Who do you say you are?

And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again. Judges 6: 17-18 KJV

Text: Judges 6: 11- 18

The above passage is a true story of a man Gideon who judged the people of Israel after they got to the promised land. It happened after Joshua had died and at that time they appointed all sorts of Judges to look after the affairs of Israel, There were no Kings because what they had was a Theocracy; God ruling His people Himself through the mouth and  the voice of the Judges and the Prophets. But from time to time the children of Israel would forget their God and do all sorts of evil; whoring, adultery, fornication, idolatry, lasciviousness, enjoying life and God will be angry with them and He will make them weak.

As a result of their sinful act and disobedience God would allow the enemies that surrounded them, the enemies that the children if Israel didn’t refuse to destroy when they entered the promised land, to give them a hard time. This was one of the situations where a group of people called the Midianite, came and they attacked Israel and they laid siege on the them that things were so bad that there was a lot of shortage of food and people could not freely express themselves.

There was a man who’s name was Joash an Isrealite who had a son called Gideon; and Gideon I perceived must have been the youngest , the least favoured child of that family. He was there hiding by the wine press.

The wine press was a hidden part of the house where people could not easily access but they also had a place called the threshing floor which was typically to the left side of the house where people would bring their wheat harvest to thresh and bring out the grain.

This time around they had a little bit of a harvest and instead of threshing it on the threshing floor or where people could see him, Gideon went to thresh it at the back of the wine press to hide it from the Midianites because he didn’t want them to know that they had any form of nutrition. Or he was afraid that if the Midianites attack them, they would take again the food that the family had to survive on.
There are some questions I want you to ask yourself. Questions which are important to understanding the topic. My question to you is this;

• Why was Gideon hiding in the threshing floor?
• Why was he not the success that he had the potential to be?
• What was the reason why Gideon was hiding?

What are the principles of success? Pt 3

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.  John 1: 29-30 (KJV)

For you to succeed in life you have to move with the right kind of people. A lot of us seat in a corner of our room fasting and praying, waiting for the miracle to come to us. We must break this narrow mindedness and move out of that small corner of our life and move with understanding. The people came to Jesus because they want their life to turn around; so when John the Baptist spoke of Him they immediately followed Him. You must move with the right kind of people, you must associate with the people that can make a difference in your life. Jesus Himself moved with the right kind of people; a tax collector, a doctor, a law maker, a doubter, a fisherman, a wealthy man (Joseph of Arimathea), dynamic women. We need to chose the right kind of friend so that we can succeed in life.

Some problems are not solved by prayer, they are solved by wisdom. There are only 2 or 3 people close to you who are the solution to your problem. If Joseph had stayed in a corner of the prison and not talked to his fellow prisoners he would have died in prison, Genesis 40. Make friends everywhere you go. Don’t let the situations of life that you are faced with keep you from the knowledge of who you are. How did David get to Saul’s palace? A slave introduced him to the king. “Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth–lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him. “1 Samuel 16:18 (KJV). Why? David made friends with the slaves. The more friends you have the greater your success quotient.

You must have a clear vision of where your life is going. Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18 (KJV). Your vision must run with God’s purpose for your life.

“A person with a clear purpose will make progress, even on the roughest road. A person with no purpose will make no progress, even on the smoothest road.” — Thomas Carlyle

When we get to the gate of heaven we will be asked what we used our life for, who did we influence, how many lives did we change and lead unto the right path.

What are the principles of success? Pt 2.

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.  John 1: 29-30 (KJV)

Prayer is important but information is critical. Life , spirituality is very very important. What are the things you need to do to succeed in life?

You need to have a good mentor. Someone who has walked the path you are about to work, a reliable and ready person. A greater part of King Solomon’s success was due to David (his father’s) mentor-ship. Proverb 31 was written based on advice. If you are going to succeed in life you must have a good mentor who has already gone through what you are going to go through.

"A mentor empowers a person to see a possible future, and believe it can be obtained." - Shawn Hitchcock.

Life moves by process, precept upon precept. God has said He will bless you a little at a time. He is not a magician and He follows process. He expects us to do same.

You need to have a clear vision of where your life is going. This is tied to God’s purpose for your life. If you are above the age of 22 and you are not sure where your life is going. If you don’t know where you are going it is most unlikely that you will get there.

