When God gives an assurance that all will be well, He means that whether or not the situation is complimentary, no matter the forces militating against you, irrespective of the occurrence around you, your case is different - You are INDESTRUCTIBLE!   With this assurance, I welcome you to the 7th month of 2017 with this song, “We are more than conquerors, overcomers in this world, we've been made victorious through the blood of Jesus Christ".  To be indestructible means to be unbreakable, shatterproof, made to last, imperishable, undying, enduring, etc. I therefore declare by the blood of Jesus that gave you and I victory that nothing will bring you down. Your destiny is shatterproof. Your testimony is enduring; it shall not short-lived. God’s love for you is undying; notwithstanding your present level, you are unbreakable in Jesus name.

 The scripture for this month is Isaiah 43: 1-7 with the main emphasis on verse 2 which tells us that  “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” To put it in simpler terms, life is full of pressures and a lot of stress, downtimes, low times, times of trials and contrary expectations; those times when even a strong believer will be tempted to ask, ‘God why me?’ One thing that is attention-grabbing is the promise that comes with the above scripture – You’ll Never Walk Alone (YNWA). You'll never walk alone because your life is hid in Christ (Col.3:3) and if the devil and his demons CANNOT destroy Jesus, it means one thing for you; YOU ARE INDESTRUCTIBLE! The fire of life will not burn you; the rivers shall not overflow you and the flame of the enemy will not be kindled against you in Jesus name.  Again in Jeremiah 1:19(NIV), God assures us that "They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD” The pressures of life can come in diverse forms, it may be people you have trusted who suddenly turned against you, it may be that you have put your hope in your job, career, academic achievements, the government etc and things didn’t really work out the way you expected. God guarantees again and again that not only will you experience His presence in your lowest times but He will also rescue you.  

As we already know God stands by His word; we see it play out again and again in our lives and in the scriptures. In Daniel 3:1-30, He did not allow those who fought against Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego to have the upper hand, the flame kindled against them by the enemy became an air-conditioning system. Also God did not allow them to go through their darkest moments alone, He accompanied them through the fire!  Beloved, I pray once again that you will walk through the fire of life unscathed. The God who made them indestructible will do the same for you in Jesus name. In buttressing our anchor scripture which is Isaiah 43:2, we see God accompany the Israelites as they walked through the red sea, at no point did the waters overflow. We are all familiar with the sea and how it can rage but as the Israelites walked through, God kept His promises, the waters did not overflow.  I pray that no matter how boisterous the sea is, it will not drown you; it will not knock you back. The God who created the waters says THE STORY OF YOUR LIFE WILL NOT END IN DEFEAT!

When we look at the rest of Isaiah 43 from verse 3-7, we see God assuring and reassuring us that He is our God; the One who will not leave us; as a matter of fact He will do whatever it takes to ensure our freedom because we (YOU &I) are precious to Him. Beloved you might have been wounded, bruised, stressed, pressurised but you can never be destroyed hence the songwriter said ‘no power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck you from His hands!’ You are indeed indestructible, you are uncrushable - you cannot afford to lose your confidence! You cannot afford to entertain defeat, you have come too far to fail and you will not fail in Jesus name. You are not a victim of circumstance.  There are several other examples that we can point to in relation to this topic and the list will not be exhausted no wonder Apostle Paul in 2 Cor. 4: 8-10 said, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”  In order to make it in life and remain indestructible you need one very important ally – JESUS! Your focus must be on Him alone. Make Him your only ally and you will remain a CONQUEROR forever in Jesus name.

Lekan Oyewande
July 2017

Gratitude & Wholeness 

 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. Luke 17:11-19 KJV

You have hitherto been asking for stuff while it is good to ask there is an aspect that makes you get beyond what you asks for, the aspect that cements your miracle and guarantees its sustainability, it is called gratitude. Welcome to April 2017- GRATITUDE & WHOLENESS! Verse 15 says  the leper when he 'saw' that he was healed came back; as a church we have looked and have seen what God has done and is doing for us individually, our families, friends, for this land, town, etc and we are returning all the glory back to Him. As we glorify Him He will put a seal on our miracles. He will cleanse us from anything making our lives ugly and deformed. We will not be silenced. The mercy of God will sort out all the clutters in our lives and we will be complete; there will be no proof of the things we have passed through. As a church God will surprise us by adding to us numerically, spiritually and financially; He will multiply all our blessings and subtract from His church anything that might ridicule His name.

