A N A M B I D E X T R O U S Y E A RW H A T ' S O U R F O C U S I N 2 0 1 4

2 T H I N G S W E N E E D T O D O 2 0 1 4

2 T H I N G S W E N E E D T O D O

• Which would seem contradict each other

• But are crucial to getting to have our most productive year ever full if the miracles

T H E F I R S T

• Plan, Organize, Strategise, document.

• Equip study and develop a roadmap for the year

A N D O N T H E O T H E R S I D E

• We need to pray and act as if there us no plan, we are going to depend on God

W H Y ?

• Ephesians 3:14-21 (NKJV)

• 14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—

W H Y ?

• Ephesians 3:14-21 (NKJV)

• 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

W H E N Y O U P L A N P R O J E C T S T U D Y Y O U A R E T H I N K I N G

• It creates a platform from which God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think.

• Giving God a great place to start with achievement or expectation

W H E N Y O U P L A N P R O J E C T S T U D Y Y O U A R E T H I N K I N G

• For example you planned to get a degree from university of Ibadan and does it and you end up in Cambridge UK he has done abundantly above what you asked or think compared to not expecting to go to university

S U B M I T Y O U R S E L F T O G O D

I T ' S M E A N S S U B M I T Y O U R S E L F T O H I S W O R D

• James 4:7-10 (NKJV)

• 7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double- minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Nothing  in  MeJohn  14:30  KJV    

Hereafter  I  will  not  talk  much  with  you:  for  the  prince  of  this  world  cometh,  and  hath  nothing  in  me.  

Mark  7:15  KJV    There  is  nothing  from  without  a  man,  that  entering  into  him  can  defile  him:  but  the  things  which  come  out  of  him,  those  are  they  that  defile  the  

man.  !!!

The  Fifth  Column  -­‐  military  tactic  A  clandestine  group  or  faction  of  subversive  agents  who  attempt  to  undermine  a  nation’s  solidarity  by  any  means  at  their  disposal.  

 The  term  is  credited  to  Emilio  Mola  Vidal,  a  Nationalist  general  during  the  Spanish  Civil  War  (1936–39).  As  four  of  his  army  columns  moved  on  Madrid,  the  general  referred  to  his  militant  supporters  within  the  capital  as  his  “fifth  

column,”  intent  on  undermining  the  loyalist  government  from  within.    Dictionaries  generally  define  a  fifth  column  as  “any  group  of  people  who  

give  aid  and  support  to  the  enemy  from  within  their  own  country.”    

Self  DestructionPsalms  107:20  KJV  

He  sent  his  word,  and  healed  them,  and  delivered  them  from  their  destructions.  Psalms  107:20  (LITV)      

He  sent  His  Word  and  healed  them;  and  delivered  them  from  all  their  pitfalls.    !

Derek  Prince  at  Khartoum  Train  StationAnother   remarkable   example   of   hearing   God’s   voice   in   an  unexpected   moment:   Years   back,   about   l943,   when   I   was   a  relatively  new  Christian,  I  was  a  soldier  in  the  British  Army.  I  was  in   the   Sudan   and   I   was   traveling   in   a   train   in   which   certain  compartments   were   reserved   for   the   military.   Traveling   north  from  Khartoum  and  I  got  to  a  small,  very,  very  crowded  station.  

Derek  Prince  at  Khartoum  Train  StationAnd  if  you  have  never  traveled  in  the  third  world  you  won’t  be  able  to   picture   this   but   the   platform   was   totally   covered   with   living  creatures.   Men,   women,   children,   nursing   infants,   old   men   and  then  donkeys,  camels,  goats,  chickens    .  .  .  Everybody  was  bustling,  making  a  noise.  And  I  looked  out  of  the  window   in  my  splendid   isolation  and   I   said   to  myself,    "I  wonder  what  God  thinks  about  all  those  people."    

Derek  Prince  at  Khartoum  Train  StationI  didn’t  expect  an  answer.  But  I  got  an  immediate  answer,  "Some  weak,  some  foolish,  some  proud,  some  wicked  and  some  exceeding  precious."  That,  I  felt,  was  God’s  categorization  of  the  human  race.  You  can  think  it  over.    There’s  four  basic  reasons  why  people  don’t  come  to  Christ.  Some  weak,  some  foolish,  some  proud,  some  wicked  and  some  exceeding  precious.  

A  Different  SpiritNumbers.  14:24  

“But  My  servant  Caleb,  because  he  has  a  different  spirit  in  him  and  has  followed  Me  fully,  I  will  bring  into  the  land  where  he  

went,  and  his  descendants  shall  inherit  it”  

Understanding  Caleb’s  Character The  “key”  to  our  understanding  of  Caleb’s  character  is  found  in  Numbers  14:24   in   the   phrase,   “different   spirit”   (ESV).   We   too   must   possess   a  “different”   spirit   in   order   to   be   pleasing   to   God.   Many   in   the   Lord’s  church  must  come   to  grips  with   the   fact   that  we  are  not   like  everyone  else.  Standing  for  the  truth  will  not  be  popular  with  those  of  the  world  (John   15:19;   John   17:14;   1   John   3:13).   Too   many   Christians   are   more  concerned  about  “what  everyone  else  thinks”  than  “what  God  thinks”.  