Most of us just base our life on wants and material things. This is not the essence of life. The essence of life is to have a clear vision. They asked a man how he became the president of the united state. His reply was that when he was a young man he took a trip to the white house, well dressed, good looking and smart. When I shook his hands, I looked into his eyes and said to myself that I want to be like that man. Therefore every decision he took was targeted at being like the smart man in the white house.

Whatever decision we take ensures that we are responsible to our failure and success.
We need to seek knowledge understanding and wisdom. If we do not have knowledge and information we end up making mistakes all the time. Hosea 4:6 says “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: “.

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Proverbs 4:7 (KJV). Rely on godly wisdom for biblical wisdom is important.

On Wednesday something important happened to me. I went for ministration somewhere and I was surrounded with youths in the area (people we popularly call Area Boys). As I left the church about 20 of them came and as they were coming they were dragging somebody and bundled the him. They put him in my car and said that I should leave with him.  This was a very smart and intelligent man who was destined to be a success but ended up running around the streets of Lagos. This understanding humbled me because I knew that his destiny was great and derailed by a lack of knowledge on his part.

Parents look after your children. don’t let us waste the life of our children. Fight for them to ensure they have the knowledge they need to succeed in life.

What are the principles of success? Pt 1.

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.  John 1: 29-30 (KJV)

As soon as John said behold the Lamb they knew He was the one that the prophets spoke about and they began to follow Jesus. When Jesus turned around they asked where He lived and He said to them “come and see”. It was Andrew that showed Jesus to Simon Peter his brother, who when Jesus saw spoke of his purpose and destiny.

What are the important elements for our success? What are the things that makes a man to succeed in life? What makes a man to succeed? We have said that we need to know God early and move in the right season of our life. As soon as the consciousness of who God come into our heart we must take that step to not only know Him but to serve Him and walk in His purpose for our life. When people were being our compass we thought they were preventing us from living and so we made significant mistakes that has brought us to the wrong side of life.

Myles Monroe said ‘success is predictable if you know what to do to succeed’. Success is not only about praying and fasting. The challenge of today is that we think everything can be solved through praying and fasting. There are ways to pray, prayer has sequence and timing. When you pray for something you already have you may not get an answer if you do not know you already have it. This means knowledge is also important. If we pray at the wrong timing we may not have it. When you pray and pray amiss you miss.

God won’t answer some prayers because there is a reason for the times we go through or the challenges. Until we know the reason for the challenges in our life, we will not know the solution to those challenges.

Turn aside and see (Why is the bush not burning?)

Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. Exodus 3: 1-3 (KJV)

Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law and it was at this point in his life that God showed up. I want to tell someone today that God will show up for you.

God came in the flame of fire and Moses looked and behold the bush was not burning. God shows up in ways we do not expect and so we are not sure that it is God. We begin to think that there is something unusual here. So we have to be conscious of what is happening around us. Moses said to himself I am going to turn aside and see. The bible said that it was when Moses was ready to turn aside that God spoke. Moses turned aside from the way he saw things, imagined that it should be and changed the way he saw things.

My prayer for us is that we would miss the time of God, we will not miss the seasons of change. If we look back we will realise that we have missed some seasons of change, seasons of breakthrough. They didn’t turn aside at the appropriate time and missed their season of visitation.

May we not miss our season of visitation. A lady waited 9 years and in that 9th year she got her season of visitation. She got married and and had triplets. A lot of us have been waiting for years, expecting the season of change to come but at the edge of the breakthrough we act in a way that takes that season of change away from us.

Moses missed his season of change big time and he spent 40 years in the wilderness. Some of us at still in the wilderness of life. Let us cry unto God this minute for a visitation and an end to the wilderness journey of our life.

A lot of us are definitely not where we are supposed to be and several things are responsible for the way things are. We need to change the way we are thinking. The bible says be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind

We are not spending enough time in the manual of our life Joshua 1:8. A lot of us have not read the bible this week, month, year. How do we hope to succeed in life? The bible has a warranty for our life and return policy if our life is not working according to the way it should work. For somebody here today, God is going to renew the warranty of our life to the factory setting.

Today will mark the turning point in our life. Start by spending time understanding the manual for your life. 

A life on lock down

In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.  Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. 1Kings 3: 3, 9-10 (KJV) 

The reason why we must know the bible, know the principles, digest the bible, know the bible, follow the bible is for survival, fulfilment of purpose and excelling in what we do.
If we fail to live and abide the bible we would find it difficult to live life to the fullest.

Why was Solomon successful? He asked for wisdom. Why did Solomon ask for wisdom? He asked for wisdom so he would be able to be a great leader.

