2019 OPERATION 18-18 (DAY 2) – RETURN TO GOD

TEXT: Hosea 6:1-3

Return to God presupposes that one has strayed, derailed and dislocated from the course. It is a common thing to deviate, to miss God’s mark in righteousness, in holiness and in obedience. It is very easy especially in the world today to pursue other things and make them your pursuit and violate the first commandment that God expects from us. God wants to have 100% of our time. He wants us to be people who seek Him.  He wants us to be God – chasers. He does not want to share His love or His place in our hearts with other things. Anything you place side by side God in your heart has become your idol. It is so easy to stray and get into idolatry. The only time many people know how to seek God is when they are in need. Immediately, their problem is solved, they will use their blessing as an excuse to be far away from God.. Every blessing that God gives us should draw us closer to God. Some people are in the church but their heart is far from God. It is time for revival, returning to God  is part of the revival. We need to know that God is the greatest success factor we can have. We need to be convinced that God connection is the greatest connection we can ever have. We also need to be convinced that our relationship with God is the best relationship we can have. Every time there is any measure of doubt, you will stray.

In 2 Tim. 4:10. Paul was lamenting about Demas who has loved the present world above the things of God. It is so easy to love the pleasures of this world and place them above God in our hearts. Even in ministry, a lot of people are building empires on earth, citadels that do not have any eternal value. Many people cannot go out of their way to do what will please God if they can not get something out of it.

The standard for measuring success in the Church today is different from God’s standard. Everybody is competing to build cathedrals as if that is what we are called to do. There is no difference between the Church and the world system anymore. People think they can bribe God with their money, but they forget that we are not redeemed by silver and gold. We are redeemed by the priceless blood of the Lamb. We are not called to build the kingdom of this world, we are called to invest our lives in things that have eternal value. We should be interested in connecting seriously with God and consolidating our relationship with him. When you get to that point, heaven will respond and you will be mightily blessed. Everything good, God has in supernatural abundance even gold. We will have gold in abundance.

We need to return to God. It is so easy to chase money and gold and forget God. It is so easy to chase money and miss God. I made a statement,” if you go for gold, you will miss God but if you go for God, you will have gold as dust”.

We need to look deep into our lives and see where we need to return to God. We need to see the areas we have deviated and return to God. In this present generation, we need God more than ever, we need the God – factor. I don’t see how anyone will succeed without the God – factor. I don’t see how anyone will succeed without being fanatically in love with God. If you are not fanatically in love with God, you will be seduced. Seduction is part of the antics of the enemy, he seduces in order to derail. We need to return to God.

 SYMPTOMS OF DERAILMENT, DISLOCATION . SIGNS THAT SHOW THAT ONE HAS DERAILED:

1. INGRATITUDE:  Write down all the times you have received favour from God for which you never thanked Him. It is a sign that one is walking away, it is a sign that one’s heart is walking away from God.

Prayer: Lord, in anyway, I have manifested ingratitude, please forgive me and remove the seed of ingratitude from me. Roll away the seal of ingratitude from my heart in the name of Jesus. Wash me with the blood of Jesus. Give me the right spirit, grant me the grace never to take you or your favour for granted. Help me to appreciate my relationship with you and the love you have shown me. Help me oh Lord, I ask in Jesus name.

Ingratitude is the root of every sin. God made a perfect man in a perfect environment with a single instruction in the garden of Eden. But Adam never placed value on God. He never said thank you Lord. Ingratitude is a heart condition. You see it in your relationship with Christians of today. If you are finding it difficult to say thank you, check it. Ingratitude is one of the things that produces curse according to Mal. 2: 2. God expects you to thank Him. 

Ingratitude is one of the reasons why people’s blessings are cut short. God is angry with anyone who manifests ingratitude. When they refuse to give God the glory, the flow of blessing will stop and they will begin to struggle for the rest of their lives because they remove the God – factor that was responsible for the success. How do you know a fool?  A fool says in his heart that there is no God. People are looking for a God to use to climb and once they get there, they dump him. Nobody can go far in life without God in the real sense of it. The race is not to the swiftest, it is God that shows mercy. If the hand of God stops lifting you, you cannot go further. There are many geniuses in the world that have ended as paupers. Are their times in our lives that we  have not honoured God? Honour is a seed for longevity. Anytime God says, this is the way to do it and you do it your own way, you have dishonoured God. Anytime you violate the word of God, you have dishonoured God. If Adam had not shown ingratitude, he would not have listened to the voice of the seduced wife. If he was a worshipper, he would not have dishonoured God. He was more in love with the wife than he was with God. Every woman needs a man that is connected to God. If you are a man and you are not connected to God , you are a mannequin.

