Overcoming Through Praise

I was inspired while in Church last Wednesday during my Pastor's teachings to do a post on praises. The Topic of his teaching was "The Tongue as an instrument of praise".
We have often heard statements like, "prayers move mountains but praises move God". I, for one, have not been too keen in using this statement may be, because I can't find it verbatim in the entire Bible or may be, because I am a man of prayer and felt that such is a slight on prayer. Be that as it may, there is awesome power in praises and I have reasons to believe that praises indeed is more powerful than prayers. Someone has said, "when we pray, God sends angels but when we praise, HE comes down Himself.In fact, when your praises go up, HIS presence comes down. Have you not read in the Scriptures that HE (God) inhabits the praises of His people. I have also discovered that praises is an integral part of prevailing prayers.
The aim of this post is to provoke a lifestyle of praise in us!

When your praises go up, HIS presence comes down

In the book of Acts 12:1-11 When Peter was imprisoned by Herod to be executed the next day, the Bible says prayers were offered ceaselessly by the Church for him. What happened? An Angel was dispatched by heaven to go and effect Peter's release. The manner in which the release was effected made Peter to think he was dreaming. The Bible says, the chain (handcuffs) fell off Peter's hands as the Angel tapped him to arise. The Angel led him out of the prison and in to the city before vanishing out of sight. That was prayers in action.
But in Acts 16:23-40 when Paul and Silas faced the same fate-imprisonment- the Bible says they prayed after which they sang praises unto God. Their praises were so high and loud that all the prisoners and wardens heard them. What happened? God Himself came down! The foundations of the prisons were shaken and the whole doors and windows swung open. Not only that, the chains fell off the hands of every prisoner and the Jailor, as a result, gave his life to Christ. Unlike Peter's case, this one was more dramatic with earthquakes because God Himself came down. No wonder Psalms 22:3 declares that "HE inhabits the praises of HIS people". God may send angels to receive prayers on HIS behalf but not praises. He comes down Himself to receive them.

Praise is a weapon of war:
Praise has been a prophetic weapon of war even from ancient times. Psalms 149:6-9 declares "Let the high praise of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron...". In Psalms 8:2, the scripture says: "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings has thou ordained strength because of thine enemies..." but when Jesus in Matthew 23: 16 quoted this same scripture, He substituted "strength" with "praise" telling you that praise is power. Also When the children of Moab, and Ammon et al came up against Jehoshaphat the king of judah to battle, it was through this weapon that He overcame them all. The Bible says in II Chronicles 20:21-22 that, when he (Jehoshaphat) had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. Because they praised, God himself set ambushments against their enemies. See full account in II Chronicles 20:1-30
Focus your energies on praising God and let Him take over your battles.

Praise is the gate-pass into the sacred chambers of the Most High:
The Psalmist enjoins us to "enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name (Psalms 100:4) Rev. Dr. Uma Ukpai once said, that nobody is permitted to enter into God's presence without praises and thanksgiving. If God inhabits the praises of His people then it means the one who praises is right in the presence of God. Lets forget our worries and lift our hearts above our challenges to come into His presence through praise and worship. Spirit-inspired Praises and worship provokes a release of the anointing. Elisha once requested that a minstrel be brought to minister in songs before he could prophesy. It was as she was ministering that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Elisha and he prophesied. Praise and Worship is one of the ways we minister unto the Lord. See Acts 13:1-2


Be a Praise Addict
When it comes to praises, there is one man who knows how to use this weapon and that is none other but King David. David was a man after God's heart for two reasons: one, he was tender hearted and of a broken spirit who knows how to say "i am sorry, forgive me" whenever he erred and Two, he was a man who loves God and knows how to worship HIM in praises. He was a praise-addict! Every great man is an addict and for king David, his was addiction to praise. Praising God was his sleeping and waking thought. He seemed to know no other thing to do with his time and his tongue than to simply praise the LORD all the days of his life. He could thank God for virtually everything about himself and situations whether good or bad.

Lets do an exposition on this praise addict and learn from him:

1) For what did he praise the Lord? In all things! In battle and in peace, at home and in wilderness, in abundance and in want. So must we also praise God.The Bible says we should give thanks to God in all things for this is His will concerning us in Christ Jesus. All things may not be His will but in all things, His will is that we should thank Him because He has what it takes to work out His glory from every mess in your life.

2) Why did he praise the Lord? For God is good, and His mercies endureth forever (Pslms 22:3; 136:1-6;145:21). Knowing how he started and from where the Lord picked him from, he never failed to thank God for this unmerited favour. He saw God's goodness in every thing that happened to him. The Bible says it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.

3) Who did he say should praise the Lord? The living shall praise the Lord (Pslms 150:6; Isaiah 38:9) The dead can't praise God. Not just the physically dead but also the spiritually dead as well, for God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Remember, God is the God of the living and not the dead.

4) How did David praise the Lord? With all available instruments; including his mouth and all that is within him. (Pslms 103:1; 150: 1-6). Everything about us ought to praise Him-our appearance, our speech, our car, our phones (the ringtones, wall paper etc), our homes(and houses) etc.

5) Where did he praise the Lord? Everywhere and anywhere (Pslms 48:1, 2; Acts. 16:25-26).
6) When did he praise the Lord? At all times (Pslms 34:1, 134:1-2, Chronicles 16:8)
There are folks who praise Him only on Sundays and soon as they out of church, grumbling and bitterness take over. We should praise Him at all times and in all places so we could carry His presence withersover we go.

Praises (and thanksgiving) is the bank cheque with which we make withdrawals from our accounts in Heaven. Many Christians by their many prayers are rich in their accounts in heaven but still live wretchedly on earth due to their lack of thankfulness and gratitude to God. Somebody said, "if you want to be FULL of great things, be greatFULL" and another said, "if you are not grateful, you are not better than a great fool". What is that challenge for which prayers have been offered and it seems nothing's happening. Try praises! There are testimonies of men who have obtained promises through praises.

Don't just be a prayer warrior, but be a praise warrior as well

Praise is an evidence of faith in God:
The economy may be bad, and life very rough but don't let praise depart from your Tabernacle. Your Praises and thanksgivings in the midst of hardship are testimonials of your faith in God. To praise and thank Him for things that's yet to be is evidence of faith just like our father Abraham in Romans 4: 20-21, "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory unto God; And being fully persuaded, that what He had promised, He was able also to perform".
Living a life of praise (gratitude, gratefulness, thankfulness) is an attitude you cultivate. Learn to live by praises. Praise God for everything because "we know that all things worketh together for good to those that love God, to those who are called according to His purpose". I have had testimonies as well along this line. One of which was the increase in my pay. My pay became so insufficient that i had to write our management some time around mid 2008 requesting for a pay increase. I never heard from my MD on the issue again and the letter, i believe, ended up in the trash can. God gave us favour through our DMD who happens to be a believer but the MD sat on her proposal for a pay increase as well. Meanwhile, as all these transpired, i was engaged in all kinds of fire for fire prayers until December 2008 when I read the book "from prison to praise" by Merilyn Carothers. I started thanking and praising God for the situation including the MD and by this, committed Him to my cause. Without any further efforts, the MD approved a pay rise for us later in 2009 and back dated it to January 2009.