In the book of Exodus we read about the life of Moses and his battle with leading the children of Israel. They were in the wilderness all through the book of Exodus. A lot of us are wondering in the wilderness of life; living a life that is on lock down.

The enemy knows that the future is destined on that particular area that is on lock down. The enemy locked Moses down for 80 years and they are doing the same thing with a Lot of people even today.

Every area in your life that is on lock down we must unlock it. There is something inside of us that is aiding the lock down. Some of us keep doing the same thing but refuse to try another approach.

Moses had to turn aside to see the burning bush and it then that he got the release from the lock down. For how long are we going to remain in our mindset? The bible says be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.
After 40 years in the wilderness God came to Moses

• Don’t commit suicide
• Turn aside and see
• Those who are looking for you have been killed

Everything inside you locking your life down, your character, attitude, way of thinking, arrogance, stubbornness they shall be removed from your life today as you shine the light of Christ on them and let go of them.

Some people love children but don’t have children; some people want to make money so they can touch lives; some people want to have a ministry to change lives; some people want to have a happy home but don’t. they are on lock down because the devil knows if you are able to access that key our life will follow the path that God wants it to.

Moses made a mistake and the devil used it as an excuse to put his life on lock down. Anybody here that the devil has locked down the Lord will intervene and release you today. Any area of your life that the devil is locking you down

The devil wants to prevent you from thinking in that way. Moses had to turn aside

There is something inside you that you have to change. Arrogance, stubbornness, attitude, character, love of money must change, we cannot continue to do things the same way and expect a change in the outcome.

The enemy who sought after us will be removed.

Prayer point: Every spirit of lock down in your life be destroyed today in Jesus name Amen.

The Withered hand

And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.  Matthew 21: 19 (KJV)

Matthew 21: 18 - 22

Jesus went to the tree seeing the tree blessed with leaves but alas the tree had no fruit. When He saw the tree had no fruit he spoke the word against it and the tree withered up.
This morning we shall focus on the spoken words. Everything that we see has ears; everything us has ears and things don’t work based on the words that has gone forth from our mouth. The bible says As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. A lot of times we have spoken words against against our destiny.

What are those things that can be attacked by our words

• A person can be attacked by our words. The words we say can affect the person we say those words to
• Our words can affect objects. 
• Location. We must speak to our house and the location were we do business. The words we speak to the house in faith and through prayer has an effect on it

These days many hands and legs are not functioning well. What are the causes of withered hands; of the evils that happen in people’s lives?

1. Deuteronomy 28: 15. The word of God gives us guide on how to 
2. Sin Jeremiah 5: 25. sin withholds good things from us. 
3. Evil prophesies Jeremiah 29: 31. When we speak evil against others this attracts a curse from God. 
4. Negative pronouncement Isaiah 28: 1, 9. Every negative words we say will come to pass. 
5. Unredeemed pledges. A lot of us pledge to God and man and fail to redeem them. These pledges attracts a blessing when it is redeemed.Deuteronomy 23: 21 If the pledges are not redeemed then the failure attracts a curse. 

What are the signs that one is living in a withered destiny?

• Failure at the edge of success
• Challenges in business
• Not achieving success when we ought to

Jeremiah 18 :1-6. It is only Jesus that can turn around the withered life. God can correct all those things that the enemy has destroyed.
John 5:25 talks about the restoration of everything we have lost.
Matthew 12: 13 tells us about the healing power of the Lord as Jesus restores the hand of the man in the synagogue. He asked the man to stretch forth his hand and as he did so he received his healing.

God can cause your hand to wither

• When you are not fruitful in the way He has ordered us to
• When you are deceptive; looking like a tree with a lot of leaves and no fruits
• The most important thing in this life is to do the right thing. 

Walking the road of success

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he".  Proverbs 23:  7 (KJV)

The first thing we need to do before thinking of success is to change our thinking. Most people think of survival and existing and not of success. We think of success and so that is what we get. Some of us don’t even know what success is.

What does it mean to be successful? The difference between what we think and what we want is very significant. The world is created on a process of thoughts. 

Some people are tired, some are angry, some disheveled, and we allow our mind to be bombarded with so many things.

The processing of our thoughts towards success is based on knowing the purpose of being alive. For this we need to seek God first. Each and every person is created to serve and fulfill a purpose, an assignment given to us by God. How do we put God first? This is the Word that proceeds from Him.

