CHOSEN 07: DEALING WITH FAMILY LIMITATION

I said this in the last episode and I will say it again; one of the most difficult things that a man that has a mandate from God deals with is family. I am not saying that it always happens, but most often than not, it does. What I want to share today are result oriented steps you can take. Above all, trust the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you.

1. ADDRESS THEIR CONCERNS:
Rebellion is never an option when your family is trying to stop you from following your God-given dream. You don’t want to worsen the situation. You have to try and reason with them and understand their point of view. Know where they are coming from and where they are headed. The truth is they play very vital role in making your dreams come to reality. In the course of dialoguing with them, you will know how to convince them to allow you follow your dream. Remember, do not do it with your own strength, carry God along.

2. START SOMETHING:
Most people have families that are difficult to convince, but that is not meant to stop you or put you at a standstill. You need to start taking constructive and result oriented steps towards achieving your dream. Your family may need to start seeing your input towards your dream for them to know how convinced and serious you are about it. That might be the thing that will convince them to let you pursue your dream.

3. BREAK OUT:
If after you have dialogued and shown some seriousness in the way of actions, and the limitation is still there, then the only option is to break the limitation. You can afford to live a live that is unfulfilled. In the end, you don’t have anyone to blame if your dream becomes unfulfilled. If you notice, the steps are in chronological order, this should be a last resort. By this time, you must gotten enough to fine tune the path to the fulfilment of your dream.
Let me end by saying that the only guarantee you have for the fulfilment of your dream is God. He is the one who chose you and gave you those dreams. I am so excited about you because you have been chosen of God to accomplish something great in your lifetime. My prayer is that God will help you to bring that God-given dream to reality.
***Please share with others and let it bless them as it blessed you***
Stay blessed.       
  
©TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES
(Transforming the World through the Word)
Visit http://www.transformingwordseries.wordpress.com for fresh episodes of DRASTIC ENCOUNTERS and TOUCH THE SKY.
Also visit http://www.christapoet.wordpress.com every Monday to read your favourite TWS alongside poems from great poets.

CHOSEN 06: FAMILY LIMITATION

Text: Gen. 37:1-11

One of the most difficult things that a man that has a mandate from God deals with is family. It is not always easy to get your family to understand your purpose in life, especially when it is not in line with their plans for you. Your family will want to approve what kind of education you get, who you would marry, even the job you will do and so on. Every father will always desire the best for the child and will do everything within their power to ensure the child fits into the plan. Most often than not, this forms a huge wall that tries to limit the child.

I have a friend who the father desired him to be a medical doctor. He failed in the initial attempt to get admission to study Medicine, but he was admitted to study Pharmacy. The father allowed him to go for it in order to avoid him staying home, but still had his plans. After two years in school studying Pharmacy, which he had become fond of, he got admission to study Medicine. Obviously, his father influenced it. My friend refused to leave Pharmacy that he had already loved for Medicine, which the father wanted. In a bid to get my friend to change his mind, the father cut him off every means of finances. In the end, he was coerced to leave Pharmacy for Medicine.

I can imagine Joseph before the father narrating his dream. Though the father loved him so much, the father still scolded him. What Joseph was telling his father was definitely contrary to the father’s plans for him. Joseph was expecting the father to encourage him, but what he got was a scolding.

Please know this today that God does not need anyone’s permission to bring to pass what he has said about you. If your family is not in support of the fact that you are following your God-given dream, do not be dismayed, God has a plan that will make that dream come to pass. Just stay on course.

In the next episode, I’ll share with us some tips that will help us deal with this family limitation.

***Please share with others and let it bless them as it blessed you***

Stay blessed.

©TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES

(Transforming the World through the Word)

Also visit www.christapoet.wordpress.com every Monday to read your favourite TWS alongside poems from great poets.

CHOSEN 05: MORE THAN A DREAM

Text: Gen. 37:1-11

God speaks to us in diverse ways. Dream is one of the ways God speaks to us. Here He gives us information through visible pictures. If you are reading this, then you should know what I mean by that. Nevertheless, I will proceed with what God has placed in my heart to share.

Often times, our mind replays our thoughts to us in dreams. This is why you are most likely going to have a dream that is a visual replay of the things you think about, especially before you sleep. For instance, if your thoughts were occupied with food, you are most likely going to find yourself eating in your dream. Taking it a bit deeper, you are most likely going to dream of where you are involved in romantic/sexual activities with a particular person if that occupied your mind before you slept.

