STEP INSIDE THAT JORDAN! (Joshua 3:7-17)

There is no security in security. There is no safety in safety. There is no comfort in a comfort zone. The only way to live is to die! The only way to gain is to lose!

Better to walk on water (like Peter) and cry, "Lord, save me lest I perish" while sinking than to sit timidly in the boat. The only way to make history or achieve anything meaningful in life is to dare to take a step of faith, make the move and take the plunge.

Bite more than you can chew and let God help you chew it. It is only when you put your feet in the Jordan that the waters will stop flowing. Come on, step inside that Jordan!

What's your own Jordan today?

When your harvest is due, that is when Jordan overflows its banks (verse 15). That is when your obstacles look more overwhelming, when all hell is let loose, so to speak.

But don't you give up!

It's time to intimidate your intimidations, embarrass your embarrassments, frustrate your frustrations, challenge your challenges and confront your confrontations!

Jordan will part, but you must step inside it!

TURN YOUR INTENTIONS TO INVENTIONS

I run into a lot of people who tell me what they want to do, things they hope to accomplish and regale me with stories of how it’s going to happen. This is common especially among young adults, though older people are not exempted from this syndrome.  

So, this will help you whatever your age range, even if you’re not in my constituency (as if I’m a politician!). My constituency for the better part of the last 18 years of my ministry has been the youths – young men and women full of life, full of dreams. After all, Solomon, ancient king of Israel said too, that the glory of young men is their strength, strength to pursue their dreams.

It’s been said that you cannot build a reputation on what you’re going to do. And it’s true! You will be respected for what you have done, not for what you thought to do!

Is there a dream in your heart? It is only an intention. You will be remembered, not for your intentions but for your inventions.

The Bible puts it strongly: “To him that knows to do good, but does it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). So, stop sinning against yourself. Dewey King said, “Unless good intentions are followed by deeds, they avail nothing.”

Do you say, ‘I have it in mind’? You may die with it! Wild dreams do come to pass, but only if the dreamer does something about his wild dream. May I put it to you: INVENTIONS ARE ONLY INTENTIONS THAT ENJOYED ATTENTION!

Do something about that idea in your head today. Tomorrow may never come. You will only be rewarded for what you did, not what you wished to do!

Write the first chapter of that book today. Let it be the first step towards making that intention become an invention.

Speak about that goal of yours to someone today. You may get the help and solution to that envisaged obstacle.

All great men live by this principle: it is inventions that count, not intentions. A visit to the museum will confirm this. Always remember that you will be remembered for what you did, not what you thought to do! Turn your intentions to inventions. Selah!

WHY DO I PREACH?

Have you ever asked yourself, “Why do I do what I do?” I mean, why do you do what you do for a living? I learnt years ago that motivation is derived from ‘motive’. So, if you can identify your motives for doing what you do, staying motivated on your vocation/calling won’t be a problem.

What do I do? I’m a preacher! A preacher of the glorious gospel of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. But that’s just the bare bones of it. This is because over the last decade, I’ve found different outlets to do that. As a result, I’ve been called different things: writer, author, motivational speaker, Bible teacher, pastor, leadership coach.

But basically, what I do is pray, study and think. Then I speak, I teach, I coach, I write. I find ways to help people by communicating the things I discover and learn from life and God’s Word via any and every available media.

Materially, has it paid off? Oh yes! But much more than that I’m fulfilled. I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied doing any other thing.

So, why do I do what I do? Why do I preach? Why do I write? Why would I preach one more message? Write one more book? Why do I and why would I, honor invitations to speak any more? Why do I convene seminars, conferences and similar meetings? Why? Why? Why?

These are my reasons for doing what I do.

