Ready for the next level?

If you are still very comfortable with your present condition,

Then you are not qualified for your next level.

Discontent qualifies you for action

Desire motivates you for change.

 

 

I am, I can, I will…wait a minute; really?

I’m anointed, I’m talented, I can do this thing… I’ll do it.

Yes you can, but does it all depend on your gifting and anointing? Aren’t you leaving out something or maybe SOMEONE?

I’ll like to talk about gifting, talent, anointing and the place of God in this.

I’m gifted, talented and anointed, so why can’t I just call the shots when, where and how I want? Do I really need God’s opinion seeing He’s already given me all I need for this project? If He didn’t want me to do it, would He give me all these tools? Do I really need His opinion here?

But check this out:

• Our gifting and anointing does not place us above God’s sovereignty.
• No matter how anointed or gifted we are we can’t force God to do what He won’t.
• Our gifting and anointing is nothing else but God working through us, so we must submit to Him to get the best results.
• God’s will is greater and more important than our anointing and gifting.
• Sometimes we can be tempted to use our gifts and anointing for the wrong purposes, so we still need Him to guide us along.
• When we focus only on our gifts and anointing leaving God out of the game we could become proud and too self-confident to give Him the glory.
• In everything God must be the overall leader; we can’t drag Him along. He shows us the way. He must be GOD for the universe to function normally.
• No matter how heavy the branch is with fruit, it still needs the roots and the stem to sustain itself. A declaration of independence here will be fatal.

So, no matter how gifted, talented and anointed we are we still need God; we need to work in collaboration and synchronization with, and submission to Him if we desire the best results with no embarrassments along the way.

The attitude with which we use our gifts and anointing will either ensure a continuous flow and an increase, or a steady reduction till the tap runs dry.

 

I’m not what I’ve been through

HOW I DISCOVERED MY CALLING AND PURPOSE (My Testimony)

This post is in response to a request from a fellow blogger and reader based on the last post I published titled “Why I got out of bed this morning”. In this post I said my life took a completely new turn (a positive turn) when God showed me my purpose.

My fellow blogger wanted me to share my experience; how I came to discover my purpose. I will just give a run down of how it all started up till this moment.

The early part of my life was littered with verbal, sexual and physical abuse. I’ve known rejection, disease and acute poverty. This to me was the normal since I didn’t have access to another kind of life.

Due to these conditions I became an adolescent and young woman who suffered immensely from low self-esteem, inferiority complex and insecurities. I hated myself, and the kind of choices I made later in life simply confirmed my state of mind. I became frustrated by my choices and the inability of others to understand what I was going through.

I gave my life to Christ while studying to become a professional teacher. I came to Christ with a heavy load of troubles. My life was meaningless and dirty in my own very eyes.

Although I was envied by many for my academic success, I hated myself so much.

Once in the church, things did not get right immediately. There was a battle for my soul. God had rescued me but the devil wanted me so badly. This opened up the avenue for constant spiritual warfare. Very early on in my Christian journey I learned how to fast, pray and rebuke evil spirits (They were all over me).

I had to seek solutions, and I sought them wherever I thought possible. I attended crusades, bought books and tapes, asked to be prayed for and then fasted and prayed on my own. But this didn’t prove to be the magic wand I expected.

Little did I know that God had destined me to be His servant and that all what I was going through was part of the training for ministry. Sometimes I thought God didn’t care about me. I then wanted to die. I really wanted to end the stress and trauma because that is all my life comprised of.

During the early stages of my conversion I began to have these “strange” dreams and visions wherein I found myself ministering prayer, healing and deliverance to people. I later understood through the teachings I was exposed to that God was showing me my calling. At that stage I didn’t understand much of it.

Also, I once heard a sermon that really shook the foundation of my Christianity and pushed me to seek God deeper. The preacher challenged Christians to stop being those who “sit and watch” while others serve in the church.

I must admit that I didn’t like the way he described those of us who were not in active service in God’s house. I felt a holy anger in me that sent me on my knees asking God what He wanted me to do in His house.

I attended foundation classes for new converts. There, I learned the difference between general service and specialized service. The former is for those who do not yet know their particular area of calling and the latter is for those who already know exactly what God has called them to do.

I was challenged and I began to serve in the church. I have served with the cleaners, the hospitality team; I’ve been a Sunday school teacher, an intercessor, the intercessors’ leader, a member of the women’s ministry among others. Then one day when Pastor was transferred I was asked to assume the interim until a new Pastor was sent to the church.

