Following Divine Direction

TRINITY HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH

 

SUNDAY SERMON

22nd January, 2022

Topic:                        Following Divine Direction

Preacher:                   Reverend Ebenezer Olawuyi

Text:                           Numbers 9:17 – 23

 

MESSAGE

The greatest worship we give to God is not our song, the greatest worship we can give to God is our lives. When you allow Him to have His way and take His place in your life; when you allow Him to feel free in your life, that’s the greatest worship anyone can ever give to the Lord. Worship is not just about songs; we have today a lot of singers but they are not worshippers. It is not just about singing, it’s about your life being a sweet savour and sacrifice to the Lord. So, as we worship the Lord on a daily basis, let us not just sing with our lips. Jesus said some worship Him with their lips but their hearts are far away from Him. You’ve got to worship God based on who He is and not the benefits you receive from Him. You’ve got to not just be spiritual about it but be emotional also. You’ve got to tell him that, “Jesus, I love you. You are the backbone of my life. If you leave me, I am finished. I love you Jesus, you are the song that I sing, you are my harmony.” When you genuinely worship and tell him that whatever is not according to His will He should remove it, He is happy. When you say, “Jesus, take the whole of my heart,” He is happy to fill you. You can’t worship the Lord and remain the same. When you worship the Lord, His glory, power and splendour come down. When you worship the Lord, you know that He has visited you; you can’t worship him and remain the same. Genuine worship brings down God’s glory and when God’s glory comes down, it broods over you and takes away the things that are not His from you. May we continue to worship God in spirit and in truth, Amen.

This year, God who is the covenant keeper has promised us and we know God does not lie (Isaiah 58:14). He has promised us that we are moving to another level of glory this year. Remember, there are levels of glory. There is the glory of the sun, the moon and the stars. Ezekiel also tells us about the ankle level, waist level and the level that you just have to swim. God is saying, “I want to move you forward maritally, academically, spiritually and even in the anointing.” God wants to take you to another level career wise, financially, etc. There is a level of ‘zero’, ‘not enough’, ‘enough’ and ‘more than enough’. God says, “I want to change your level” and take you to another level. This year, you will be better than last year. Say, “This year, I am getting better than that of last year.”

Following Divine Direction

From the text we read in Numbers 9:17 – 23, these points can be deduced:

1. God has called us into a relationship and not a religion; into a fellowship and not a system. When the children of Israel were going, they would not move until the cloud moves. When the cloud stops, they stop. However, it is not just about the cloud, the Bible says, “The Lord went ahead of them.” If you want God to lead you this year, you’ve got to have a relationship with him. It’s not just a religion, not that you only call God when you are in trouble. You’ve got to have a communion, a relationship, a fellowship with Him and not a religion or a system. He wants you to know that it is not just the cloud that leads but he himself is ahead of you. Have quiet time with him in the morning, just stay with him and enjoy His presence. Say, “Lord, I just want to worship you. I can’t stay without you. I can’t live without you.” Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Develop a relationship with Him. It’s like a husband and wife who don’t have a relationship and are like visitors in their house; they don’t sit down together to talk and so are only co-habiting. Spouses should have time to talk, gist and joke, that’s relationship. So, if you want God to direct you this year, you need a relationship to go to the Next Level. He has called us into a relationship and not a religion.
2. He has called us into a life of absolute trust. You’ve got to trust Him. The Scripture says the children of Israel never left, they depended on the cloud. They trusted; they didn’t trust their wisdom. God was the commander and referee, He is the one who blows the whistle and tells them that it is time to move. Without that, they didn’t move. He says, “Depend on me, completely trust me.” The secret of enjoying divine direction is absolute trust.
3. God wants us to move at His own pace. Don’t move beyond the cloud, don’t move behind the cloud. Move at God’s own pace. He makes all things beautiful in His own time. Move at God’s own pace, at His own speed. The children of Israel never ran ahead of the cloud, no matter how slow it was, neither did they stay behind. If the cloud moved faster, they moved faster, it moves slowly, they moved slowly. This year, be careful, don’t run outside divine track. Be careful this year, go at His own pace.
4. Don’t take the silence of God as certification to move. Never take the silence of God as certification to move or as approval to proceed. Maybe someone is saying, “I have prayed and didn’t hear anything. I believe in my heart and I will go.” No! Wait till you hear Him. Silence is not consent; if He decides to keep quiet, He has a reason for that. You’ve got to wait and be still and know that He is God. I have seen people who mess up their destiny because they felt they have waited enough. Even when they have not heard, they say, “I believe that God is speaking, so I will go.” Don’t go until God tells you to go.