We were not told the number of years these lepers had had this ailment all we know is that they were all healed but one through his unique attitude of gratitude receive a  higher dimension of healing, the entirety of healing - he was made WHOLE meaning inside out - spiritually and physically! What does it mean to be made whole? I particularly like the definition that says ‘the state of being unbroken or undamaged’ and from the context of this passage you will agree with me that leprosy breaks and damages a man. What kind of leprosy is breaking you or has caused damage to your life or family? Is it sickness like these men, is it financial, emotional or marital instability. I know an effective key that can break its effect in your life and family – it’s called gratitude. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you -1 Thessalonians 5:18. As you praise God this month for both the small and big things you shall be made whole. Whatever is broken or damaged in your life will heed the Master's voice and you will no longer be deficient in any area in Jesus name.  This grateful leper was not carried away with what he didn't have, in fact he didn’t see what he didn’t have rather he saw what he had and appreciated God for that, little wonder his own case became different. I pray as you make the choice to give thanks; God will make your own case different. Perhaps the other 9 lepers were used to seeing miracles hence they took it for granted but the one that turned back to say thank you was a Samaritan, he was gobsmacked by the wonders of God that he made a U turn to say “wow this is awesome, thank you!” Beloved don't be too accustomed to God’s modus operandi (method of operation) to the level of derision. Don't take the smallest things of life for granted. In addition let’s learn to prioritize and gratitude to God should be made top priority – for those things we have that no amount of money can buy. When we fail to set our priorities right we fail to pay attention to small but important things which might cause us to miss it; may you not miss it in Jesus name. Maybe the other 9 had a long to-do list (things they had longed to do when they were lepers) and had gratitude somewhere at the bottom of the list no knowing that The master’s business requires urgency, according to James Allen, “No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.” Little did they know that their wholeness was tied to their gratitude.

You cannot lobby for gratitude maybe that is why Jesus did not compel them to say thank you even though thanksgiving is one of His attributes such that it precedes whatever He does…. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me (John 11:41).  Perhaps the other 9 lepers were waiting to be taught forgetting that gratitude cannot be taught, it is a response that stems from the heart - from the depth of the heart! Before the leper made the decision to turn back, he would have thought it through; he would have had a moment where he would say in his heart, “so my skin can be this clean? Hey wait a minute I didn’t even say thank you” - prayerful thoughts gives birth to thanksgiving while vain thoughts promotes ungratefulness. Replace complaints with praise and as you praise Him God will take care of you. This month try several ways of showing gratitude- burst forth with praises and adoration to your Maker. Give him your tithe - a tenth afterall only one out of the 10 lepers came back, as you give to him out of gratitude he will make the your income whole and untouchable for devourers. Show gratitude by returning to give him your skills and your talents etc and He will ensure you are whole health wise and no part of your body will be consumed by any sickness. As you willingly give Him your time in soul winning, in attending programmes, He will make you present – 60 seconds, 60 minutes, 24 hours and you will not die before your time.

Have you taken even a minute to say thank you to Him recently? Let’s cultivate the attitude of gratitude, nurture it by making thanksgiving a way of life, look beyond what you can see and begin to see through the eye of faith that is why Jesus said to him in verse 19, ‘your faith has made you whole!’ This means that only by faith can we truly give thanks and that is why Jesus thanked God before He called Lazarus forth. In which area do you need wholeness? Why don’t you spend quality time each day this month to say thank you Lord! It is the only weapon that can turn not enough to more than enough. As a church let us go ahead and say to Him, “LORD Inspiration House Tralee can see what You have done and have returned to say thank you LORD! For everything you’ve given us – for 15 years of your love, faithfulness, mercy and grace. For fighting all our battles, for defending us and upholding us through the good and the bad; for your unflinching support and for answering our prayers, THANK YOU LORD!

Pastor Lekan Oyewande
April 2017

Everyone can attest to the fact that Jesus is the solution to all issues of life so Mighty is He that He can do ALL things. He alone can forgive sins and overwrite every handwriting or ordinance of judgement; whatever He does is unquestionable, unparalleled and incontestable. In Mark 2:1-12 when Jesus saw the fate of the paralytic man and the faith of his friends, He decided it was the right moment to bring the man of out of the bondage of paralysis and by the end of the day; the man became a wonder to many. He got instant results and went home not only healed of his paralysis but also justified. Welcome to February 2017: Our Month of UNDENIABLE RESULTS! And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion….Mark 2:12KJV. May God make you a living proof of undeniable results and a wonder unto many! All who know your story will be in awe and glorify God on your behalf.  The Lord will come quickly to your aid and raise you out of the dungeon of helplessness. Your rising shall be unstoppable and the helpers you need come out of that unwanted situation will locate you. Helping you will not pose a problem because God will compel them to do all it takes in Jesus name.

