PASTOR OLUWASEYI OSANYINBI:
One of the issues with the church is that we don’t see ourselves as the saviours of this age, we don’t see ourselves as the light that is to shine in these gross darkness times.
DEUTERONOMY 1:30
“The LORD your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;”
One of the biggest issues we have in implementing the promises of God is Forgetfulness. Many times when these promises are delivered and we are supposed to engage we drop them at God’s laps expecting Him to do everything in His sovereignty. We should be soldiers at heart; we should not be a people who retire/give up easily, we should be contenders. The saints of old planned in accordance with the promises left them, so as to bring them to pass.
II SAMUEL 7:14-15; I KINGS 8:13-20; I KINGS 2:27
When we become careless with the promises of God, they can be truncated. Abiathar probably did not know the evil prophecy hanging on his head, maybe he would have made atonement. We can’t afford to be a people who do not keep record of prophecies. Proper record keeping of prophecies will help us to appropriate them. We must pay attention to the things declared unto us from the Lord.
EZRA 1:2
“Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah.”
Changes do not occur here, no one receives anything unless it is given to him by God. If we don’t understand why we are here on earth we will be ignorant of the prophecies lined up for us. We are His battle axes, His weapon of warfare; this should not at any time elude us.
DANIEL 9:1-3
“In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:”
Daniel was, all through his life, studying the prophecies that had gone ahead of him and hoped diligently for their fulfilment. He understood the plans of God, so he ensured that he did not love the pleasures of this life. We should be a people who seek the face of the Lord through diligence to bring to pass His promises. Not only should we keep records of prophecies, we should also see to them that they come to pass in due time.
HABAKUK 2:1-3
“I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make [it] plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision [is] yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”
Prophecies may tarry but if they are of the Lord they will surely come to pass. We should be a people that can wait for the promises of God. Patience is a vital fruit of the Spirit needed in waiting on prophecies. We should test all spirits to be sure if the word given is of God. We need to develop a filtering system so as to accurately discern prophecies (1John 4:1).
2CHRONICLES 20:20
“And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.”
We need the ministry of true prophets if we must be grounded in the things of God. When a word is given we should be careful enough to keep it to heart and wait on God to fulfill it.