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The Ultimate Breakthrough in Life
Song: i. I believe yes Lord I believe Yes Lord I believe It is well with me. ii. You alone are worthy Lord to be praised and adore (2x) You’ve been faithful Lord from the ages past That’s why your name is forever praised iii. I will never let you go unless you bless me (2x) Introduction Ultimate; means: Crucial, Critical Breakthrough; means: advance, step forward In summary I can rephrase the title of the talk above as: The Critical Step Forward in Life. “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.” Proverbs 10:22 . So this is the type of breakthrough I will be talking about in this message and not the ungodly riches. God is interested in your welfare in life. The scripture says in 3 John 2: “ Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well” Mark the word ALL We live at a time when life is increasingly becoming complicated. The condition of living is increasing in geometric manner every passing day without corresponding increase in income. We are daily faced with numerous pressures that confront us today; crisis in – marriages, business, uncertainty at work, uncertainty about the future, financial pressure and sickness. For many today, life is hopeless and the future seems uncertain. There are many unanswered questions in their minds: where are we heading to? Who can rescue us? Does God really exist? Why are there so many evils today? Is your effort in life filled with much disappointment? Are you losing courage and growing weary? Is your life filled with sorrow and despair? Are you friendless? For those who are struggling with numerous problems, I want to assure you that you will get out of them. One of the great secrets of living in victory is: ‘Look at your problem through God and don’t try to look at God through your problem.’ If you get this the other way round, then all that you see is a giant of a problem and a very small God. But when you are looking at your problem focused on God first, you see His Glory, His Majesty, His faithfulness and His Power. Your problem is then brought into perspective, as you see it for the true size that it is. If you ever think that your problem is unsolvable, then you are slamming the door in the face of God because the bible says in 2 Chronicles 20:15 that “the battle is not yours but God’s”. “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”Mark 4:41, Luke 8:25, Matthew 8:27. “The LORD has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes.”Psalm 118:23. 4 Secrets of Breakthrough in Life 1. Be joyful and avoid worry These are two extremes and you must be very careful. A sad person will find it hard to take meaningful decisions in life and worrying can lead to some other terminal diseases. Philippians 4: 4-6 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Proverbs 15:30 “A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.” Habakkuk 3:17-18 “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.2 Luke 24: 13-35; Emmaus journey, the disciples could not recognise Jesus because of sadness of heart and worry 2. Patience An impatient person only spends time grumbling and complaining instead of being calm and finding way out of his/her problems. No wonder there is great corruption in our world, stealing and killing. A Chinese proverb says: ‘Patient is a flower that does not grow in everyone’s garden.’ Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 27:13-14 “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” 2 Timothy 2:3 “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Psalm 126: 5-6 “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.” Psalm 30:5 “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favour lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Lamentation 3:24 “I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." James 5: 7-11 , 7 Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. 9Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! 10Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Be patient like a farmer who has to wait for harvest time. Isaiah says he who believes will not be in haste. 3. Faith and Importunate Prayer Naturally many people find it difficult to pray when they are confronted with too many problems that seem to defy solution. The devil presents to them a big black board that contains a list of all their problems: you have not paid your house rent, remember your wayward husband, etc. They give up prayer at the sight of this imaginary black board. But we must wrestle in prayer; “ Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.” (Colossians 4:12). St. Paul tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, … present your request to God.” (Philippians 4:6). You remember the blind Bartimaues how he shouted, Jesus son of David have mercy on me? Mark 10:47-52). Jesus’ parable of importunate prayer in Luke 18:1-8 about a widow who demanded justice from the judge. The Parable of the Persistent Widow 1Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' 4"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' " 6And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Also of a man who went to ask for favour from his friend at midnight in Luke 11:5-11. 5 Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' 7"Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 11"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Recall how Jacob ‘wrestle’ with an angel: 26 Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." Genesis 32:26 Faith: you don’t ask for favour from a man you do not trust will help you. The bible says that faith is “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1 ).it is difficult to “please God without faith” (Hebrews 11:6 ). “We live by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7 ). “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believe and so he the promised of God came to past” (Romans 4: 18-21 ). “I believe I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”(Psalm 27:13). We serve a God that cannot lie Titus 1:2. 4. Hard work and Perseverance Work as if everything depends on it and pray as if everything depends on God. The wok of today determines the success of tomorrow and the sacrifice of today determines the strength of tomorrow. Do your part of the work, or you cannot succeed. Mahomet, one night, while encamping in the desert, overhead one of his fatigued followers remark “I will loose my camel, and trust it to God!” “No, no, not so,” said the prophet, “tie thy camel, and trust it to God!” Do all you can for yourselves, and then trust to providence, or luck, or whatever you call it. 2 Timothy 2:6 “The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crop.” 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and to mind your own business, and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘if a man will not work, he shall not eat.’” Charles H. Spurgeon said ‘By perseverance the snail reached the Ark.’ Remember Peter and the miraculous catch of fish in the gospel of Luke chapter 5, do not allow your personal (human) reasoning and laziness to prevent your from overcoming your problems. What Jesus told Peter to do didn’t make any natural sense and he’d already washed his nets. He was tired and wanted to go home. “So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.”Romans 9:16 God Bless You Evang. John Bamidele Oseh |