Understanding  Caleb’s  Character

Due  to  no  fault  of  his  own,  Caleb  was   forced   to   wander   in   the  wilderness   for   forty   years.   He  s u f f e r e d   b e c a u s e   o f   t h e  faithlessness   of   the   children   of  Israel.   The   steadfastness   of  Caleb’s   commitment   to   God  during   these   troubling   (and  wasted)   years   i s   a   g reat  testament  to  the  character  of  the  man.   it   is   indeed  difficult   to  stay  the   course   when   others   bring  undeserved   heartache   and  problems   to  us.  Through  all   this,  Caleb   never   blamed   God   but  simply   trusted   God   and   waited  for   the   day   when   he   would   be  allowed   to   cross   over   to   the  Promised  Land.  

B L I N D FA I T H

T H E P R E G N A N T D E E R

• In a remote forest, a pregnant deer was about to give birth to a baby. It found a remote grass field near by a river and slowly went there thinking it would be safe. As she moved slowly, she got labor pain…. at the same moment, dark clouds gathered around that area and lightning started a forest fire. Turning left she saw a hunter who was aiming an arrow from a distance. As she tried to move towards right, she spotted a hungry lion approaching towards her.

T H E P R E G N A N T D E E R

• What should the pregnant deer do ….as she is already under labor pain ?

• What do you think will happen ?

• Will the deer survive ?

• Will it give birth to a calf ?

• Will the calf survive ? or

• Will everything be burnt by the forest fire ?

• At that particular moment ?

• Could the deer go left ? – Hunter’s arrow was pointing

• Could she go right ? – Hungry male lion approaching

• Could she move up ? – Forest fire

• Could she move down ? – Fierce river

!

• In reality, she does nothing. She just focuses on giving birth to a new LIFE.

• The sequence of events that happens at that fraction of a second (moment) are as follows:

• In a spur of MOMENT …a lightning struck (already it was cloudy ) and blinded the eyes of the Hunter.

• At that MOMENT, he released the arrow missing and zipping past the deer.

• At that MOMENT the arrow hit and injured the lion badly.

• At that MOMENT, it started to rain heavily and puts out the forest fire.

• At that next MOMENT, the deer gave birth to a healthy calf.

• Wisdom: In our life, it’s our MOMENT of CHOICE and we all have to deal with such negative thoughts from all sides always. Some thoughts are so powerful they overpower us and make us clueless. Let us not decide anything in a hurry. Lets think of ourself as the pregnant deer with the ultimate happy ending. Anything can happen in a MOMENT in this life.

• If you are religious, superstitious, atheist, agnostic… or whatever… you can attribute this MOMENT as sublime, divine intervention, faith, sudden luck, chance (serendipity), coincidence… or a simple ‘dont know’. We all feel the same. But, whatever one may call it, I would see the priority of the deer in that given moment was to give birth to a baby…. because LIFE IS PRECIOUS.

T H AT ' S W H E R E W E A R E I N T H I S S E A S O N , C O U N T R Y A N D T I M E I N O U R L A N D

S U R R O U N D E D O N E V E R Y S I D E B Y E V E R Y K I N D O F T R O U B L E

• We too are trying to consider running fro which one,

• The Devil and His Demons are like the Lion trying to devour us

• The Economy is like the Fire burning up everything we thought had value

• The Hunter is like people who want to kill you or jealous

• The River is life constantly in Motion

Y O U A R E T H E D E E R PA N T I N G AT T H E W AT E R !T R Y I N G T O G I V E B I R T H T O Y O U R C A L L P U R P O S E A N D D E S T I N Y

E X A M P L E S I N S C R I P T U R E O F B L I N D FA I T H

• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

• Daniel in the lions den

• Esther and the king if I perish I perish

• Noah's extreme focus on the ark

• This year build an ark of faith for you and your family

W H AT D O E S T H E D E E R D O ?

• She does nothing and focusing on giving birth like we must do in our case

J E S U S

• Isaiah 50:6-7 (NKJV)

• I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.

J E S U S

• Isaiah 50:6-7 (NKJV)

• 7 “For the Lord God will help Me; Therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.

• Luke 9:51 (NKJV)

• 51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,

• Luke 9:51 (AMP)

• Now when the time was almost come for Jesus to be received up [to heaven], He steadfastly and determinedly set His face to go to Jerusalem.

• Luke 9:51 (NLTse)

• 51 As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

T H E F O C U S M U S T B E . .

• The focus if the deer was in its offspring and of its kind not its own safety or welfare or prosperity.

T H E F O C U S M U S T B E . .

• The Divine Deliverance

• Comes only after this focus

• Sphere of Influence and Sphere of Concern

P R AY E R

• 1 Thessalonians 3:10-11 (KJV)

• Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith? 11 Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.

P R AY E R

• 1 Thessalonians 3:10-11 (AMP)

• [And we] continue to pray especially and with most intense earnestness night and day that we may see you face to face and mend and make good whatever may be imperfect and lacking in your faith. 11 Now may our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) guide our steps to you.

P R AY E R

• 1 Thessalonians 3:10-11 (NLTse)

• Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith. 11 May God our Father and our Lord Jesus bring us to you very soon.

P R AY E R

• 1 Thessalonians 3:10-11 (PhillipsNT)

• as we pray earnestly day and night to see you face to face again, and to complete whatever is imperfect in your faith? This is our Prayer for you 11 So may God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus guide our steps to you.

W E A LT H , H E A LT H & L O V ES P I R I T U A L & M A T E R I A L G O A L S I N 2 0 1 4