It doesn't matter how hard life has treated you. That you are reading this post is enough reason to praise Him. There are stronger guys who couldn't survive the same conditions. Praise Him because He has what it takes to turn the table in your favour. If you can't praise and worship Him for who He is, then praise Him because of who you are. Yes! who you are, because there is somebody somewhere praying to be what you are today even though you are still miles away from whom you ought to be. A fellow was crying because he has got no shoes until he came across someone without legs. You may be down today but certainly not out, so praise Him. You may be in what seems like a prison, an incapacitation sort of, just like apostle Paul and Silas but thank God your mouth is not bound. Praise your way to freedom! When you praise Him in the midst of adversities, you drive the devil mad. The devil wants to steal your joy cos he knows the place of joy in fullfiling destiny. Isaiah 12:3 says: "therefore with with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation (salvation from poverty, distress, adversities etc)" If your case has deteriorated to the point that praises have dried up in your mouth and what you have is murmuring and grumbling instead, then accept my sympathy. This was the undoing of the Israelites in the wilderness en-route Canaan.
Praise refreshes and renews our souls.

When everything else fails, try praises!

Selah

The True Essence of Knowledge

So much has been said and written about knowledge. Every motivational speaker and writer would want to drum it into his audience that knowledge is all they need and that if anyone thinks otherwise, he should go and try ignorance. And in fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy, knowledge has greatly increased in this later days. The result is that man's quest for knowledge has been on the increase. The average child today knows more than his parents knew when they were his age. There are a thousand and one books on virtually every field of human endeavour and existence. Is it marriage, finance, spirituality, relationship, you name it. Almost every home today has a copy of the Bible. Knowledge is so accessible today that ignorance can no longer be excused. Even if you can't read, at least you can hear and there are speakers (tapes, and CDs) in whatever is your area of interest. The importance of knowledge can not be over emphasized. Bishop Oyedepo once said that every exploit in life is a product of knowledge.

Every exploit in life is a product of knowledge- Bishop D. O .Oyedepo

But there is an evil I have seen under the sun, our lives do not match up with the level of knowledge we wield. With the volumes of knowledge available to us today, can we boldly say that the level and quality of lives we live is a true reflection of how knowledgeable or versed we are? Is your financial status a true reflection of how versed you are upstairs in financial matters? The world has seen the marriages of those who taught others how to build healthy relationships hit the rock. The Church has seen believers, theologians and scholars alike whose lives and what they profess or teach are worlds apart though, knowledgeable and versed in scriptures. Hope you know there are professors in the sciences today who comparatively know more in their fields than did the likes of Edison back then but who have no invention/discoveries to their credit? The list is endless! We know so much upstairs but with so little to show for it. These things ought not to be.

The essence of knowledge is action, not information. It is not to make you a walking dictionary or encyclopedia but to enrich your life. The true essence of knowledge is change, and not information. And such change can only come through action. This is where we often get it wrong. Hear the words of the Lord Jesus in John 13:17, "if ye know these things, happy (blessed) are ye if ye do them" It is the "doing" that brings the blessing and not just the "knowing".

The aim of knowledge is action, and its true essence is change, not information-Prince

Knowledge does not equal change neither does it equal results. In fact having the knowledge does not always automatically translates into results. How many people today know that Jesus saves from sin? How many more know that prosperity is God's will for them? Quite a good number of course! But only a minute fraction of them are actually saved or prosperous. "knowing" is not always "being" and the bridge between them is "doing". Many of us have the same attitude as that young rich fellow who came to Jesus to ask him what he will do to inherit eternal life who when he was eventually told, walked out on the Lord. We attend seminar, read books, ask questions with an attitude of "what must I do to get..." but unfortunately, that is how far we go. No commitment, no action therefore, no change!

Knowing what God has promised you is information, and knowing what to do to make it yours is revelation-Bishop Oyedepo

Something instructive played out in I Kings 17:9-15 when God informed Elijah that He (God) has commanded a widow at Zarephath to sustain (or be feeding) him. Armed with this information, Elijah set out for Zarephath. Surprisingly, when he got there, he didn't meet a widow eagerly waiting with a sumptuous meal to feed him. Rather he met a resistant "poor" widow. It took Elijah a little persistence to prevail on the widow to do what God has said. Many of us would have backed off after the initial resistance. Knowing what God has promised you is information, and knowing what to do to take delivery of it is revelation. "Knowing" is not always "possessing" and "revelation-based actions" is the bridge between them. There is the word of faith, there is also the action of faith. Faith most times is justified by actions (James 2). Knowing is not always possessing! Knowing the importance of stock and how to buy them doesn't make you a shareholder in any firm. Having a knowledge of the presence of crude oil underneath your house won't make you a millionaire. Got that? No knowledge is automatic, you must believe and act on it. It has often been said that "knowledge is power" but i beg to differ. It can only be power when used or acted upon or else, knowledge is potential. Active knowledge (i.e. knowledge applied or acted upon) is power whereas dormant knowledge (i.e. knowledge yet to be applied or acted upon) is potential.
Francis Beacon said, "knowledge is light". What this means is that it lightens our path and shows us the way to go but we have to walk the walk.

What shall it profit a man if he acquires the whole knowledge and uses it not?-Prince

I will end this piece with an exposition on John 8:32, "ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free" (KJV). Note He didn't say, "ye shall be free for knowing the truth". There are two clauses in His statement connected by a conjunction. Although the second is a function of the first.
The First: "ye shall know the truth"- that is knowledge
The second: "the truth shall make you free"- that is knowledge at work (or putting knowledge to work)
A lot of folks stop at the first without progressing to the second.
"I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth" the Bible says. Knowing this is good but do you know how to activate this acknowledge to work for you? The essence of knowledge is change and until knowledge goes to work in your life or situation, there won't be any change.
Yes! Knowledge is a key but it will not, and can not, on its own open any door until you specifically put it to such a use.


Selah!

It is your business...

