PUSH: Working with Vision

Hello guys, still on the vision series,I trust that by now we have discovered the ideas and dreams God has placed in our hearts. So, you’ve gotten a vision? Yippee! That is great news, although at times it can be overwhelming but this is how we can work with vision:

When God gives you an idea, you don’t have to worry about being incapable or inadequate, because He is the God of all wonders, maker of Heaven and Earth, when He calls a person, He turns them into great people. He called Abraham and made Him a great nation, and if that same God has decided to call you, it means, He will make everything come to pass as He has spoken.Remember, 1 thessalonians 5:24 says “……He who called you is faithful” All God needs is a willing and ready heart, someone who is available and everything is set! He will provide the men, money and materials to make His project work. It is almost pride for you to be scared that the project might fail because it means that you feel it is by your own power and strength that it will work and you lack confidence in God.

From my experience at PUSH 2016 Conference, I learnt quite a few things about working with your God given vision. Lay aside all fear of the unknown, feelings of inadequacy, incapability, etc and set the ball rolling. The key is:

• Total dependence on God and reliance on the Holy Spirit to give you ideas to put in place, to send helpers your way. God is God and He is Mighty in all His ways. Trust Him! I remember when I was in Law school and the idea for PUSH was burning in my heart, I didn’t know where to start from, or who to even tell. I remember telling God that I would not start out if I did not have a team or helpers. Then i read a book by Steven Furtick, Pastor of Elevation Church called “Greater” where he said “start with what you have, you have all that you need to do what God wants you to do”. I also stumbled on a blog post by Frances Okoro where she was talking about helpers. She said take a step and helpers would meet you on the way. That is exactly what I did, and guess what, that is exactly what happened! I got helpers from every side. God is indeed faithful!

• Never deviate from the vision on which the project is based. God had a reason for entrusting the idea into your hands, so you have to nourish, groom it, and by His grace make it into a success but never ever change the vision for which you have been called. The main thing should be the main thing! At a point, while planning for PUSH, I might have gone overboard, added a target audience God didn’t ask me to, and it put me under a lot of stress because I started to worry. It’s very important to be led by God because you will be rest assured that you are in His will. God had mercy on me though, He factored all the extra arrangements I had made out of zealousness, into His plans and everything worked out to His glory!

• This next lesson is a bit similar to the previous one, as you let people know about your vision, always remember the exact words God told you. When God speaks to you and you are sure it is surely God, you don’t necessarily need to seek approval from human beings. Yes you will need them to pray with you, you will need to seek guidance from mentors on strategies to employ to achieve the vision, you will need people who have walked the same road before, so you can draw from their well of knowledge and experience, you will need people to get you connected to helpers, but never tamper with God’s idea. It is dangerous. People will get excited and want to give you advice, always remember the words God spoke to your heart when you were in His presence. When God called Paul, and told Him, he would proclaim Good news about Jesus Christ to the gentiles, he did not rush out to consult with any human being<Galatians 1:16,17>

• All the earthly glory that comes from the success should go back to Him, after all it’s his work, and you are only a vessel. Don’t steal His glory (actually you couldn’t if you tried because it’s His alone). So don’t try!

My brain is still booting, more about my lessons learnt coming in the next blog post. Have a great experience working God’s vision for your life and this generation!

