Today on Forms and Patterns, we are looking at something important, something I believe every minister of the gospel require, in fact, it leaves no one behind. And what are we looking? We are considering Grace-Driven Glory. And under it, we will be looking at "How To Transit From Our Past To The Future By The Hand Of God." I am sure you understand that everybody, every human being is in search of glory. Now what separates us as individuals, irrespective of religion; is how we search for the glory.
Listen To Podcast: Glory: How To Transit From Your Past To Your Future By The Hand of God”>GRACE-DRIVEN GLORY: HOW TO TRANSIT FROM YOUR PAST TO YOUR FUTURE BY THE HAND OF GOD
Now, whether somebody is young or old, each one of us is in search of glory. If you think about the athletes or the celebrities today, the entertainers, the people who are in the movie industry and in different kind of career in pursuit of some kind of fame. Now, each time you hear of fame, each time you hear of people being celebrated, you call them celebrities, you should understand that there is an aura of glory around their lives. Now, a people who are celebrated are very far from being ashamed or being a reproach. You are either a celebrated personality or you are a personality that is reproached. So, everybody is in search of glory. We only differ in our means of attaining unto glory.
Today the Lord is giving us the opportunity as His people to also understand that there is a glory ahead of us, and knowing that as a fact, He is preparing us for the glory, helping us to realize that there is a drive or a driver for glory that is inspired and instituted by God, and that is ordained by God. Now, let me help you to understand that. People have attained glory at different times in history of mankind. Now what happens is that while many people attain glory over time, quite a very few number of people maintain the glory. And so, you have a number of people across the nations that are referred to as "ex champion, ex this, ex that." They used to be popular, they used to be relevant, they used to be influential, but nobody regard them today. You don't want to become a man, a woman that is regarded only for a few moment of your time. You want to remain in influence; you want to remain in glory. Do you understand that? And so, today we want to see how to attain that glory and how that glory is driven.
That is why we are considering: Grace-Driven Glory. This is not a glory that is driven by something else. It is the glory that is driven by grace. And so, you must understand that whatever drives something is what will sustain the thing. If the driver of glory is grace, then to sustain that glory, grace is a necessity, it is a requirement. Very quickly I want us to look at the book of Haggai 2:1-9 so that we will have a background understanding of the plan of God for His people. And I am sure you understand that as a person, you have been called into the ministry and so, there is a plan of God for you who has been called into the ministry. So if you understand that you have a calling into the ministry, this message in the book of Haggai is particularly written to you.
Haggai 2:1-9. The Bible says:
"In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying: 2 “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah.." So you must understand that Zerubbabel was not just anybody. He was a man who was ruling, a man who was having assignment, a man who was playing a role in leadership in Israel; "and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people." So these words came first to the leaders and then to their people. So if you are a minister of the gospel, you are a minister of God, a servant of God, perhaps you are a leader among God's people, this message is for you. And in case you have not yet been called into the ministry, the Bible says "this is also meant for the remnant of the people", saying:
"Who is left among you who saw this [b]temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing? 4 Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts. 5 ‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’ 6 “For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; 7 and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. 8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. 9 ‘The glory of this latter temple (there is a specific statement here) shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts."
May the Lord bless the reading of His word in our hearts in Jesus' name. Now, verse 4 shows the necessity of work towards the glory ahead. However, the emphasis is not just on the work, but on the fact that the Lord is with you. It says "for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts." Now you must understand that the glory ahead of you is a function of the work you do and then the presence of God that is with you. And so, if a man is privileged to have a work to be done or a work in his hands, and then such a man or woman has God on his or her side, now what we are told from the verses that we just read is that there is a sure glory ahead. Now, in verse 9 it says: "The glory of this latter temple."
If you read 1 Corinthians you will understand that the Bible even recognized that we believers are the temple of the Holy Spirit. And so, when we are talking about temple, in this context, I want you to understand that you are a temple of God. And so, your future (that is why the Bible use the word "the latter temple"), the glory of your future shall be greater than the glory of your past. So, I don't know the current state of your life right now, I don't know the current state of your ministry, I don't even understand where you are coming from and where your ministry is actually evolved from. Now if the stages of your experiences have been unpalatable, now the Bible is clear here to you, the glory ahead of you and your ministry is more than the glory behind you. And so, if you have experienced a little glory or no glory at all, the word of the Lord to you is that there is a sure glory ahead of you.