The bible described the meeting as one made up of a large crowd so much so that there was no room for anyone to pass through yet only one man’s case caused people to say ‘we have never seen anything like this’ (Mark 2:12 CEV), only one man’s sins were forgiven; at times it’s not about the ‘crowd’ but the individual motive behind seeking Jesus. The man and his friends sought Jesus with one sole aim – to get help; their hearts must have connected to His in a way to make Jesus know they were true seekers. Are you a true seeker?  If Jesus searches your heart will He find faith and an expectant heart or an uninterested heart, one so far away; will He find a genuine seeker or ‘one’ of the crowd. I pray that the faith you need to obtain undeniable results will rise up in you and you will move from being lost in the crowd to having unshakable faith that will move mountains in the mighty name of Jesus. The level of faith demonstrated by these men left Jesus with no choice than to attend to their friend. I cannot overemphasise the need for divine helpers, may God bring them your way this month in Jesus name.

Note that regardless of where the consequences of sin was coming from or any legality the devil may have had to have this man bound, Jesus said, ‘son, your sins are forgiven you’ (Mark 2:5). On that glorious day, his physical level not only changed but also his spiritual state; as a matter of fact, the spiritual before the physical! Everything that might have cut him off from the Master was removed, he became an adopted son. If you have not yet surrendered to Jesus, the right time is today.  You too can become His son if you will open your heart and let Him in. If there is any power questioning Jesus’ authority over your life such will be silenced in Jesus name. Jesus who has the reply for every evil voice will answer all your adversaries like He replied the scribes in verse Mark 2: 6-11, And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”  Jesus did not only reply them; He demonstrated His OMNIPOTENCE! He showed forth as not only a talker but a doer! May He do for you what no man can do; may your life showcase His Almightiness in Jesus name.

Note the last verse was a call for action, Jesus said, ARISE! Your life must conform to My original plan and purpose; ARISE! You must make progress! ARISE! Your life must reflect undeniable results both physically and spiritually. There must be performance of God’s words in your life; that will be your own testimony this month in Jesus name. For the first time in a long while or even since he was born, this man walked. No wonder the people there were surprised. Your testimony will surprise both friends and foes alike. There will be a physical evidence for all to point to in your life; you will indeed ARISE! What you have been yearning to achieve for so long will be delivered to your hands very soon. The God of heavens will open unto you hidden treasures and abundant blessings. You and your children will be all that God has called you to be; your life will not be a shadow of what it ought to be in Jesus name. Jesus will bring your case into perspective and do the unexpected; He will leave you in awe of His powers. Get ready for your pleasant surprise! Shalom.

Lekan Oyewande
February 2017

You are blessed and highly favoured!!!!

 2 Kings 8:6; Exo 10:22-23

1. I SHALL RETURN...I WILL NOT EMBARK ON A JOURNEY OF NO RETURN...

2. I SHALL RETURN ALIVE...NOT DEAD...

3. I SHALL RETURN HEALTHY...NOT DISABLED...NOT LAME, NOT PARALYSED..

4. I SHALL RETURN CELEBRATED...NOT DESPISED

5. I SHALL RETURN FULL WITH TESTIMONIES ...NOT EMPTY...E.G. NAOMI..

6. I SHALL RETURN TO BE AN ASSET ...NOT A LIABILITY 

7. I SHALL RETURN TO REIGN ..NOT A SERVANT

8. I SHALL RETURN WITH ABUNDANCE ...NOT AS A BEGGAR...EG...THE PRODIGAL SON...LUKE 15

9. ALL MY POSSESSIONS THAT BELONGED TO ME SHALL BE RESTORED UNTO ME AT MY RETURN

 