I have been vacillating between topics recently not knowing exactly which to write on but thank God, I finally have my mind made up.lol. The choice of title for this post was another mental exercise as it were. I initially was between two options viz:"It is in your mouth!", and "Not So!" but none of them quite sit well with me until this morning right at the point of blogging. While still comtemplating, the above topic, "It is your business..." just surfaced and settled with ease.
Our text will be taken from Luke 1:13,59-61. We all know the account, it is about the birth of John the Baptist but I wouldn't want us to be over familiar with the Scriptures so lets read it together: v13: "But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shall call his name John". vs59-61: "And it came to pass, that on the eight day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name".
Whenever I read this account, certain facts about life stare me right in the face. Some of which iI would share with us in this post. In verse 13 God via an angel had told them that their expected child shall be called John but when the time came for him to be named, Zacharias' kinsmen decided to name him after his father and God was up there watching. At that point the child's destiny was being bargained and if they had succeeded in changing his name, it would have affected not just his life but also his mission and ministry because the name John has a direct bearing on his ministry and mission. When all these were happening, God was up there watching and probably, may be saying "Elisabeth, if they succeed in changing that name, it is your business and I will hold you responsible". It took Elisabeth to refute their choice and not God, it took her to ensure that that which has been spoken to them by the angel was enforced. It doesn't matter how many they (the kinsmen) were in number. Of course, they were her husband's kinsmen and so command some level of respect from her but she didn't look at their faces. It was just enough that they (Zacharias and her) have heard from the Lord and like they say, "one with God is majority". Elisabeth with God prevailed because she refused to keep silence. She understood that a closed mouth is a closed destiny so she refused to keep sealed lips but rather opened her mouth and declared what God has said. No wonder Psalms 68:11 declares "The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it". Beloved, it is strictly your business to declare (publish) the word of God concerning your life. The Bible in II Corinthians 4:13 declares thus, "we having the same spirit of faith (with God) as it is written, I believed and therefore have I spoken, we also believe and therefore speak". Don't keep quiet, cos heaven is waiting for you to say it! That reminds me of a story my pastor once told us about Papa Idahosa of blessed memory and his conquest against the forces of hell. The story had it that there was to be an international conference of witches to be held in Benin and announcements regarding the conference rented the air. But the man of God went on air as well to announce that the meeting would not hold. The more the witches announced theirs the more he did his with greater slots. This prompted the station to invite Papa Idahosa and the head of the witches to really know what was actually going on. To cut a long story short, it was reported that the head of the witches boasted during the interview that even if God comes down from heaven, the meeting would still hold. But Papa Idahosa told him ( and I love this) that "God doesn't need to come down when he(Idahosa) is here". You got the message: it means God is too big for such shit, He would rather have one of his Sons to take care of that, and the son in question was well equal to the task. Of course the conference didn't hold. It doesn't matter what the host of hell are saying against your life, they may have gathered just like Zacharias kinsmen did to "decide" your destiny but that will only stand if you permit them.
Another important fact is that, it is good to know what God has said concerning your life or else you may settle down for what men say you are. Elisabeth didn't have to declare what she felt or her own words but the word of the Lord. You must know what has been said (written) in the volume of the book concerning you.
Hope you know that "thus saith the Lord" is not a license to go and sleep. Apostle Paul in I Timothy 1:18 has this to say, "This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;". Paul was simply telling Timothy that it is his business to wage a good warfare with those prophecies. God has given him His words by prophecies, the rest is his business.
Elisabeth declared, "Not so". What are those "Not Sos" in our lives. I mean those situations and occurrences that negate the word of God in our lives, that tend to give us a name that is not ours like the woman with the issue of blood whose predicament took up her name. Is it possible you bear a ''name'' that's not yours simply because you permitted it? Is it possible you may be going through situations that ought not to be so because you decide to hold your peace? Those "Not Sos" will remain until you take a stand against them and it is your business to confront them with the word. Have you not read in the scriptures that "whatever you permit here on earth shall be permitted in heaven"? I don't know what name men have given you may be, based on your family background or history: the child was named Zacharias after his father in line with the trend in his kindred. Whether or not the name sticks is your business. Open your mouth wide and declare HIS word. If you understand your position in God, you may not need to report the matter to God. Jesus says "whosoever shall say to this mountain be thou removed..." He didn't ask us to report the mountain to Him or the father rather we should exercise our authority. Elisabeth didn't have to consult God but rather she declared what she knew God has said. The scriptures say "where the word of the king is, there is power and who can say what doest thou?" You are a king for crying out loud! That is the realm God wants us to attain in our walk with Him.
Another aspect of this account that trips me so much has to do with the intercessory dimension of it. Elisabeth at that instance was standing in the gap for the child whose destiny was being decided as it were. There are those whose lives hang in the balances and whatever becomes of them depends largely on those whose duty it is to stand in the gap for them at such times in their lives. Have you wondered why certain fellows no matter how rough and wayward their lives seem to have been over the years eventually end up clean, i mean end up saints of the most high? Whereas some others may not be that privileged and do end up badly some even meet their untimely end. I believe the difference may not be unconnected with the activities of such intercessors-most times parents esp. mothers- who refused to let go but held on to the horns of God's alter interceding for these ones. God says is Ezekiel that He soughts for a man that will stand in the gap and make up the edge so He would not destroy the land but find none...
Your life is an challenge, rise to it! It is your business and not God's.

Cheers!

The Labour of a Fool- 2

In keeping with my promise, I will conclude this series today and I hope you find it very instructive and enlightening. Our Text this time is Luke 12:15-21. We will look at verse 15 now then later 16-21. Verse 15 "And he said unto them, "Take heed, and beware pf covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth."
The above was from the mouth of none other but the Lord and Master, Jesus himself. And it calls for serious attention in a materialistic world like ours. The life of a man does not consist in the abundance of things-certificates, houses, cars, clothings, women (men) etc- which he possesseth. Folks, life is more than food, drink and raiment. Life is about the legacies and ideals we live and stand for. Your life is not measured by your perceived worth but by your relevance. Someone has said, life is not measure by duration but by donation. This Verse 15 prompted Jesus to narrate the parable of the rich fool in verses 16-21 in order to drive home His point. Verse 16-21: "And he spake a parable unto them saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully; And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, this will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, thou has much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry"
This rich guy, no doubt, was enterprising and visionary. The Bible says his ground (or business in modern terms) brought forth plentifully to the point that his packing store or warehouse couldn't contain his harvest. The guy like every other shrewd business man decided to expand and grow his business by pulling down and building bigger warehouse. In the eyes of an average business man, this fellow was a success as far as what eyes could see was concerned. But is that all that success entails? If you think so, then wait for this shocker in verse 20: "But God said unto him (the business magnet), thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?''
Doesn't it surprise you that this "wise" and shrewd business man was described in no mistaken terms as a fool? By extension, he has succeeded in just engaging himself in the labour of a fool.
But why was he called a fool? Lets do some expositions as to why he was called a fool.
He was not a fool because he made money but because he made it for the wrong reasons. the Bible says, he layeth up treasure for himself. Hear him, "my soul thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, drink and be merry". This guy lived for self-gratification and aggrandizement.
The labour of the foolish is a labour that is laboured to be consumed on self. When God told Abraham that He was going to bless him, it was so that we would be a blessing. God is not interested in your perceived worth but in your relevance to His cause and to humanity. You may be worth a billion dollars but still be irrelevant to God and to man. Men Don't care how much you worth until they know how much you care. If today you are no more, would you be missed?

"your life is measured not by your worth but by your relevance"-Prince

The labour of the foolish is a labour that is laboured without eternity (life after here) in view. I Corithians 15:19 declares: "if in this life only we have hope, we are of all men most miserable". The rich guy forgot that "we brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out of it'' (I Timothy 6:7). It reminds me of a story worth sharing here. A mad man happened to be around during the burial of a wealthy guy but was infuriated that the dead man was deprived of any of his belongings. He (the mad man) accosted them and was pointing at the dead man's belongings-houses, cars etc- one after another insisting that each be buried along with him. But when they refused, he concluded that they were wicked for refusing to give the man what he laboured for so he could use them on the other side of eternity. He walked away wagging his head. There are those who have vowed to stop at nothing until they get their soul's desires only to live them behind unceremoniously for others without even a "thank you" from their beneficiaries. Jesus asked in Mark 8:36 "what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and lose his soul?.." The rich guy died leaving behind all he had laboured for and Verse 21 added "so is he that layeth up treasure for himself but is not rich towards God''. To be rich towards God speaks of having a rich personal relationship with God. How rich are you towards God? Be wise!

A labour of the foolish is a labour without regards to the Almighty from whom all blessings flow for His providence and mercies. The Psalmist says: "a fool has said in his heart, there is no God". Some don't say this but they act it out in their actions. They violate God's words (commandments) with reckless abandon. I read on a news site the other day a comment by a young fool who declared thus, "God if you exist, strike me dead by this time tomorrow. I don't believe you exist" And another fellow replied him very intelligently (he called him by his name and said) "if God strikes you dead as requested, how would we know?".