Now, two things are important here that you must not forget even as we continue in our conversation. There is a work that you must do and the presence of God that must be with you. And so, when you have a work in your hands that you are doing and you are committed to, and then the presence of the Lord is with you, the Bible says "there is a sure glory ahead of you." And so, if you are thinking about glory, you must always think about those two things: Your work, the presence of God in your life. So each time you have a work in your hands, God has called you into the work of ministry, God has committed an assignment into your hands, it is a platform for your glory. Each time you receive an assignment from God, it is an opportunity given to you by God to position you for the glory of God. And the glory of your future, the glory of your destiny in ministry, in marriage and even as an individual in your own life, is far better, far bigger, and far brighter than the glory that you have experienced in your past. And if you have never experienced any glory, then there is no need to be perturbed and to be worried. There is a glory yet ahead of you.
You remember the Bible verse in Hebrews 12:2 that says "looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of your faith. Who for the joy that was set before Him.." Now the joy that was set before Him is also the joy that the Lord is setting before you today, and that joy is glory. For the glory that the Lord is setting ahead of you, you must deny, you must endure the cross, you must despise any shame. Whatever the ministry that God has called you, you must give it whatever it takes. Because God was so specific in verse 4, it says: be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work." Commit yourself to the assignment. For the joy that was set before Jesus, He despised the shame, He endured. And now, Bible says "God has put Him at His right hand", He is sitting at the right hand of God, far above principalities and powers.
There is a glory ahead of you. If you will not miss that glory, it will be because you have committed yourself into the works that God has called you in and then you are engaging the hand of God in your life in the work that God has given to you. 1 Corinthians 2:9, the Bible says:
"But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
Now, it is clear that there is something ahead of you that is far bigger and better than what has been behind you. No matter how your life has been, no matter how colorful it has been, the glory ahead is much more colorful. No matter the abundance you have witnessed thus far, there is a greater abundance ahead of you. So, do not allow the light affliction that you are going through now or the many glory that you are experiencing now to becloud you from beholding, and comprehending and accepting the glory ahead of you. You must not trade the glory ahead with a present satisfaction.
Many people have compromised; many people have departed from the faith thinking their days ahead will never be brighter. Now the word of God to you is simple: Your future will be brighter, there is no need to sell it for nothing. You cannot sell a glorious future for nothing. Imagines a man, let us look at the president of the United States. I am sure when he was thirty, forty or even fifty, even when he was sixty, I am sure many people would not think he will become the president of the United States. There was a dream in his heart, but nobody around him would believe that somebody like him would be voted by the people. But the point is, he is now the president of the United States.
So if somebody has told you now that your future is bright, and then you are doubting it, you may not bother yourself doubting, because that will amount to a wasted effort. The sure word of God for you is that in the future, there is a glory ahead of you if only you will commit yourself to the work that the Lord has called you into. In case you are trying to comprehend what lies ahead of you by the things you are seeing right now, the Bible says eyes have not yet seen what lies ahead of you, ears have not heard it, it has not even come to the heart of any man, things God has prepared for you. So much has been prepared for you by God, but you must allow yourself to be committed and be given to the work that God has given you so that you will not fail and you will not disappoint God.
2 Corinthian 12:9 is a Bible passage that will help us to see what the Lord says in Haggai 2:1-9 better. The Bible says: "And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Apostle Paul used his life at that moment to reveal to us the relevance of grace in the life of man. Don't forget we are examining Grace-Driven Glory. There is a glory ahead of us, we have understood that. Now towards getting that glory, there is a grave that we require. There is a grace that must drive the glory. On your own, you cannot do the work alone. In fact, you can't continue with this work that God has given to you for too long, you will be weary, you will be discouraged. In fact, you will be hurt.