Prayer Points

1. My hands will not be paralyzed IJN

2. I will not embark on a project that is doomed to fail.

3. My legs will not carry me to a place that is marked for disaster

4. My hands will not beg 

5. My head will not reject prayer IJN.

6. My children will not become my enemies

7. My hands will not be used to bury my children.

8. I will not be partaker of familiar evil and plague of the time IJN. 

9. Am for signs and wonders in 2017. I will do exploits for God.

10. I shall be exempted from every form of corporate evil in 2017....

DECLARATION FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER Hag 2:9; Prov. 4:18 I thank you my father for this season of joy and glad tidings. In this month, mercy will speak for me; favour will shield me and doors will be opened unto me. I will experience supernatural turnaround. I will pursue, overtake and recover all. I hide my all in the blood of Jesus. I am getting better and my vision is getting clearer. I move from glory to glory, victory to victory and strength to strength. God will settle me with something better than before. I will finish well; I will finish strong. I will not end this year in defeat or disgrace. I will dance my dance and sing my song. Another will not take my place. I am entering 2017 in joy and laughter in Jesus mighty name

Against all odds and contrary to the plans of the enemy we made it to the last month of the year. It's being a roller coaster yet God has continued to load us daily with benefits. No matter how the year has been for you, God wants you to know He has reserved the best for last and He is taking you from glory to glory. Welcome to December 2016: Your month of Glory to Glory! Haggai 2:9 says the glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts. You are going from grace to grace, favour to favour and glory to glory; the Lord will give you peace from anything weighing you down. The glorious God will show up in all areas of your life. Where your glory is being hidden, caged or prevented from shining; it will be revealed by the help of God because Christ in you is the hope of Glory (Col.1:27). You will no longer operate on an ordinary level but the Supernatural God will empower you with extraordinary abilities to the glory of His name. When we talk about the glory of God, we are referring everything that makes him God - His faithfulness, His mercy, His love and compassion. It therefore translates that as you go through this month, God's goodness will go with you, His favour will surround you and you will experience his unfailing love and compassion. Moving from glory to means a shift or change in your life that can only be orchestrated by God which takes you from ?not enough' to ?more than enough', from sickness to divine health, defeat to perpetual victory and of course a complete overhaul of your present level to on which is better and much more glorious. If you are already great; congratulations but there is a level better than where you are at the moment. In Genesis 26, Isaac thought he has arrived but as we go further to verse 12-13, God moved him from the level of great to being exceedingly great in some translation it says prosperous until he became very prosperous, that missing element in your testimony that will make it a total change will be added this month in Jesus name. The one who will move from glory to glory will experience complete restoration as we see in 1 Sam.30:19, "And there was nothing lacking of them, neither small or great, neither sons or daughters, neither spoil, nor anything that they had taken to them; David recovered it all" By the end of this year when you are taking stock, nothing will be missing from your life, no sorrow will be added to your blessing in Jesus name. Peter also had his fair share of moving from glory to glory when an illiterate fisherman became an earth-shaking, anointed evangelist winning thousands of souls to the kingdom. (Acts 2:14-42); may the Lord stir up greatness in you and as you move from glory to glory, may the giant in you truly come out. It doesn't take very long for levels to change, it can happen suddenly, in Luke 1 Mary woke up on that glorious day as an ordinary virgin but by the end of the day, her level had changed and she had become a carrier of glory, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, the reason why we are celebrating this time. I pray that by the time this year will end, you will become identified as the carrier of glory. Every deposit of his glory in your life will manifest; if His glory is already manifesting in your life then get set for the manifestation of greater glory. Indeed God will change whatever level you are operating in to something better in Jesus name. Those who will experience this are those who have a link to Jesus, do you have a connection with Him? Have you accepted His offer of salvation because glory is synonymous with Christ? As you link with Him, your life will never remain the same again. God will glorify Himself in your life and you will have every reason to rejoice into the New Year in Jesus name. This season will be a defining moment for you and your family because you will arise! You will shine and all around you will see the radiance of God's glory in Jesus name. Have a wonderful Christmas and a glorious 2017! Lekan Oyewande December 2016

 

Psalm 18

In the name of Jesus Christ, I overcome every spirit of fear to break barriers. My faith is built up and I am lifted out of every struggle. I am not hopeless for my God will help me.  My helpers of destiny will not give up on me. My dream of greatness will not die. I take a leap of faith into greatness. God will cause me to stand on heights. Every wall becomes my stepping stone. I will finish this month victoriously. My health will not fail. My strength will not fail. God will shield me with His favour. I will not lose anything or anyone to the devil. I am safe, I am secured and I am scaling new heights in Jesus name.