I want to tell you an experience. Many years ago, I went from where I was ministering to a ‘wilderness’. There was so much pressure on me to leave. “Let’s call it quit,” “Why would you move without carrying this thing and that thing, at least we spent our money” however, I said, “No, I won’t go until He tells me to go.” In the midst of it, a lot of people left and I was in the ‘wilderness’ for six months. One day, after returning from the naming ceremony of a set of twins, after my lunch… as I always tell you, I have never edited this story and it is the same one over the years because it is the truth. That day, I was tired, I laid down on the bed and within 10 minutes, I was in a vision. Then, God told me it was time and I could go. I never moved until I heard him tell me to go. Till today, I still enjoy good relationship with the people I was with in the ‘wilderness’. Friends, whether in marital matter or career, don’t go until you hear, “Go!” Sometimes, God will keep the cloud for six hours, sometimes days, months or years and the Bible says, as long as the cloud stayed, the children of Israel never moved. Don’t ever take the silence of God as certification; don’t take His silence as approval to proceed. No, wait until you hear Him say to you to go. If He tells you to go, He backs you up.

5. God leads in a right way, not necessarily in the shortest and the expected way. Isaiah 55:8 says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. Friends, listen to this: the way may be the one everybody expects and the shortest way but God does not necessarily lead by the shortest or expected way, He leads by the right way (Psalms 107:7). Don’t be deceived! That short way may not necessarily be God’s right way. It may look short but I tell you, if it is long and God is leading, it is the right way (Ex. 13:17 – 18). Don’t miss it! The shortest route may not necessarily be the right way. The expected way is not also necessarily the right way. Everybody expects it to be this way but it’s not necessarily the right way. It may be a round or long trip, if God is leading, it is the right way. Say, “It may be a round trip, it may be a long trip, if God is leading me, that is the right way.”
6. God is interested in both the ‘where’ and the ‘when’. He is not just interested in where He is leading you but when He will lead you. Not just ‘where’, but the ‘when’. A lot of people have bothered about ‘where’, but you should ask when you should move.
7. God wants you to be sensitive and yielding. You have to be sensitive to spiritual impulses and instructions, even when others do not hear. I have been in a place where I sat at the dining to eat with people and God told me not to eat. I told them I was not eating and people were wondering why I was not eating. You must be sensitive to instructions. I have gotten to a point in which I got set to travel, it was after Christmas or so and we wanted to visit a family, we were ready and packed in the car when God said, “Don’t go. Go back home.” You need to be sensitive and yielding. God told them not to be bureaucratic, legalistic or too hardened. The problem with a number of people in the church is that they are too hard for the Lord to bend. They have become dry fish and God cannot adjust them any longer. For the children of Israel, whenever God said, “No,” even if they were hurrying to go, as long as the cloud stays there, they did not move (Numbers 9:19). Whether for a short time or a long time, they were ready to yield. You must be sensitive and yielding this year. Don’t be hardened, bureaucratic and legalistic. Don’t be legalistic like the Pharisees who could not bend. They were so hard to the extent that somebody’s sheep fell inside the well on a Sabbath day but they said, “Don’t remove the sheep, let it die.” They were so legalistic. Friends, be sensitive and yielding this year and don’t be hardened, bureaucratic and legalistic. Allow God to move you and to adjust even your timing. Sometimes, you make up your mind about what to do and God says, “No!” God wants you to be a planner but allow Him to have His way at every point in your life. So, be sensitive this year, don’t be hardened, bureaucratic and legalistic. If you do that, you miss your hour of visitation.
8. God wants you to know that He is moving even in the midst of the silence. You may not be hearing God but even in the silence, God is moving. The children of Israel stayed in the Mount of Sinai for one year but it was in that one year that God gave them the commandments, the tabernacle and the priesthood. Be still and know that He is God. At that time you think God is not working, He is moving and doing something. You may not be able to see and know, but He is working.

Raise up your right hand and say, “Father, my life is just about you and nothing outside it. Have your way in my life this year. Cause me to be sensitive and yielding to your divine instruction. I will not move until you tell me to move. I will not go until you tell me to go. Help me to trust you completely. Help me to obey you instantly in the name of Jesus. Help me to follow your way, not necessarily the shortest way or the expected way. Your way is the right way, Lord Jesus, show me your way this year. I will not be stranded nor frustrated. I will not fail. I will not falter. Have your way, Lord.”

As you have heard the Word this morning, I receive grace for you to practise it. You will not be hearers alone. This year, God will give you direction. As you hear Him, He will take you to your Next Level. Thank you, Father.

 

The greatest you can give to the Lord is to yield your life to Him, to say, “Jesus I surrender to you.” He will handle your life and give you peace. Maybe you have been trying to help yourself, no, you can’t do that.

Do you want to say, “Pastor, I want to give my life to Jesus”? Put your left hand on your chest and say, “My Father, I have heard your Word, I give you my heart, I give you my life. I surrender to you, have your way. Jesus, you are the Lord, take over this life and rule it in Jesus Name. Thank you, Father.”