in store for us is in the promises God has made to us already in the scripture.

as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:3-4

Someone asked, Pastor if I have been given all these things, why can’t I  see any of it in my life?

And I am  glad you asked. You see, we will have to know that this wonderful things is ours already, given to us by God and we will have to know  that we can appropriate those things into our lives.

Would you believe for it?

But let me ask you something, do you believe that the promises of God are true and they can come to pass in your life?

Now, I am not talking about you looking at someone else, someone you know who appears to have this great faith to receive from God than you, or some famous preacher who can believe God for something and receive it.

I am talking about you! Do you believe those great and precious promises can come to pass in your own life?

And if you do, would you take those promises, release your faith and apply them to your life until you get the results?

Make your choice

You see, only you can make that choice. But you can do it because you have been built with faith to believe God and receive.

Now, unbelief would try to creep in to get you to stop considering God’s promises in your life, but you will have to stand your ground, deal with doubts creeping into your mind about the promises of God and root it out.

Don’t be unstable about the promises of God

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:6-8

We must have single mindedness about the promises of God and not let unbelief derail our faith.

So keep mediating on those promises, accept them, believe them, release your faith for them with expectation. God has never refuse to perform His word for anybody who believe, He won’t start with you.

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

This is an interesting poem that has come down in many variations over the centuries. It describes a situation in which a small successive omissions can have grave consequences.

This we can say is the root of failure in every enterprise or endeavour.

History has shown us that many war were lost because of lack of preparation or provision for what appears insignificant in the soldiers armoury leading to excruciating defeats.

Solomon said many centuries ago: Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom. Song of Solomon 2:15.

Pay attention to little things

That is why we are to pay attention to little things, it’s what we many times discountenanced that becomes revealed as very important in our pursuits of success an greatness in life. Some one said show me what you do daily and I will show you what will happen to your future. How apt that statement is when we look back  in hindsight.

It’s the little things that leads to success or failure in every undertaking; every time.

Many times when people see a successful operation or business, they have the impression that it happened  overnight. It’s important to note that majority of people tend to see it like that. This is not wise because the bible has already given us pointers about these things in order for us to identify the root of success or failure for every thing on this earth. We have to pay attention to the little things we do because those seeming little effort when added together are the fulcrum on which the wheel of our future success in life will rotate to move forward spirit, soul and body.

We can’t afford to commit the sin of neglect.

The root of failure

Solomon went ahead in the book of proverbs when he said that

I went past the field of a sluggard,
    past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
thorns had come up everywhere,
    the ground was covered with weeds,
    and the stone wall was in ruins.
I applied my heart to what I observed
    and learned a lesson from what I saw:
A little sleep, a little slumber,
    a little folding of the hands to rest—
and poverty will come on you like a thief
    and scarcity like an armed man. Proverbs 24:30-33

People want to explain the root of failure by focusing on various external factors but the bible has already told us that to be successful in life spirit, soul and body; we will have to pay attention to the little things.

Not doing so is the root of failure.

Years ago I heard a story of a girl growing up in a bad neighbourhood and the sight that surrounds her points to failure for a girl like her in life. Girls like her don’t finish their secondary education not to talk of developing a vocation or a career, the future apparently looks bleak for her as she grows. However, she had a teacher who took her time to inspire her and teach her to look beyond her current environment and stand out. This teacher became a wonderful influence in the life of this girl that despite what appeared bleak about her future by reason of her environment and background, she went ahead to finish her education and became a teacher!

It’s shaping you more than you think

That’s right influence. What influences us shapes our lives more than most people realized, we expose ourselves to various things unknowingly sometimes without understanding that what we exposes ourselves to will influence our lives. Most people who are addicted to drugs says that if they know that what appears pleasurable initially will become an albatross on their necks, they would not have had the first taste!

The vast amount of information and things we are seeing daily has the tendency to shape the course of our lives, no wonder Jesus says  The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. Matthew 6:22

More at your fingertips

Yes, we live in a very connected world today and the elemental means of communication has become so sophisticated yet simple and reaching that it’s easier to be exposed to many things through various media, more so the little phone we carry around. That information about various aspect of life is now at our fingerprints. You are being influenced by what you see and hear everyday without even knowing. But the scriptures predicted this information age hundreds of years ago.