1.     I PREACH BECAUSE I AM CALLED BY GOD TO DO IT. Nah! I can tell you vividly the circumstances, the date, the time when and the place where it happened. And I still feel it, very strongly, till date. But, that’s quite subjective. Anybody can claim that he/she heard God’s calling and how would you prove that?  Every Tom, Dick, and Harry; Ojo, Aina and Suberu, anybody who is somebody, does claim that daily. So, I feel that’s not sufficient enough a reason. But for me, first and foremost, I preach because I’m called by God to preach.

2.     I PREACH BECAUSE I BELIEVE THE GOSPEL OF JESUS IS THE ONLY THING THAT CAN HELP HUMANITY AND THIS WORLD. Nothing else can. No glib talk nor deep-sounding philosophy can. Jesus, and Jesus alone is the way, the truth and the life! (John 14:6) Because, He’s the way, by following Him you can’t miss it! He’s the truth, so all else is a lie if it’s not in consonance with Him (Romans 3:4). He is the life. Any other thing is perdition!

3.     I PREACH BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WHAT I HAVE TO SAY WILL HELP THOSE WHO LISTEN TO ME. I have something to say that will add value to you. That’s why I preach. I preach because I want to make a difference in people’s lives and situations.

4.     I PREACH BECAUSE I’M INDEBTED TO MY GENERATION. I’ve taken so much out of this life that I can’t but give back. God has invested too much in me that it would be outright unfair not to invest in others.

5.     I CONTINUE TO PREACH BECAUSE I’M LIKE JEREMIAH, the ancient prophet who said, ““I will not mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I was weary of holding it back. And I could not.”” (Jeremiah 20:9)

6.     I CONTINUE TO PREACH BECAUSE I SEE AND I’M CONVINCED OF THE DIFFERENCE, THIS MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL CAN AND DOES MAKE IN PEOPLE’S LIVES. I’ve seen sick bodies healed, the dead come back to life, broken homes and marriages mended, dead businesses revived; I’ve seen careers advanced and lives practically turned around. I’ve seen hope birthed afresh where disillusionment and despair reigned before. So, to see one more life touched is an incentive to keep doing what I do.

7.     I PREACH BECAUSE ONE DAY I WILL GIVE ACCOUNT of what I did with my life and the deposit God has made in me, the privileges I’ve enjoyed and the opportunities I’ve been given to Him who gave me life (Romans 14:12).

8.     Finally, and don’t fight me on this: I PREACH BECAUSE I ENJOY DOING THIS. I’M CONVINCED IT IS THE GREATEST CALLING ON EARTH. And I feel so blessed and privileged by God to be one of His messengers on earth. “No man takes this honor to himself except He that is called of God as Aaron was.” (Hebrews 5:4)

WHEN YOU GET THE 'MAN' RIGHT, YOU'LL GET THE 'WORLD' RIGHT!

Little kids are a blessing. My little boy, Samuel, is. Cute little bundles of joy, love and vivacity. But this very day little Johnny was more like a nuisance. Or so Johnny’s daddy thought.

He is a busy executive who had come home with a briefcase full of work. Five year old Johnny was demanding time but due to deadlines the dad reluctantly told his boy he had several hours of work that took priority. Johnny asked time and again, “Can’t you play now, Dad?” That was when the young dad got a brilliant idea.

Before him was a newspaper containing a map of the world. He tore up the paper in pieces and gave it to his son to put it back together, telling him that when the “puzzle” is finished, there would be time to play. He had bargained for some uninterrupted time. However, in a matter of minutes Johnny called his dad to look at the map. Astonished, the father asked how he had managed to do it so quickly. The young lad explained that on the other side of the map was a picture of a man and that once he got the man right, the world was right.

Once you get the ‘man’ right, it’s easy to get the ‘world’ right! You can change the world, but not until you change your world. Personal transformation is the key to national transformation. Personal change precedes corporate transformation. Personal transformation is the key to your professional, marital and material success. That is the message of my new book, YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR WORLD! coming out of the press in a few weeks time.

I do believe any man irrespective of his/her estate in life can change his life. You can!

See here is a rough draft of the cover artwork of my book.