Dreams occur as a result of Rapid Eye Movements (REM). Experts say it occurs at a 90-minute interval. Which is why when you dream, you can find yourself at a particular scene and all of a sudden it changes. It happens to me in as many dreams as I can remember.

There are times when you have a particular kind of dream coming repeatedly within a period of time, sometimes the objects used may change. My friend, that is more than a dream. That is God telling you something. The interesting part of it is that it will not stop coming until you start up a kind of follow up action.

This was the situation Joseph found himself in. He was dreaming every time he slept, but one particular dream stood out. God was showing him his destiny in fast moving pictures. Notice he first shared the dream with his brothers. But when the dream reoccurred, he knew that it was more than a dream, so he got his father involved.

My friend, it is not all dreams that occur due to Rapid Eye Movements when you sleep. Some dreams are not just ordinary, they are laden with prophetic messages for the future. You need to have high sensitivity to know when God is giving you a heavy message through dreams. It may appear to be bigger than you can comprehend, but God has chosen to give it to you anyway. Joseph’s position in the family naturally should have hindered him from having such a big dream, but God chose to give it to him. If God decides to commit a mandate in your hands, your present status is not a determinant.

My prayer for you today is that God gives you a dream that will open your eyes to the great potential God has put in you. A dream that will fire you up to become what God has predestined you to be.

***Please share with others and let it bless them as it blessed you***

Stay blessed.

©TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES

(Transforming the World through the Word)

Also visit www.christapoet.wordpress.com every Monday to read your favourite TWS alongside poems from great poets.

CHOSEN 04: STAND OUT

Text: Gen. 37:1-11

I got born again the same year I got admission in the university. Before then, I had friends that I usually hung around with, who had hideous tendencies. I found myself deep in these relationships before I was arrested by God. One of the challenges I had was to translate what has happened to me to my friends. I saw the need to break out of that circus, but I lacked the will power to. For about a year after I got born again, I was struggling to get my friends to understand that I was a different person. Well, God helped me and I was able to declare my stand and break out of that circus.

It is easy to do the pulpit gymnastics on the necessity to stand out, but trust me, when your life is at stake, that is when you will fully grasp what is involved.
Standing out is not something you do by your own strength, you need God’s help. In standing out, you will make a whole lot of enemies, who might go to the extent of wanting to take your life.

Joseph faced this situation. He made a choice not to be part of what his brothers were doing. I can imagine a scenario where the brothers will connive and sell some of their father’s sheep and agree to tell their father that they were either stolen or attacked by wild animals. Joseph may have eavesdropped on their plan and reported to their father. It made the brothers hate him. Of course you are not expecting Simeon to come back and give him a pat in the back and say, “well done Jo”. There was a big rift between Joseph and is elder brothers.

Joseph knew he was a special child, so he was more interested in doing what pleased the father than collude with the brothers. He cherished his father’s love more than his brothers’ praises.

As a believer, God has special love and a great plan for your life. You ought also to reciprocate this love by doing the things that pleases Him. The world will hate you, that’s alright. People will scorn you, it’s okay. Just take a stand to sustain what you share with your father, that’s all that matters.

***Please share with others and let it bless them as it blessed you***

Stay blessed.       
  
©TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES
(Transforming the World through the Word)

Also visit http://www.christapoet.wordpress.com every Monday to read your favourite TWS alongside poems from great poets.

CHOSEN 03: IT IS NOT IN THE POPULARITY

Text: 1 Sam. 16:1-13.

If I have a job opening for just one person, and I ask you to give me someone for that job, who will you give me? I can bet that the first person that will come to your mind is someone that you know either from your family or your circle of friends. If I was in your shoes, I will do same too. So do not take it out on Jesse for doing what he did.

Jesse fielded his sons that where close to his heart. The ones he believed were familiar to him. The ones he felt were the best.

As I was studying that passage, I observed that Jesse did not call David by name while telling Samuel about him (David). He was not as popular as his brothers as he was always in the field attending to his father’s sheep. But God by-passed the popular sons of Jesse and chose the unpopular one.

