ABRAHAM DEMONSTRATED HIS LOVE FOR GOD THROUGH HIS ACTIONS NOT BY WORDS.
-Pastor David Oyedepo Jnr at CHoP
*Abraham’s obedience was painful but the outcome was gainful.
- He became a partner with God on the basis of His obedience.
- The law of love is the fuel of dedication, so dedication will always bring about the rise of giants.
- If a man will be honoured by God, it will not be by manipulation nor supplication, but through dedication.
Our Father in the name of Jesus, we have come today to give thanks and praise to You for the answers You have given all of our prayers and for the testimonies of Your mighty hand at work in our midst.
We give You all the praise and all the glory. Lord, our eyes are You this morning, we ask that You speak to us today, that Your Word will transform each one of our lives. We give You thanks and praise because I know it is done already, in Jesus precious name we have prayed.
From scriptures, it is clear that dedication is a platform for the rise of giants in the Kingdom of God.
Matthew 22:36-40
Jesus basically said that the law of love which is the fuel of dedication is the key to every other provision in the law and the Prophets. That means that all in scriptures answer to this fundamental fuel of the love of God
1 Corinthians 2:9 – Lovers of God are wonders to their world.
When a man or woman’s heart begins to get ignited with the love of God, that individual emerges as a wonder to his or her world.
That is why we discover the dedicated are the ones that God raises us as giants. Remember we said, the law of love is the fuel of dedication, so dedication will always bring about the rise of giants.
We also discover from God’s Word that dedication is the highway to glory and honour.
John 12:23-26
We see from this scripture that dedication which is depicted in (John chapter 12) verse 24, as a corn of wheat that falls to the ground and dies.
The outcome of it are two things:
Glory – John 12:23. What brought about the hour of glorification was the dedication of the seed
Honour – John 12:26. If any man serves Me after the pattern of dedication, him will My Father honour
It means that we don’t cry for honour, we don’t cry for glory. Our dedication procures us access to glory and honour. If a man will be honoured by God, it will not be by manipulation. If a man will be honoured by God, it will not be by his supplication.
If a man will be honoured by God, it will be by his dedication.
For anyone to taste glory, it is the product of dedication. It means therefore that our commitment and dedication is the vital key that you and I require if we are going to scale heights in this Kingdom.
Mark 4:30-32
What can we liken the Kingdom life to?
You can liken it to a mustard seed. It looks insignificant in size until it is planted. In other words, nobody can tell how much potential is in you until you are planted.
No one can tell how far you can go until you are planted.
You agree with me in the natural, it is not the size of the seed that determines the size of the tree…that brings unmistakable trees. It is all about the planting. If you take for example, a tuber of yam…what brings out a mustard seed into a tree is very insignificant in size.
So the size of a seed does not determine the size of a tree. You may be insignificant physically but just get dedicated. Just got planted.
A man can overlook a seed but no man can overlook a tree. When a tree comes out of the ground, it becomes unmistakable.
The seed can be stepped but the tree, you can only pass around it. You can’t overlook a tree, even though you can overlook the seed.
It means no one can see the best of you until you get planted.
They can overlook you in your seed form, but they cannot overlook you after you are planted.
The planting of your life in God is what causes the glory, the honour, the beauty of God to manifest in your life.
That is why we will be looking at all through this week, our exhortation line that is captioned:
DEDICATION: A COVENANT PLATFORM FOR THE RISE OF GIANTS.
We are going to be taking case studies through out the week, at individuals who got their lives spurred… and as a result of it, we saw the giants in them begin to rise.
This morning we begin with the example of Abraham
From scriptures, we discover that Abraham always went full force into every commandment of the Lord and that is one of the evidences of the manifestation of dedication – John 14:21.
We discover that the love of God is manifested in our commitment to His commandment.
1 John 5:3 – the more passionate you are about following God’s instructions, the more validated as it were your love for Him becomes.
You cannot claim to love God without obeying God and that is one of the things we discover in the life of Abraham.
Abraham is a lover of God, but he demonstrated it not by words, but rather in actions, taking steps in obedience to God. We saw Abraham going full force into every commandment of God.