Consequences Of Not Knowing: Pastor Peter Abraham

Welcome to today’s session on PUSH, and I will like to start with a story of what happened to me a few weeks ago. I traveled to Yola, my place of birth to see my parent (I will not bore you with the details), but on a faithful day of my visit, I went to the bank to withdraw some cash. On getting to the bank, the queue was long at the counter because it was end of the month and the ATM was also fully packed with people who had come to withdraw from their salaries which just came in.
There were just two of the ATM’s at the bank but I met everyone queuing around one. I joined the queue because it was obvious that the second ATM was not paying. After about forty (40) minutes of waiting, a young lady drove by, looking frustrated by the queue, she asked all of us “please is the other ATM not dispensing?” and almost in unison we all echoed “we don’t know.” That was the point it dawned on me how foolish I had been, the young lady just walked straight to the machine, pressed a few keys and the next thing we knew, the lady had gotten her cash. I was angry with myself for not inquiring and giving it a try.
This is how most of us have been. We meet situations in our lives, circumstances, patterns ad we fail to ask God and seek knowledge about these things. We just align ourselves with everything we see and meet in life. In Hosea 3:3 it says, “…my people perish for lack of knowledge.”
Daniel said that he understood by the books, that the years of their captivity were over <Daniel 9:2>. The children of Issachar had understanding of the times and seasons <1 Chronicles 12:32>.
Below, I have highlighted some consequences of not knowing.
1. Lack of knowledge leads to time wastage.
2. Lack of knowledge leads to unnecessary bondage.
3. Lack of knowledge keeps man centuries behind the current times.
4. A man without knowledge is a man of ignorance (darkness).
5. A man without knowledge perishes with any evil that is set to befall a land.
6. A man without knowledge ends up as a servant.

Seek knowledge; be aware of your God given purpose and assignment here on earth. Grab the vision God has for you, and you will see a significant change in your life. Till the next edition, keep pushing to be all he wants you to be!

The Purpose Factor in a Vision: Pastor Peter Abraham

On this beautiful Thursday morning, still on the vision series, we will be talking about the purpose factor. Purpose in this context is not purpose concerning what to do in life, or reason for something.This is about purpose in the line of commitment.A lot of young people pray to know God’s plan for their life, to receive a vision from God, so when vision comes, what do you do? What posture do you adopt while running with the vision? Do you run slothfully or you run like a determined person? Getting the vision is one thing, staying with it, nurturing it is another.

In Daniel 1:8, the Bible speaks about determination. It says “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the King’s meat…..” The purpose spoken about in this verse is determination. He was not the only one taken as captive to Babylon, a lot of other young people were taken, but the Bible records that only Daniel and the three Hebrew children (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) did not compromise and were in fact found to be ten times better than others who partook of what was on the King’s table.

Every vision will never be accomplished without the determination of the visioneer. He must be determined to see the vision come to reality, he must stand through the storm.

For every vision, there are circumstances that will play out just to hinder you from accomplishing the vision. Throughout the Bible every person that was given a vision went through challenges(Joseph, Nehemiah, Jesus, and many more).

Whenever a man purposes in his heart, he might be despised by his peers. He will be called names e.g Noah was despised by his people when he wanted to build the ark. If you know the end, you will not be deterred by those things.In every area of a man’s life, there can be no good fruit without determination. If you say you are tired, you truncate the vision. Commit yourself, don’t bother about the challenges, don’t get tired of running. Keep pressing on. Paul says “I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”

John the Baptist had a task, he withdrew himself. Your determination makes you consecrate yourself, it makes you not to take things others are taking or do things others are doing, because you have a mandate of God upon your life.
Determine in your life today, not to take of the King’s table or what is seemingly royal. If you know the call of God upon your life, what looks normal to everyone will be abnormal to you. Every man that decides to separate himself from the general today, becomes the icon tomorrow.

Do you know that there is a higher calling on your life, and that it requires determination to walk the walk you are supposed to walk? Determination leads to consecration, your consecration draws the world, people to your heavenly father. For the man Daniel, his consecration drew the whole of Babylon to God. It is also the same for the three hebrew children, in fact, the King Nebuchadnezzar declared “blessed be the God of Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego…………” I think it’s amazing to know that when you separate yourself, you takeover a city.

God is so particular about determination and purposing in your heart. Even in giving, He doesn’t expect you to give, if you don’t purpose in your heart to give. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Dear young person, God wants people who will be purposeful and determined in their heart to see His kingdom established here on earth. Were you slothful and relaxed? Its time to  hasten your pace, roll up your sleeves, be consistent, never relenting and never ever compromise!

Remember there are thousands of young people loving God and doing amazing things. God did not look at your birth certificate before calling you. Never underestimate the young. Never underestimate yourself. Daniel, Joseph…they stood for God, You can. Be purposeful!