I learned a lot in these various capacities. This general service established my foundation as a Christian and gave me a base for ministry.

As I continued serving in the church and spending time in intimacy with God He began to show me my area of specialization. This was facilitated by the books I read, tapes I listened to, sermons I heard, other men and women of God I observed, prophecy, and then seminars and workshops I attended.

I never missed any opportunity to attend conferences and seminars even if I had to forgo other needs just to afford the transportation I needed. I was hungry for more of God and He honored my hunger with deeper knowledge about Himself and His call on my life. I always came back from the events enriched and refreshed.

But I still had issues. Only gradually did God take them away one at a time.

I’ll like to cite a few of the resources which among others really helped me during my search.

1. Your season is getting ready to change by Pastor Paula White (tape).
2. The Assignment, the Dream and the Destiny by Dr. Mike Murdock (book).
3. Maximize Your Potential by Dr. Myles Monroe (book).
4. Tough Times Never Last, but tough people do by Dr. Robert Schuller (book).
5. The confident woman by Joyce Meyer (book).

I accessed other numerous resources by servants of God like Bishop T.D. Jakes, Arch Bishop Benson Idahosa, just to name these few. (I’ve read a mountain of books and I’ve bought a great number of tapes. I’ve been to so many conferences and I’ve sat down to talk to not a few servants of God).

In the end God made me to understand that He let me go through hell so that I would help others come out of hell. I’m a survivor called to reach out to others and help them survive.

But in all these, God’s grace has been superabundant in my life. I owe it all to His mercy and favor.

If not for His grace, there’s no other reason why I should be alive today.

What I can say is that it takes patience, intimacy with God, the willingness to learn, to sacrifice and endurance, when things seem to go directly opposite to what God had promised you through dreams, visions, prophecy and especially His own Word, the Bible.

I’m still searching and I’m still learning. I agree with the Apostle Paul:

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14).

I hope and pray someone is inspired by this resume of my testimony to seek God more and to get to know Him in a deeper dimension.

You are blessed in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

TOO GIFTED TO BE COMFORTABLE

Gifted people face a lot more problems in life. They are among the most misunderstood people. This usually happens because a lot of people just can’t handle the greatness that is manifesting in and through them.

Some are intimidated by their gifts; others are scared; many despise or feel jealous of them while yet others just can’t figure out what to do with them, so they end up hating or just rejecting them.

Do you fall in the category of very gifted people?

Don’t be surprised if you hardly fit anywhere; especially if you are aggressively pursuing a goal in life. The fact is that you are a threat to some, a stumbling block to many and a mirror to a whole lot of them.

Perhaps you remind them of what they wish for but can’t get to. You are a constant reminder to them about what they should be and be doing but which they aren’t.

 

BUT

Never devalue debase or degrade yourself in order to fit in a box and be accepted. There are many more people out there looking up to you and being inspired by your decision to be among the best.

Discipline and sanctions: two delicate tools in the hand of a leader

Discipline and sanctions, when well-handled can be effective tools for the leader to get things moving in the right direction and with the right perspective.

But the abuse or misuse of these tools could have very negative consequences.

As a leader you should ask yourself these questions when faced with the possibility of meting out discipline or sanctions:

Why is it necessary at this point in time?

What is the expected outcome of this?

Who is the beneficiary in this?

Wrong motives for meting out discipline and sanctions

To earn the respect of others and gain influence

To establish one’s authority, “I’m the one in charge here…”

As a means to revenge or get back at someone who hurt you in the past

To degrade and humiliate a rival

To silence opposition and dissenting voices

As an attempt to hide your weaknesses and failures

When discipline and sanctions become tools that benefit more the leader rather than those who are led and the organization, they become dangerous tools.

• There is always a better way to establish your authority as a leader and earn respect from those you lead.
• Avoid dishing out sanctions when you are still in that mood that provoked the decision to sanction the individual in question.
• Postpone the sanction; reexamine the motive to see if you still feel the same the next day.

As a leader what are your motives for meting out discipline and sanctions in your home, organization, church, classroom…? Share.

 

 

 

 

The mentor and the mentee.

You can’t mentor the talent you do not respect.

You can’t be blessed by an anointing you do not honor.

“I promise”

If you are willing and obedient,

You shall eat the good of the land.