Folks, a fool is not just someone who can't spell his name or someone who talks balderdash. It is not just someone who gets coned by fraudsters-someone very gullible. There are also fools in 3-peice suits, living in mansions, driving posh cars and who speaks impeccable English. Some of them are even in positions of authority but their actions give them out as nothing but fools. You can tell from their philosophies of life and by their mad quest for the pleasures of life at the expense of their consciences and souls. The words of the rich fool in verse 19 sums up their lives, "...my soul...take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry". These are they who connive to steal company's goods (or government/public properties) and would tell themselves that "na where you dey work na you go chop" (or government money/property nobody get am, na all of us own). These are they who believe that they have to "use what they have to get what they want" and would go as far as selling their bodies to make that grade, get that job or pass that exam. These are buyers (or managers) who put contractors (vendors) through hell because they wouldn't play game with them.

What legacies would you leave behind after you are gone? Let your actions do the talking!

The Labour of A Fool- 1

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The above title has been ringing in my head and heart recently. As I meditate on it, I came to the realization that a lot of us have engaged in such labours at some points in our lives albeit unknowingly. If we must make progress this year, then it is imperative we understand what this labour is because your actions (labour) are a function of your understanding, a pointer to the level of wisdom your possess. Ecclesiastes 10:15 say, "The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, because he knoweth not how to go to the city". Let me explain this scripture with a personal experience I went through when Adeolu Akinyemi visited Port-Harcourt (PH) sometime last year. When I got news of his presence, I decided I was going to meet him in flesh and blood for the very first time. You can imagine how excited I was to meet one of those I hold as mentors for the very first time. I took excuse from the office so I could attend the meeting he was holding in his hotel suite. You can imagine how i felt seeing the man whose words (write-ups) burn like fire in my bones and have always set my soul ablaze. Part of my time there was spent gazing and wondering at his person and not actually listening to what was being discussed. lol. In fact I had to repeat my visit the following day to really get some of my questions about the subject of the meeting answered. What I didn't tell him was that the journey to locate him wasn't an easy one although i endured the pain for the joy of meeting him. I knew fully well that he was lodged at Amanda Hotel along Woji road in New G.R.A. He even called to give me his suite number. I was born and brought up in PH, in fact I had my primary education in the same G.R.A., but what i went through that day trying to locate the hotel sums up the above scripture.
I had the options of accessing Woji road either from Olu-obasanjo road where u have everyday supermarket or from G.R.A. junction at Aba road. I went for the later option. Just behind Manuchim (OCJ Okocha's) Chamber on Tombia street, i asked a guy if he could direct me on how i could get to Amanda Hotel. He did using Le meridian as a marker and I followed his explanations but when i discovered i had missed the way, i asked another guy who also obliged me. I followed his too with Amanda Hotel not yet in sight. I eventually arrived at Woji road at everyday supermarket (i.e my first option above) and right there i asked another guy who told me that Amanda Hotel is still ''miles'' away from where i was. Well, i decided i was going to do the trekking since am on woji road but how wrong i was. I met another guy down the road and he told me that the hotel is still a bit far but advised me on a short cut to take. Surprisingly, he told me that the short cut would lead to an area (where polo golf club is) which was just a stone's throw from where i started off from at manuchim chambers. Poor me! After about 30 minutes or more of trekking i still haven't arrived my destination. Funny enough, there was no mass transit or taxis service per se in the area so I decided to take a cab (a drop) at that point and the guy was glad to take N150 from me or was it N200? I have forgotten. In less than 5 minutes, we were at Amanda Hotel though i noticed tha the driver played smart as he, kind of, lengthened the drive a bit.
After the meeting as i walked out of the hotel and walked a little to my left, there was Tombia street where the primary school i attended is situated. Oh my God! so this is where this hotel is? i quipped. How things have changed, if the hotel had been there during my primary school days some 20-25 years ago, i definitely would have known it like the back of my palm. Most of those areas were undeveloped then. Well, I trekked (or is it strolled?) down to my starting point at G.R.A. to find my way back to the office. Of course! my visit the next day was a straight forward one.
That experience taught me an instructive lesson about life: It is one thing to know where u are going and quite another to know how to get there. It is also one thing to have what it takes and quite another to know what it takes. Having what it takes and not knowing it, is worse than knowing what it takes and not having it "for my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hoses 4:6). Although the difference between both may be the willingness or unwillingness to take the necessary actions. Most of us do have what it takes! One may have what i takes and in ignorance, waste it while someone who knows what it takes is in a position to acquire it if he doesn't have it. Sure, he can tell whether or not he has it. Well, that is a food for thought.
This is 2010 and most of us already know what we want: we have visions, goals and targets we want to hit this year but do we know how to go about or achieve them? The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them because he knoweth not how to go to the city. Mind you, he knows which city it is, he may even be able to describe this city to his co-travellers but yet, doesn't know how to go there. Very pitiable indeed! That is ignorance and i think, a pathetic one at that because it may lead to self delusion. I thought i knew how to get to amanda hotel and if any one had questioned my confidence about it, i would have fired back reminding him that i schooled there. That would have settled any ensuing argument.
You have no bragging right to wisdom until you have demonstrated same in your works. You are not wise because you say so, let your works (labour) do the talking. No wonder a scripture in Psalms, speaking about God, testifies that by (or in) wisdom he created the world. His works are a manifestation of his wisdom.
Your destiny is so precious to be gambled and run on trial and error this year. Wait on God for direction and guidance. Acquire information relevant to your goals and vision. Knowledge makes your journey easier. Associate with the right people because "he that walketh with wise shall be wise but a companion of fools shall be destroyed" (Proverbs 13:12). Find better ways to do things; they may be the same things but there are better ways to do them than you have been employing. Persistence simply means having your eyes on your goals while modifying your approaches or methods. That is, being dynamically focused. It is not doing the same thing over and over again yet expecting a different result. Lets not engage in the labour of a fool this year. The labour of the foolish wastes energy and resources including time and money and may prove too costly.

"Persistence means being dynamically focused"-Prince

Wait a minute! But the scripture says "'in all labour there is profit' (Proverbs 14:23), so it means there is some kind of profit in the labour of the foolish'', someone may remind me. Yes! but the profit in it is the lessons that experience teaches and some are better imagined than experienced. If we have engaged in such labour in the past, God expects us to learn from it and get on with our lives, avoiding the same mistake.
I have a strong impression in my spirit that 2010 will be a turning point but it will not be enough setting goals or making resolutions without any action plan on achieving them.

"Having what it takes and not knowing it, is worse than knowing what it takes and not having it although, the willingness or unwillingness to take the necessary actions may make the difference between both"-Prince

Stay with me, there is another aspect of the labour of a fool that we shall look at in my next post but till then, let me have your take (comments) on this one.


Love u!

The Secrets of Elisha 3

Compliments of the Season! Ain't you grateful that God has brought us this far? If you are not grateful, then you are not better than a great fool. In all that you do this season, always remember that Jesus is the reason for the season and as you celebrate him, may He make you a celebrity. Ain't you suppose to be talking about Elisha? someone may be asking. Of course I am but I need to put down those lines in the spirit of the season.

We have diagnosed the various stages in his journey with Elijah and their spiritual significance in part 1 & 2. As I conclude this post today, I will be looking at the attributes or qualities in Elisha that stood him out from the crowd. I am afraid I may need a part 4 to conclude this series but I will try as much as possible to see that this won't be the case. I crave your patience cos u may be in for a lengthy reading but trust me, it has a lot in stock for u!