Genesis 12:1-4
God spoke: at this point, the commandment of God was inconvenient. He was a man of 75 who should be in an environment that he is familiar with, but Gd instructs him, ‘Depart’ and Abraham obeyed God instantly even though it was inconvenient.
We know the outcome of it: Genesis 13:1-3
We are told Abraham was very rich, in silver and in gold
Second example: Genesis 17:10-13, 26-27
At this point we are talking about an old man, he obeyed God without any second thought, without any thought on the consequence of his obedience. You cannot tell me that obedience (circumcision) was convenient.
In fact it was painful.
Circumcising a child is one thing, circumcising a man is another thing, circumcising an old man is another issue.
Here comes a man that is very aged, being circumcised in obedience to God, the obedience was painful but the outcome was gainful.
At the end of it, you find Abraham as a man covenanted with God, a man aligned with God, a man associated with God, a man identified with God.
You talk about God, you talk about Abraham. You talk about Abraham, you talk about God. He became a partner with God on the basis of His obedience.
Third example: Genesis 22:1-18
Take your only son, the one you have been waiting for all this while, the major blessing you have been awaiting from Me, He said, now take him. That one that you love and go to a mountain that I will show you, then sacrifice him.
The Bible says Abraham arose early in the morning, he took his son and went to the mountain looking for it for 3 days until God showed him.
You can understand if the mountain was just outside his house, somebody would say, he obeyed God.
But in his obedience he didn’t have to think much about it. You know what it means walking about for 3 days, having time to reconsider the instruction, thinking about the fact that God, “this son that you gave me, are you really saying, I should go and sacrifice him? Are you sure about what you are saying?
Am I sure that this thing is a kind of confusion?”
Abraham took that young boy and for 3 days began to look for the mountain and when he saw it afar off, he told the men who came with him, “stay behind, I and my son will go up there to worship”- Genesis 22:5.
He saw it as worship, even though it looks like it was going to deprive all that he had. What was the outcome of it?
Genesis 22:16-18
You obeyed me when I said you should leave your father’s house, you obeyed me when I said you circumcise, now you have not withheld the precious thing to you, in blessing I will bless you. In multiplying, I will multiply you. Abraham was not just catapulted to realms of blessing, but he became a transgenerational giant.
Why do we say so? Genesis 24:1
There was no area you look in the life of Abraham that you don’t see blessing.
Every area.
Family: blessing
Business: blessing
Spiritual: blessing
Social: blessing
Every area, he was blessed. The blessing did not conclude with Abraham on the earth – Galatians 3:13-14
It means everyone today who is enjoying blessings in the Kingdom, what they are enjoying is the outcome of Abraham’s obedience.
We see that blessing today, practically in the Nation of the Jews. You find the Jews foremost in contribution on the earth today.
Why?
the blessing of Abraham going across generations.
Luke 16:23-26
He was father Abraham on the earth, he is father Abraham to the saints and he is father Abraham in Heaven: a transgenerational blessing.
-May each one of us receive the same grace that father Abraham had to obey God to the end.
Prayers: Lord, I receive grace for full force obedience like you gave to Abraham. For dedicated obedience, the order of Abraham, I receive it today.
From this day forward, the grace to obey God to the full and to the end, that grace becomes your portion in the name of Jesus Christ. So shall it be in Jesus precious day.
SPEAK TO YOUR DAY
You are speaking in faith, you are issuing decrees.
This brand-new working week, a week of blessings, a week of testimonies, a week of visitations, a week of encounters. So shall it be in the name of Jesus Christ.
-This week is declared blessed.
-As you begin this working week, everything that was not working for you before now, begins working for you from today.
-It will be for you a week of testimonies.
-A week of good tidings, a week of open doors, a week of divine favour, a week of divine speed in the name of Jesus. So shall it be, in Jesus precious name.
Don’t forget as it was announced yesterday, we have our 3-day WOFBI class kicking off today: Healing, Health and Wholeness.
Both here in Canaanland at the Youth Chapel, across 45 different locations. Please ensure that you partake of it, everyone that requires the touch of God should ensure they are there because by the end of the 3 days, every sickness shall be destroyed, every disease shall be destroyed and God’s name shall be glorified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.