 ISAIAH 1:19

PROCESSED IN THE PROCESS

 

I still remember the time I was chosen to pastor a church for a few months in the absence of our senior pastor. He had a sudden transfer to work in another city and there was need for someone to take care of the flock. At That time I was the intercessors’ leader. I was still trying to get a foot hold on service, especially in God’s vineyard. When I look back on those days I tell God, “Lord, your ways are really beyond my understanding. How could you have chosen to use a young woman suffering from low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence …? How could you ever choose such a person to carry out such great a task? You are really awesome.”

But this experience let me to know that God does not work with those who are fully qualified. What He requires first and foremost is a willing heart and an open mind, then He will perfect us along the journey.

As a preacher, writer, speaker, no matter what you are called to do, it should not come to you as a surprise if some of your messages hit you on the head or slap you back in the face. God is not using you because you are perfect. NO!

You are doing that thing you are doing right now first and foremost because you are available to do it. You are just the ordained instrument in God’s hand. You need that message just like your audience because you face the same challenges they face on a daily basis. You might be more mature in your way of handling them, but you do face them too.

This awareness will keep us humble and submissive to God. You will realize that it is only by His grace that you are where you are. This will help us to receive correction and suggestions knowing that it is not extra-qualification that got us there. We are not there because there is none to do a better job.

When I was chosen to pastor that church, there were people I sincerely considered more qualified than me; people I met already serving in that ministry; people who prayed for me when I needed healing and deliverance. But one day I was chosen to be “their” pastor. Wow! I was intimidated …It took God’s grace for me to stand behind that pulpit week after week, month after month with a microphone in hand.

…And God was faithful. He gave me such inspired messages that got people on their knees weeping, repenting and surrendering to God. But you know what? Those messages hit me more; I was just as broken, wounded and sore as they. I wasn’t any better than they. God surely has a sense of humor.

This experience has helped me to receive criticism and correction more easily because I know I am not doing what I’m doing because I’m the most qualified for the job. I’m simply a benefactor of God’s sovereign Grace. I am where I am because I carry God’s sovereign seal of spiritual authority.

When I come across a challenging situation in the process of fulfilling my assignment, I just look up to God and remind my self that I am in need of more of His Grace. I also remind myself that I have to keep learning…studying. I have not yet arrived.

Perhaps my God talk is a bit of a bore to you. Perhaps you do not believe so much in God given assignments and abilities etc. Let me put it this way.

Those who accomplish great things in life are not those who qualify from the start; it is those who allow themselves to be qualified in the process. Take that first step, that very small step, and then you will see yourself soaring on eagles’ wings some day.

My writing career started with me keeping a journal. Then it got to a level where I found myself scribbling things all over and everywhere. Then I started putting my scribbled lines into articles. Then one day I found myself writing books. That was my process to become a writer. How I laughed at myself the day I received a prophecy pointing to my writing career. I wondered to myself who will ever want to read a book written my “me.” I didn’t look like a Joyce Meyer or a John Maxwell… you get my point.

Don’t wait to be perfect before you start that thing God has laid in your heart to do. Just start something and then He will surprise you.

When people tell you that you aren’t qualified, remind them that God qualifies His own servants in the process.

For a start, you do not need a PhD and five years of experience for it. You will get the degrees in the process, and then people will heap some honorary ones on top when they see the fruit and the impact.

I have learnt not to question people’s qualification in relation to their job or assignment. I am tolerant to people who make mistakes in the course of their assignment (I made many myself). The only problem is when we refuse to be qualified in the process.

• When we are resistant to change.
• When we are too lazy to study and fill up the gaps in our knowledge.
• When we are content with garbage in, garbage out standards.

It will be wrong for you to be content to render mediocre services to your audience, church or students year after year with the excuse that “when God called me I wasn’t qualified.” Whatever you are called to do, your education is your responsibility.

This not withstanding, every employer, God included, expects a basic level of qualification from the start. This will serve as a foundation on which future knowledge will be built. You might be called to preach, teach or in any other area where literacy is a real necessity. But you are stark illiterate. You could be destined to be a business executive but you never had a degree in business administration. But if you possess the following qualities, you could end up beating the top professionals.

• A deep desire to know more
• Inquisitiveness
• Never giving up spirit
• Good self-esteem

The greatest qualification for a start is the assurance that you are really called to do that thing; that you have the basic talent for it and are willing to get processed in the process.

 

Leadership

The dividing line between success and failure in life could be

the kind of leadership we submit to.

Whose follower are you?

Who inspires your decisions and actions?