Your education is not complete until you are divinely educated. Men need to occupy their place for the world to change. The healing of the nation starts from the Church, the healing of the church starts from the home and the healing of the home starts from the man. God is looking for a man. The mentality of men has been twisted, they believe that they are providers. The greatest need of leadership is not money but direction. Let every man return to God. Every man should take purposeful leadership which is taking the family back to God. I have a vision for my family and the fellowship. We are gathering to make heaven. We are going somewhere, heaven is our destination, Jesus Christ is the way, Holy Ghost is our guide and by the grace of God , we will make it. If you are a young girl don’t allow a man who is not godly to marry you because you will end up in hell and that hell starts from here because I don’t believe that a godless person can make a good husband. Let’s return to God , He is the centre of gravity that will drive our success, that will bind everything together so that the lines will begin to fall for us in pleasant places and then we will have a goodly heritage.

2. LACK OF THE LOVE OF GOD: When you notice that the love of God in your heart is no longer strong, the things of God become secondary in your heart. You need to return. Things of God no longer move you, there are things that move you better. Touch your heart and pray:

Lord, I return my heart to you . I am sorry for substituting your love for other things. I am sorry, please take me back. I have seen the light. Help me to fall in love over and over with you. Help me never to deviate from loving you. You are my fortress and my dwelling place.

3. NEGLECTING YOUR BIBLE READING:  If you can stay one day without reading the bible, you are in dire need of restoration. How we need the word of God in the garden of our heart! The garden of our heart must be saturated with the word of God. Every garden attracts snakes. The heart is the number one garden you need to guard. The word of God in the garden of your heart will act as the rod of Moses that will swallow up any snake that comes. You need to have the word of God in the garden of your heart. And how can you have it , if you don’t eat it? You need to eat the word and digest it. It is so easy to be seduced and be deceived. The antidote to seduction is the word of God. The word of God is the truth. Every lie will be swallowed up by the truth. When the enemy is enticing  you with lies, the word of God in your heart will reply. How can one navigate through the world today when everything is done through perception and opinion. You don’t have an opinion when God has spoken. How was Jesus able to shut up the voice of the snake in the garden? “it is written”. You must know what God has written otherwise the world will give you what they have written. And if you follow what they have written, you will end up in hell. The world is upside down today because people are subjecting the word of God to their opinion. It is either you are in the word or you will be in the world. If you are not in the word of God you will be seduced by the world. That is why the Church is in dire need of revival. Let us return to God. You cannot return to God and be far from the word. You will be tuned to the frequency of what the word says.  I can’t have breakfast without eating the word of God. I cannot go to bed without reciting series of the word of God, without saturating myself with the word of God. What am I going to have encounter with? A lot of people are carrying worldly spirits. The spirit that leads you in this world is the spirit that will lead you home. If you contact worldly spirit, you will be earth bound. Anyone who has missed the word will end up in the world. You are neglecting your bible reading, something as small as that and you don’t feel anything about it? What you devalue, you neglect. Where have you devalued the word of God? Let us repent.

Prayer:  Lord, I have devalued your word. In any way , I have devalued your word, Lord, I am sorry. I have not given your word  the rightful place in my heart. Lord, I am sorry. I have followed the world more than I have followed you. I have not followed the prompting of the spirit, the guiding light of your word. I am sorry. I pray for myself and every member of my family and fellowship, help us to value our relationship with you in Jesus name. On the 25th of December, many people will celebrate Christmas without Christ who is the incarnate word. They will celebrate the world and not the word!

4.  NEGLECT OF PRAYER: What is prayer? Prayer is communing with divinity. Communicating with God. Programming and sending signals to God. Prayer is talking to God from your heart. It is easy to be too busy in the world and neglect the place of prayer. Everything centers on how much value you place on your walk with God. In 1993, when I was made the leader of intercessors in  the local Church where I worshipped, that was the peak of my career working for someone with big schedule and targets. The demand was enormous, the field work was vast. God helped me because of placement of value. That was when it was laid in my heart that the standard for prayer is pray without ceasing. I asked God for grace, He showed me that I could be working and be praying in tongues. Guess what! This produced results and the Church grew. I never missed any of the services because that was my focus. I placed value on it.

The place of prayer is the place of victory, a place of sweatless victories. If you are prayerless, you will not be able to walk in dominion over the forces of darkness. It is the prayer fire that will keep you at alert. I pity young men, ministers who are fireless. I pity pastors who think that ministry is business. It is  the fire that comes in the place of prayer and it is the presence of God that brings the fire. The fire of God is not your fire, it is the fire of His presence. 

Prayer:  Lord, I am sorry, I have not prayed the way I should. I have neglected the place of your power, your presence and place of prayer. Lord, we are sorry, we return. We need grace to marry our daily activities with your necessity. It is only by your grace that we can be spot on.  Help us Oh Lord, help our weaknesses. Help us to place more value on prayer. Empower us to know that if we are prayerless, we cannot withstand the antics of the enemy. When we pray, empower us. Help us to pray without ceasing. It is only by your grace that we can have victories after victories. Help us to be addicted to prayer in Jesus’ name.

* Set high spiritual targets for yourself.

TO BE CONTINUED…