 

SCALING NEW HEIGHTS

Anyone who aspires to make headway in life must be prepared to cross hurdles and scale walls. It is surprising that most will give up once they get to the wall or would prefer to take alternative routes forgetting we have an able God. Welcome to November 2016: SCALING NEW HEIGHTS. The central scripture for this super theme is taken from Psalm 18:29 NIV - “With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.” From this month, every wall on your path turns to your springboard to success, you will not only subdue walls but you will stand on top of them. Note that David the writer of this psalm showed his dependence on God before he can scale any wall. This month, the Lord will raise help for you to go up, move forward and scale new heights in Jesus name.  Beloved there are definitely new heights to scale, new depths to fathom and new possibilities to tap. What does it really mean to scale new heights? According to oxford dictionary, the phrase means “to achieve a high level of success in a particular activity” so I declare by the help of the Holy Spirit that you will succeed in ALL your endeavours in Jesus name. All your labour in life will not be for nothing. You will break through barriers in Jesus name. Whatever level you are operating at the moment, God has something better; He is the God of new things! New opportunities, new grounds to cover, unprecedented blessings and heights only to be imagined! In this season, God will give you and your household matchless testimonies; the kind that will naturally announce itself. The kind that has never happened in your family just like that of Joseph an ordinary prisoner becoming the prime minister in a foreign land; the kind that is causing Daddy GO’s fame to be noised home and abroad! The Lord will make you a barrier breaker, game transformer, norm changer and a force to be reckoned with in your generation in Jesus name.

Walls, difficulties or hindrances do not just appear out of the blues, they are sometimes used by God to showcase His supremacy and sovereignty. Who could have comprehended that ‘mere noise’ can demolish the wall of Jericho (Joshua 6:20-21) or that forces of nature could respond to a rod (Exo.14:21-22). Imagine she who was called ‘barren’ giving birth to the forerunner of Christ (Luke 1:36) or carnivores deciding to ‘fast’ when free meat was intentionally thrown into their midst (Daniel 6:16-22). Every form of ‘wall’ on your path preventing your advancement to greatness will bow to the supremacy of the Almighty God. Every wall mounted to prevent the manifestation of your testimony will crumble. You will scale every wall and come out victorious; your strength will not fail and your situation will prove to the heathen that God still answers prayer.

In Mark 2:3-12, a paralytic man experienced what looked like an insurmountable wall; he was unable to get to where he could be helped. There were so many 'walls'preventing him but God raised for him helpers of destiny who were not deterred by the barriers instead they took their creativity to the next level, moved out of the norm and did the unthinkable! They cut the roof open and let their friend through. I am sure they were tired of carrying their friend everywhere, they must have been tired of seeing him in that helpless state, and they would have seen getting to Jesus as the only option. Beloved you need to be tired of your present state otherwise you will be routed in a state of  'stagnation’, you need to do things differently otherwise you will keep getting the same result. I am sure it would have been pretty uncomfortable cutting the roof open but they didn’t care, it may have even hurt them afterall it wasn’t planned but they were ready to give it their all. They were too determined to go let their friend go home the same way he came. Those that God has ordained to help you will not give up on you. Beloved by the grace and mercy of God, you will not end this month the way you started. God will engrace you to end it bigger and better in Jesus name. 

According to the story of this paralytic man, everyone needs helpers of destiny to lift you up or nudge you forward. They are usually positioned by God to take you to the top; their presence in your life is to ensure you scale new heights and achieve the impossible. They add worth to your life and steer you through limitations till you get to your destination. Even our Lord Jesus had 12 of them! May God bring them your way in this season and may God make you visible to them in Jesus name. Where they have been let go out of ignorance, may God give you another chance and may they locate you speedily this month in Jesus name.  As earlier mentioned, like these friends you certainly need to see Jesus as the only way out of that dilemma. Beloved this is another opportunity to heed the call to salvation if you have not done so already. It is only with His help that walls can be scaled. You need a friend in Jesus to get to your topmost top. Accept his offer of friendship today.

What are those things you must watch out for that can prevent you from scaling new heights? You must watch out for distractions, past accomplishment as these are the fastest routes to failure as we saw in the story of Samson in Judges 16:20. You must keep an eye on laziness, complacency and the likes. Also you must be careful of people who only praise you with the intention of keeping you on one spot rather embrace those who will challenge you; these are not detractors who aims at bringing you down but those who bring out the potentials in you and navigate you towards achieving your purpose. You need to completely trust God to help you; He is asking you to make that move today. You have nothing to fear but fear itself. Take that step today and watch your greatness unfold before you in Jesus name. Shalom.

