EVEN WHEN OUR INCOME WAS N18,000 A YEAR, WE WERE NEVER PUT UNDER PRESSURE, WE NEVER BORROWED OR BEGGED
-Bishop David Oyedepo at CHoP
*God increases us little by little.
*Engaging with contentment is the rule of the game
Destiny answers largely to mentality (Proverbs 23:7).
No one ever arrives at a future he cannot see (Genesis 13:14)
Faith only delivers on what is expected. That means faith substantiates what is expected into realities. If it is not expected, then it is not in view (Hebrews 11:1).
No one will walk in the reality of what is never expected. It is expectation that triggers manifestation.
ENGAGING BIBLICAL MENTALITY IN STEWARDSHIP
We must possess a sower’s mentality in stewardship
Genesis 8:22 “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
Every spiritual labour is recognised as a seed in scriptures (Galatians 6:7-8). It is a relative term: what we sow physically, brings returns according to the Word of God but what we sow spiritually brings far more reaching returns – everlasting. Anybody can tell what the future holds by what he does with the Word today.
How is it everlasting? Because His Word that we engage with, that you are investing into, lives and abides forever. So, the returns that you are investing into must be everlasting because the Word lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:23).
Sowing to the flesh brings temporal returns but sowing to the spirit brings everlasting returns.
Psalm 112:1-3
The returns:
- His seed shall be mighty upon earth – that is your seed.
- The generation of the upright shall be blessed – it has left you, to your generation.
- Wealth and riches shall be in his house and his righteousness endures forever – engaging with the commandment in the Word, brings everlasting returns.
What you are now will impact on your children, impacting on your generation and impacting on your eternity. Everlasting returns.
Investing into Matthew 6:10, brings you everlasting returns.
He says this investment (John 15:16) holds everlasting in stock because you are investing into the everlasting Word of God, so it is bringing you into everlasting order of returns.
When you sow maize seed, it brings you fruits; then you finish it. You wait for the next planting and harvest time to eat fresh maize. There is no way to keep your fresh maize all through the year: No, it will become ‘un-fresh’.
But when you invest into the truth, He brings you everlasting returns. Abraham was investing into every commandment of the Lord with delight, investing with delight and now Christ died to bring us into the blessedness of Adam – everlasting returns
And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed – everlasting returns.
There are many names in this Commission today, including those online Church Gist that will be everlasting names, that your children will grow and become hotter than you in your walk with God, they will fly higher than you fly because investing into the truth which is everlasting in nature brings you to the everlasting realm of rewards.
There are people here today that sickness will never be mentioned in your generations. They will not be mentioned in your generation, by reason of your investment as a sower, an investor into the commandment of the truth, you’ll have everlasting returns package.
Luke 2:37. I don’t know Anna, I never saw her but we are reading it now – everlasting impact from the prayer altar.
Colossians 4:12 You never saw Epaphras, I never saw him but now ‘Epaphras’ and we are talking about him as if we saw him yesterday.
He was praying to see God made manifest among people, to see the worship of Baal destroyed and a whole nation turned back to God from the prayer altar of Elijah (James 5:17).
We must possess a sower’s mentality that will keep us going.
While seed sown may not bring forth fruit overnight but harvest time is sure (Mark 4:26-28). Every seed in the Kingdom has guaranteed results. It is the incorruptible seed, it is indestructible. Anything the Word says and you engage with, it is an incorruptible seed you are sowing.
First the blade – it doesn’t look like it, it looks like grass.
Then the flowers – no, I didn’t plant flowers, I planted corn.
But it is coming.
Then the full corn. It comes in stages:
- First, it looks like there is nothing, you are just wasting your time, what is happening here but it is coming. The Word of God lives and abides forever, it is coming!
Every genuine investment in obeying God’s commandment has guaranteed returns. Not just that, it has everlasting returns.
We were a very prosperous Church when our total income was N18,000 – we were very prosperous, you may think otherwise, that is your thought. We were not put under pressure, we were not borrowing, we were not begging but you are on your way climbing.
When our Church was six, we were a great Church because everything that Jesus does is great. The great Church became 21 over time, not 1 week, not 3 weeks, not 4 weeks, not 8 weeks.
And the 21 began to graduate and it became 90 after 8 months, so it is growing. The seed is like blade, like grass: is this a great Church? It is growing.
He gives us returns little by little, lest we jump up (boom) and then we lose control (Exodus 23:30).
So, it is little by little (until you develop capacity), then you inherit the entire land. One plot, then 2 plots, 3 plots, then it becomes 2 hectares, 3 hectares, little by little.
If He gives you 1 hectare and you don’t have money to fence it, they will take it from you.
If He gives you a Mercedes car when you should be riding a beetle, you don’t have money to maintain it – you will be looking at the car, the car will be looking at you. You can’t ride it.
If He gives you a flat when you should be in a room – hehn, you won’t sleep when it is time to pay because you don’t have money to pay with.
But He gives us little by little, it is sure (Habakkuk 2:2-3)
The God of little by little, (do) you know the reason He is doing that? So that the beast of the field will not increase upon us and consume us (Deuteronomy 7:22).
I don’t know the number of cleaners that are on this campus today. If we had that number of cleaners, the ministry would die the same year. Where will they even clean Church Gist in the first instance? But in case you are a major Prophet and anything you see must come to pass now, you can advertise that we need cleaners, about 62 of them. By the time, it is time to pay their wages, you will run away. You will just go to the mountain to start praying; the mountain has no address, no connectivity: they will look for you and not find you.
Little by little
That is why contentment is what wins the race. Just be excited at each level that you are and then you are on your way going. Jesus is Lord.
Your investment into soul winning, your investment into prayers this week are all everlasting seed time and you’re returning with everlasting returns (Genesis 8:22)
Seedtime and harvest shall never cease:
- No matter who may be mocking you today, your harvest is coming.
- No matter how anybody may feel concerning you, your harvest is coming.
You are investing into the everlasting ground, investing into the everlasting seed and so your everlasting harvest is guaranteed.
Everyone engaging and investing this week, the good news is your harvest is coming. It’s not just coming in your lifetime, it is coming to impact on the life of your children, your children’s children, in their generations and everlastingly.
Every time invested in obeying God, every time invested in prayers, every time invested in reaching out to the lost using any of the available social media platform, using your leg and mouth in talking to people, they are everlasting investment and they carry everlasting returns.
Let these 7 weeks ahead of you be great times of investment, great season of investment and like that (from documented testimony) young man that got a scholarship (which covers his wife and 2 children, though he wasn’t married): a wife, not married yet and children not born yet, for bringing 7 souls; believe it sir, I never had it in mind when the Holy Ghost said to me, ‘7’.
He reached out to 59 and got 7 of them established (John 4:36). It is the ingathering that is the last phase, that entitles you and I to our wages. Ensure that they are not just saved but are brought into the Kingdom for their preservation. For a man to remember 7 telephone numbers, that is unusual sir; they called 2 of them and they answered in the affirmative.
Evening Prayers: 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm (Nigerian time)
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