The word of God- the bible is the manual of life.  What is a manual? A guide to how to do the things that should be done to ensure that the product is successful. We need to study the manual for our life to ensure the proper use of our life to achieve good success.

The bible is manual and inside that manual there are 6 items

1. A book of information
1. Information about the past - how it was done. When we are dealing with things we do it as an informed person
2. Information of the present - how things will work in the present
3. Information for those who like to speculate and plan for the future (Isaiah, Revelation, Nahum, Daniel)
2. Book of law and the consequences for not living by the law. (Ignorance of the law is no excuse)
3. A book of principles (things that happen when you do a thing). For example, what you sow is what you reap is a principles. There are principles for each and every area of our life. 
4. It is a book of knowledge. It points us to the light. 
5. Book of admonition 
6. A book of instructions

Let there be light is the first thing that God said and this shows that before anything we must first seek information, revelation regarding that thing.  Genesis 1: 3.

The Principles of Success 2

Beloved I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper even as thy soul prospers.  

3 John verse 2 (KJV)

We will succeed, why? The Word says in Romans 8: 28 that "All things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose".

I want to ask us this question. What is success? How would you define success? Below is a few of the responses from people. To them success is: 

• Success if fulfilling God’s purpose for your life
• The achievement of a purpose
• Success is when you are able break through every challenge of life 
• Conception, interpret and achieve
• The ability to make a difference in the life of people
• Achievement of a goal at the right time, at the right place for the right reason by the right person

I need you to look inward and ask yourself what your own definition of success is.

A lady came to see me recently; she was complaining that she had worked hard and done what needed to be done but she had not been promoted. I smiled and told her she could not mark her own exam. It is true she had worked hard but not work right.

A lot of us work hard in our own mind but we work wrong. Unless we achieve what God has established us to achieve our life will become a failure. It doesn't matter how generous, kind, hard working we are if we don’t work according to His plan we will not be successful.

Therefore success is fulfilling God’s purpose for your life. There are certain laws we must follow to achieve success. These laws are found in the bible.

Joshua 1:8 How many of us have read the bible back to back at least once? If you call yourself a Christian and you don’t read the manual for life how are you going to succeed? We walk around blind and become enslaved by the traditions of men. 1 Kings 2:4; Matthew 6:32 Deuteronomy 28:1. You must read the bible because you cannot succeed without the bible. This is why the rich also cry; they are rich but they experience failure in other areas of life.

The bible is a book of law and a series of examples; let us live by it.

The bible is the manual for the Christian. Like every manufactured products we have a user manual and it is the bible.This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.  Joshua 1:8 (KJV)

We would be able to make a better use of a product if we are able to understand the use for it as is seen in the manual. So also we would be able to make better use of our life if we understand and follow the guide as laid down by God in His word -BIBLE.

The Principles of Success 1

Beloved I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper even as thy soul prospers.  

3 John verse 2 (KJV)

I want to assure somebody here that God wants everyone to succeed. Let no one think that they have been created not to succeed. God wants every Christian to be rich, prosper and fulfil destiny. Genesis 1:28

God blessed man and declare fruitfulness into him and this is why Psalm 139:14 says I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

You were created and designed to succeed, Jeremiah 1:5. makes us understand the mind of God concerning us in His conversation with the Prophet Jeremiah. God knew you before He made you. He understood who you are and knew your capacity and capabilities.

Success is built into you; God has built inside of you the ability to succeed. Gen 1:27. Into every creation that God created He has already built the functionality for success in the person.

Success is predictable because it is built into you; all you need to do is follow that plan of success. If you want a fish to swim, you put it in water for it to succeed in swimming. If you want a seed to grow, you plant it in fertile soil and not on concrete floor for it to succeed. You don’t need to beg a plant or tree to succeed, therefore we do not need to be begged to succeed because we have been created to succeed. For man to succeed he also has to be in the right place; Man has to be in the Lord.

It doesn’t matter what we think our limitation, birth or issues are but know this; God does not make a mistake. It is not about how you start in life but what matters is how we end the race. God has a plan; beginning and end for every one He created.

A lot of us have gone into depression because of what the bible calls the seasons of life. We have become discouraged because we are faced one challenge or another. Know this a lot of us will go through life and be faced with temporary setbacks and issues that may seem to weigh us down.

Failure is also predictable. If you do not do the things you need to do to succeed you will fail. The reason why a lot of us have failed or are failing because we have not done those things we need to do to succeed.