Hope you are aware that Elisha wasn't the only prophet in town at the time. Of course not! In I Kings 18: 13, Obediah reminded Elijah of how he hid an hundred prophets of the Lord in a cave away from the onslaught of Jezebel. So there were some prophets in the Land at the time. Also recall that at each stage Elijah and Elisha got to, there were sons of the prophets (these were prophets-in-waiting, i.e there were trainee prophets serving other prophets with the hope of succeeding them). It is obvious that there are other prophets at the time but why did God by pass them and went for Elisha? That's the question I will attempt to answer in this post. He by-passed them, I believe, because of the qualities He saw in Elisha. Those prophets were cowards and were not worthy to be entrusted with the great task of confronting the prophets of baal and of reviving Israel. There were alive but there impact was not being felt. It got to the point that Elijah was bold enough to declare to God that he was the only prophet left in the Land. If you know what that implies, then you would understand the extent of their cowardice. Elijah didn't know they existed, and God couldn't count on them either. If only one Elijah troubled Jezebel and her prophets, imagine what those hundred prophets could have been able to do if they were cut out of the same sterner stuff as Elijah.
God knew that these anonymous prophets would chicken out when the chips are down. Imagine them been hid in the cave by an "ordinary" Obediah who wasn't even a prophet because of a woman. So, when it was time for heaven to shop for Elijah's replacement, none of them nor their students passed heaven's test except Elisha. Elisha was , in my opinion, the least experienced in prophetic matters amongst existing prophets and sons of prophets then. Remember Elisha was not yet known until I Kings19:19 that was after Elijah confronted and defeated Jezebel and her porphets.
So, what are the qualities that made Elisha thick?
They are:

1) Desire and Hunger:
Elisha was a man with a burning desire, an insatiable hunger for the spiritual. He was never content with his spiritual level but was continuously pressing forward. Neither the joy of Gilgal, nor the splendour of Bethel, nor the oppositions of Jericho could hold him back. He refused to settle down on any of these mountains as it were. He, like apostle Paul, was in the practice of forgetting those things there were behind and reaching forth unto those things that are before. He pressed on until he reached his mark. Remember at every level they got to, there were the sons of the prophets. Elisha meets and leaves them behind at each level. These sons of the prophet lack hunger for the spiritual, although they knew what God was about to do but they were too complacent to key into it. There are such people in churches today. Year in, year out, they remain where they have always been. No growth, no progress. They can tell you how their church started, or even recite the scriptures by rot but are very anonymous. Their impact are not being felt in their churches. They leave in their past. For them it is now, "I remember when i was a soldier". And if you are not careful they may slow you down just like that old prophet did to that young prophet in the bible. Desire and hunger are spiritual lubricants that keep the wheel of your spiritual life going.

2) Focus:

"Show me a man who knows where he is going but never gets there, and I will show you a man who lacks focus, a man given to much distractions"-Prince

Elisha had a great deal of focus. The first sign of this was manifest in I Kings 19:21 when Elijah first found him. The Bible says he burnt his yoke of oxen and bade his family goodbye. In other words, he made sure nothing stands as a potential source of distraction to him. He like the early apostles, abandoned all and followed his master. Another evidence of his focus was his response to the batches of fifty sons of the prophets as each tried to distract him from following Elijah at each level they got to. He always told them, "I know but hold your peace". And the climax of it was over Jordan when Elijah asked him to make a request which he did. Elijah told him in II Kings 2: 10, "Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see when i am taken from thee, it shall be so unto; but if not, it shall not be so" It sounds simple but very tricky. And Elisha passed the test. One thing that is obvious is that Elisha abandoned himself to this cause and gave his all. One of the weapons the devil uses against youths of this generation is distraction. There are forces of diversion and distraction all over demanding our attention and resources. Their aim? To distract you from your goal and divert your energy and resources to something else. They are countless and abound at every turn: on campuses, in churches, in our neighborhoods etc. No matter where you find them, their mission is the same. One of the tasks you owe yourself is that of been able to discern these forces whenever they show up. Many destinies are aborted because of these forces. If you doubt me, go and ask Samson.

3) Foresight and vision:
Needless to say, Elisha was a man with profound foresight. He knew that Elijah's mission was over and there was need for a successor and thus positioned himself for it. Not only that, he had a clear vision and purpose for following Elijah which was why he didn't hesitate to state what he wanted when asked to do so.
He knew what he wanted even before he embarked on the journey. He had his desired or expected end in sight which was why he could endure the pains of that lengthy journey. It wasn't a rosy journey at all!
He knew what God has spoken concerning him and was willing to the pay the price for it.
Do you have a vision of your tomorow? What is your goal or vision concerning your present engagement. Hear this:

"your life flows in the direction of your vision"- Prince

It means without vision, your life will be without direction.

4) Ability to see and seize opportunity:
Let me say this. There was no open invitation to Elisha to come with Elijah. In fact at every turn of the journey, Elijah would try to dissuade him but he wouldn't let go because he saw in that journey an opportunity others couldn't see even though they too, knew about the journey. They (the sons of the prophets) all had an opportunity to come on board but were too blind to it. Elisha saw and seize the opportunity. For more on the dynamics of opportunity see my post on opportunity

5) Determination, persistence and patience:
Wow! Finally we've come to the last lap of the race.
Elisha was a man of great determination, persistence and patience. Not even the subtile discouragement of his master Elijah could stop him.
I believe we can all pin point how and where the trio of determination, persistence and patience were exhibited by Elisha.
I also believe there might be other qualities of Elisha than those highlighted above.
So am leaving that out for you to highlight as your comments in the comment section.

Cheers!

The Secrets of Elisha 2

Compliments of the season!
I know it is the trend to blog on topics that reflect the season we are or those that have to do with reviewing the year. But in keeping with my promise, I will continue with the part 2 of the secret of Elisha.
In the last post, we looked at Gilgal and Bethel and their spiritual significance in Elisha's journey vis-a-vis our own spiritual journey. We shall be looking at Elisha's next port of call viz Jericho and Jordan and if time and space permit we will look at certain things about Elisha that made him able to go this far with his master Elijah and thus received a double portion of Elijah's anointing.
I will recommend you read part 1, for those who may not have done so, so as to really know where we are coming from.

3) Jericho
II Kings 2: 4 " And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. SO they came to Jericho".
It is has at Jericho the men are separated from the boys. Jericho is a place of confrontations. Jericho means (or represents) stronghold. Joshua 6:1-3, "Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out and none came in". Immediately you meet with God at Bethel (remember what I said Bethel represents), the next major junction in your journey is to confront the walls of Jericho. The scripture says, Jericho was shut because of the children of Israel, none went out or come in. Jericho represents limitations. If there is anything Jericho wants to accomplish in your life is to make sure your Bethel (those encounters/periods you had with God that results in you making some promises and vows to HIM) is aborted. The enemy has placed Jericho on your path to limit you and you can never enter into your destiny until your Jericho is defeated. What is that Jericho in your life that tends to bring you back to square one whenever you seem to be making headway in your spiritual journey with the Lord? The Jericho you will have to confront may not be the same facing me but the truth is that we all have one Jericho or the order to confront and conquer so we can go in and possess our possession. There are those whose Jericho is fear: whenever they seem to have encountered God at Bethel making promises to HIM, everything seems to be aborted by this Jericho of a fear. That has been the story of their of lives. To others, it is women. Just like Samson, it has robbed them their fellowship with God and has been their greatest undoing.
What about talkativeness? There are individuals suffering from verbal diaorrhea/dysentery. If only they could bridle their tongues, they would be instruments of honour, sanctified and meet for the master's use. Another common Jericho, is television (home videos). Our sisters seem the most hit. If only they could invest the precious hours spent watching TV and home movies in more profitable spiritual ventures, what impact they would made. Take it or leave it, this is one of the root causes of prayerlesness in the church today. Believers now find it difficult to spend even 30mins in prayers but the same fellow just spent close to 3 hours watching TV a few minutes ago. What about gluttony? Another Jericho.
Discover that Jericho in life and deal with it. Your Jericho could be liken to the "BUT" in your life. Have you heard statements like, "she is a nice girl but... or He is very zealous but...?" Those buts are your real enemies and until you conquer them (i.e. your Jericho) your promised land will remain elusive. God help us!