In order to make any form of movement you need clarity; if you cannot see well then movement becomes restricted. Genesis 8:5 says “The water decreased steadily until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible.” In this 10^th month, God will move everything obstructing your vision and your vision will become brighter and clearer in Jesus name.   Whatever will impede or disrupt your movement will be uprooted because you are going in the direction of winners 'toward a better condition or higher level' Welcome to the tenth month of the year "October: Onward & Upward".....Deut: 28:1-“And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord THY GOD WILL SET THEE ON HIGH above all nations of the earth:” May God set you on high and elevate you above all struggles and limitations. The Lord will lead you away from whatever will bring you down in Jesus name. He will move you onward and upward and never again will you experience stagnation in Jesus name.

From Deut.28:1, we see that complete obedience to God's instructions leads to divine lifting and as we read this passage further from verse 2-14, it enumerates what happens when our obedience is complete. It is interesting to note that anyone can move onward BUT not everyone can move upward. Upward movement is not synonymous with career progression or affluence though those in the secular will make us believe it is important if you want to be ‘upwardly mobile’ but in the kingdom, it is all about fulfilling purpose. In Genesis 37-42, we see a young man who moved not only onward but also upward. His life paints the picture of what awaits us when we yield totally to God's instructions even when it is difficult to do so. This young man (Joseph) had every reason to be bitter and angry with God or go against God but he chose not to. Imagine moving from being a pampered son dressed in a coat of many colours to being framed for rape and eventually landing in prison yet in all of these he never forgot God, he refused to be frustrated and his reward? He became a PRIME MINISTER in Egypt! No matter what life throws at you, do not give room to 'what could have been or should have been' the onward and upward life never looks back; it is a life of no regrets with the inner conviction that everything will work together in the end (Rom.8:28). May all your supposedly disappointment and regrets lead to greatness in Jesus name. Joseph said to his brothers, “you meant evil against me but God meant it for my good (Gen.50:20) I pray that every evil perpetrated against you will become your stepping stone to the fulfilment of your destiny in Jesus name.

Those who will move onward and upward must be outstanding and be able to stand out from the crowd because the crowd can hinder your movement. Joseph experienced 'crowds' while on his onward and upward journey, these included his brothers and Potiphar’s wife but because he was more focused on making it he did not allow the crowd to mislead him. He was a man running with a clearly defined vision. You don’t have to do what others are doing because they are not going in the direction you are headed. They will try and lure you like Potiphar’s wife did; they will pick up offences with you for no reason like Joseph’s brothers did to him but you have a vital role to play if you want to be lifted beyond your current level. Never lose sight of your destination and don’t you ever give in to the devil (whatever the method he chooses to come).   Another area that will assist you in your upward journey is  your gifts; Joseph had the gift of interpreting dreams and it is this gift that moved him from where he was to where God ordained him to be. Beloved you too have got something special, there is a gift inside of you, 1 Pet.4:10 says, “As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received serve one.” Your gift is not meant for you alone, it is meant to bless humanity. Until you use whatever God deposited in you to bless others you cannot move onward and upward.  Joseph’s gift was a blessing to others even while he was in prison. How have you been utilising your gifts? Prov. 18:16 says “A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.” Joseph a mere prisoner stood before Pharaoh and brought solution to Pharaoh’s problems. His gifts made way for him to occupy a prestigious position in a foreign land In the name above all names, your gifts will make room for you; your gifts will give you a voice and your gifts will take you onward and upward in Jesus name.

Onward and upward movement comes from extensive study of the word of God and spending time with God in worship and in the place of prayer and ensuring nothing ruins your relationship with God in form of sin and the likes. It comes from being diligent and going that extra mile, Joseph did not stop being diligent because he was a slave or in prison even in that unpalatable circumstance, the bible referred to Joseph as a prosperous man and the house of Potiphar benefited tremendously because Joseph was there (Gen.39:2-5). Of course let’s not forget God’s favour; it is perhaps the most important in onward and upward movement.  You cannot move forward in life without God's favour. Gen.39:21- But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. All that we have highlighted above will come if God is with you. God can only be with you if you have given your life to Him. Have you surrendered all to him yet? If you have not, please do so and let His presence envelope you and move you higher. May God accompany you all the way on your journey to greatness. You are lifted! Onward & Upward EVER in Jesus priceless name. Shalom.