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. Daniel 12:4

The ‘internet’ says that an influencer is a person or thing that influences another, It is a good thing that in the midst of information overload, we have unprecedented advantage that no other generation has had. We have access to various ‘influencers’ than ever before.

Be influenced by scripture values

However, don’t let the huge availability of influencing factors throw you. When you allow the values of the scriptures direct your choices, you have the advantage.  You have more avenues or media to be influenced by the word of God.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2

Imagine when the above scriptures were written to the Romans Christians by the Holy Spirit through Paul.

One letter to the church. Yes, it can be painstakingly copied by hand but it will take a lot of time to have a fraction of what we are capable of today. Think about that.

You see, the scriptures has already outlined our values, not to be conformed to this world, not to allow the way of the world to influence our lives. We have to stand out. We have to make the word of God the influencer in our lives.

This is what we need to do every day of this life. This is what we need to do despite unprecedented information explosion in the world where the good, the bad and the ugly are now open for all to see. We are not  limited by our environment, we can look at what the word of God says and let it begin to paint the picture of a good future, in fact we can unlike those of old have more avenues to create a bible perspective of the vision that God has given through the things we feed our eyes and hears on today.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord 2 Corinthians 3:18

Paul Coelho, the Brazilian novelist says when I had all the answers, the questions changed, it appears that circumstances in life has a way of changing in a way that creates bafflement in the minds of many. And the fear of the future, and what the future would bring made many to lose hope that the future they are going into could be better.

However, in living our lives on this earth, how we see life, the filter through which we see life matters greatly because that is what will dictate how we respond to life, and how we respond to life, will ultimately affects how our lives will turn out.

What filter are you seeing through

Every body sees life through a filter. An optimist would see situations and circumstances through a glass half full and a pessimist through a glass half empty. Truth is, they both might be facing the same situation, but see it differently.

Have you try to explain a concept or idea to someone and it appears that they don’t get it? You could see it clearly, but to them it’s different. it could be blurry to them or totally unseen. This is because they are viewing the situation, the circumstance, the concept, the idea no matter how brilliant it appears  through their own filter, which is their way of thinking.

Everybody sees life through a filter.

This filter ultimately determines how they respond to that situation and how they respond to their life eventually.

You move towards your dominant thoughts

No wonder the bible emphasize the importance of our dominant thoughts, because God knows that the direction our lives would go will be determined by our dominant way of thinking. In fact the direction, your life is taking right now is dependent on your current dominant way of thinking

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…. Proverbs 23:7  Now if what the bible say is true, and it is, you should make sure you are viewing your life through the right filter.

The bible tells us to continually renew our minds with the word of God.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Roman 12:2 . This is to provide us a filter, a God filter in how we view and respond to life.

What many of us do not realise is that the renewal of our minds is to change our core beliefs and impact our thinking in such a way, as to change our view of life. Thank God that the knowledge of God’s word is increasing daily and many believers are learning what belongs to them in Christ Jesus. But the truth is many of us do not realise that we have to deliberately and literally change our core thinking by intense meditation on the word of God until it changed our core thinking and totally wiped out or obliterated previous ungodly thoughts in our core thinking.

It is possible to know all the scriptures about prosperity and hear the messages as well as be able to quote them intellectually but you have to allow those scriptures through continuous meditation to change how you see money and it’s use.

For example, If you have been raised with a fear of lack, you will always see your life as that, without; even if you eventually accumulate some money, you will limit what God could do in your life with money because deep down you have not changed your dominant thinking about money. Think about that!

All the money in the world

Someone said that if we take all the money in this world today and share it equally with everyone, in some years to come those who had it originally before we shared it equally will have it back again.
Why? Because their dominant thought is abundance whilst many does not have such core thinking! Unless you change your dominant thoughts deep down in you, you will be skimming the surface when it comes to any area you want to change.

That is why in order to change how you respond to life in any area, you have to change yourself at the core with the word of God. If you have as your core belief  a way of thinking that is negative, it will manifest in your life, if you see yourself as broke and without at your core, that is what you will get. On the other hand, if you see yourself prosperous and successful at your core, that is what will manifest in your life. See why it’s important we see life and respond to it based on God’s word after all it is His will that you prosper.

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers 3 John 1:2

Watch Pastor Segun Idowu teach you on how to adjust yourself to the truth you have heard.