If you must therefore remain at the work, if you must remain productive at the assignment that God has given to you, then it must be because the grace of God is released and it is abundant to you. "For this very matter I beseeched the Lord three times that He might take them away from me, these challenges, that he might take them away from me." But God said "my grace is sufficient for you." The grace of God is what you require in this trying moment of your life so that you will be able to successfully transit into a glorious future that is ahead of you. In Romans 8:31, there is something for us again to see. It says: "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
So it means, towards your glorious future, there is one that you require and that is God. You require the company, the presence of God always with you to give you great victory in every battle. No matter the challenge, the opposition that you face, if God is for you, nobody can be against you. And anyone who tries to be against you is doing it at the expense of the soul and survival and the exploit of such a person. And so you know, the grace of God is not to help you only do the work; the grace of God is also to preserve you while you are doing the work. So you understand, there is a work you must do and there is the presence of God that must be with you to help you to do it and to preserve you while you are doing the work.
In 2 Timothy 4:8, the Bible gives us a clear picture of our attitude while we are working in the work of ministry. The Bible says: "Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing." You must understand that there is a glory, and you must not forget the implication of crown. The Bible would have used the word "the clothe of righteousness or something of righteousness." No! The Bible used the word crown of righteousness and you must not forget that the crown of righteousness connotes glory. You cannot have crown on your head and you are in shame or reproach. So, I am telling you as the Lord is inspiring me that there is a glory ahead of you. Now, the only way you will not miss that glory is when you remain committed to what God has given unto you to do as a responsibility, and then you engage His presence in the assignment.
The last Scripture I want us to look at as the Lord guides us. 1 Corinthians 15:10. The Bible says "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." It says by the grace of God I am who I am. So I am speaking to you right now by the grace of God. Everything I do, I do by the grace of God. It is not about you. If you do what you do by the grace of God, it is definite that there is a glory ahead you. You must not forget that the Bible says God resists the proud, and He gives more grace to the humble. You stop getting grace each time you move into the realm of pride. And so, each time you get grace from God, it is an announcement that there is no pride in you. Because with pride, no man can get grace.
The grace of God comes to announce to you that you are a man; you are a woman without pride. And so, Apostle Paul says "I am who I am today, not because I am so fantastic, but the grace of God." And I do not receive the grace of God in vain, but the grace of God was used by me to labor. So you must understand that the glory ahead of you is dependent on the labor, on the work that you do. And so, don't get grace for fun. When you receive grace, use it to work. When you work with the grace of God in your life, there is a sure glory ahead of you. And in case you are asking: what is grace? Grace connotes the presence of God on your life. You can also say grace also represents the hand of God in what you do.
Now, look at it this way. When bad things are done in a particular place and somebody comes to ask: Who has done so and so? Now what the person is trying to find out is "whose hand is on so and so?" The work has been done but through whom has the work been done? And somebody will say "me, I don't have any hand in it." And so, such a person is indirectly saying that "my grace was not on it." So, your hand connotes your grace. Now if it is not your primary work but you decide to participate in it, it means you have decided to bestow your grace upon the work who does the work. And so, when God gives you a work and then He decides to partners with you in doing the work, that is the grace of God for that work and it is by the hand of God that you get the work done. And so, it is not because you are fantastic that you have gotten the job done, it is because the hand of God, the Mighty hand of God is upon you.
If you read the book of Nehemiah, you will remember how Nehemiah acknowledged the hand of God upon His life being the basis for his success in the work that he did. If you also want to succeed in your responsibilities, if you want to succeed in the assignment that God has given to you, you require the presence and the hand of God upon you. And I want you to pray to God, and say
"Lord, let your hand be vivid upon my life, let your hand be seen, let men be clear that this is not me doing these things. let it be clear to everybody that it is not about my power, it is not about my might but by the Spirit of the Lord these things are done. Lord, let your hand be visible in my life, in my marriage, in my ministry and in everything that I am doing. Lord, show yourself strong in my behalf, I don't want o struggle. Everything that I am doing and I will do, let me do them by your hand in the Mighty name of Jesus. Let your grace be sufficient for me, let me not struggle, in the name of Jesus. Lord, I receive the grace to function. I will not struggle. In this ministry, I will not struggle. In the work that you have given to me, I will not struggle. In everything that you have committed into my hands, I will not struggle in them. Your hand is upon me, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me. The anointing of God is available for me to do the will of God, In the name of Jesus."
Amen!