Read this: your face might not be on the billboards around the city, nor your name popular, but do not conclude on yourself yet. There is something God has put in you that will make you popular and renowned. Just keep at what you are doing and when the time is right, God will make you known.

Notice that David’s name was only mentioned after he was anointed. Up until now, it looks like no one knows you are existing in your family, workplace or even church. You try to do the best you can and yet, when it is time to be recommended, no one remembers you. Do not be dismayed my friend, you are the next to be located. There is an anointing that brings about announcement, and I pray God to release it on you today, in Jesus name. Amen!    

If this message blessed you, you are free to share it with anybody or group.

Stay blessed.      
  
©TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES
(Transforming the World through the Word)

Visit http://www.transformingwordseries.wordpress.com for fresh episodes of DRASTIC ENCOUNTERS and TOUCH THE SKY.
Also visit http://www.christapoet.wordpress.com every Monday to read your favourite TWS alongside poems from great poets.

CHOSEN 02: IT IS NOT BY QUALIFICATION

Text: 1 Sam. 16:1-13.

In the last episode, I made it clear by the help of the Holy Spirit that God does not look at size in making His choice of who to use.

You also have to know that God’s rejection of Eliab was not because he was not qualified. As a matter of fact, he was a captain of a thousand soldiers. He was always present in wars and have led his men to victories. So Eliab had a lot of leadership experience that qualified him for the hallowed position of the King of Israel. All his qualifications meant nothing to God simply because he was not God’s choice.

I love the way the King James Version stated it: “…for I have refused him”. This shows that there was a board meeting between God and Prophet Samuel. Samuel presented Eliab’s resume before God. He intended for God to agree to it, but it was not enough to change God’s mind on who he has chosen for the Job.

My dear, God’s basis of selection is not based on human parameters. It saddens my heart to see that educational qualification has become a priority for appointment of men into service. I am not saying God’s servants should not advance in education, but it should not be a yard stick for determining how well a man will do in service. I have attained some level of education, and I intend attaining more even in theology as God will help me. I do not intend to do this so as to have pastoral qualifications, but to get deeper in the knowledge of God.

Our quest for educational advancement should not be to intimidate other ministers that we feel are below our level, but let it be about growing in the knowledge of the one who has called us; God. Remember, you are not chosen because you are qualified.

The journey continues…

If this message blessed you, you are free to share it with anybody or group.

Stay blessed.

©TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES

(Transforming the World through the Word)

CHOSEN 01: IT IS NOT BY SIZE

Text: 1 Sam. 16:1-13.

It interesting how we try to identify men who we see as chosen of God for exploits by how popular they are. In some quarters, offices of service are given to people whose names are known and are popular. Please do not misinterpret this as me laying blame on anyone, because we have had to fall victim of this one time or another. So you get to see people called into the office of Deacons, Elders and all, because of their familiarity and popularity.

A quick look at our text shows us how Prophet Samuel was mandated by God to anoint a new king for Israel after King Saul was rejected. Before I proceed, I want to share a thought that came to me as I was studying this. That you have the privilege of serving God, especially heading any arm in any organization, does not mean you are the only one qualified for it. If you do not get this, the potential for abuse is inherent. It takes God nothing to get a replacement for you in that area of service.

The only clue God gave Samuel was the name of the household to go to, which was Jesse’s. The first person that caught his attention was Eliab, Jesse’s first son. I was of the opinion that the reason Samuel chose Eliab was because of his position in the family. It is a logical reason though, considering the place of first sons in the inheritance of any Israeli family. But after deep study, I discovered that Eliab’s position in the family was not exactly what attracted him to Samuel. Samuel was actually attracted by Eliab’s physique.

For the love of God, Eliab was tall, well built, and handsome, though not as tall as Saul. But someone of his height and fairness should make an almost perfect replacement for Saul, so Samuel thought. Little wonder he declared ebulliently, “Surely, the Lord’s anointed is before me”. But alas, God rejected Eliab!

God does not look at your size, age or background to commit responsibilities into your hands. He knows us more than we know ourselves. Rise up from that state of mediocrity and start seeing yourself the way God sees you. He has chosen you for a special assignment, and it has nothing to do with your size.

The journey has just started…

If this message blessed you, you are free to share it with anybody or group.

Stay blessed.

©TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES

(Transforming the World through the Word)