4) Jordan
II Kings 2: 6, "And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on"
When you conquer Jericho, you have conquered the flesh. And when you conquer the flesh you begin to walk in the supernatural. Listen! If you ever get to the Jordanic stage without conquering your Jericho (the flesh), it will certainly pull you down sooner rather than later. I repeat, it is tantamount to sitting on a keg of gun powder if your Jericho (the flesh) is left unconquered, i mean if it is still alive and active. Have you not heard of Christians who started well but ended up badly because they refused to deal with their Jericho (the buts in their lives).
Jordanic stage is also that stage when one begins to do things that are contrary to the flesh and reasoning faculties. It is the stage of demonstrations of the power of God. It is a realm reserved for those who have their flesh under subjection, those who have conquered their flesh. Naaman after conquering his flesh (his was his pride), was healed at Jordan. To Naaman, dipping oneself into Jordan seven times didn't make sense to him. There were better rivers in Syria, he reasoned in his pride.
This is also the stage of manifestations. The scripture declares in Romans 8 that the creature awaits the manifestation of the Sons of God. No son manifests before this stage! It was at Jordan that God declares "this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased" about Jesus. At this stage the heavens open, it is a stage of possibilities!
It was at this stage that Elisha had the privilege of making a request. Hmm! There are requests you can't make at Gilgal, Bethel or Jericho. And if you make them, you won't have them granted. The reason is that they are reserved for sons and not children. They might ruin you if granted. By delaying them, God is simply asking you to grow up.

I will highlight some attributes or qualities in Elisha that made him go the whole lap of the journey with Elijah and will look at them in details in my next port.
They are desire, hunger, focus, foresight, ability to see and seize opportunity, determination, persistence and patience

So watch out for the concluding part.

Till then,

The Secrets of Elisha (1)

Below is an excerpt from a message I preached in one of our youth meetings. And I am sure it will bless your life.


Text: II Kings 2:1-15.
Our text is about the account of Elijah and Elisha, a very familiar story in the Scriptures but for the sake of time and space, we wont read it all at a go now. Rather we will read it in bits as we go along.


Let me say that there is a great spiritual lesson to learn from this account. Elisha came to limelight because of this encounter he had with Elijah. Men who have gone far with the Lord consciously or unconsciously passed through this spiritual pathway.
If you desire to be one among those who will change the tide of time in this generation, then get set because God is looking for vessels upon whom He will release a double portion of His Spirit. There is always a price tag on every exploit in life whether in spiritual or secular settings.
Before we examine the price Elisha paid, lets first examine the pathway or stages he went through as revealed in our text. The price he had to pay as well the entire pathway he went through are the secrets to greatness and exploits in His kingdom.

1) Gilgal
II Kings 2:1 "And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal"
Every spiritual journey begins from Gilgal. If in your spiritual journey, Gilgal is missing, then you've got a wrong beginning. Elisha would have been of all men most miserable if he had not had the Gilgal experience. Remember, Elisha has been ministering to Elijah before this time but when it was time for him to really begin his assignment, it was needful that he start all over again from Gilgal.
So, what does Gilgal represent or symbolize? Joshua 5:9 " And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day"
Gilgal represents what we call the salvation (or born again) experience. It is at Gilgal that God rolls away the reproach of Egypt (Sin) from the individual. This experience gives the individual the right footing to start off from in his spiritual journey.
It may surprise you to know that there are individuals who, though very busy with the things of God in churches today, do not have a gilgal xperience. They are busy in the choir, ushering, protocol etc depts. How do I know, ask them when they got born again, and you will see them fumble with words. They can't tell. The Lord said unto Joshua, "THIS DAY HAVE I..." This experience is such that can not be forgotten in a hurry. It can not be faked or counterfeited: if it has not taken place, then it has not taken place and can not be substituted. If you can not tell the day you gave your life to the Lord, then check up. But come to think of it, how could you forget the day you were born into God's kingdom? I mean your spiritual (and real) birthday.
I repeat, one can be very busy with religious activities but lack this experience. John Wesley was a missionary for years but little did he know that he hadn't been saved until the day the Lord opened his eyes to this truth. That very day, the reality of his spiritual standing with God dawned on him. He saw that he has been standing on a sinking (religious) ground. Thank God he eventually got saved and his ministry was officially commissioned by heaven thereafter.
What can we say about Isaiah's cry in Chapter6:5 when he had an encounter with the Most High: "Then said I, woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts"
What a confession. See the result in verse7 " And he (The seraphims from God's alter with a purging coal in his hand) laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away and thy sin purged.
A spiritual journey started without a gilgal experience is a journey founded on sinking sand. Like they would say, ''first things first''. Remember the story of Simon in Acts8:9-24. This fellow heard the gospel, got baptized and joined Philip's missionary team but was not born again. Thank God for the gift of discernment at work in Peter's life. At times I wonder what would have been our response today to someone like Simon in our contemporary churches. So sad that many who have manifested and shown these traits or even worse in churches today have gone away with just slaps on their wrists even though we know such traits are pointers to something more deadly locked up within. Think about that.
Make sure you have a gilgal experience and if you have lost yours, remember He is a God of a second chance.

2) Bethel
II Kings 2:2 "And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bthel. ANd Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel"
Bethel was Elisha's next port of call as it were.
While every spiritual journey begins from gilgal, it must not end there. Gilgal, as mentioned above, is regarded as salvation experience. Don't limit yourself to gilgal, there is bethel waiting for you. There are no commitments nor challenges at gilgal. Gilgal is the baby stage, dont dwell there. I challenge you to come over to bethel, a place of communion and intimacy with God.
Bethel is a place of commitment. The first place Jacob made a vow was at bethel. Alters are raised at bethel (see Genesis 12: 8; 13:4; 28:16-19, ). God's voice is always heard at bethel (see Genesis 35: 15). Bethel is the secret place of the Most High.
A lot of Christians operate without a bethel in their lives. These are Christians without commitments; they don't know what it means to hear the voice of God.
Bethel is God's reference point in your life, that is for those who have had the bethel experience. That period in your life when you (just like Jacob) promised God heaven and earth; when you vowed to do exploits for Him in your generation; when to you, it was as though you literally saw God each time you closed your eyes in prayers , was when you had a bethel experience. Everywhere to you then was like the house of God because you were in tune with Him.
Hear Jacob when he had this experience in Genesis 28: 16-19 "...and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not...this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven...And he called the name of that place Bethel..."
Have you ever had a bethel experience?

Now hear me, your bethel must be kept alive. No wonder God had to command Jacob to go back to bethel where He first appeared unto him (see Genesis 35:1-2). Jacob, at that time, seemed to have forgotten his bethel and was busy about with cattle here and there. He was losing sight of his commitments with God. God stepped in to avert an abortion of His purpose for his life. You bethel must be kept alive! If you have lost your bethel, God is asking you to "go back to bethel and dwell there" Genesis 35:1.

