12 keys to winning the battle against forces of stagnation (2)

Last week we looked the first four keys: Reject the status quo, Change your thinking  – guard your thought, Confess all sins- personal and ancestral, Find out the problem.   (…continued from last week) 5. Learn from your mistakes. No problem should beat you twice. Every mistake or challenge is an opportunity to grow wiser. […]

Last week we looked the first four keys: Reject the status quo, Change your thinking  – guard your thought, Confess all sins- personal and ancestral, Find out the problem.  

(…continued from last week)

5. Learn from your mistakes. No problem should beat you twice. Every mistake or challenge is an opportunity to grow wiser. Problems are not sent to destroy you but improve you. Most importantly, be teachable and you will never be stagnant in life. Learn from your mistakes. Learn from the mistakes of others too. Avoid their mistakes and don’t cut your dreams and your life short. Don’t give excuses; accept responsibility for your mistakes and take steps to correct them. Change friends if need be. Drop limiting habits. Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.” Progress is impossible without change. You have compassed this mountain long enough. God said to them, ‘turn you northward’. Until you make a turn in your thinking you cannot change your results. Realize that you have a life beyond this present problem or predicament. Stop focusing on the problem, start focusing on the solution. Start focusing on the desired results. Whatever you think about grows. Those who focus on problems see more problems. Those who think on solutions see solutions. Until you change your orientation, you cannot remove your limitations. 

6. Revelation. Be guided by the Holy Spirit. It’s the surest way to get to your destination. Get a new direction from God. Decide where you want to go. In Deuteronomy 2:3 God gave Moses the recipe for dealing with stagnation. He said, “3Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.” There not only have to be a turn, it must be a turn in the right direction. If they turned east or west they would still have missed it. You must know which direction to turn. Vision and planning are extremely essential for progress. The dream is a window into your soul, a gateway into the unseen world, giving access to the unknown and revealing the invisible behind all that is visible. Allow yourself to dream. And don’t dream small. Believe you can still make it. Don’t lose steam. Go for your dream with passion. Set goals, based on God’s revealed objectives for your life. The Bible says, “It is God that works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Progress is simply moving in the desired direction. Here is the real key to making progress as a believer: SURRENDER COMPLETELY TO GOD’S AGENDER! LET HIM SHOW YOU WHAT TO DO AND WHERE TO GO; THEN FOLLOW IT! Look higher and further! Dream dreams that take you to the stars and beyond.

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You are not delivered into emptiness. God brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt to take them into the Promised Land. You are delivered from sin into righteousness, from poverty into prosperity; from sickness to health; shame to honour and from death to life. You were delivered from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.

7. Decide not to quit. Demons are persistent but you must decide never to quit. You can wear them out with your steadfastness and tenacity of purpose. Rebuke the spirit of abandonment, discouragement, frustration, depression and impatience. When these spirits attack your mind, they force you to quit. They make people settle for cheaper and inferior alternatives. But you must resist them firmly and constantly. Persistence is the difference between those who fail and those who succeed. Don’t let go of your dreams. Learn from the Asian Bamboo species. It is barely visible even after five years of watering, weeding and fertilizing. Then in a span of about six weeks it grows two and a half feet a day to 90 feet and higher. It grows so fast that you can literally “hear” it growing. The question to ask is did the bamboo grow 90 feet in six weeks or did it grow 90 feet in five years?  Obviously it grew 90 feet in five years, for all the time when growth wasn’t visible it was developing a massive root system that would later support its magnificent growth. Be consistent in doing those things that lead to progress. One of the reasons we fluctuate is because we are not consistent in doing those things which produce the most results in our lives. If you sow consistently you will reap consistently. If you tithe consistently you will be blessed consistently. If you are consistent with your prayer and Bible study life, you will be strong spiritually and be able to stand all the assault of the devil. The Bible says in 1Corinthians 15:58, “58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” Don’t lower your expectations. Remove the limitations from your mind first. We tend to lower our expectation with the passage of time. We negotiate our value and destiny downwards with every challenge or problem. Our confidence diminishes with each deal until we are left with none. For example you start out by wanting to marry a handsome and good looking young man with prospects but as time passes you begin to lower your standard. You say just give me a man; it doesn’t matter if he looks like a monkey or gorilla. I started out praying for a certain amount of money full of confidence but as time passed and things became more difficult, my confidence began to diminish and I began to reduce the amount gradually; believing for less and less. I received nothing. James 1:6-7 says, “6But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” Sarah was believing God for Isaac but as time passed on and her faith dwindled, she decided to settle for a child through her maid. She negotiated her expectation downward and settled for a cheaper alternative- Ishmael.

8. Speak your God-given expectation only. Shut down all satanic broadcast. Stop repeating what the enemy is saying. What the children of Israel said got them into trouble. Numbers 14:28, “28Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:” Pro 6:2, “2Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.” The CEV says, “Then you are trapped by your own words.” The Bible says in James 3:2 says, “2For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” Your words have creative power. Many have limited themselves by their words. Most people have not been taught the proper use of their tongue. They say whatever they feel instead of what they want to have. Believe the promises of God and speak accordingly. This is the spirit of faith according to 2Cor 4:13 “13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;” If you don’t believe what you say it will not happen. Speak. Do not speak as a victim of circumstances but as a creator of possibilities. Command mountains to move. Decree the solutions you desire. But your decree will only work if you speak what you have believed.

(To be continued…)

Bishop Dr. Charles Olowojoba is the General Overseer

of Dayspring Bible Church Worldwide with HQ in Abuja, Nigeria

& President, Dayspring Christian Ministries Int’l.

Website: www.dayspringcmi.org

e-mail: [email protected]

Help line: 08035150515