On 16th December 1689, the English Bill of Rights created a constitutional monarchy in England and this limits by law the powers of the King or Queen.  Under this system, the monarchy couldn’t rule without the consent of Parliament, and the people were given individual rights. This Bill of Rights in 1689 was one of the models for the United States Bill of Rights of 1789 and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. These documents sets certain rights for individual and most nations in the world presumably has documents giving their citizens certain rights and privileges as citizens of those nations. The same way God has set in His Kingdom for the believer to believes His word. We have the right to believe God’s word and the understanding of the biblical basis for this will strengthen our faith in Him.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BELIEVE GOD BECAUSE YOU ARE REDEEMED

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 3:13-14 

Our redemption confers on us the right to believe what God says and act on it. and Jesus, our redeemer who is the author and finisher of our faith stated that whatever we ask in prayer, believing we will receive. Matthew 21:21-22. This statement from Jesus gives us the confidence to believe His word and expect what we believe to come to pass.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHTS TO BELIEVE BECAUSE  YOU ARE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD

God has made you righteous because of your faith in Jesus. Righteous is a gift, it’s not something anyone can earn and the gift of righteousness given to believer is not only for the believer to go to heaven alone, it is to enable the believer to reign on this earth through your faith in the abundant and precious promises of God in Christ Jesus. God made Jesus to be sin for us so we can be the righteousness of God.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BELIEVE BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT ALIEN IN THE KINGDOM

Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:11-13.  There was a time when you were strangers to the covenant of promise of God that gave you the right to believe as a child of God, citizen of the kingdom of God but if you are born again, you are no longer a stranger, you have rights as citizen of the Kingdom with the right and inbuilt ability and capacity to believe God. We have been reconciled by God to Himself and we belong in His kingdom.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BELIEVE GOD BECAUSE GOD’S PROMISE IS SURE FOR YOU

For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith Romans 4:13.  We who are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus has been given these great promises by God with the right to believe them. God reveals that in His word… Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be ^[d]sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all Romans 4:16

Remember you have rights as citizen of the kingdom of God to be heard by God, in fact God is the one who made that right available to you in Christ Jesus, so there fore you can come boldly before God.

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16

You have been facing this problem in your life, and it appears that it is not going away.

what do you do?

Accept it and believe the problem has come to stay in your life, or shift your gear higher, shift to a level the devil or the problem can’t touch you.

Make the choice to set your mind on the grace of God available to you.

Make that choice.

You see whatever it is you are going through right now, you can avail yourself the opportunity to lean on the grace of God, which is sufficient for you to meet that challenges 2 Corinthians 12:9.

1. Fear not!

The bible says God has not given us the spirit of fear. Fear not, whatever the magnitude of that problem, you have the grace of God available, which will definitely enable you power sufficient to demolish it! Resist fear in all form and appearances. Let your mind not dwell on fear; rather let it dwell on the word of God that speaks against fear and worry. No matter how many times the enemy brings fear to you, or tries to magnify the size of that situation, let your mind dwell on God’s exceeding great and precious promises that says you do not have the spirit of fear. Don’t let that problem become the greatest thing in your life.

2. Ask for grace

Ask God for grace without wavering and it will be given to you, consciously allow yourself in your spirit to lean on the grace of God, to acknowledge in yourself that you have the grace of God sufficient enough to meet your need, in that situation. The scriptures says ask and it shall be given unto you. God is more than willing to provide the necessary strength needed. You see grace has provided everything you and I would need on this earth as we walk by faith in God’s word. But it is our responsibility to believe what God promised us and activate it in our lives by faith.

3. Speak the word

Speak the word of God to that situation knowing fully well that the word of God spoken in faith, will overcome that situation and circumstance. Refuse to say anything else but what God has said about the situation. Don’t allow the problem to dictate what you will say, keep on saying the word of God. When you do that, you are shouting grace to that situation (Zechariah 4:7) for the scripture says, you will have what you say. Mark 11:23.

4. Continually praise the Lord

Lastly, praise God in the midst of that situation, let His praise continually be in your mouth. As you continue to do that, even while the problem is there, it won’t touch you, it won’t hold you, it won’t depress you and it can’t destroy you and sooner than you realize, it will go as you become expectant awaiting favour and wisdom of God available to you to overcome that situation.

Psalm 27:1; 2 timothy 1:7. Acts 4: 29-33; Mark 11:23. Psalm 71:6, 14; Psalm 147