...to be continued
Watch out for part 2 as we take a look at Elisha's next ports of call-Jericho and Jordan

Understanding the Laws of Opportunity

Wow! What a great feeling to be back from my forced vacation. lol. Let me not bother you with the reasons I have not updated for quite a long time, May be I should do a blog entitled: "the return of the Prince" where that may be taken care of.lol. The only person I hinted was one of my mentors, Adeolu Akinyemi, in one of the messages I sent to him on facebook. But on a serious note, It wasn't funny at all during this period of my ''forced'' vacation, well thank God am back.

Now lets get serious! I was privileged to speak to the youths of my Assembly during one of our meetings. I took my text from I Samuel 17: 17-30. We all know the story, its about David and Goliath and my message was entitled "Is there not a cause?". However, before I served them the main meal (the message), I served them a dessert (a pep talk) on "opportunity" derived basically from the same text which I would like to share with us here.

I announced to them that we are in our seasons of opportunities but we need to understand some facts about opportunities. Facts, which for the sake of this post, I have refered to them as the "Laws of opportunity". Hope you are aware that your life today is a sum total of the opportunities in life you have utilized and those you allowed to pass you by. And like they say, to be POOR means to Pass Over Opportunities Repeatedly. If you ask any of your folk, he or she would tell you that his or her life would have been a lot better off if not for certain opportunities he missed or abused. At least my own dad has told me some of his esp. what he did with the first money he made as a bachelor.

Come with me as we examine these laws:
1) Breakthrough is birthed when opportunity meets preparation:
Hope you know David came prepared. How else would you explain the fact that he came along with his sling (and stones) even though he knew he was not going for hunting, if not that he knew anything can happen at any time. Like the boys scout would say, "Be prepared". He didn't have to go back home to pick up his slings. To have been very confident and skillful in the usage of the sling speaks of one who has mastered it over time. The young lad has been in the wilderness practicing and training with bears and lions.

2) There is nothing like a golden opportuniy:
What makes an opportunity golden is a function of what you do with it. To the on-lookers and by-standers, that moment was a golden opportunity for David. Isn't it? But the same opportunity was there begging to be grabbed before David showed up. This is how many of us have been wasting in the bid of waiting for our golden opportunities which never was. Why wait and become a waste when you can start and become a star?

3) What you do with an opportunity is not a function of what you have or are per se but a function of decision:
David didn't have the best of weapons nor had he the best of military training available to Saul and his men then. But he understood the power of decision.
Jesus in Matthew 13:44-46 spake a parable that the kingdom of God if like a pearl or treasure of great price which when a man finds, he sold all he had and bought it. But in Matthew 19:16-22, the Bible speaks of a rich man who came to Jesus seeking for the same kingdom but who, when he was told to go and sell all that he had so he could have this heavenly treasure, walked away sorrowfully. The same opportunity, different results: the one missed it while the other utilized not based on what they had but their decisions.

4) There is no customized opportunity:
Even when an opportunity seemed to be customized (i.e. meant for an individual), if the person to whom it was meant misses out on it, the sharp guy next door seizes it. There was no prophecy anywhere that David will kill Goliath, so it was not a matter of predestination: that what shall be shall be. The God in whom David put his faith is the same God Saul and his army served. He is the same God that Goliath defiled. David confronted him on the basis of God covenant with the Israelites which was why he called him an uncircumcised philistine. A truth known to Saul and his entire army.
Opportunity is a traveler and it takes men who understand to attract it. The Shunamite woman was not the only barren woman (according to Jesus) in town when Elisha was passing by on a regular basis. Elisha has been an opportunity on transit waiting to be keyed into but none of the other widows could decipher this. Elisha although a prophet, didn't hear expresly from God to go and bless this woman rather the woman attracted the opportunity to herself and thus provoked the blessing.
What about the woman with the issue of blood in the Matthew 9: 18-22. Jesus was just passing by on His way to that ruler's house to heal his sick daughter. While every other person (including some sick folks) followed, the woman saw it as an opportunity to be healed of her infirmity. The same is true of blind Beartimeaus. On both accounts, it was obvious that Jesus wasn't there for them but they attracted him and got their miracles. While other were busy waiting for the day and time that Jesus would personally mention their cases or come to their houses, these ones attracted such opportunities to themselves.

5) Opportunities often come as challenges and are often a call to responsibility:
Opportunities often come in capsules called challenges and those who run away from challenges miss out on them. David love challenges or else he had every reason not to meddle with strictly military affair. How dare him, a bloody civilian. That challenge facing you could be an opportunity for promotion. Rise to the occasion! There are abilities lying within you and all you need is the right opportunity either as challenges or a call to responsibility to demonstrate them. Stop hiding! come out of your caves.

6) Opportunities are unique:
We often hear stuffs like, "opportunity comes but once". I have disputed that statement in the past but had to reconsider my stand as my eyes open to this fact: that no two opportunities are exactly the same. There are things which if you miss out on them today, doing them later may cause you more than they would have caused today. No two opportunities are exactly same, they may be geared towards the same end but the circumstances (terms and conditions) surrounding them surely will differ.
Opportunity lost may never be regained in the same form and manner. What you get is often a second chance may be with some sacrifice but the first is surely gone for good.
For instance, if one fails to go to school as a youth today, he has lost that opportunity. If he still decides to go later in life, it will involve a lost of sacrifice...Hope you know there are times when it is easier (or easiest) to give one's life to the Lord? Yes, we can do it anytime of our life but there are periods when the decision would have been much easier to make. No wonder Ecclessiates 12:1 admonishes to remember our creator now in the days of our youth when then evil days come not. Why not decide for Jesus now. Don't wait until circumstances compel you to.

7) There is no small or big opportunity:
Every small opportunity you seize opens you up and prepares you for greater one. Most of what we do today is a product of what we did with little opportunities that came our way.
Time and space will fail me to share from my personal experience how this law has worked in my life. So whenever you are called to do anything no matter how small, don't look down on it. Yes, it may not befit your status but go ahead and do it. You don't know who may be watching. He who is faithful in that which is least is also faithful in much. If you are not faithful in little responsibilities, who will commit to you greater ones.
David has been killing wild animals in the wilderness. A feat that attracted no attention at least on a national scale. Of course, the opportunity that brought him to the bigger stage was a little one ( that of going on a erand) but he seized it gladly. This law is closely related to the fifth one above. Most times pride blinds us to the reality of this truth. Remember King Saul, before he became king? He was sent on an erand as well by his father to go look for the missing sheep. A responsibility Saul would have delegated to one of his father's servants rather he em-backed on it gladly even going an extra. It was in the process he met Prophet Samuel. We know the rest of the story.

I know there may be other laws, keep 'em coming in the comment section.

Love you!

Lessons from Port-Harcourt Part 2

Port-Harcourt could be said to be a city under (re)construction even though it is as old as most other major cities across the nation and I have been sharing with us some of the lessons I learned from the Governor's approach to this onerous task. I discovered in the governor three qualities that have made this task, though every daunting, a mission well in progress. We looked at the first which is conviction in part1 (click here to read the part1) and will be dealing with the others viz the law of intolerance and the law of implemenation in the post. I just hope there will be no part3, cos there is one more lesson i intend sharing as well. I didn't include it among the three because it is not a quality but nonetheless, its something worth sharing.

We saw in part 1 the power of conviction and how that without conviction one is bound to compromise on certains issues when push comes to shove. We also saw how lack of conviction on the part of leadership has been the reasons certain national malaise like corruption has not been effectively tackled.

So lets make progress and look at the other lessons as well.

The Law of Intolerance

"What you tolerate, you can not change"-Unknown

Looking at the passion with which Gov. Amaechi goes about restoring the graden city status of PHC, I see this law at work, It was as though he had been obsessed with the condition of the city even while he was the speaker of the state house and has been waiting for an opportunity like this.

We , as individuals and as a nation, all need a measure of this intolerance to get us out of the present mess we are in. We still seem to tolerate corruption, injustice and illegality and as for our leaders, they don't only tolerate, they are comfortable with them. This sums up why we are where we are as a nation. Our leaders will always take us for a ride until such a time when our collective intolerance reaches a boiling point. I mean a point of zero tolerance.

I don't know what mess in your life that has refused to go away. It could be because you still have a soft spot for it whether it be a challenge or a habit. Have you tried to rebuke a child of its folly but he wouldn't listen until a point when it sees (or senses) the anger in your eyes and voice? At this point you have become intolerant of his folly.

Some of us still battle with certain sins. It is one thing to avoid sin, it is quite another to hate it. Those who only avoid it, compromise with reasons when presented with an opporunity to do it.

It was Jesus who taught this law of intolerance when He said, "if your right hand or eye causes you to sin, cut or pluck it off...". There are certain problems and challenges of life that do not understand any langauge other than that of Matthew11:12 "...the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent taketh it by force" They understand and respond only to this langauge and until you speak and act in this manner to them nothing happens.

What you are comfortable with, you can not confront and what you do not confront, you can not conquer- Unknown

Do you still have reasons why you put up with that habit?

My pastor once told a story of a woman who was praying fervently, "God take it away from me, God take it away from me". The intensity with which she repeated this statement prompted her pastor to call her and find out what actually it was that she wanted God to take away from her. So, when asked, she told the pastor that it was her snuff box, that she wanted to quite snuff. Surprisingly, when the pastor asked her where the box was, she said it was around her waiste wrapped up in her wrapper. lol

That is the issue with some fellow, they are physically or emotionaly tied to thier condition. If you want to be free from poverty, you must hate poverty. If you want to be free from sin, the same principle applies. You can't hate poverty and don't love prosperity. You can't hate sin and don't love righteousness, you can't hate failure and don't love success. It is mutually exclusive! So when i said hate, I am invariably saying love the opposite. If you ask most of the self-made millioniares with poor background how they made it, you will discover that they hated poverty with a passion and overcoming it became a daily challenge to them.

Let me shock you! God does not use men who are comfortable with the status quo whenever He wants to send revival or deliverance to a people. This was the secret behind His choice of men like Moses, Gideon and Nehemiah. Moses demonstrated his intolerant, albeit prematurely, when he killed that Egyptian. If he was tolerant of the condition the Isrealites were in then, he wouldn't have bothered. After all he lacked nothing as an Egyptian Prince. Most of us describe Gideon as a coward but I beg to differ. I see in him a man saddened and burdened by the situation of his people at the time. His questions to the angel revealed this. Judges 6:13 "And Gideon said unto him (the angel who appeared unto him), Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of..." No! Gideon wasn't a coward, no wonder he was called a mighty man of valour and was told to "go in this thy might and thou shalt save Isreal..."

I don't know how comfortable you are in that condition you find yourself. Somebody may say but the Bible admonishes us "to be content with our state" (Hebrews 13:5). Yes! this admonition was given as a panacea to a life of greed. It was given to guard against murmuring and complaining and its never a licence to stagnation. It is a necessary foundation for a life of thanksgiving and gratitude. It helps us thank God for what we have or our situation per time while we have our eyes set on better things "reaching unto those things that are before"

Whenever God finds a man of conviction who is intolerant of the status quo, then He has found an insturment of change-Prince

The Law of Implementation

Behind every unachieved plan, is the lack of implementation-Prince

Gov. Ameachi's work seems to be cut out for him since they claim that there is an existing master plan. Although, he just unvailed a new master plan, The Greater Port-Harcourt Developtment Master Plan, it baffles me that previous administrations have all behaved as though PH never had a plan. Infact the original plan was drafted by the first military administrator of the state HRM King Afred Diete Spiff. I remember telling someone that if the immediate past administration has done what Gov. Amaechi is doing today, we would have been reaping the benefits by now.

This brings us to another reasons why Nigeria is where it is today-lack of proper implementation of programmes and policies.

I for one, I believe our problem as a nation is not lack of planning but lact of dispassionate implementation of government policies and programmes. In the education sector for instance, the 6-3-3-4 system will soon be history as the nation fully embrace the universal basic system. We are quick to embrace or copy any programme esp. when formulated by world bodies. The problem is not the system but the implemenation of it. You would agree with me that our parents, teachers and elder ones who studied under the previous system (prior to 6-3-3-4) are better off than us.

We now have a ministry of planning or something like that but I would suggest we also create one for implementaion. A watchdog sort off to ensure proper implementation of goverment policies and programmes.

How many times have we had cases of non-implementation of budgets. Why should there be unspent funds after a whole year? Does it mean there was nothing for which those monies were released for? Wonders shall never end!

For crying out loud, our problem is lack of implementation. Every government that comes to power is quick to abandone his predecessor's programmes and come up with his only to abandone them even before take off. Vision 2010, vision 2020, the 7-point agenda or whatever you call them are basically the same in soul although the colour of thier skins may differ.

We now hear of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) to which our government was signatory to. But up until now how many of that goals have been pursued and achieved even though the life span for this project is 2015? Pls keep the answer to yourself!

The other day I heard that the FG released a list of those entitle to police escorts and use of sirens. The question I asked my landlord on whose radio I heard the news was, "will they implement it?". You need to come to PHC and see how flagrantly this order is been violated esp. by company executives. Not only do they go with military (not just police) escorts with deafening sirens, they violate traffic rules with impunity. You mean they are not aware of the FG's directive? They are but they also know it will remain just that- another news item, or just an announcement, without any efforts to to enforce it.

The difference between planning and achieving that which has been planned for is implementation

Lack of implementation is a culture that runs deep in our lives as Nigerians. Hope you know that nothing works until you work them. Your plan no matter how good it is, is lifeless until you work it out. Implementation is the junction where men are separated from boys, doers from talkers, and visioners from day-dreamers.

Except one is not sincere about implementing his plans from the word go, one of the major reasons people fail to implement thier plans is distractions and this is because they lack focus. Focus is the backbone of implementation.

There's a lot to write about implementation but let me hang up on it at this point so that we can look at the fourth lesson as promised earlier.

Lesson Four

Every meaningful reformation, development or positive change is often preceeded by an aparent discomfort, sacrifice, and pains.

Nature has so ordain it to be so. Life is in stages and the arrival of each of these stages is always announced by crisis or challenges. Our progression and development from foetus to embrayo through childhood to adulthood is laced with several of such experiences.

If we look at the pains, we may never count the gains. One of the reasons why Mile I market has been left as batcher over the years is because of the pains the traders will have to go through. And yet they have been forced through such pains by the many fire outbreaks that have gutted the place.

My heart goes out to all those who in one way or the other were affected in the ongoing reconstrcution exercise especially the residents, traders and tenants who are the most hit. Most landlords were duly compensated while thier tenants were left to count thier losses. In fact we all have been affected in several ways. The road where our place of worship (church building) is situated has been marked for dualization and all buildings along it will be affected.

Though painfull, we know PHC will be better off for it.

Selah!